Under the Klieg Lights, Once Again
Film, false starts and the non-linearity of television
Last week I finally got some inkling about what it must feel like to be a TV star, which was fun, in an odd way. But more importantly, I think I may have finally found a niche I might actually like in the bizarre, non-linear world of film and television.
Obviously, the “star” part is an exaggeration, although several people did recognize me around Livingston and Bozeman, Montana, where we were shooting. I was there to be the principal in a master class-style video course on how to prep and cook venison, done by Outdoor Class. The goal is for the course to premiere in time for the majority of deer seasons this fall.
I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you I was nervous and apprehensive going into this. The schedule was for seven days of shooting for at least eight hours a day — by far the longest I’d been under the klieg lights. Would my voice hold up? Would I run screaming from the set? Would I suck at it? After all, I am a cook and a writer by trade, not an actor.
Finally, and this was and is the big one, would the end product be something I could be proud of? After all, this was to be a very different experience from my previous run-ins with the camera. And I have a long and frustrating history with film that colored everything about this past week.