by J. J. Howard
Sally had a very intent look on her face while she spoke. Her dark eyebrows knitted together and her eyes were the most intense shade of green. A close-up would be so cool.
Not wanting to disturb the B camera, I ran over to one of our cases and pulled out another camera. I crept in for the close-up. Crash! I tripped over a wire on the ground and landed flat on my face. Slowly, I raised my head only to be horrified again. Shards of glass littered the ground. I had broken the lens!
Mom raced over to see if I was okay. As soon as she saw I was, her face turned beet red. “I’m so sorry for the interruption, Sally,” Mom apologized. She ran back to continue the interview.
“So what new forms of technology are the most useful here at the Exploratorium?” Mom asked.
Sally blinked. It was basically the same question Mom had just asked.
My fault. My mess-up had thrown Mom off.
Nora cleared her throat and stepped out from behind her sound equipment. “Sorry, Sally. We need to get that last answer again—there was a problem with the sound. If you wouldn’t mind repeating what you said about the Tinkering Studio?”
Sally’s expression cleared. “Oh, no—of course not.” She began repeating the same answer she’d just given. The one that perfect Nora had almost definitely managed to record perfectly.
I saw Mom give Nora a grateful smile. Me, she didn’t look at again. I knew she was disappointed in me again. And knowing that was worse right now than hearing how angry she was at my mess-up.
I stood next to the B camera in silence without touching—or saying—anything for the rest of the interview. I tugged my CREW cap lower, wishing I could disappear into the floor. So much for showing Mom how helpful I could be. Instead, I was showing her how unhelpful I could be. And if I couldn’t prove to Mom that I was a good and responsible assistant, I’d never get the chance to interview Winter. I was trying, but I kept messing up. Was I going to be able to do anything right on this trip?
I trudged behind Nora on our way out of the interview, carrying the fill light screen and a small case of lenses.
I’d tried to redeem myself by carrying one of the heaviest bags, but Nora had heroically “rescued” me, and took it right from my arms.
Aside from Nora’s concern for my muscles, we finished loading up the equipment mostly in silence. Mom got behind the wheel, and Nora typed the address for the RV park into her phone. I took my seat in the back. I couldn’t decide if I was glad that Mom hadn’t given me a lecture yet about breaking the lens, or if I would rather have just gotten it over with.
I didn’t even want to work on a vlog post, if I was honest—I just needed some cheering up.
So I pulled out my phone and watched the video Mari sent me of the wallaroo again. And then I watched some videos I’d taken of Popcorn running around in the yard the week before. The cute videos helped take my mind off the inescapable conversation with Mom. There’d be plenty of time to worry about the next shoot and our new crew member later.
Just then, I heard someone clear their throat behind me. Mom was standing a few feet away, watching me. I realized that the RV had stopped.
“Are we at the park?” I asked Mom.
She nodded. “Nora already went out for a walk. We’ve been here for about five minutes already. I called you from the front, but you didn’t hear me.”
“Sorry. I was watching some videos.”
Mom sat down next to me. “I think we should talk about a few things,” she started. Man, did that sound familiar.
I jumped in with my apology right away. “I know. But can I start by saying that I’m really, really sorry for breaking the lens? I can save up my allowance to try to pay you back. I just thought I could get a great shot, one that would look so cool in your documentary. It’s just that I really wanted to show you that I had what it takes as a filmmaker. I wanted to prove to you that I’m good enough to interview Winter at VidCon. I want to do that so much. It would be so cool to post that on my vlog, so my followers …”
“Z, hold on. I know you are trying to prove yourself and that interviewing Winter is important to you and to your vlog, but this is my film. I worked hard to get the grant money to make it, and this interview was important to me and my work. The bigger issue is that you need to be more present, in general, not just thinking about what might be best for you or worthy of a post or interesting to your vlog followers. We’ve talked about this before. You spend so much time with your face in your phone, or worrying about how many likes some future post might get …”
“But my phone was off today!” It seemed so unfair to get in trouble for being on my phone on a day when I’d actually turned it completely off. It had been hard, but I’d done it.
“You’re not listening to what I’m saying, Z. This is not a conversation about whether your phone was on or off today. I’m talking about the bigger picture. I think you spend too much time living in the online world, and not enough in the actual world. The mistake you made today is a good example. When you’re busy filtering reality into what it might be as a post, you’re missing what’s really going on, and might not read a situation correctly. Do you see what I’m saying?”
I nodded slowly. I didn’t think I was that out of touch, but that did make sense.
“I hadn’t thought about it that way before.”
“Think about it now—that’s all I’m asking. This trip is a great opportunity for you to have a lot of new experiences. Do you think you can try to be in the now for the rest of it?”
I nodded. “I can. I don’t want to let you down, Mom.”
Mom enfolded me in a hug. “You won’t, sweetie, not if you try your best. Now, how about we bust out some of that instant cocoa we packed?”
“Sounds good,” I told her. “I’ll get the marshmallows.”
As I helped make the hot cocoa, I thought about how lucky I was to have such a cool mom. I loved her so much and I knew now, more than ever, that I wanted to grow up to be just like her. Not just in the mom sense, but in the filmmaker sense, too. Now I just had to prove to Mom that I could be a valuable part of the crew—so that she would still let me do the interview with Winter. And let my friends sit in.
Tomorrow was another filming day. Another chance to be in the now.
“Good morning, pumpkin!” Dad said, holding up a mug of coffee for a toast on our breakfast video call. I laughed, despite still feeling a little discouraged. “How are things on the road?”
It’s a lot harder than I expected. I’ve been messing up, but I know I can do better.
“Not the way I thought it would be,” I finally said. “But I hope I’m starting to get the hang of things.”
“That’s my girl,” Dad said. “Nothing worth doing is ever easy, you know.”
“I think I’ve heard that a few hundred times in my life,” I said. “But it’s kind of different when you live it, you know?”
“I do. I’m a lot older than you. I’ve heard that saying thousands of times.”
I had to laugh out loud. Trust my dad to turn a serious moment into a joke.
“Where are you going next?” Dad asked.
“Today we’re filming at a camp called Drama Connect,” I told him. “Mom says they’re using new technology in all sorts of cool ways.”
“Neat!” said Dad. “That’ll be really— Uh-oh.”
“Uh-oh what?”
“Someone wants her turn.” Popcorn’s nose filled my screen and I laughed.
“Popcorn, I miss you!”
“Heeeeeeey,” Dad’s voice said, and his face appeared back in the screen. “Her you miss, huh?”
“I miss you, too, Dad,” I said.
“Well, it wouldn’t hurt to tell me, though, would it?”
“I guess not,” I said. “I miss you more than the bubble tea at the Beanery.”
“Wow,” Dad said, sounding surprised. “That’s quite a lot.”
“It really is,” I agreed.
I felt a little better after talk
ing with Dad, and I was ready to work hard and avoid any major mess-ups. Setup at Drama Connect was going pretty smoothly. We had everything unpacked, the B camera was ready, and I was prepared to take my place behind it as soon as Mom gave the word.
Mom said she wanted to get some background footage before setting up the full interview shoot. Amara, the founder, was demonstrating the Drama Connect scene study system for us. The campers had mentors, working actors from all over the world. The instructors captured live videos of the campers’ scenes, and streamed them to the mentors to view. All campers got to have a video chat with a real actor to discuss their performances.
“Can we film the actors running through this scene before we ask you some questions?” Mom asked Amara now.
“Sure thing. Okay, group two, come on up.” Seven kids rushed onto the stage. They were rehearsing A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and the camper playing Titania, the fairy queen, was very convincing. Even though she wore plain old shorts and a T-shirt, there was something about the way she carried herself that made her seem royal. Mom stepped closer to me. “So, Z, since this is a narrative scene, we’re going to get some different kinds of shots,” she whispered. “Will you go help Nora with the B camera? I’d like you guys to get a wide shot, and a two-shot of Titania and Bottom.”
“Sure thing!” I said, then realized I’d said it a bit too loudly. I was hoping to handle B camera by myself again but didn’t want to rock the boat. At. All. I quickly went down the stage steps to where Nora stood checking the settings on the camera. “We’re supposed to get a wide shot and a two-shot of the main actors,” I told her, remembering to whisper this time.
“Right,” Nora whispered back. “Your mom gave me a shot list.”
“Oh.” I felt a little deflated that Nora already knew what was up. But I was determined to be positive today.
“Can you set up the fill light for the kids on the end of that line of fairies?” Nora asked me. I fought back my disappointment.
I followed Nora and carried the light. The scene was an entertaining one, especially with the little fairies. I thought it would be even more adorable once they were in their costumes, wearing tiny, sparkly wings.
“Okay, Z,” Nora said when she finished filming what Mom had asked for. “Do you want to take over for a few minutes?” She stepped away from the tripod.
“Totally! Thanks, Nora.” I stepped up, first lowering the tripod height by a few inches. I could stand on my tiptoes and see through the viewfinder, but Nora was a few inches taller than Mom.
I filmed the rest of the scene, right through to when all the kids took a bow. I saw Mom showing Amara where she wanted them to sit up onstage, so I knew we were about to do the interview.
“Nora,” Mom said, walking to a spot between the interview subjects and Nora’s tripod, “will you set up the other mic for this one? We want to reduce all the echo in the auditorium. I’m going to frame a shot locked in on Amara’s head and shoulders with the A camera, and I’ll ask the questions from here.”
So much for my job. “What should I do?” I asked my mom.
“Hmm. This is a pretty simple setup. I don’t know that there’s much left.”
I felt the disappointment settle in my stomach. “Okay. Can I take my video camera backstage and see what’s there?”
“Great idea, Z! See if you can record some coverage shots. We may want to do some cutaways later underneath their voiceover, since this backdrop is so plain.”
Real filming—yes! “I’m on it,” I said, and felt my spirits lift. I went to grab my camera and helmet mount out of my backpack as I heard Mom introduce Amara.
I took a lap around the backstage area, filming the overflowing costume closet, a small group of kids running lines, and a shot of an enormous makeup kit. I also found a series of painted wooden signs backstage, which I panned across for a colorful shot.
I remembered how well my spontaneous interviews had fit into my CloudSong movie, so after I’d filmed everything backstage, I walked up to a group of campers.
“Hey, would you guys tell me a little bit about the camp?” I asked. “The movie is about how people are using new technology to connect and communicate.”
“No wonder your mom wanted to come to Drama Connect, then,” said Ellie, the girl playing Titania. “That’s what the whole camp is about! Thanks to the live video streaming setup we have here, we can work with mentors from all over. Tomorrow we’re all going to have a video chat visit with Ally Proctor. She’s been on a couple of different kids’ shows, and she’s going to tell us about the business. How to get an agent, that kind of thing.”
“That’s really cool,” I told her. “Do you have to apply or can you just sign up?”
Another girl spoke up. “You have to apply by submitting a video of yourself doing a scene. They have lots of scholarships, too, funded with money from donations and stuff. They want anyone who wants to come to have the chance.”
“Like me,” a tall girl with curly hair chimed in. “I’ve come here for the past four summers. But I could never have come without their scholarship program.” She focused her eyes on my camera as she continued, “I’m going to be an instructor next year, actually. I can’t wait to start giving back.”
“Thanks for sharing that!” I looked around at the others. “So what’s your favorite part about the camp?”
“Getting to act onstage all summer!” Ellie said, and everybody echoed their agreement.
After a few more questions, I waved good-bye to everyone and went back to the area in front of the stage. I figured the interview was probably almost over.
“Nice timing, Z,” Mom said when I appeared. “Can you help me pack up my camera? Amara’s going to get us a poster to shoot for an insert shot.”
“Of course.”
Mom started to follow Amara but then turned back. “Did you get anything good?”
“I think I did, yeah.”
“Great, Z,” Mom said. “I’m glad you thought of that.”
We finished packing up our equipment and said good-bye to Amara and the campers, promising to be in touch.
“I wish I’d known about this place before,” Nora said. “My niece Rebecca would love it. Maybe next summer. It’s pretty far from Seattle, but maybe they have scholarships, or something.”
“Oh no, the scholarships!” Mom exclaimed. “They definitely have them—I read about that in my prep work, and I could have sworn I had it in my notes to ask Amara about them, but I didn’t. I can’t believe no one brought that up. That angle really shows the community impact this camp is having, and that’s such an important part of my vision for this film.”
“Um, I have some footage about the scholarships,” I said tentatively.
Mom was checking off items as we put them away. She looked up from her clipboard in surprise. “I thought you were getting B-roll shots backstage.”
“Well, I did that, but it was a pretty small area, so after that, I talked to some of the campers. I have footage of one of the older girls talking about how much the scholarships have meant to her.”
“Z, that sounds like just what I need. Can I see the footage?”
We climbed into the RV. I rolled back what I’d shot on my camera and sat down beside Mom to show her. Nora sat on my other side to peek in, too. “This is perfect, Z!” Mom said.
“Second filming unit to the rescue!” Nora said, and gave me a high five.
I felt a little shy. “It was nothing. I just thought I should talk to the campers while I was back there.”
“Well, good job,” Mom said. “Now, let’s go celebrate with some lunch.”
“Excellent!” I agreed.
I settled in to relax as Mom maneuvered the RV out of its space. I pulled out my phone and was surprised to see that it had blown up while we were filming. I had eight messages from Mari. Oh no. Was something wrong back home?
I opened the first message, a video. It was Mari’s band, Needles in a Haystack, onstage at the Beanery.
Her mom must have filmed it. It seemed like a normal performance at first. But then I heard a familiar voice singing, and it wasn’t the usual lead singer. “OMG!” I shouted out loud.
“What’s going on back there?” Mom called.
“Mari sent me a video—Perry Carstairs from Chasing Wednesday jumped onstage with Needles in a Haystack today!” I called up to Mom. Chasing Wednesday was probably my favorite Seattle band. And I’d missed their lead singer jamming with Mari.
“I love Chasing Wednesday!” Nora said. “I saw them at the Crocodile last summer.”
I tried to ignore Nora’s comment. Of course she’d seen the band live, at one of the coolest spots in Seattle.
“Man, I can’t believe I wasn’t there,” I said, shaking my head.
“But you’re glad you were here today I hope?” Mom said. “Remember, be in the now. And you saved the day with your footage.”
“I am glad!” I answered, and meant it. But why couldn’t people be in two places at once? “I’m gonna go watch all the videos Mari sent me, and tell her congrats,” I told Mom.
“Okay, Z. Tell her congratulations from me, too, okay?”
“I will,” I promised. I curled up on the bed to watch the videos, cranking up the volume on my headphones and imagining I was there at the Beanery.
It really had been a great day of shooting.
But what a day to miss being back home!
The next morning, I loaded my camera into my backpack and went to help Mom and Nora divide up the equipment to carry into our interview. I knew from studying the binder last night that this company, Simulated Actuality (S/A for short), specialized in bringing virtual reality experiences to students of all ages.
“I’ve been meaning to tell you, I love your hat,” Nora said, admiring my CREW cap.
“We’ll have to get you one, too!” Mom said cheerfully as she handed Nora a camera case.
I tried not to groan out loud, and stepped forward to grab my own load.
“Z, I looked at some of the footage from Drama Connect last night. There were some great close-ups of the kids in the scene, and Nora said you took them. Great work.”
