Park Star Place

Day 5: In Rockville?

Today the team went to Lake Needwood in Rock Creek Regional Park.  We headed down towards the boating shop and the dock and got some footage there.  I got to interview two people; I learned how to maneuver a row boat by myself, and fish in the lake.  We saw many animals in the water such as turtles and catfish.  Then the team and I got a chance to mess around for about 10 minutes after the long week's worth of work.  I could tell that we were all exhausted, but we had come so far and we had finished this week's filming.  The scenery was so nice at Needwood, that I forgot I was at home, until I looked at a brochure that said it was in Rockville... wait... Rockville???  It seemed like I was in Tobytown or something, but I was just in Rockville.  It is amazing how the parks can make you feel on vacation!

Anyways, after we went to Needwood, we headed to downtown Rockville, so that Kathy could show me were all of the editing for Montgomery County Channel6 took place.  It was situated inside the Montgomery County Council building.  It was exciting to be there.  After we went to California Tortilla for lunch, we went back to the studio, and I watched the editor go to work with the producer of one of the TV shows to edit an episode.  After watching that for about half an hour, I went to sit next to Kathy and help her log the tapes of our show.  I got the chance to meet the director of channel6 herself, and the Legislative Communications Officer himself.

After the long day (that still wasn't over), I walked down the block to get to my driver's ed lesson for another three hours... what a day... and I did it all without leaving Rockville!

Day 4: Cabin John

I am feeling a little nervous today since I know that there is SO much to do at Cabin John Park.  It is going to be a LONG, strenuous day, but I'm just glad that it is not going to be as hot as it has been for the past week.

Again... feel free to post a comment on any post on the blog; I would love to hear your input. Thank you!

After a long day...

Yes, it was a very tiring, however it was not how I expected it to be.  Although we shot a lot of footage and we kept moving from one place to the other, it was somewhat relaxing, and I enjoyed filming there much more than filming at the other places.  It was very interesting to come back to Cabin John Park (after all, I haven't been there for the past 8-9 years).  A lot had changed since I had last been there.  The HUGE wooden playground with red slides that I remembered has been replaced with smaller metallic jungle gyms.  Kathy mentioned something about the insurance rates going up.  Anyways, it was nice to go back to my childhood favorite, and I can't wait to shoot tomorrow at Lake Needwood.

Day 3: After A Trip To The Splash Park

Today was a great day.  I had a TON of fun.  I think that my friend Connor helped me feel a little more comfortable with everything... he's really funny.  We shot some scenes at the miniature golf course and at the splash park.  I really love the whole phenomenon and it really is a great experience.  As I get more and more used to the whole idea of TV production, I get even more interested in pursuing a career. I think I'm already ready for tomorrow!!!

Day 2: The Carousel

After a long long day of filming and riding the rides, I'm exhausted. However today was supposed to be the "easy day." At least I'm going to the splash park tomorrow. I'll let you all know how that will be tomorrow.

I did have a lot of fun though. I got to experience my first time being a host of a TV show and ride the carousel and train. I met the film crew that day; the two of them were really nice. Between takes of video, they explained the equipment, including all the different types of mics and the monitor for side viewing.

Kelli and Kathy had previously warned me about how physically tired you'd get after a day of shooting. I thought maybe because I'm younger, it won’t be as bad... I was wrong.

In the end, we got a lot of footage. I'm sure that we all had a great time. Right now it is 4:51 and for now I'm signing out!

Day 3

Today I am going to visit the South Germantown Splash Park.  Hopefully it will not be as exhausting as yesterday.  I am really excited to get wet and film with the crew today once again.

Ready to Shoot

So right now its about 1hr until I go to Wheaton Reagonal for my first shooting.  I'm really excited and slightly nervous. For those of you who are reading this blog, feel free to comment, just click comment.

My First Day

Hey everybody! Right now at this very moment, I am sitting at my very own desk at the Montgomery County Parks headquarters. Today in fact is my debut as finals were pushed back a day due to the horrible weather we got last week.

Anyways, today was a jampacked day:

7:15- Wake up

8:30- Departure for MoCo Parks HQ

9:00- Met Kelli (host of the show for the last years) situated me with a ton of information and some work to keep me busy until 2:00 when Kathy (producer) arrives.

9:10- Took a tour of HQ/met other staff

9:30- Got situated with my desk and the nice tech lady

9:45- Began "pre-action work" (work to familiarize myself with the Parks and the rough rough rough script)

10:15- Completion of "Basic e(online)-training" for the parks

11:00- Completion of "Interpretaion 101 e-training"

11:10- Talked with the guy from the Potomac Almanac about an e-mail interview

11:20- Looked through ParkStar audition participants' survey and jotted down notes about concerns and delights

11:50- Glanced at rough draft of script

12:10- Went to the lunch room to surprisingly have... lunch

12:30-1:30- Watched Previous Parkshow episodes of Kelli with scripts in hand to see how it was all done

1:30-2:00- Scimmed over schedule and rough draft of script

2:00-4:00- Had a pre- production meeting with Kelli and Cathy (talked about what to wear on TV, edited scripts, talked about upcoming shoots and interveiws

4:00-4:15- Scheduled interviews via e-mails

4:00-4:48- Typed the blog that you are currently reading...

...5:00- Departure from HQ

Despite the idea of a teen working 9 hours a day, I am really excited and I feel that it is a very good experience for me to get an idea on what it is like to work... well in a cubicle/conference room.

Although people might think that a TV show is just... going out and shooting it all then coming back editing it veiwing it on TV having a good time... it requires much more effort and devotion, and its not all just :)smiles(: and then we're done it's more like smiles, forwns, grins, confusion, understanding, fun, boring, scheduling all mixed into one.

Thank you for taking your time to read my blog, and I hope you are as excited as I am to see the end result of all of this hard work.

Get ready for Reuben

Reuben Jacobson, the winner of the first ever ParkStar Search competition, makes his debut tomorrow, June 13. On his first day, he'll be quite busy learning the ropes of Montgomery County parks.

But be on the lookout for updates from Reuben as he tells you all the great things he'll learn about Montgomery County parks and about the ins and outs of television production as he hosts "The Parks Show."

Tell what you'll like to see Reuben talk about on his first episode of "The Parks Show."