Jan the Firecracker, St. Louis, MO

(NOT posted in the Veritaz Blog)

So a few nights ago (08/28/06) I found myself, again, in an place I was not familiar with. I have been to St. Louis before but never in South County. When we entered St. Louis we didn't go through the usual St. Louis tourist track, near the arch or any EMU Pizzarias, but, instead, we drove for a bit and ended up at a big old gate entering a secret passcode and eventually were granted entry into a very nice senior community. Here we were, four people all 21 and 22 entering a gated senior community. Needless to say I was kind of curious to see how the night was going to play out. The only thing we knew about our hostess for the night was that her internet email alias was something along the lines of JanTheFirecracker. I was excited to meet this woman.

As it turns out Jan was just one of the coolest women that I have met on this trip. Her beloved husband died a while ago and she has since moved from the house that they lived in to this beautiful senior community outside of St. Louis, MO. Her sister knew somebody involved in Rally and told Jan about us possibly needing places to stay and she was right on top of it. She was so excited to have us and she made us feel like royalty. She even made us homemade lasagna and homemade lemon merangue pie! No joke.



What I loved about Jan was her honesty and her ability to make conversation. Her conversation was so real compared to some folks. Some people mean well, I'm sure, but what they choose to talk about or ask about is just so generic. Don't get me wrong, I have apprecited every single person that I have met along this tour and am very greatfull for everything that everyone has done for us. It's just that Jan, when she talked to me, she didn't try to hide her struggles in life and how she has been dealing with them. She has had to get over her husband's death, moving to a new place, a stroke, a surgery, a leg that doesn't cooperate, and all sorts of things. She didn't think a thing of talking about them with us when we asked and being honest about her pain and how she is trying to positivly deal with it.

She was so seriously wonderful that I just couldn't believe it. This woman had this beautiful house with an amazing basement that had a full surround sound speaker system in it and a neon light-up beer sign. On the way down to the basement, above the stairs is a big old sign that said "It's a Wonderful Life" and seriously, that pretty much sums Jan up. She is a very life-filled person that has every single priority straight. Just knowing her and talking to her for the short time that I did really encouraged me and enlightened me. The woman, born in 1940, seems to have more vigor for life and thirst for goodness than most that I meet and, well, it's just good to know that there are more of us out there! haha

I kept thinking of my friend Lauren Weeks and her family (check out their BLOG here) and about how much Jan reminds me of Lauren. Lauren is my closest and most trusted girlfriend right now and man it's tough sometimes not living near her. I am always so greatful when I meet someone who I think has a heart like Lauren, honest and valliant, searching for the goodness out of every part of life. Jan was so very generous and made us feel so welcome. I'm glad to have met her! I hope that later in life I'll still be able to be just as "me" as I am right now. I want to be young forever and meeting Jan helped me get a little closer to that fountain.

Oh, did I mention that she helped us get to know St. Louis better by taking us out to eat concrete frozen sherbert? It was awesome.

You're certainly not alone, Jan. You are the stuff goodness and smiles are made of. Please continue to be a light to everyone around you. The world has a lot to learn from people like you and a lot to be greatfull for. You have been a wonderful friend.

The absolute willingness of perfect strangers to open their homes and lives to us never ceases to amaze me. The entire experience is amazing and listening to these people while also sharing with them those things that are important to them and entering the smallest slice, one single day or night, of their lives and feeling so enriched afterward is an experience I wish that everyone could have.

Warrensburg, Jefferson City, and St. Louis, Missouri

(x-posted in the Veritaz Productions Journal .)

I am back with the Rally Team. After a long "few" weeks finishing up my summer semester at schoo l I am finally done and back with Rally Across America. It is so good to be back and it feels natural to rejoin the crew! Hey everyone!

I flew into Kansas City, Kansas and Nick picked me up from the airport. We then drove to Warrensburg, MO and met up with some friends of friends. They let us crash in their living room and kept us entertained until late into the night... one word: chocolate chip cookie dough. It was all good except for the part where the airline didn't bring my bag to Kansas City and left it in Savannah. They ended up having to drive it out to me in the middle of the night. Where we were staying was about an hour or so from the airport.. maybe more. My bag showed up at around 4:30am. I am so thankful that they actually sent it out to me though- they were threatening not to. They thought it might be more acceptable to send it to St. Louis. That would have stank.

We left that morning early and followed the guys out to Jefferson City, MO. I have decided that the capital cities of most states are all very similar. It seems like a lot of them exist in the shadow of the larger cities of the state yet still have their own charm and community. They are strange to me. We met up with a wonderful family there. They treated us so well and fed us well too. They both work for the Catholic church and it was very interesting talking to them about the missions that they do and the classes that they teach. I love meeting people who are excited about their faith!

The next day was a long one... we traveled minor highways through MO and stopped at a few little towns. This one in particular was fun... I forget what it's called. It was right before Washington, MO. While Austin and Tom sat in a subway eating lunch I explored a little with Nick. We all ended up sitting in Subway talking to these really fun girls who were on a local high school volley ball team. It really hit me then: Oh my gosh I'm almost finished with college. I am the only one on the tour right now who hasn't graduated but I only have 10 weeks of school left. These girls were already back in high school starting the year and I don't start my last quarter of college until mid September. I just couldn't believe it. I am only 10 weeks away from having my BFA. AHH! Anyway they were super cool and they even bought me a peanut butter cookie for my lunch!

We arrived in St. Louis later that night safe and sound. I really enjoy St. Louis and I'm excited to be back here.

Last night Nick showed me some of the footage that I haven't been able to see since I wasn't here with them on the tour. It looks so amazing I can't even believe it. I am so proud of him and Matt and how well they have done. The colors of the footage are vibrant and the substance, important. So far everything I have seen looks awesome and it just encourages me more. This film is turning out to be a beautiful success and I can't wait to start really piecing it together. I feel so privileged because I get to see all this great stuff and nobody else does! haha. We have another clip that we are thinking of posting on the website... I'll let everyone know when I decide to do so.
More on St. Louis and Jan later!

We could be closer than you know,
Chelsea

Charlotte, North Corolina

Charlotte, North Corolina

I rejoin the Pedaling For Change film crew today. I have been off-site for about 10 weeks while in school this summer. I was able to be there to get the project off to a good start in June and am thankfully able to be there to help finish strong. My starting point this month is in Kansas City, MO. Nick will be picking me up there from the airport and then driving me to where Austin and Tom are destined which is a little bit outside of the city. We will be meeting up with a host family there (hopefully) and I'll most likley have the night to catch up on footage and the system Nick has made for capturing and keeping everything organized. I don't think there will be much for me to do except pick up where Nick can't fill in because he is also doubling as the support crew for Rally Across America. I'm super pumped to be out of school and doing what I love to do again... not that I don't love school, I just REALLY believe in this project and I can't wait to get it in the can and start molding it into the documentary I have been invisisoning for so long.

I will basically be travling with Rally Across America until the tour is over in September. Right now, the last event is scheduled for September 9th. It WAS supposed to be September 5th but got pushed back due to an extra stop made in Iowa that wasn't previously planned. It was good that they made some time to go to Iowa, though, because the two other members of the Pedaling For Change film crew are from Iowa. Anyway, though, the Iowa stop pushed the final dates and events back to the 9th of September.

Originally, I was planning on finishing up with school, taking one day to pack and organize, and then flying to Kansas City to rejoin the crew. I was then planning on finishing up with them in Nashville on September 5th and then flying out of Nashville on the 6th or 7th for Salt Lake City, Utah to meet up with my aunt and take care of some business out there. I am planning on moving to the Salt Lake area (the goal is actually Park City) sometime in December and I really wanted to take this opportunity to go out one more time before I packed everything up and moved out there... just to get a solid idea of what my plan will be come December. I was then going to fly back to Savannah from Salt Lake on the 11th or 12th to start school on the 13th of September.

Now that the final Rally events are happening on the 9th, however, I'm not sure if I'll be able to fly out to Utah or not. If everything goes according to the plan that they have TODAY I would have to leave the night of the 9th, spend 2 days in Utah with my aunt trying to get everything ready and together for my move in December, and then fly alll of the way back to Savannah on the 12th. It just seems like a TON to do. It wasn't such a big deal when I was going to be in Utah for 4 or 5 days but now, only being there for 2 days, I'm worried the trip might hurt more than it helps. Expensive plane tickets coupled with rushed time just doesn't sound good to me.

Oh well. I'm sitting in the airport right now super frusterated, trying to figure out how the heck I can get to Utah before school starts on the 13th. I COULD skip my first two days of classes... only causing myself to miss the first day of ever class. This is usually not that big of a deal and since I'm only taking 3 classes and there is nothing extrordinary about them, I might be able to do it with a clear concious. If I do that, then I'd have unill that next weekend to come back from Utah and get my stuff together. I think that might be what I do. hmm... I'm already feeling a little better. That would give me a few more days until I have to get back to Savannah. If I do it that way, I wouldn't have to be officially back in Savannah until 12noon on the 18th of September.
hmm...

Anyway, from now on, my blog will be CROSS-POSTED (x-posted) to the Veritaz Prouctions Blog. All of my updates from the road with Pedaling For Change are posted on that blog so that people that we have met along the way ca keep up. The boys aren't really writers so they refuse to update it but since I'll be back I will probably update it daily if not every other day. Keep an eye out... most entries should be on both blogs.

We could be closer than you know,
Chelsea

Project: Jenny B. Update 03

Project: Jenny B. Update 03

On Wednesday I shot a very important part of my documentary about Jenny Brown. The day was one that I had been looking forward to for some while. On the schedule that night was an interview that I set up with Jenny's family. What I did was schedule with Jenny a night that she could have her family over for dinner. I wanted to film the family dinner and use the footage to take on the roll of the interviews that I wanted with her family. This process, being a little different from the normal interview process that I have become so accustomed to, proved to be a little challenging yet in the end successful. Here was the set up:

Jenny eating with 4 other family members: her mother, her sister, her sister's husband, and her sister's 1 year old child.
We filmed the dinner with 3 cameras placed around their circular dinner table.
Each camera was equipped with an AT Short Shotgun mic that we ductaped to the camera's handle (since we couldn't rent the clips to properly attach the mics haha). Along with those mics each camera also had a lav plugged into the second channel. 2 of the Lavs were wireless (Jenny's and her brother in law's) while the other two were wired. We put the wired ones on Jenny's mother and her sister who were sitting across form Jenny and her brother in law. It was frustrating having to wire two of them as opposed to using wireless lavs for everyone but it worked out ok. I was worried that the wires would make them feel stuck (since they couldn't be fully mobile while wired to the camera) and thus effect their natural behavior while at dinner with their family but it didn't seem to be that much of a bother.

The structure of the interview was as follows:
Jenny and family interviewed simultaneously while eating dinner together. I, as the director, guided their dinner conversation with questions and had them reply to both me and each other. I tried to encourage them to speak with each other like it was a normal old dinner with the family. We touched on topics like Apert Syndrome, Jenny's job, Jenny as a person, and Jenny's influence in their lives. All of this while relaxing and eating a wonderful salmon dinner that Jenny herself cooked.

As for crew: I had two other guys, Hawk the DP, and Bobby (another camera opp.) operating cameras besides myself and a good friend Marcos came to supervise the location sound and keep all of the mics in line and under control.

It turned out to be a very positive experience. I had originally wanted to interview each family member separately about Jenny but, after conducting many interviews this summer, especially on the Making of Baby Blues documentary, I fell in love with the idea of interviewing people with other people instead of just alone. There are benefits of interviewing people by themselves and that style has and will continue to benefit me on this documentary but I decided to interview her family in a different way. The idea of putting them all in the same room, Jenny with them, and providing them a familiar family environment (the dinner) and then just slightly guiding their dinner conversation while filming the whole thing would be awesome. This way they could feed ideas off of each other and use each other’s commentary to produce a very believable and compelling interview. In theory, this type of interview would be very natural and inviting. In truth, it was exactly that.

After the dinner Jenny let the crew eat the hefty left-overs! Everyone went home happy. I've only let a few people watch the tapes of the interviews and the critiques that I have gotten have been along the lines of "wow that is such a great interview idea... it's very inviting." I think people have a better time relating to and believing what people say when they are also watching how other people are reacting to the speaker ON SCREEN. It's just another way to draw the viewer's attention and give them a better chance to identify with what they are watching and hearing. Plus it really breaks free from the classic and sometimes boring "talking head" interview. The cutting together of a family dinner scene is much more like narrative story telling and will really help strengthen the structure of the documentary.

This film has been such an exciting learning process. I have been taking a few more chances than I usually would have with structure and content. So far so good. Two more small sequences to film and it's in the can. I'm taking a break from this project for a few weeks to rejoin my Pedaling for Change film crew. I'll pick back up with the Jenny B. project in late September. I plan to start post production for the Jenny B. project in mid-October.

I'll post video stills from the film in a few weeks after I get back to Savannah.
:)

Yesterday Someone Tried to Steal My Car While I Was Pumping Gas

Ugly Girl.


Yesterday in the middle of the day (4:30pm) I was pumping gas at a gas station on 37th street and a guy jumped me and tried to steal my car. He hit me a bunch of times and grabbed my keys out of my hand. I fought back as much as I could while also calling 911 and screaming my guts out for help. He hit me a bunch and I had to pretty much wrestle him from getting into the drivers seat of my car. The man was a little taller than me and much more bulkier. He was about 30-35 years old.

To see more pictures of the cut on my face just scroll down to the end of this long story.

There were people all around at all of the different pumps just watching everything happen. I was screaming so loud that my friend Chris heard me while he was driving by and so he took off down the wrong way down a one way road and peeled into the gas station. I saw him and while I was taking a beating I screamed for him to help me. He jumped out of his car and yelled at the guy to stop. The guy looked up and I punched him in the face. He hit me back and then took the opportunity to go after Chris and give me a break... so the dude went over to Chris about to wail on him screaming about taking his car and stuff and so Chris just jumped back into his car and slammed his door on the guy's hand. The dude didn't seem to feel any pain so he quickly turned back to my car. This whole time I am trying to talk to 911 on the phone and get my bearings... Next thing I know the thug is INSIDE my car... he had opened my passenger side door. I had locked my car when the whole thing started to happen but my windows were still open so while he reached over to start my car I unlocked my side and jumped into the drivers seat next to the guy. (keep in mind this whole time im trying to tell 911 where I am. I basically was screaming for help while getting a beating and fighting back and also trying to explain what gas station I was at. I finally told the lady on the other line "hang on I have to keep this dude from stealing my car" and dropped my phone on the ground. I kept hitting him over and over. I told him he better not try to start my car and grabbed for the keys but he had already put them in the ignition. He grabbed my arm and twisted so I couldn't use it and so with my other arm I lifted myself out of my open window took aim and kicked him so hard that he fell out the other side of my car through the door he had left slightly open. I jumped back out of my car and caught the gas pump from spewing gas everywhere.

Keep in mind this whole time I'm SCREAMING for help. SCREAMING at the top of my lungs and I am not a quiet person. I could see people's faces in the cars at the light just watching... every single pump had someone at it just filling their cars with gas and watching me get the crap kicked out of me. I had made eye contact with several of them begging for them to help me (at the top of my lungs) and nobody did a single thing... nobody made a single move to help me.

Next thing I know the guy is on me again. This time he's really pissed off and I basically have nowhere to go. I couldn't run because I was blocked in by cars and him. We were in-between the pump and my car so there was only about 3 and a half feet of space and so I leaned in on him so he couldn't get a good swing in. He hit my chest and body a bunch and clocked me again in the side of the head closed fisted. Overall I probably got close fist punched about 4 times during the whole bit actually at the gas station. I finally got a chance and I jabbed him in the chin uppercut style. In short we wrestled and fought a little more before he took off. My face was bleeding and my body felt like someone had just beat me up... oh wait. Anyway he told me to f*** off and took off running. He ran to this other guy across the station and tried to take his car but the guy pushed him and so he just took off... WITH MY KEYS.

All the while I'm trying to catch the breath that was knocked out of me again and again and collect myself. The full grown men that were all at the gas station were just standing there watching me. I turned and SCREAMED at the people on the other side of the gas station for help.. I was like "PLEASE GET HIM HE'S RUNNING YOUR WAY! HE HAS MY KEYS! PLEASE" but they just stood there and let him run by them not 3 feet away from about two of them (both full grown men). I threw my hands up in the air and yelled for Chris to watch my car and before he could even nod I was already off after the guy. I chased him down the street about a block before I caught up with him and elbowed him in the back of the neck. He didn't go down and he kept running so I tried to trip him which ALMOST worked but he caught himself in mid fall and kept running so I finally got up on him again and grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. My plan was to use the momentum of me swinging him around to come back at his face with my fist to at least stun him for a second so i could grab his keys but he was thinking the same thing and before I could duck he had right hooked me in the side of the skull and I hit the ground on Drayton Street where I was almost hit by a car. By the time I shook it off and was back on my feet the guy was gone. Awesome. I'm beat up because some dude thinks he can steal my car and then after fighting him off he RUNS OFF WITH MY KEYS? WTF! JUST LEAVE MY KEYS HERE IF YOU CAN'T BEAT ME AND TAKE MY CAR!

Bleeding and bruised with now ANOTHER rip in my jeans from the pavement I walked back to the gas station and like all hell was unleashed. All I know is that I flipped out. I screamed at every single person there who didn't raise a finger to help me. I just about put my fist through my window. I was crying and screaming at everyone. I specifically asked the 40 year old man who looked to be about 6' 1" who was standing at the pump on the other side of mine not 8 feet away why the H*** he didn't help me and his response was this "He might have had a knife or a weapon." THAT was his response. THAT WAS HIS RESPONSE!!!! SO basically if he had a knife they still would have just sat there and let me get stabbed to death. awesome.

Anyway so the police show up and Chris calms me down (to the best that he can). Most of the people at the gas station took off and went on their way while others pulled up and although they saw a screaming crying bloody girl they said nothing and did nothing. The gas station attendants the whole time were just waving at me from their safe little haven inside the station pointing to the phone in a way that seemed like they were saying that they were calling for help. THEY NEVER ONCE came out to see if I was ok or talk to me at all. I still haven't met them. (Yes I am going over there on Monday and having a nice chat with the owner of the place... thanks for nothing PARKERS). The cops came and told me they were going after the guy.

Awesome. All I could think of was when Eric got shot this past November and although they could still see the guy running down the street when the Cops came they still never caught the kid. All I could think of was man I will never get those keys back... that's why I chased the guy down the street.

So yeah, while this woman cop was talking to me this crazy gangsta looking black guy with gold teeth came right up to me and interrupted the cop and was like "look I saw what went down and I chased that guy in my car over to the library and tackled him. They have your keys and everything is going to be ok." I was thinking THANK GOD that someone out of the million people just standing around letting me fight ALONE actually smarted up and DID something. Praise God for that guy. I told him thank you and he disappeared into the mess of cops and people coming and leaving as more emergency vehicles pulled up. Seriously... if it wasn't for that guy I most likely would have never gotten my stuff back.

All in all I'm ok. I have a few cuts and scrapes on my body and one giant cut on my face but I'm ok. They think he might have broken 2 of my ribs but we aren't sure... they told me that if it still hurt by the end of this weekend to go get it checked out. So far so good... I haven't decided if I should go to the clinic or not. Darn thug.

I'm sad for the fellow... he is 30some and homeless... not that he has the right to do crazy things but something was seriously wrong with the guy. He was either mentally ill or on some mad drugs. It sucks because there are so many poor people in Savannah... if he WAS mentally ill and had no money or nobody to help him then that makes it even sadder. ugh.

Thanks Savannah for doing nothing while I was attacked in the middle of the day at a gas station. Thanks Savannah for just standing there while I screamed bloody murder for help. Thanks Savannah for not even calling 911. Thanks Savannah for nothing. I guess I'll just continue to fend for myself. It's kept me alive so far and although this is the 4th time someone has tried to mug me in this town nobody has ever succeeded. Screw you, Savannah.

So then TODAY (the next day) I go into KROGER and I'm waiting in line to buy sub sandwichs for Hawk's film shoot and this 50 something year old black dude goes "what happened to your face" (obviously referring to the scratch that stretches from my nostrels to the bottem of my chin that cuts right through my lips) and I meerly say "someone tried to jack my car and I ended up getting roughed up." The man, and I kid you not, proceded then to laugh at me and tell me that I deserved it and that every little white girl should have the same thing happen. He laughed more and told me that violence is recreation for his boys and him and that any chance he has to kill a mother****er he will and blablabla. Tears were streaming down my face and I asked him over and over to stop talking to me. His wife was there and I said "woman controll your man" and she told him to be quiet but he kept taunting me and lauging at me saying that I got what I deserve. He wouldn't stop. It was like a clown in my face just laughing and lauighing. Finally I lost my mind. I stepped right up to him and put my hand to his mouth to hush him. I told him that I sure hope he has a daughter and I sure wished that his daughter could her him now and if not his daughter than his mother and that he should be ashamed to call himself a man." he kept laughing and I was soo enraged that I ALMOST spit in the guys face. I seriously was so upset that i ALMOST SPIT IN HIS FACE. I held back and just walked away... he taunted me until I tuned the corner. I was so shaken up that my body was actually physically shaking. I couldn't stop the tears from pouring out of my eyes. I went through the self check out and dipped. I wish I would have gotten security right then but I couldn't even see straight. I couldn't even walk straight. I was so filled with anger.... It was terrible. Best thing about it? There were plenty of people in line with me and this man at the sub station. ALL OF THEM could hear what was going on and NONE of them stood up for me. I knew they knew what was happening because they were looking right into my eyes. Nobody said a darn word. NOBODY.


Chris told me I shouldn't have fought the guy. I said what the heck.... I KNEW he didn't have a weapon on him because he was RIGHT up on me. I knew that if he took my car he would have crashed it into something because the state he was in was crazy... and I KNOW that my insurance wouldn't give me crap... I need a car and for the LAST EFFING TIME:

I will NEVER give into the fear of this city. I have fought back every single day that I have been here and will continue to do so. If I see a woman a man or anyone ever getting punched for no reason screaming I will DO SOMETHING. I fight back every single day... and I'm not planning on ever stopping no matter where I am. I refuse to let this city scare me into doing lame things like avoiding certain places because they are "bad" or not going out at night becasue it's not "safe" for a little white girl to be out. Eff that. I hate that stuff.

PS> It was just so helpfull when on my way to the coffee house today a total of 6 men hooted and hollered at me saying things like "commeer chicky baby we only want to f*** you". No joke. No freaking joke. But that happens EVERY day in Savannah... EVERY DARN DAY. Nobody cares. wtf. I am so angry at this place... I hate feeling like that.. I am usually a joyful person but I just can't help but be so pissed off right now. I feel like right now, if I wanted to, I could destroy worlds. AHHHHHH.

Savannah, you have NOTHING on good people.

too bad there are so few GOOD people IN savannah.

I leave you with these words . and this picture:

Project: Jenny B. Update 02

This past week I got about 2/5 of my documentary on Jenny finished. Just to recap, the documentary is about the work of a woman named Jenny that lives here in Savannah who is a social worker with Candler SOURCE (Service Option Using Resources in Community Environments). She works with some of the poorest of the poor in and around Savannah, Georgia who need social work assistance in order to raise their quality of life by involving them in their community around them and vice versa. Aside from social work she also plays the trumpet in our church choir and sings in a local folk band. She has Apert Syndrom and deals with physical handicaps yet still rises to the top when it comes to her work, play, and just life in general. Overall, she is an amazing woman.

Super quick update: About half of the film is shot... still to go: interviews with Jenny and the family, recording of a church service, Jenny's commentary on a few things, her band performing at the Oceanic Film Festival here in Savannah and some more of her out on the job.

Today, Hawk (director of photography) and I (director and producer) met Jenny at her office at the Georgia Infermary and prepared to go out to "the country" to meet some of her "country casses". We were blessed to have her new volunteers from the Mercy Volunteer Corps there along for the ride. The volunteers are giving up a year of their every day lives to serve this social outreach group that Jenny is a part of. They just started the one year program and today was their first day on the job! Usually the volunteers are people who have just graduated college and are looking for service work to do in their field of study or for personal reasons. This year, however, Jenny was assigned two wonderful retirees who are married and both thought that giving a year of their lives to volunteer in the Mercy Volunteer Corps would be a great way to kick off their retirement. I found out later that this year they have been married for 40 years! They were very welcoming and inviting and I am sure that they will be perfect for the job. It's always interesting to me when an "outsider" can come off as the most inviting in a group of "insiders". You know you are dealing with a special person when this happens. I try to be the same way. I really hope that someday I can be as warm and welcoming as they were to me today.

So today we met everyone and then basically drove 45 minutes to the sticks where we went on one of Jenny's house calls with her. The people that we were visiting lived in a giant moble home out in the country, just as Jenny said, and they were also super inviting. Jenny made her rounds to the many people there and we got to shortly meet every one of them. What extrordinary people. They live pretty far from the city yet they were troopers! One of the eldest ones had just finished with Chemo therapy and some of the other ones had ailments just as bad. All the same there they were just rollin along, happy to talk and get to know us. They were some of the easiest people to film! Usually people freak out or are all about being infront of the camera. These people just let us do our thing and were so natural about it. I really enjoyed the short time that we spent with them and we are thinking about going back to take a few protraits of them for the film. It would be pretty nice to get a follow-up visit on tape anyway.

On the drive back, Hawk and I stopped a ton of places to get "country footage". I figure we could use it as some transitional material for the film. We couldn't film out of the moving car due to the ever-changing SCAD policy about vehicles and films being used as projects for school (rule: NO RUNNING or MOVING VEHICLES of ANY KIND at all) so we had to actually pull over and set up and pan and well, do whatever looked ok. We shot everything from cows (who didn't like me at all) to goats to old houses and trailers to the typical Effingham County thing: semi trucks chillin in people's yards and yellowing corn stalks against the green kudzue forrests. No joke, ALL of the corn husks that we saw were about 2 feet taller than Hawk. Lets be reminded right now that Hawk is like 6'5". I haven never seen Corn that tall... Hawk seemed to think it was no big thing. haha.

_{-----------ok this post is now going from an update on the Jenny Documentary to a reflection about how freaked out I am that I am actually starting to enjoy living in the *gasp* South *gasp*.}

It's scarry, the more I get to go out to the country around Savannah, the more I like it. I guess what I mean by that is I am starting to actually LIKE the South. After living here for 3 years I am actually starting to like it. Do I like it enought to stay in Savannah, probably not... my eyes are still set on Park City, Utah... but I will for sure enjoy the time that I have left here. Good old Jenny and everyone else who is actually making a difference down here. I have good friends.

These thoughts about actually liking the South make me laugh. I have a friend who has invited me to come hang out with him in Alabama before I move out to Utah this winter... sometime in LATE November or Early December. I'm sure it won't be perfectly nice and temperate like it would be a little earlier in the year there but when he first asked me to come some months ago I told him I'd think about it because yes, I would love to see where he is from and hang out with him away from school and work and all that but at the same time I was shrugging my shoulders at the idea of ever going to Alabama. HAHA. How Michigan of me, right? Anyway, as I learn more about the good side of the South I find myself more and more excited to learn about the OTHER kinds of Southern Comfort out there. I hope I can make it out to Alabama... I think I might actually like it.



Don't worry folks, I still say things like "aboot", "pop", and "you guys", I still don't say things like "yaw" and I crave a big snowfall every day but there is a certain charm to the backwoods of Georgia and, more and more, I'm learning to appreciate em'. _{(even though it WAS 99 degrees out and the humidity meter thing said it should be raining but instead the rain just stayed in the atmosphere and we all mistaked it for AIR and oh yea did I mention that it is so hot and humid out that the puddles from the rainfall 2 weeks ago are STILL ON THE GROUND)}

I take it all back.. I hate Georgia ;)

DRAGONFORCE: Atlanta, Georgia

So this past friday I was so graciously invited by JEFF THE ROCKSTAR to go to Atlanta with him and his friend that he works with at Gallery Espresso, Chris, to see Dragonforce. I could not believe that he bought me a ticket.
one word: awesome.

Our plan: drive to atlanta, get steak and shake in Macon, go to the show at the masquerade, hang out with Dragonforce, and then drive back. Another day trip to the Atl! haha.

Well we got off to a good start. Stopped at Parkers before we jumped on the highway to stock up on gatorade and because the place just plain rules. I got a "cowboy cookie", this half pound of oatmeal chocolate chip goodness, for the trip. Off we go.

Jeff the Rockstar

A little over half way to Macon (I'm asleep in the back of the car) Jeff's car jolts a little and he looses his power steering. We coast to the side of the highway in the middle of nowhere and stop. He starts the car up again and it stalls... same thing again and again. No joke, we were broken down.


Jeff and Chris trying to make the best of it.

While we were trying to figure out what was wrong and what to do, none other than the infamous Rudy and Liz (Rudy is Jeff's room mate) saw us on the side of the road and pulled over to help, or at least give us some company. They were on their way to Alabama to visit Rudy's family. Jeff called AAA and they said they'd come out but 30 minutes later we were still stuck there. Liz and I stayed amused by getting every single big rig truck to honk little kid style. haha!

Rudy and Liz to the rescue... kinda.

Jeff kept trying his car and letting it run until it pooped out. It ran for longer and longer. Eventually it had been running for like 15 minutes... we decided to try it and see if we can't make it to the next gas station. Rudy and Liz followed to make sure all was well.

At the next station, we filled up with more gas and added a gas treatment. Everyone we called who knew cars said it sounded like a little bit of water got into the gas tank and that was the problem. This could have been it because when I pulled up to Jeff's house, his gas cap cover was open and it was POURING rain. We treated the car and were fine afterwards. strange....

Stopped in Macon for Steak and Shake. Everyone thought we were in some band. We decided to tell anyone who asked that we were the Cardigans or the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. It's hilarious going places with Jeff because someone always freaks out about his hair or mine.

Made it to the Masquerade right in time to see Between the Buried and Me play their last song. Their album Alaska is pretty good and I think I might get it. Not like I'm partial to the name Alaska or anything... haha. Then this other band, Lacuna Coil came on and everyone was really excited for them. I absolutely could not get into their music. There was a chick singer and a guy who screamed but the music behind their vocals was lame 4 chord new metal euro club crap. The girl didn't get into it at all, she just stood there and looked "distant, troubled, and sexy". Poor vampire. I mean yea she was hot but come-on.. headbang at LEAST once. come-on. I wish BTBAM would have played more. Anyway, the only awesome thing about Lacuna was the music they played as their intro before they came onstage and their guitarist on stage left. He looked like a warlock with MAD long hair and a long beard and he just stood in the exact same place the whole time and did hair circles. He was awesome. hahahahaha.

DRAGONFORCE
Did I mention that I still can't believe that Jeff bought my ticket to Dragonforce? This is us freaking out before the show:

First off, there was a FAN in the middle of the stage at the front so that when DF was playing, their long hair could be "blowing in the wind". NO JOKE. They had cup holders on their mic stands where the stage hands would put their drinks with straws for them to drink while they were playing. Some of them had been drinking so much poweraid that their toungs were BLUE, and well, they were basically super metal and amazing. I got screamed at for taking a few pix so I stopped... come on- I didn't know we weren't allowed. I'm so used to being the official media kid at the show anyway. lameeee. anyway, they turned out bad anyway because I was in a terrible position to shoot photos and I was getting torn down by fans...


I have to say right now that my very favorite thing about their show was their keyboard/keytar man. He was amazing and deserves a freaking high five because his performance was amazing. Like I have nothing to say about him but AMAZING. The guy was amazing. amazing!

The crowd was so strange. Hardcore kids, metal heads, mom and pops, and frat boys. The only thing that was really universal was the lack of women. Seriously, less chicks than a Zao show. haha. Despite the crowd pretty much sucking, the band was one of the most charismatic truemetal bands I have ever seen. Their interaction with each other and the crowd was awesome. Did I mention their hair was blowing in the wind the whole time? haha. The crowd was lame but overall the show was pretty awesome. They sold out the masquerade.. I have never been to a sold out show at the masquerade- I thought the floor was going to collapse onto the show below us playing downstairs. It was PACKED.

So, as this guy we met there would say, "we got bathed in the baptismal waters of dragonforce's pure metal incarnation", and then took off on our way home. A few gas stations, red bulls, strange half awake conversations, deer on the side of the road, hours, and one huddle house grilled chicken club sandwich later, I rolled into bed exhausted. What a night!

Jeff the Rockstar is probably the most truemetal kid I know. He also coined the phrase "Dangerous and sexy adventure!". I think our trip to see DRAGONFORCE was for sure one of those.

We could be closer than you know,
Chelsea
pS> What the heck is up with me being in cars that break down somewhere in-between Atlanta and Savannah? Jeff thinks it's just because I'm a girl. He says "that's why women aren't allowed on pirate ships." I say Oh my gosh it's because we'd take over. muahaha.

Mike's Grad party: Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

LAST WEEKEND (August 4-6) I flew to Michigan to go to my brother's graduation party. He graduated this year from Shrine high school in Royal Oak, Michigan. He decided to have his grad party a little later in the summer so that it wouldn't be at the same time as everyone else's with the hope that more people would be able to attend if it wasn't competing with other parties. I decided to take the weekend off and fly up there to see everyone. It was a great opportunity because family from all over the United States was in town and since I opted to take summer courses this summer, I haven't had a chance to see any of my family and be with them like I usually can every summer. This weekend was like family summer vacation packed into 2 days.

Left Friday morning from Jaxonville so that means I had to get up mad early and drive myself to Jacksonville. Usually I have someone drive me and then drop me off but since I would only be leaving my car there for about 2 days I wasn't really worried about a huge parking bill. The Jax airport is about 2 hours South of Savannah and often has much lesser tickets available for flying upnorth. So much so that the 2 hour drive there and 2 hour drive back coupled with parking fees still is really nothing to how much it often costs to fly out of Savannah.

Got into Michigan around 2ish and, because my family was preparing for the grad party the next day, none of them couldn't pick me up so an old friend, Kevin (who also happens to be an ex boyfriend.. I dated him for THREE years in high school) was awesome enough to pick me up from the airport and take me home. We got a chance to eat come Coney though at the Leo's Coney Island down the street from my parent's house though and that was seriously awesome. It was good to see Kevin. He always has these crazy stories about his life, struggles, passions, etc. He has been doing better on and off and has this very nice girlfriend now who seems to be just right for him. At Coney we sat in the booth across from the one I broke up with him in so many years ago. weird. I'm glad we can still keep in touch. Kev's a good guy.... AnD YESS I paid him for gas and bought his Coney for him for being so awesome and driving me around.

All of Friday I basically spent with my sibs and my family. My sister Geeta and I went to the mall so I could buy a nicer button down shirt so I could look somewhat descent at the party. We scored a perfect black button down at express right as they were closing. It's beyond good to see her and Mike. I'd be so lost without my brother and sister. If living away from my family has done anything for me it has really opened my eyes to how important Mike and Geet are in my life. I love those kids. Geeta and I even got to sneak out of the house late at night and get some McDonalds flurries. Awesome.

Geeta and Mike who by the way decided to go by his middle name, Bohdan, in college. If all three of us did that we could be Florence (me), Sophia (Geeta) and Bohdan (Mike) or... Flo, So, and Boh. haha.

The next day was destined to be busy so I got up early and headed out to Lansing to get my friend Chad. I met Chad at school here in Savannah while we were both working as RAs in the dorms. He's top notch and ended up proving himself to be one of my most trusted friends at SCAD. I didn't get to see him much outside of working with him but when I heard he was in Michigan with his family for the summer I thought hey why not? He thought coming to the grad party was a fun idea so we made the plans. The only problem was that he didn't have a means of getting out to where my parents live in BFH so I had to drive the hour to Lansing to get him. He doesn't really live in Lansing, he lives outside of it in the country. MAN I love Michigan open land. Anyway I went to get Chad. The drive was filled with good memories and the scenery of back roads he lives off of basically filled my spirit with a sense of home. Even the SMELL of Michigan is amazing. haha. Why do I love Michigan so much. There were sand hill cranes in the fields and beautiful Michigan wild flowers everywhere. It was about 75 degrees and windy. Couldn't get much better.



Chad and I drove back and cought up. It was so good to see him! He just recently had surgery on his shoulder again so his arm was in a sling. He had shaved his goatee into a single stripe down the center of his chin. It made him look like a wrestler. haha. I love that kid.

Chad and me

The grad party was really fun. Typical grad party spiced up with a little bit of Babbish flavor. Chad was the perfect person to bring because if I was catching up with family he had no issues with hanging out with other people or playing badminton with my little sister and her friends (with one arm haha). So funny because my mom had posted some of the news clippings that she has collected of the documentary I'm doing and my company in various newspapers on one of the walls in our house and so everyone who walked by saw it and it seemed like everyone wanted to know what was going on with the film or the company or school. I really wish I had business cards to hand out to people haha. How much of a tool would I have been then? Overall it was awesome to see family and friends. Mike had an espresso bar that his friends JJ and Auchter ran. That was cool because anyone and everyone could get just about any coffee and espresso drink. They even had flavored syrups! For some reason I didn't get them to make me anything... go figure.

JJ and Auchtor

JJ serving a late to a hotte!

Mike also had an awesome sound set up that anyone could plug an ipod or other mp3 player into. The system sounded amazing and he kept playing awesome music... such a variety, from noise rock to folk, to hardcore.

I got to see a ton of old faces that I haven't seen in years. Among them my friend Lauren who, when I was a senior in high school she was a freshman. When I left Mercy High School she took over all of the things that I started like the prayer group and the Pro-Life club and made them awesome. It just proves what I always tell people. I'm NOT a great leader but I can get things started for other people to lead and make strong. Lauren did just that. She took my pathetic little pro life club that I fought, along side a few other girls, for two full years to develop and make a part of our Catholic high school and when she ran the club it really blossomed. I was president of the club for the two years that I was in high school after I officially started it and then as I moved on, Lauren took over. We used to have about 20 members and now there are over 80 and it is the second largest student club at Mercy. Way to go Lauren. It's so good to hear that the things I worked hardest at in high school and the things that I put my passion into are still continuing to touch lives even after I left and even more so than when I was there. How encouraging. It just reminds me that those hours spent working toward the kingdom of God under what you feel is what God want's you to do are the only things that really make it through the turmoil if you really believe in them. It brings a different meaning to "be bold and powerful forces will come to your aid". Lauren was one of those powerful forces that God provided as I was stepping out of my leadership position at Mercy. Something else about her?.... she listens to metal. haha. seals the deal.

Some pix from the grad party:

   Typical backyard setup

  Holly and the newest member of the extended family

  Dad grillin' ayout

  Holly waiting for her cut

  Ladies First

  Brigid entertaining everyone as usual

  it's for the neighborhood...

  Lauren with the golden touch.

  What's a grad party without a little marsh mellow?

  My strange sister.

  My even stranger brother.

  What's a grad party without a giant nerf gun?

  See stars!

   We three and the grandparents!

  Geeta

  The poster!

   It's for the neighborhood 02

  Oh those ridiculous cars.

  again...

  and I couldn't resist.


After the party kinda died down Chad and I went to my friend Laurel's house for a "Welcome home Laurel" party. Laurel had been over seas for the past year and had just returned home. A lot of the old neighborhood kids were there and it was excellent to see them. Anytime I can chill out with Mitch Barratt I'm happy.

Mitch and Tom
He's like my brother of another mother. Actually, as I am typing this entry I am also talking to his twin brother Jon online. Jon is currently in Iraq. I can't believe I am catching him online. I never see him online but he just aimd me! Those guys are my definition of home boys. Anyway, at Laurels we did the same thing we do every night in Bloomfield Hills Pinky, PLAYED MAFIA!. How could you NOT play mafia when Ryan Scott is there? I think Chad had fun with it too. You never know when you bring a new kid into the game... it's either they LOVE it or they HAtE it... I'm pretty sure he liked it. Anyway the game was AWESOME and the next thing Chad and I knew it was getting mad late. We said out goodbyes after a last epic round and I drove him back to Lansing.


Mafia

When we got to his house I was so exhausted that I decided it'd probably be better to crash on his couch and leave in the morning than drive the hour home. I could barley keep my eyes open. His parents were super cool and nice enough to invite me to do so and so I slept there on an extremely comfortable couch and then took off in the morning. The entire next day consisted of going to Coney Island AGAIN with the sibs to meet up with the Greenwell girls (ollld friends from grade school that we hadn't see in 4 years) and then helping mike pack up the graduation stuff- tables and chairs and the like- then a 3 hour nap. How awesome is that? I got to relax and nap for 3 whole hours. My dad grilled up some left over hot dogs and I ate a quick dinner with my mom before heading out with the sibs to go to late church before catching my flight back to Savannah.

I used to go to St. Thomas More for church. STM was the church I grew up in and went to for almost my whole life. When I was in high school I really had a tight knit community there. Although they were a little crazy people like Bill Miles and Mike McM really positively impacted my life ( Proof ). Although that church was awesome and great for me back then I have since moved onto joining the community over at Shrine of the Little Flower. (the church that my brother's old high school was named for). The services over there really speak to me and the community makes me smile. I only wish I could be a larger part of it instead of just visiting here and there. I wish there was a Catholic church like Shrine in every city I go to. They play a mixture of traditional and contemporary music and the lessons every service always are powerful and challenging. I love that church so much. Anyway both Michael and Geeta came with me which was just awesome and after mass they drove me all of the way to the airport. We listened to Showbread's new cd: The Age of Reptiles the whole way there.

The Detroit airport is awesome... the Northwest terminal anyway.... First of all they have a Coffee Beanery so I can buy my favorite gourmet coffee while I wait for my flight... mmm cafe caramel... and they have some amazing artwork and best of all... cops on segways. I always love going through that terminal. It's huge and there are moving walkways and an air train but I had some time so I just walked the normal pathways and relaxed. Something about airports... I love them. Aside from the "oh my gosh are you ashlee simpson" comments they can be relaxing. It's best when you aren't in any particular hurry... something about everyone else hurrying around you and freaking out when you are just taking your time makes everything seem even MORE relaxing. Anyway I love it. I sat with my coffee listening to Patty Griffith on my ipod (thanks Josh C and the Maylene guys for opening my ears to some awesome music while they were here in Savannah a few months ago) and watched the sun set deep and orange into the Michigan horizon.



Everyone loves this fountain...

On the airplane I met two women. One was almost 30 and a manager of a credit union, the other 20 and a missionary to the Philippines. The one was about to get married and the missionary was the second oldest of 10 brothers and sisters (all home schooled!). Talking to them both was amazing and made the flight short. We were all so different yet believe it or not we had a ton in common. At touchdown I got my bags, found my car, and drove the 2 hours home to Savannah.... All I have to say about that stretch of 95 from JAX to SAV is that it's a little strange. Something always feels a littttle bit weird on that drive.
anyway.

The trip was overall amazing and well worth it. I miss Michigan every single day. I just wish I could have stayed longer and met up with some of my girlfriends. I miss so many people...

We could be closer than you know,
-Chelsea

Project: The "Making Of" Documentary Savannah, Georgia

Today we wrapped on the main part of the "making of" documentary I have been directing for the past 7 or so weeks. This takes a HUGE weight off of my chest, although not all of it, because it means I won't have to be driving hours out to set multiple nights a week and organizing an all too large documentary crew while at the same time trying to fulfill class requirements, tiptoe around the movie set so as to not get in the way, and pull as many strings as possible to get the interviews and coverage that we agreed to try to get at the beginning of the class. It's been a rough project with late nights and long hours(sometimes starting at 6pm and ending as late as 3am or 4am). I'm very glad it's done.

Here's the low-down on the project. The documentary is a "making of" documentary about a low-budget feature film that was being shot here in and around Savannah, Georgia this summer. The doc will most likely be included as part of the special features section of the film's dvd that will be released later this year. How did I get this particular job? It was part of a class.

Some of the nicer photos from the film set one night...







One of the classes I am enrolled in this summer is called "Shooting the Feature Film" and is basically an experimental one-time-only class that is being offered this quarter by none other than the infamous Professor Meyer himself. The class is basically one big case study of the film that he is executive producing here. The movie, although independent in nature and independent of the college is making good use of the college and it's personnel resources. Interns seem to be everywhere on set although the crew is young regardless. It's many of the crew's first time doing a large feature film and thus, a perfect time to study the process as a class. Oh yeah, and how better to compose a case study of a feature film but head up the "making of" docuementary? Righto!

I haven't yet gotten the go-ahead from the higher powers to reveal much more about the film, itself, so there's really not much more I can say about the actual film except that it is a low budget thriller with SAG actors and a few california kids on crew.

Here are some pictures from the main set one night during third shift. The set was out at this farm in Effingham county. The crew was shooting a sequence that involved two children being chased by a giant corn combine that was on the loose in a backyard corn field. No joke.

Some more pix: Click the thumbnail to enlarge it.


                                        


My job was (still is ,really) to basically organize the project for the class. My "crew" for the documentary consisted of about 12 people. This was terrible because it meant that we would have to rotate what days we went out to set and filmed for the behind the scenes stuff. We wanted to be out there as much as possible and at least every single day that they were filming but coordinating 12 people's schedules who are also taking other classes and working is so difficult. I had an assistant director (thank GOD) who really help split up the work load so that made things a little better but really it was very difficult. We only took two or three people on set at a time because the last thing that we needed was to have a ton of people getting in the way of the actual filming that we were supposed to be capturing the behind the scenes footage for. In order to do this, though, we had to split the class up into groups of 2 and three to go out and film every single day. This is terrible for a "making-of" documentary because when shooting a film like this you have to be considered and respected as part of the actual film crew working on the set. It's better if everyone working on set knows you by name and is comfortable being themselves around you. If a different person is going out to set every night then the crew has no way of getting to know everyone and getting used to the separate unit always being there, thus inhibiting the actual making of the "making of" documentary. Man that whole "making of" thing is annoying.

anyway

So it was a little bit rough to start out with, not to mention I left for Cornerstone Music festival (The Cornerstone entry is here.) and was gone for a week only about a week into our filming which is so not cool for me to do as the director but it all worked out in the end. We had to regroup and reorganize over and over but I think we ended up doing ok.

I have shot one other "making of" documentary about Smorgasburgh, a film loosely based on the children's book "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs". Smorgasburgh was a student film shot last quarter here at SCAD by a friend, Andrew Cook. I'm actually working on editing that documentary as I'm typing.... Well I'm not technically editing it right now. I'm only importing a tape that I still needed to capture into my system. This gives me some free time to write a journal entry while the computer is sucking in the video from my camera. I basically just have to sit here and make sure everything is running correctly while it goes. Compared to The Making of Smorgasburgh, this other making of documentary should turn out good if not better. One advantage of having a ton of people working on the film is that I can delegate responsibilities and jobs to other people. THis is good because then I don't get stuck doing all of the work or doing work that I am just plain bad at. A team effort is always a must but...

...if I ever shoot another making-of documentary It will be a two person run-and-gun effort and I'll make sure that we are a little more organized. Hey, I guess you learn as much as you can as you go and then you go again and learn some more:) After production I'll hand all of the tapes over to an editor and be like "ok your turn" then take a mad break while they transcribe and work with the feature's directors to figure out what can be used and what can't be. After my break I'll step back in and loosely oversee the editing (provided I'd have already had the structure for the film scripted out for the crew) while not touching a computer at all. haha.

I enjoy this work. I'll post a little bit of the Smorgasburgh making-of documentary as soon as I can get it online. As for the other one, that's up to the heads of production.

Here's to another late night surrounded by cameras, tapes, hard drives, Arizona Iced Tea Grapeade, an ipod on shuffle, and my trusty little computer. Class tomorrow at 9am , we'll go all day and we'll do it again.
Actually, in all honesty I'll probably hit it early tonight in celebration of having another documentary in the can.