Ice on Mars and the woes of reality TV...

It's been six months since my last blog...half the year is gone and therefore I will be reflecting on experiences on both commercials, a feature, and of course a reality tv show that I almost walked off of...on several occasions.

Mostly, I'm a commercial and documentary guy (I know, opposite ends of the spectrum)...either working 3 or four days at the most with easy setups or busting ass in hot or freezing locales, humping gear for hours on end and then partying and living by the phrase "I'll sleep when I'm dead"...But never have I worked on a reality show where it's 12+ hours a day of doing nothing but watch 9 tools rome around a mansion, talking about their virginity, boobs, methods of measuring penises and ultimate fighting...I could go on, but I'll save you the time.  If there is one person that reads this blog, please heed my warning...Never be a Pelco Camera Operator.  I was an AC and production fired their Pelco op.  I had never worked in reality and didn't even know what a 'Pelco Camera' was until the next day.  I found out I would be spending 12 hours a day sitting in a chair, maneuvering a security camera to follow the cast around and film them whenever something intriguing that corresponded with the story would happen.  At first I was psyched...I mean sitting around in Air conditioning next to the director and executive producer plus the operator credit, what more could I ask for, right?  WRONG!  After about two to three hours into the first day, I hated it.  I loathed the job and I thought, "I have 19 more days of this?"  I mean don't get me wrong a paycheck is a paycheck, but in all honesty I feel as if I've waisted a month of my life.  No offense to anyone who makes their living working on reality tv shows, but I don't think I'll ever work in that field again...unless of course it's a PA spot, because the PA's on this sucked...When I was a PA I kicked ass and most of the ones in Arizona do, but this group was terrible.  No one handled lockups, helped any of the other departments; I mean I would leave the control room to help Art Department move furniture while they were standing by crafty.  I have yet to decide how much of it is their fault or the AD's though.

On a side note, they found Ice on Mars?  How long until we can move?

Until next time (hopefully not another six months),

Zach