"OK! That's a wrap!" (AKA: Surviving the Green Room)

It was roughly about an hour drive, and even with rush hour traffic, we arrived a little early. Before going in I laid down some basic rules to the children -- watch out for wires on the floor; must be very quiet because the microphones will pick up the slightest sounds; if you misbehave you'll be sent to the "Green Room." The last one perked up my son's ears. "The 'Green Room'? I've never heard of such a thing! What's a 'Green Room'?," he inquired.

I answered in my most serious voice, "It's a room that will change you for life. You'll never look at the color green the same way ever again!" Then I had to turn away to hide the smile I had been suppressing.

We grabbed our gear and went in. Upon signing in at the Cablevision security desk we were immediately shown to the Green Room!  Oh no!  LOL  It was great to see the kids reactions -- "Wow! The room really is GREEN!!"  We set our gear down and decided to poke our heads into the studio where the taping would be taking place.

We then met a really nice young man, Travis, who took a special interest in the kids curiosity about the "inner workings" of television stations. He took us to the studio next door and showed us where the Channel 12 news is filmed. He even let the kids experiment standing in front of a green screen to give faux weather reports. They were loving it!

Soon it was time to tape Mini~Dee and I crocheting together. They called this "B-rolling" and the footage is used to insert various parts of the "B-roll" into the body of the show to add more interest.  They had me teaching Mini~Dee how to do linked double crochet stitches, and she was a wiz picking right up on my instructions!  Once Mini~Dee was done with her bit she joined Dee Jr. into the Channel 12 control room where Travis had Dee Jr. at the controls manipulating a contraption that makes fancy images; Travis said Dee Jr. was a natural and should come see them after graduating high school.

In the meantime I had already gone through the mic test and soon we began talking about crochet, the patterns, ballet (I'm pretty sure I confessed here long ago that I was a mini~ballerina at one point in my life!), and about the new book.   They also had me demonstrate how to crochet with beads.  

Yes, I was nervous. When I get nervous or really-super excited my "southern twang" from once-upon-a-time-having-lived-in-Forida-for-a-spell sneaks out.  I was/am hoping that I controlled that well! LOL

Before I knew it, time was up. Wow! That went fast! !

We went back to the Green Room to pack up and had a great conversation with Oliver, one of the camera men.  Oliver has been a camera man for over 30 years; a great-great grandfather who really loves his job.  He said Mini~Dee really videos well.  Wow; what a compliment! ... and she didn't even have a smidgeon of make-up on!  He said he has videoed big stars, and sometimes you get caught up in what you're taping that you forget what you're there for.  "That's when you hear yelling in your ear!," he said with a huge grin, "that's the control room screaming for you to wake up and go zoom in or pan out on something!"  He had a great laugh.

This was a great experience -- and a lot of fun; not just for me, but for the entire family!  Now it's just a matter of waiting a few weeks before the show airs.  :)Tags: crochetwithdee, crochet, television, the Christina show, cablevision, connecticut