That was interesting.

So, my class got videoed today. The students were excited about it (this is a class I DON'T have problems with....). In the classroom it was kind of fun; the videographer had his camera on a dolly and trolled around the room filming students doing the experiment.

But then, after that (he said that was "B roll," actually, I hope a lot of it gets in the final production because I think it was more fun), he interviewed me.

It took like an hour for him to set up the lights and boom mike and everything to his satisfaction. He had me come in and sit in a chair while he lit me and everything. It was weird. Maybe that's what being a movie star is like, I don't know. I do know he worked hard to get the lighting optimal so I looked my best. It was a lot more involved than what I imagined it would be.

I don't know how the interview went. Probably parts better than others, maybe he can splice the best parts together. I could feel myself going into "professor mode" and talking more formally and being less physically relaxed than I might have been.  (Part of it was that I was striving not to "talk with my hands," which is something I do and I know it's idiosyncratic and some people find it super annoying and I know students have laughed at me for it in the past)

He did say I looked "good" on camera. He flipped one of the monitors around while he was setting stuff up so I could see myself (the image was too small and I didn't feel like looking like I was peering at it, so I couldn't tell how "good" I looked for sure). I went to adjust a loose hair strand and found that a monitor is NOT a mirror. It was bizarre - I only ever see myself in a mirror, so to see myself from the perspective (I mean, left/right) that others normally see me - it was weird.

He had me talk for a LONG time. I suppose the idea is that the best 2 or 3 minutes will be the final part of the interview (and yes, I will get to see it before it goes live, and anyway, this is NOT someone who would creatively edit for a "gotcha" thing)

But, yeah.I remember when I was a kid wanting to be a "movie star" (I guess I was thinking more in the mode of the old-school glamorous stars in old movies, not the sort of antiheroine stars that were more common in the 70s). But now, if that's what you have to go through just to talk on camera - yeah, not so much.

I may not go to the Ash Wednesday service tonight; I have a bit of a headache and they are serving a dinner which is going to be stew - which I probably won't be able to eat because it will likely contain carrots or celery. I feel slightly bad about skipping but I'm TIRED right now.

Still, I think I'm glad I did it. If for no other reason than working on my fear of being videoed.