Preparing for the Assault
Today started at 6:30am. There was a good breakfast available as everyone started gearing up for what was essentially an assault on a house in the suburbs. It was a big network show invading a neighbourhood. The stars were somewhat recognisable, but I knew not their names. After I saddled up with the head Sound Tech, I was given a walkie and an earpiece and was told to gather for a safety meeting. There, the principals each gave a speech. This was their 100th episode. Not only was the tight-knit crew feeling especially good about it, but the producer broke into tears as she described how the show has healed families. And this one was a zinger, getting a special two-hour treatment. The speeches continued for about another 20 minutes. I guess they forgot to give the safety speech though.
You're Going To Disneyland!
I was called in with another sound guy and camera guy for the extra coverage. We piled into vans and formed a caravan, escorted by police. I had the privilege of being given the kind of treatment a visiting President has (as Bush coincidentally was that day). Morning rush hour traffic on the freeway was blocked by police as our entourage was given right of way (travelling at 25 miles per hour). I also had a close-up view of the exclusive first moment when the bus rolled up to their door. The punky looking Star had a weak megaphone and was announcing the names of the family to come out the front door. No response. I knew exactly why. I was monitoring the microphones placed on the children inside the house, and they were singing. So nobody heard the big moment. Ty tried again, and the adults in the house perhaps prompted the kids to see what was going on outside. When all the eight children came screaming out, my volume levels hit the red. The spontaneous moment was taped several more times from various angles. Then the smart looking Star, announced that the whole family was going to Disneyworld! The kids gave out a truly joyful cheer, as if they have just been told that they were going to Disneyworld. Except, the Star got it wrong. Take Two. "You're going to Disneyland!", less joyful cheering. The reaction was - why can't we go to Disneyworld instead?
The Man with the Earphones
Channel 5 news was there to record the spontaneous moment, my dark head with earphones graced the evening news. Because I had to stick close to the 12 people that had microphones on, I was in the middle of everything, while 65 crew members whirled about, making sure no time was lost. There was no time for finesse. The was a scene where two of the designers sat with the two 2 year-olds to have some cute and cuddly moments. One of the cameras had a technical problem. The shooting didn't stop. Several moments happened where sound was sketchy, or lighting could have been better, but there was a balance between posing a shot and being "reality" TV. Here, the girls clearly were enamoured with the Tickle Me Elmo dolls, but not really excited about anything else. After about 20 minutes of shooting (a standard length for every setup), the girls had enough, and were ignoring our stars. The technical problem wasn't resolved after 5 minutes, so another camera guy (there were four in all) rushed in to get the reverse angle. Meanwhile, one of the channels I was assigned to monitor was the microphone of the husband. This was because he was told he could freely be involved with the kids on camera, however he was camera shy. Nevertheless, he hid upstairs and talked to an AD, wondering if he was being recorded. He mentioned the scene in Naked Gun when Leslie Nielson went to the bathroom. I never told him that in fact he was being recorded. Everyone everywhere was being recorded. There were like 5 stars along with 10 family members (although the two tots weren't miked), and they were all being heard by the director and producers in a truck down the block. My main assignment was the two older boys. But I also had to be there for three interviews. First was the two boys. Their father had died in an car accident with the oldest in the car at age 5. But now they were asked to talk about the night they had to hide in the closet. They were still a little young to fully grasp what had happened. They knew there was broken glass, not sure, and gunfire. But he missed his Mom.
The Ex-Boyfriend
Next interview was the Mother's sister. She talked to her sister everyday after the first incident with the knives. The arguing had grown more intense, and now they sought a court restraining order. He started to stalk the children. He had looked up their athletic events on the internet and showed up at the games. The Mother was convinced that he was going to kill her. She had taken on another boyfriend, who installed an alarm system and talked to the kids about what to do if he showed up.
In The Bedroom
The oldest daughter was the third interview. She was afraid to sleep alone after he had shown up at her volleyball event, so she slept with he Mom and her new boyfriend that night. There was crash of glass in the basement patio door. He walked in the bedroom, the daughter hid under the covers. He pointed the gun at her Mother who screamed "Don't shoot me!". The daughter heard the gunshot. She knew that her Mother that lay next to her was dead. She looked over to the boyfriend, he was dead too. Somehow she got out of the bedroom, she can't remember how, and followed the plan. She picked up the phone and tried to dial 911, but there was no dial tone. He cut the phone wires into the house. She rounded up the other girls and hid in the bathroom, not knowing what happened to her brothers. After a few minutes, scared to death that he was waiting outside the bathroom door, she called out to him. No response. She opened the bathroom door and fled the house with the two sisters. The boys hid in the closet for over an hour. The police had arrived not long after the incident, but had not entered the house, not knowing the ex-boyfriend's whereabouts. A SWAT team finally shot a tear canister in the house and found the boys. The ex-Boyfriend had left the house, and was later arrested and convicted. The dead mother's sister was now taking care of the kids.
The Sound of Chaos
The intention of the show was to give them a brand new house (as in demolish the existing one and build from scratch), as a means to help heal the trauma the kids have gone through. 8 kids were stuffed into 3 bedrooms, and the house was adequate but cluttered. A design team with orange uniforms were the next part of the show. The group of about 30 were going to supervise an army of 1500 contractors (yes One Thousand Five Hundred) to build a fancy new spacious home in less than 100 hours. Not many TV shows make it to the magical number of 100 episodes. The crew told me that the day would be chaos. Since I specialise in controlling chaos, I was keen to the challenge. I was later stuffed into a stretch limousine that was to take the family to the airport. I got to ride down the block in the gaudy lounge on wheels about 5 times. Neighbours were setting up their lawn chairs as kids on bikes grouped down the street. I had to deal with a helicopter buzzing by (mosquito control), and about 3 generators humming all day. This came along with your typical neighbourhood sounds of lawnmowers (3 in the same morning), and a chainsaw (right next door). There had been heavy rains for the past few days, so the production trucks were creating large mud tracks where they parked on the grass.
A Big Week
Another segment was to ask the kids what they wanted most. Michael was asking the boys if they wanted an autograph from a sports star. One boy said a signed jersey from Tom Brady would be swell. What about the Vikings? Michael got a shrug from the boys. The Vikings were kind of being ignored around here for a while. Michael finally got one boy to ask for a helmet or something. The oldest daughter was asked what she wanted most. She wanted her Mother back.
We Are Gods
The producers were also very good at greasing wheels. For instance, they didn't just buy a box of donuts for the cops providing security, they bought a box for each cop! Later on, I was chatting with one of the crew about the idea of healing a family by giving them a new house. She said that Minnesota needed healing because of the bridge collapse, and suggested that this show could help. I doubted it, but didn't say anything. The thing is, this is still just a TV show that only is about 75% reality. The stars live in an elevated existence, having been given the advertising money to act as Gods. In this case, the Gods have their hair neatly groomed and their clothing well designed. One of the designer ladies was showing way more cleavage than you would expect with a family show.
I am the Sound Guy
All in all, the day was pretty cake. Lunch was a healthy mix of meat and vegetables. I noticed crews become health nuts after living through many pizza and hamburger meals. From the police escort to running around with a family all day, I was treated very well by the whole crew. Seriously, some crews come into town with an attitude that the locals are amateurs. But today I was getting a lot of support (need a water?) and cheerful conversation. I recognise that I have a quality where I can walk into a family's house and feel welcome, and that helps in these situations.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Monday, August 20, 2007
Interference
This is a video shot in 1992 for my band "Kaboom". It is a tour of sinister looking microwave towers around the Twin Cities.
Coasting On Karma
I see my life as a wave, sometimes flooding, sometimes ebbing. I have found myself good at staying on my feet when enduring these periods. I have to be aware that I choose this life, and get bored with routine. What happens when I am at low tide, is I exert my energy toward others. Recently I have edited videos for others, as well as done some custom audio editing for voice-over work.
Give and Receive
I don't expect to see any great reward for these deeds, but to keep in practice and remind people of my abilities. This week, I found some reward by being hired for some freelance sound work at network rates (sweet!). This happened about 24 hours after I found out one of my last full time job leads had fizzled out. So I stay on my feet for another month. But there has to be a more long term solution, so freelance web design looks to be in my future. This is already an easy choice, with my lengthy programming experience.
Freelance Living
What has surprised me most in the last few months is the amount of Voice-Over recording and editing work I've had. This fits into my sphere of talents, and is just as fun as anything else I set my mind to. It is hard to put faith in Karma to reinforce my track record of living Bohemian one month and being paid to stay in a high-buck resort in Palm Springs the next month. Hopefully it all balances out.
Give and Receive
I don't expect to see any great reward for these deeds, but to keep in practice and remind people of my abilities. This week, I found some reward by being hired for some freelance sound work at network rates (sweet!). This happened about 24 hours after I found out one of my last full time job leads had fizzled out. So I stay on my feet for another month. But there has to be a more long term solution, so freelance web design looks to be in my future. This is already an easy choice, with my lengthy programming experience.
Freelance Living
What has surprised me most in the last few months is the amount of Voice-Over recording and editing work I've had. This fits into my sphere of talents, and is just as fun as anything else I set my mind to. It is hard to put faith in Karma to reinforce my track record of living Bohemian one month and being paid to stay in a high-buck resort in Palm Springs the next month. Hopefully it all balances out.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Thoughts about the 35W Bridge Collapse
I Used to take that Bridge Everyday.
All this week, I have had to do some extra driving, and the construction this summer on 35W was a big bummer. There were times I knew the back-up through the construction zone near my exit at Johnson St would free up after the bridge construction. I marvelled at how much punishment they were putting on this bridge. At least 20 construction workers were going at the road with jackhammers. Twenty jackhammers all at once putting stress on the bridge. The speeds were about 10 mph through there, so I got a good look at the large truck trailers parked on the bridge. Wednesday afternoon, I had to get to a video shoot down south.
I had a Premonition.
It was a little before 5:00 pm when I left. All during the previous week, I imagined the calamity of being under a large bridge if it happened to collapse. One strong vision came upon me as I was driving underneath the Interstate 94 bridge along the river road. The vision was quite vivid. Tonight, I decided to avoid 35W altogether. It ended up taking perhaps an extra ten minutes, but I didn't feel like being another rat in the maze along the most busiest stretch of road in the state at 5:00 pm.
The Shock hits Home
I heard about the 35W bridge collapse about 35 minutes after it happened. It took me about 5 minutes to register the reality of the situation as I watched remote cameras focused on the scene. I was shocked to see thick black smoke billowing up, then i gasped as i saw flames shooting out of a truck. It got worse, each moment on TV revealed crushed cars, submerged vehicles. This happened during rush hour, my mind figured dozens dead. No way people could survive plummeting down perhaps a hundred feet into the river.
My Sister, someone's Wife, another's Son, Could have been on that Bridge.
Then I realised that my sister would possibly go that way coming home from work. I tried her cell phone, but only got her voicemail. I tried her home number, but the network was jammed. I finally got a hold of her about an hour later. But that moment of possibility that a loved one could've been on that bridge, occurred to perhaps tens of thousands of people around the Twin Cities. About 100,000 cars pass over that bridge everyday.
The Twins Baseball Game
It will probably be found that a good number of people on the bridge at the time were going to a Twins game. The game was still played, mainly because it would not be a good idea to have another 20,000 people crowding the streets and highways merely blocks from the tragedy. The Twins connection may have strange repercussions. Already, they are cancelling the groundbreaking for their new stadium.
Miracles amidst the Tragedy
But what has dawned upon me is how lucky that this collapse occurred where it did. There are at least 3 major hospitals only a couple miles nearby. The Twin Cities Red Cross center is literally a block from the bridge. The bridge is on the edge of downtown, where many emergency vehicles made their way from where they were centrally located. But also, since it will take perhaps 2 years to build a new bridge, there are alternatives nearby. Another major artery, Interstate 94, is just about 3 miles down river. It has 3 lanes in each direction. There also a couple other major arteries that parallel the area 35W normally covers. Plus there are a multitude of bridges up and down the Mississippi (including one just a few yards away). Also, because of construction being done, the same stretch of 35W had been closed a few times over previous weekends. So detour signs and other orange barriers were already in place, as well as many local drivers already coping with the weekend closings.
A Historic Day in Twin Cities History
All I know is that I had loud messages coming to me before this unique event for the Twin Cities. I thought to myself, this is kind of like our own 9/11 (but not really since no terrorism was involved). It will probably take a little bit to let the fact sink in that I could've possibly been on that bridge, which I normally took at least twice a day. The death toll was 9 around midnight Wednesday, which I found amazing that it wasn't immediately much more. The grim reality is that there are certainly more bodies to be found on Thursday, but there are miracles already. A school bus, seconds from being over the river, only fell to the ground along the river bank.
Final Thoughts
On June 3rd, 1984, I had just walked out of a concert at 1st Avenue in downtown Minneapolis to discover that a concrete parking ramp had collapsed next door. We watched into the night as cranes came in to see if anyone was inside any of the dozens of crushed cars. Today, the spectacular helicopter footage slowy panned across the 1/4 mile stretch, showing dozens of heroic rescues in progress. Each second I saw a life and death moment occurring, with many civilians helping. I think there will be national repercussions for such a dramatic event. Bridges will be evaluated, phobias will rise. Everyone in this town will also talk to their neighbor, just to feel lucky to be alive.
Update: 8/04/07
The President Keeps it Quiet
President Bush visited the bridge collapse site today, thankfully for just a short time in the morning, no Katrina-like speeches. Really, this is not a national catastrophe. It's visually stunning, but something far far from everyone's initial fears. As expected, this turned into a national event, no longer confined to the local media. Talk of deficient bridges across the country, and penny pinching by the Dept of Transportation.
The Perfect Storm
There is speculation of harmonic modulation, similar to the famous bridge that fluttered in the wind. In this case, there may have been a convergence of extra vibration from several jackhammers going at once, and a freight train rolling right next to one of the supports. There are reports of a ripple or rolling wave occurring, causing the center span to separate and travel 81 feet horizontally. Currently the death toll is a miraculous 5 - with perhaps only 8 people missing. Coincidences abound with a UPS driver noticing a friend driving next to him as they both drove on to the bridge. Also come stories of passers by that happen to have first responder training, finding their way within minutes of the collapse.
The Day After
I have not seen the site since it happened. The day after it happened, I had to travel that direction, and felt a hard reaction to facing a spot where such carnage took place. I detoured down river, with heavy traffic on all local streets as every driver tried to come up with their own plan of getting across the river.
The Future
What will become of the National Republican Convention next year? How will they shape their message around the location of bridge collapse? What will the candidates have to include in their agenda to acknowledge what this city has gone through? In the future, how will this event change the Twin Cities? My guess is that 10 years from now, it will be only a memory.
All this week, I have had to do some extra driving, and the construction this summer on 35W was a big bummer. There were times I knew the back-up through the construction zone near my exit at Johnson St would free up after the bridge construction. I marvelled at how much punishment they were putting on this bridge. At least 20 construction workers were going at the road with jackhammers. Twenty jackhammers all at once putting stress on the bridge. The speeds were about 10 mph through there, so I got a good look at the large truck trailers parked on the bridge. Wednesday afternoon, I had to get to a video shoot down south.
I had a Premonition.
It was a little before 5:00 pm when I left. All during the previous week, I imagined the calamity of being under a large bridge if it happened to collapse. One strong vision came upon me as I was driving underneath the Interstate 94 bridge along the river road. The vision was quite vivid. Tonight, I decided to avoid 35W altogether. It ended up taking perhaps an extra ten minutes, but I didn't feel like being another rat in the maze along the most busiest stretch of road in the state at 5:00 pm.
The Shock hits Home
I heard about the 35W bridge collapse about 35 minutes after it happened. It took me about 5 minutes to register the reality of the situation as I watched remote cameras focused on the scene. I was shocked to see thick black smoke billowing up, then i gasped as i saw flames shooting out of a truck. It got worse, each moment on TV revealed crushed cars, submerged vehicles. This happened during rush hour, my mind figured dozens dead. No way people could survive plummeting down perhaps a hundred feet into the river.
My Sister, someone's Wife, another's Son, Could have been on that Bridge.
Then I realised that my sister would possibly go that way coming home from work. I tried her cell phone, but only got her voicemail. I tried her home number, but the network was jammed. I finally got a hold of her about an hour later. But that moment of possibility that a loved one could've been on that bridge, occurred to perhaps tens of thousands of people around the Twin Cities. About 100,000 cars pass over that bridge everyday.
The Twins Baseball Game
It will probably be found that a good number of people on the bridge at the time were going to a Twins game. The game was still played, mainly because it would not be a good idea to have another 20,000 people crowding the streets and highways merely blocks from the tragedy. The Twins connection may have strange repercussions. Already, they are cancelling the groundbreaking for their new stadium.
Miracles amidst the Tragedy
But what has dawned upon me is how lucky that this collapse occurred where it did. There are at least 3 major hospitals only a couple miles nearby. The Twin Cities Red Cross center is literally a block from the bridge. The bridge is on the edge of downtown, where many emergency vehicles made their way from where they were centrally located. But also, since it will take perhaps 2 years to build a new bridge, there are alternatives nearby. Another major artery, Interstate 94, is just about 3 miles down river. It has 3 lanes in each direction. There also a couple other major arteries that parallel the area 35W normally covers. Plus there are a multitude of bridges up and down the Mississippi (including one just a few yards away). Also, because of construction being done, the same stretch of 35W had been closed a few times over previous weekends. So detour signs and other orange barriers were already in place, as well as many local drivers already coping with the weekend closings.
A Historic Day in Twin Cities History
All I know is that I had loud messages coming to me before this unique event for the Twin Cities. I thought to myself, this is kind of like our own 9/11 (but not really since no terrorism was involved). It will probably take a little bit to let the fact sink in that I could've possibly been on that bridge, which I normally took at least twice a day. The death toll was 9 around midnight Wednesday, which I found amazing that it wasn't immediately much more. The grim reality is that there are certainly more bodies to be found on Thursday, but there are miracles already. A school bus, seconds from being over the river, only fell to the ground along the river bank.
Final Thoughts
On June 3rd, 1984, I had just walked out of a concert at 1st Avenue in downtown Minneapolis to discover that a concrete parking ramp had collapsed next door. We watched into the night as cranes came in to see if anyone was inside any of the dozens of crushed cars. Today, the spectacular helicopter footage slowy panned across the 1/4 mile stretch, showing dozens of heroic rescues in progress. Each second I saw a life and death moment occurring, with many civilians helping. I think there will be national repercussions for such a dramatic event. Bridges will be evaluated, phobias will rise. Everyone in this town will also talk to their neighbor, just to feel lucky to be alive.
Update: 8/04/07
The President Keeps it Quiet
President Bush visited the bridge collapse site today, thankfully for just a short time in the morning, no Katrina-like speeches. Really, this is not a national catastrophe. It's visually stunning, but something far far from everyone's initial fears. As expected, this turned into a national event, no longer confined to the local media. Talk of deficient bridges across the country, and penny pinching by the Dept of Transportation.
The Perfect Storm
There is speculation of harmonic modulation, similar to the famous bridge that fluttered in the wind. In this case, there may have been a convergence of extra vibration from several jackhammers going at once, and a freight train rolling right next to one of the supports. There are reports of a ripple or rolling wave occurring, causing the center span to separate and travel 81 feet horizontally. Currently the death toll is a miraculous 5 - with perhaps only 8 people missing. Coincidences abound with a UPS driver noticing a friend driving next to him as they both drove on to the bridge. Also come stories of passers by that happen to have first responder training, finding their way within minutes of the collapse.
The Day After
I have not seen the site since it happened. The day after it happened, I had to travel that direction, and felt a hard reaction to facing a spot where such carnage took place. I detoured down river, with heavy traffic on all local streets as every driver tried to come up with their own plan of getting across the river.
The Future
What will become of the National Republican Convention next year? How will they shape their message around the location of bridge collapse? What will the candidates have to include in their agenda to acknowledge what this city has gone through? In the future, how will this event change the Twin Cities? My guess is that 10 years from now, it will be only a memory.
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