Development: Making The Arrangements
My primary concern was in wondering who would be doing the video work, and with what videocameras. There are subtle differences in various makes of videocameras that can make significant differences in the resulting footage, and also the talent behind the camera that can make a big difference on the quality: I was most concerned about who was going to do the shooting as I wanted to ensure I had good footage. There were also concerns about lighting and sound that could only be dealt with by professionals. All of these things needed to be considered to get an excellent level of quality on the source so that I could produce a similar quality result.
I was then told that the answer to my concerns was my friend Paul Knight, who, among other things is a professional stage hypnotist and who has a professional level video camera to record his performances: he would supply the camera and be the camera operator. He would be driving to the East Coast from Milwaukee and was willing to pick me up along the way. That way I could bring a second camera as well as my lighting kit and microphones and all the other equipment needed for the shoot. This way I was assured of having quality equipment and quality personnel involved.
For my trip to CONvergence, I was initially considering flying (there are several direct flights between here and Minneapolis because Minneapolis is a Delta hub) when a good friend of mine, Dr. Rex Joyner, told me he was considering attending. This years guests included three members (which would later be two as one of the three died shortly before the convention) of the Firesign Theatre comedy troupe, of which I knew he was an ardent fan. Together, we decided to drive up, spending the nights along the way with Paul to break up the trip.
As things developed, the shoot on the East Coast was scheduled for the weekend before the 4th of July, and CONvergence was the weekend after, so I expected a very busy time during that week.
What I got out of it was what my friend Paul termed “an adventure”.
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