The Weekend

This past weekend was a busy one. I may have mentioned a few weeks ago that I was looking for some video projects that I could do some editing on for more practice/experience. Well, I signed up with two women doing a web series around Atlanta. They’ve put forth a lot of effort and work in just lining up the shoots and making arrangements with the different businesses – and I’m on board as a video editor/all purpose camera person. The photo above is from a scene we were filming for the show intro (along with a lot of other city views) – it took place at Agave restaurant just around the corner from where Leah and I live.

The best thing about this is that these two (not pictured above or below) are pretty serious about this – and that makes me more willing to be serious about it also. Clearly you don’t go to this much trouble when it’s just a ‘wouldn’t it be cool’ or ‘hey we should do this’ type of project.

There will be a launch party in a few months (at a swank restaurant of course) so that should be fun. It is a little comforting that we’ve all got quite a bit of room to grow and learn since none of us are anywhere near what you would call veterans. However, with the bit of experience that we each bring to the table, we definitely have the confidence to just GO and do it. Which you know – you kind of need amount of at first. With so much work already done upfront before I even signed on board, there really isn’t anyway for this project to just disappear before it ever really gets started – like so many ‘indie films’ or other projects of that nature.

In between filming I helped Leah get some footage/material for one of her school projects. Particularly about the neighborhoods just south of Turner Field. So we walked around taking photos and video’ing when we could when people seemed like they were okay with it. Surprisingly to me, many people wanted to talk to us (well, talk to Leah). We walked around, photographed more abandoned homes and then went into a little convenience store… that had a barbecue kitchen in the back.

… that was interesting. Of course, everyone stared at us – I mean, it’s not that common for an asian guy and a white woman to walk into a small almost windowless convenience store in that neighborhood… and even it if it is – everyone still stared at us. Fortunately they did have a hand written sign saying ‘Porkchop sanwich – $3.00’

And we started talking about food and I ordered one. The food took a while to cook but during that time, more people came in and out of the store, the lady at the front counter yelled at us and said we couldn’t take pictures/video in the store – but you know me, whatever. Since I attach my Kodak Zi6 to the hotshoe on my Nikon D40, I put the lens cap on the D40, and turned on the Kodak and hit record – to everyone else, as long as they don’t see the LCD screen, it all looks turned off.

While we were waiting for our food – one of the cooks started talking to us and there is no other way to say it – he actually opened up quite a bit. I think I can tell you more about this gentleman than I could about most of the people I work with…

Now, when I got in to work on Monday, I told my um, African-American co-workers/cubemates about our weekend walking around, and then the eventual visit to McGruder’s grocery store. Now although they are from those neighborhoods and are very comfortable spending time there – they informed me that there is no way that they would ever eat food from this place, or any other corner shack down there. ever. Ever. EVER.

I myself must admit that Leah was all for it and had no problems, not even a small amount of the cautious paranoia that I walked around with the entire time. (Thoughts like, if I need to, I’ll use my camera as a weapon and we’ll run!… or, man, I wish Leah hadn’t worn flip flops, she can’t run in those if we need to get out of here!) And obviously looking back – it’s a little silly that I was thinking like that – but I’m obviously not the only one in the city of Atlanta who thinks like that. I suppose that’s just one of the many problems we have around here.

Of course, we live less than a mile away from Edgewood Ave. and I-75/85 – and I think that no one feels comfortable walking down that strip of sidewalk when it starts to get dark.

My porkchop sandwich? It was an actual porkchop, bone included, between two slices of white bread.