Just returned from New York, New York… again!

This time I went to be part of an exclusive Filmmakers Master Class hosted by BH Photo and Canon, and held at the New York Film Institute.   I was one of 65 students selected from more than 700 applicants!

My local newspaper did a story on me which you can find here

As part of a team of 15 students under the guidance of an industry master, we created the following music video.

July 19th- Visalia Adventure!

We love road trips! And though it was a short one, we thoroughly enjoyed our 4-hour drive to Visalia to interview Jennifer Brandolino, RN, CiH of Total Healthy Lifestyle.  We also were able to take a little time and catch up with she and  husband Rob,  Arnie’s best friend and fellow musician.

Arnie’s brother Jonathan lives in Visalia, so he came for a couple of hours to watch the filming. It was good to see him!

And Jonathan did us a big favor by taking in-progress shots of the prep stage of production.

We enjoy agricultural scenery,   so it was nice driving by rows and rows of corn and fruit trees.

It’s been a while since I’d seen dairy cows so I wanted to stop and photograph them. When I was a child, we would drive out to the dairy near us, and that’s where we would buy ice cream sandwiches!

Funny as I was photographing the cows, they all started lumbering over to the fence to check me out. It was rather comical as they lined up along the fence, staring at me. I started to feel like they were waiting for me to break out into a song or something.

We all know we need to exercise on a regular basis.

So I got my trainer, Jaime, to do some workout segments for the show, with the plan to start  with simple exercises that can be done easily at home.

We filmed at her home gym, and in this clip we were warming up for the camera and practicing what we’re going to say and do.  I was also telling her how to stop, pause, and then start over if a mistake is made in  something said.  A couple of times I drew a  complete blank  for what I was supposed to say next, so  at one point I just was went with an impromptu story which is not part of the script, nor part of the actual episode that will air.

If we ever have an outtake video, this would probably be on it.

We returned to Altadena, CA to  film the interview with Scott and Lori Webster, owners of Hoopla Emporium. We love their business model of Buy Local,  because not only does this help local artisans to thrive and money to stay within the community, you’re also able to find unique items you wouldn’t find elsewhere. A high percentage of the products in their store are from local artisans.

Simply put, to buy local means  purchasing what you can from independent, locally- owned businesses. Studies have shown purchasing locally keeps more money flowing in the community–Purchases made locally are twice as efficient in terms of keeping the local economy alive.

An article in New Economics Foundation (NEF), from  researcher David Boyle:

Indeed, many local economies are languishing not because too little cash comes in, but as a result of
what happens to that money. Money is like blood. It needs to keep moving around to keep the economy going, he
says, noting that when money is spent elsewhere—at big supermarkets, non-locally owned utilities and other
services such as on-line retailers—it flows out, like a wound.

And Scott and Lori are just all-around nice people to know.

While there, I picked up this get-well card for… my daughter’s cat. Well…he was ill. And add to that– the cat in the picture looks like him.

Twice a year, the art community of  Pasadena and Altadena (CA) hosts a two-day event known as Open Studios tour, where home studios of local artists are open for visiting.  Open Studios  members also include owners of  local retail businesses and/or restaurants who support art and artists by featuring art for sale and display art in a gallery setting.

We are featuring the owners of Hoopla!- a unique gift store located in Altadena in one of our shows. They  participate in the Open Studios tours, so I visited during the event to film the activities for B-roll footage that could be used for the show.

The store was bustling with activity which made for some good footage , meeting interesting people, and partaking of some tasty snacks. ☺