So today marks I think the official end of production for our show. I’m like now 98% sure I will not be going on any more shoots now and the rest is up to post and then getting it out there for you fine people to watch and enjoy. So sorry for no post last night, yesterday was just very long and kind of epic in how much we did. How much did we do? Let me tell you.
We started up nice and early at 5:30 in the morning, damn you 5:30 in the morning it is one of my evil enemies and there is mutual mutual hatred. In anyways Once up we packed up the cars and made our way out to the Algonquin to get our host. There we met up with him and our audio guy. The DP, Producer, Audio, and Host took the rental car and I hopped in the other PA’s car to our first destination Washington Heights.
We arrived at this community garden in Washington Heights just before eight. Because our entire segment is based around cats working in NYC we went to a place where feral cats roam and help out. That part of the shoot went very well. We met a women who takes care of the cats and how they can be a benefit to everyone there at the garden. For feral cats they were quite nice and almost playful. They still had there feral attributes where they would nip at you but for feral cats they could almost be domesticated they were that nice. We got some nice footage of the cats in the gardens and some good interviews. With that part of the day done we had to say goodbye to Manhattan for a little bit and then head off to Brooklyn!
We arrived in Brooklyn home to thousands of shops and bodegas. Apparently allot of stores and bodegas will use cats as mousers to help them. The funny thing is, having a cat in a bodega is considered illegal in the city of New York. However we found someone who owns a bodega that would allow us to shoot in there as long as we did not show where they were actually located. Coming from Boston I do not see many Bodegas really, for me there are just CVS’s and Wallgreens all over the place. The Bodega was really cool though and I realized wow these really are everywhere and are really cool. We interviewed a man who is trying to help change the laws so Cats can legally be allowed to be in Bodegas. He told us that so many cats are used even though there is a law against it because it cuts down on the pest problems so much so they consider it a cost saver in the end despite the fines and consequences. So while we were not at the bodega for that long we did get allot of good footage and another great side of the story. After we were done with that we were off to our third location. The Brooklyn Brewery.
The Brewery was a last minute add on but it was a very nice one. We got to meet the owner and the brewery cat who helps patrol the area but also lies around and acts as a stress reliever and adorable mascot for them. The owner was very nice and showed us around and we got to learn the history of the brewery and the cat. We did not stay too long at he brewery but it was still a very good time. So after this point in the day we encounter our big snafu.
Because we were shooting so much our camera batteries were draining quite fast. So a decision was made that while the rest of the crew got lunch with members of the brewery the other PA and I would go back to the Algonquin and set up the batteries on chargers and then get some lunch. So the other PA and I made our way back to Manhattan and the Algonquin and in a half hour we were there. We got into the room unpacked our stuff and were about to get some food when I realized something….the keys to the other car were resting perfectly on my key link…and the other car was back in Brooklyn…. Sooooooo we realized ok and started making our way back to Brooklyn. The tricky problem is apparently it is much easier to get into Manhattan then out of it. What should have been a “17″ minute drive according to the GPS actually took an hour. Thanks to NYC wonderful every changing streets, traffic, construction and bizzaro streets that have bizzaro signs or roads so you can’t make a simple right turn made it difficult for us to get back to the brewery. However we eventually did and were able to get the keys back to the rest of the crew. Luckily even despite the delay we were not behind schedule and were able to make our way back to the Algonquin for our final part of the Segment, hotel cats and the birthday of said hotel cat.
The other PA and I were able to quickly get some good food from a food cart and started setting up our equipment for the cats birthday/event. I do not want to give away too much on the event itself but it is way more then just a birthday and is a big deal, that is a great cause for animals and shelters. Lets just say there might have been a cat fashion show but that’s all I’m saying and you should really check it out when it airs. Even though it was a crazy party with tons of people we were able to finish up our shoot with ease. However there was a second snafu that might have caused us to not be so smooth. As we were setting up we realized we had a light that needed to be plugged in. However all the outlets near the light were being used by the hotel. The only outlet that could be used was across the room, and to make sure no one tripped I had to snake our cords around the the parameter of the room. I used both extension cords but it still was not enough. I asked the employees at the Algonquin if they had any extension cords left and sadly they didn’t So after some quick advice from the DP I did the next best thing I rand out into the middle of times square looking to find another extension cord to buy…with a half hour until show time. The nice thing is it is time square so there is practically every store you could imagine around there and one staples, one 25 foot extension chord and the sad goodbye to $40 dollars later I had another extension chord. I raced back to the hotel and was able to get the light in with 10 minutes to spare and then the rest of the event went smooth as silk!
So finally at 8:30 we were officially wrapped and done. I said goodnight to my crew and packed away everything into my room. Now I have been up since 5:30 if I was a smart rational human being I would have gone straight to bed but of course I’m not so I decide to stay up late and go out again. I met up with my buddy Joel where we hung out got a late dinner and lots of tasty drinks. We caught up considering the last time I saw him was last month when I was in NYC. It was a very good time however by the time I got back it was already close to 1 am whoops!
Today I woke up at 7 am and by 8 the DP and I were making our way back to Boston. Luckily! there was not much traffic at all getting out of the city or New York in itself and by noon I was finally back in home territory. The rest of the day involved me returning lots of equipment and tapes and paper work. I actually stayed in office for the last 3 hours and somehow was able to get some work done despite how long of a day it was today and yesterday.
So that being all said I think the great cat adventure traveling wise is over but who knows I may be asked to go off on another crazy cat adventure at any moment. And you know what I’m ok with that.
