The Night Before
The night before any film job I get butterflies in my stomach and I feel on edge as I search my inventory of equipment to start up a big job. As it usually turns out I am scheduled at my day job late the night before any shoot so as time passed the stress piled up.
On my way home from work the car broke down at a stop sign. At first I just sat there with my double blinkers on, desperately attempting to start the car with little to no luck. When all else failed I called AAA.
The phone call was made interesting by the number of willing citizens offering to lend a hand as I tried to provide the lady on the phone with all the details of my location and membership number. This transaction of details should have, at most, taken only a few minutes, but prolonged due to all of the people offering their help. I am extremely grateful for the willingness of the people of Morton Pennsylvania.
At last tow truck arrived and we were on our way to the mechanic's to drop off my car. The truck driver shared my name (Dave) so it would be a difficult task to forget it. When I asked for a job and where to apply (I may be a freelance film maker, but that at times does not bring home the bacon) Dave was extremely helpful and gave me all of the details I requested for which I am grateful.
Because the car was out of commission I was in need of a rental for the long journey to New York so I decided to call my friend Nick Staehle who just so happens to work at Enterprise. He got me in touch with them but unfortunately, though they were helpful, it did not work out. They blew me away with their customer service by referring me to their competition Avis/ Budget .
Once I arrived home I broke my dads painting of Jesus by mistake. This is a very special painting to him because his grand mom gave it to him when he was three. This painting has to be over 60 years old so I understand why he was upset. Thankfully it was the frame that took most of the damage and will be easily repaired. The reason this was note worthy because it just felt like a series of unfortunate events before a film job which seems to ALWAYS happen!
Challenges lurk behind packing the night before a long trip. To list a few; I must decide what can be left in the car overnight and what must stay in the house, organizing the equipment that rests indoors in a way which makes it as easy as possible to pack the next morning, and finally making sure all batteries are charged and there are back-ups of everything!
Filming Day
6:30am start time, crisp air, and traffic! I've found in my many exploits that New York and traffic go together like PB&J. My phone charger decided to snap during my drive which would not have mattered if it wasn't for the fact that my phone doubles as a GPS, a GPS that I was counting on to get me to where I needed to be. I raced to the location at which I would be shooting, attempting to escape the impending doom of getting lost, which would most certainly would have occurred had it not been for my incredible lead foot (they do come in handy) and steering ability.
The gym employees might as well have saved my life by charging my phone and pointing me in the direction of an electronic store where I could purchase a charger to get me through the day. A charged phone is vital for a day in the big city to work out, not simply from a communication standpoint but also from an "I have no clue where I am, please get me home." standpoint.
Mike Pulcinella arrived with Steven Whang the winner of the "Train with Kai" Contest. We immediately set up the cameras, lights, and audio equipment after they unloaded their equipment. We went with a combination of video cameras and DSLRs for this project. During long warm up shots the DSLR is not always the best choice to document everything because of it's limited recording time.
When Kai arrived we attached all types of equipment to our bodies as we waited for the superstar to start the workout with our contest winner.
They started with the stair master which lasted for 30-40mins, then abs and that concluded the warm up portion. The workout was Shoulders, back and mind. Training with Kai includes one of the hardest workouts you will do physically and mentally. He challenges everyone he works out with to grow in all areas. After observing him from the cameras point of view I found myself motivated to workout and to read as many novels as possible.
The gyms private posing room is where Kai observed Steven's posing technique. They discussed what was proper form and what he could work on to improve for the future. For the most part Kai was very impressed with Steven's form. Steven had one last chance to ask Kai any questions which they turned into a discussion about theology.
We concluded the day with a Q&A video where we read out questions people asked Kai online and he answered.
When Kai arrived we attached all types of equipment to our bodies as we waited for the superstar to start the workout with our contest winner.
They started with the stair master which lasted for 30-40mins, then abs and that concluded the warm up portion. The workout was Shoulders, back and mind. Training with Kai includes one of the hardest workouts you will do physically and mentally. He challenges everyone he works out with to grow in all areas. After observing him from the cameras point of view I found myself motivated to workout and to read as many novels as possible.The gyms private posing room is where Kai observed Steven's posing technique. They discussed what was proper form and what he could work on to improve for the future. For the most part Kai was very impressed with Steven's form. Steven had one last chance to ask Kai any questions which they turned into a discussion about theology.
We concluded the day with a Q&A video where we read out questions people asked Kai online and he answered.
Driving Home
After a long day of filming I was exhausted and almost didn't make it home safe. On the highway I found my eyes feeling heavy and before I could react I fell asleep on the road and almost drove off of the highway. The next rest stop was the goal which was 20miles away. I had to scream at myself and listen to loud music to stay awake as I rushed to the next rest stop.
At the rest stop there was a whole family of stray cats that had the perfect system. They would use their cute factor at the door of the building to convince people to feed them. I tried taking a picture of all the kittens but they hid once I pulled out my phone.
An hour nap did the trick and I was back on the road. Everything was good until it started snowing really hard and the roads turned to ice making my trip slow down to a crawl.
Things felt constantly out of control on this trip but I arrived home safe and I am very grateful for the opportunity to work with motivated people all over the Country and someday the world! God is good no matter what challenges come my way, and fear will never paralyze me from trying something new or risky.
Thanks for reading new adventures every Monday!
MUSCLEMEDS
Coming Soon "Train With Kai" Video
Buckler Productions
Did you know Kai Greene is a super awesome training partner?
Above we have (starting from left) Mike Pulcinella, Steven Whang, Kai Greene, and me!
