Well, I guess it went OK — I am surely not cut out to be in front of the camera.
But I think of it this way — if I were living in a jungle somewhere, where there were tigers to run from, the fight or flight reaction in my central nervous system would be getting a regular workout, as it’s meant to. But, living in the city, my fight or flight has chosen to respond to a) public speaking situations, b) being in front of a camera, and c) needles at the doctor’s office. That’s it. These three things turn me into a brainless mound of shaky jello. I don’t avoid them, as I would a wild tiger, because I hope to one day get overcome this automatic reaction… as non life-threatening as these situations are…
So I survived, and the interviewer and cameraperson from CTV were great — Angie and Steve. They made the experience go as well as it possibly could, under the circumstances. Angie was so sweet, and had done impressive amounts of research, and Steve got me to press the “capture” button and pretend to shoot frames of animation for their b-roll footage… as well as powdering my shiny nose. Irene was there too, sitting behind the scenes, reminding me of some things to talk about.
I have a feeling I will owe big apologies to Erin one day if she sees this on air… I’m not entirely sure what I said, but I may have implied that she helped with the original proposal, when in fact she had merely offered a couple of suggestions. She made it clear at the beginning that this film was my interpretation of her poem, and that she wanted to distance her involvement from it as much as possible, in terms of it being a narrated version of her poem… it’s really quite separate. So hopefully I didn’t imply anything different… I have a feeling I may have used the word “collaborate” when talking about the proposal, but I’m not sure. Anyway, this will be made 100% clear in the written credits of the film, and hopefully the folks at Bravo will leave that rambly part out…?
It’s probably not a big deal, and I may be worrying too much about it. I don’t think I said anything wrong. But I sure have a new respect for anyone who has to be interviewed on camera regularly. It’s tough.
Um, anyway, thank you Angie and Steve; I hope you can find a coherent 2 minutes in there somewhere.
Congratulations for doing it! I’m sure it was great. Plus, I’m sure the poet will understand that you understand yours is a separate interpretation iteration. Can you call the producers and ask that any hint of collaboration can be played down?
I think you are a truly rare artist, skilled, philosophical, and sensitive. I expect you’ll enjoy a lengthy rich career.
Thanks Shelley, wow, that’s very nice of you to say… I’m sure it’ll be fine — I tend to worry too much. I might not have even said that. It was a bit of post-interview panic. Irene (producer on the film) was in the room and she said it was fine and that I’m being silly… so, there. I’ll believe her 🙂
congratulations!!!
jriggity
Thanks J!