Filming is done

Yesterday we had a last session of filming with the TV crew in Nakazaki-cho, in Umeda. This time, a full crew followed us around, with Sakata-san directing the crew, the cameraman and his assistant shooting and making suggestions, and a driver I only saw in the beginning.

First, as I often ride my bicycle left and right, they followed me from our meeting point to Nakazaki-cho ('cho' is a neighborhood division). Of course, once we stopped, they had me ride again, this time with the camera out of the car, for a set-up shot. Remember kids, what you see on TV is almost never spontaneous, it's almost always set up. Then, we walked around the neighborhood, and they shot me shooting things around there, asking a few questions along the way, and me sometimes making comments on my own. Here's a shot I took then.

Then, we settled in a park for a small interview. Some of the questions were the same as before, and surprisingly enough, they didn't ask questions that were too personal. After, they wanted me to film me working on a computer, looking at the pictures I took of the okonomiyaki restaurant and the Osaka Central Market. As I didn't want to do it at home for privacy, and because they forgot to bring a laptop, we had to find a plan B. I called my friend Patrice from the Osaka European Film Festival, but he was in the Shinkansen so the timing wasn't right.

The cameraman, who lives near, suggested to go get his old laptop at home, and we would settle in a cafe. I suggested Cafe Taiyo and they felt it was a great location. After getting the staff's OK, we ordered some drinks and waited for the crew to arrive. When it did arrive, we quickly did the segments, with me working on a laptop that doesn't belong to me, working in a location that I would never go to. That's TV my friends, and even if it wasn't a true representation of my life, it wasn't a clownesque situation so I didn't feel uncomfortable with it.

As to what will the final product look like, there is only one to find out and that is to tune in to Channel 7, TV Osaka, on Tuesday between 5:17 and 5:30 p.m. for the News Biz broadcast. My friend Diane, with whom I had a piknik after the shoot, is also part of the series of broadcasts on how foreigners in Osaka are fairing during these hard economic times, and she'll be on tonight, Monday, at the same time.