This is my first ever blog entry. I keep a bit of hand written journal at home but it's actually more of a record of big events that happen. No real emotion attached to it, just bullet marks of information.

I joined Around The Bay on the weekend of 9/30-10/1. I saw an ad on craigslist.org/crew gigs for a boom operator. "I can do this," I said to myself. "This sounds very interesting, if it's on the up and up". You have to be a little careful on craigslist sometimes, some of the ads can be, well, a little shady. Alex answered my email the next day and I replied asking for a quick synopsis of the movie. Another quick email reply and I had the general outline. I was impressed with the quick responses.

We met at a popular coffee house to talk face to face. I walked in wearing my funky orange baseball cap so I'd be easy to recognize along with my ever present camera around my neck. Alex was at his sitting at a table tethered to his laptop by a set of headphones, cup of java to the side and papers attached to a clipboard. He looked up, saw me, quickly removed the headphones to stand and shake my hand.

As the conversation began, I noticed his enthusiasm right away! I began to get excited about watching the production in action, working with sound gear (ok, I'm a dork about things like that) and Alex said I could shoot some shots of crew and actors! It turns out I've just finished talking to a guy that really understands the beauty of film and photography! Pinch. No, I wasn't dreaming, this was real!

That Saturday morning I arrived early at the location (the dork factor kicking in again). After Alex arrived we went over the gear, how he wanted it set up and what I'd be responsible for getting done. It was all pretty clear. My mantra for the first day was to remember the three mics being used and what they were used for. 64, 66, 67 was my chant, and I learned it well that day.

The next day, Sunday, I felt very prepared and anxious to participate more. Filming was to continue at the main house location. Brian and I set up the sound gear and all was ready. I thought I would be so caught up in making sure I didn't crack my knuckles, clear my throat or, Heaven forbid, bump into something. What I didn't expect was to be pulled into the scenes as much as I was. The dialogue drew me in and I no longer saw Steve, Katherine and Connor, I was watching Wyatt, Daisy and Noah. I felt like a voyeur looking in through a window. I know how a movie is made, I know I love drama and uneasy moments that really hit home, but this time I didn't have the buffer of sitting in front of a movie screen or T.V. I was watching a family interact with each other, live.

The interaction of Wyatt and Aleksey, the lasagna dinner and the tears of Daisy and Wyatt are a few of the moments that still stay with me. I have to apologize to the actors if I keep calling you by your character names. As I get to know you more I'll be able to separate your real names from your character names. I hope for now you'll think of it as a compliment and not a lack of brain cells.

I can't wait to see how this all unfolds and what other scenes will stay with me. I'm so glad I answered that ad and can remember the difference between mics 64, 66 and 67.