On my first Double R shoot day at the Royal Netherlands Embassy, we hadn’t even left our neighborhood when I fell and twisted my ankle! Wonderful! The shoot could not have started in a better way.
Two advils and a stop at Claudio’s apartment later, we arrived at the Embassy alive and on time!
Lesson #1: The earlier, the better! You never know if the new production assistant will have an accident that requires time and attention.
The place was swarming with staff setting up for the big event. I met Kevin and Harry, the videographer and sound technician. As a production assistant, I tried to do my best to help them and to take pictures of the production. I even got a “press pass” (my first, actually!).
People progressively arrived and the panel started. The room filled and I passed around the microphone during the Q&A. We were all starting to get pretty hungry so I pulled my chips out and fed the crew!
Lesson #2: Take pictures, help with the equipment, feed the crew; a good production assistant needs to know how to multitask!
The impressive Sustainability Pledge Ceremony went very well, with more than 40 countries represented. Even the undersecretary of state and Mayor Gray attended. Thankfully we had done a site survey a few days before the event, so Claudio ensured we’d set up in the best place to capture all of the action.
Lesson #3: Rosemary will never say it enough: “Prior Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Production”!
We transferred the footage to the drives and it took two hours, so I wandered the room and took more pictures. I talked to some people and at one point, I ran into the mayor’s assistants. I took my chances and asked them if I could take a picture with the mayor, playing the new intern card, and it worked! Claudio and I both shook the mayor’s hand and exchanged some small talk with him.
Lesson #4: Use your time wisely!
It was getting late and we finally finished. We stopped by Michael’s house to drop off the footage for him to edit overnight. Claudio offered to drive me back to The Washington Center so I didn’t have to take the metro late at night. We used the GPS in the zipcar. Bad idea! The GPS had no clue where we were going and we ended up on the bridge towards Virginia!
Although luck didn’t agree with me before and after our productive and professional shoot, I still managed to get back home after this long but very exciting day.
– Clothilde Goujard
