Part XXV: Tik Tok

No, I'm not talking about the song by Ke$ha. I'm talking about just over a month left and still zero movies made. Today was a milestone though, I started editing my first film. Granted it was just cutting up the interviews, a pretty simple task, but it felt great to get Adobe Premiere open and import some clips.
Another big task done today was getting a second script banged out. Not just a second version of the same script, but a whole new script. The kayak trip mayhem totally threw off my entire film and so now I'm kind of back at square one. So today was a big one. In television class at Concordia, scripts seemed kind of easy. Write your lead, throw in some quotes, have a catchy sign off and your done.

This is not news.

This requires a lot more work. I'm trying to blend two stories, keep the storyteller feel, give the info and not be too obvious and direct. Wow. So I drafted a new script and then some. I started on my second movie script. It's really really rough right now, but I hate sitting in front of a blank document. The minute I actually have something down it feels much better and I start to build.

So that is what I did today. No shooting because it is crazy foggy out. Seriously, like hit a pedestrian that's two feet in front of me foggy. Tomorrow is another big day. Shooting early in the morning, work all day then drive to Montreal after work. Phew, I feel tired alright.

Since I didn't take any photos today because my battery charger is in the bowels of my messy room. So here is a picture taken from another day: Kelly with boats in Tadoussac harbour.

Secret

Here is something I feel I can reveal:
I secretly wish I was from the Maritimes. Except not from New Brunswick. Seriously, you Newfs, Islanders and Bluenosers have all the coolest shit. Jealous.

Part XXIV: Going AWOL

Hello everybody,
I'm sure you've all been wondering where I have been after this long absence. Well I have had an extremely crazy/fun/stressful/cold/tiring weekend. Let me tell you, I don't think I've been this relieved to see Monday... ever... only so I can do a whole bunch of laundry, shower, clean my room and generally get my life in order.
So this weekend actually started mighty early. Tuesday night Sean broke the world record for the Montreal-Tadoussac stretch of highway and came to visit me. Seriously, I don't know how people drive that fast and don't get pulled over or die.
So on Thursday I morphed into tour guide Kelly and we saw the sights. The dunes, Tadoussac beach, Pointe d'Islet, Escoumins, Bergeronnes and highway 170 were all stops on the grand tour. It was actually a pretty nice day but alas, there were no whales to be found.
Thursday night was the main event in Tadoussac. Seriously, it was like Christmas came early. With more fire. And explosions. St-Jean-Baptiste Day is a HUGE deal. So HUGE you have to write it in caps whenever you reference it. There were all the elements of a good party. Beer was flowing, fireworks exploding and the fire was burning hot. Seriously, this was a HUGE bonfire.

Since we had a little pre-drinking party with other PC staff (shout out to Tanya, Rosemary, Gen and Kev) it was well into the early hours of the morning when we walked home... uphill.

On Friday we had a super busy day. Picked up kayaks from Baie St-Catherine in the AM, drove to Anse St-Etienne to drop off my truck, drove to Baie Eternite to start our kayak trip. Now day one had some high winds. Some really high winds. You really don't notice until you get out there how high. It was only until we were getting soaked by one metre waves and our hands were all cut up from launching did we realize how stupid we were. We ended up making our 13 km journey in 4 1/2 hours when it was supposed to take 5 1/2 because the wind was pushing us.

We got to our campsite at Anse a Tabatiere completely soaked and exhausted. Luckily there was still a lot of daylight left for us to pitch our tent and get some food into s before crashing. My sleeping bag had been part of the soaked material so I froze until Sean was extremely gallant and switched so I got his nice warm, dry one. Ahhh heaven.

The next day was supposed to be calmer but boy were we in for a surprise. About 2 km after starting the day Sean and I got seperated because I stopped to film. When I found him he was on this beach waving me down to stop. With really rough waves his rudder had broken off and he had been smashed into the rocks. Luckily he didnt get swept out to sea or die or drown. We stayed stranded on a beach for two hours until the tide went out and try to make it to the nearest town. Luckily we were stranded next to the only town on our route: Anse St-Jean. So after a very stressful half hour paddle into a really strong headwind, we made it. Exhausted, hungry and desperate we got a lift to our cars, grabbed the best hot dogs and hamburgers ever, and came back to Tadoussac.

Our three day journey had become two, and boy was I ever sore, cut up and tired. Needless to say, gorging on junk food and bad TV ensued.
So today I reviewed my footage and checked out what we managed to get. Today was spent re-writing and re-focusing script to fit the change in story. A crazy weekend but now it's time to relax. Ahhh.

Part XXIII: De-Stressing Day

Another day mostly spent at the office scripting and logging tape. I did manage to get out into the sunshine today and get a little tiny bit of shooting done. Just the small stuff that really needed to get done. I got some great shots of some unknown geese (I have my field guide and I've been looking) and some shots of the ferry that are kind of boring but will come in handy.
While filming around town I was feeling good. Had a freezie, it was nice out, good times. Unfortunately by the time I got back and looked at my footage. The dead kitten windsock was in about half the shots. Damn. All I could see in the top right hand corner are these little wisps of hair. I think it's time to visit the barber.

Still gearing up for this weekend's kayak trip mentally, physically and logistically. I feel like I have everything I need but I know that as soon as I get out there I will say, "if only I had ...", and then will kick myself for not having it. Which is kind of hard in a kayak.

So today is just another regular day in the world of Canada's Greatest Summer Job. Which, is still pretty amazing.

Here is a picture of me looking doofy in a kayak... a little preview of this weekend

Part XXII: Worries, Frustrations, Insecurities and Hope

Confession: Behind the awesome facade, I am secretly quaking in my boots. So much is hinging on this weekend's kayak trip. My entire first video is framed around it and I'm going to be using a lot of footage for the second video. Also, where has all the time gone. I'm now down to making three videos in a month. Whoops, at least I have my plans set but the last two weeks are going to be a marathon of editing. I hope it rains the entire time so that I won't be feeling like the Wicked Witch of the West.

I'll get you my pretty and your little dog too!

So, this short three day work week I have a lot of taping to do, scripts, logistics and tomorrow I'm on the Parks Canada boat. So all in all I have to get my act together. Today was spent scripting, logging tape and double checking kayak rentals.

Never fear Parks Canada. I can do this. Even if I take me until 11:59:59 on August 4, 2010. These videos will get done.

Also, congrats to all grads today.

Part XII: Funny Sign Day.

It's Friday and it's time for some comic relief. Here are the funny signs that I have encountered thus far in the month in Tadoussac.

How cute is this? Unfortunately whilst pulling up to take the photo I brutally crushed a family of baby ducks.


This photo was taken right in the centre of town at the Tadoussac docks. First time I've ever seen a speed limit of 16 before. Weird....


Mmmmm... Tachos


Well sorry readers for wasting your time with that but I really didn't do much worthwhile today. I only worked for three hours because of the overtime I booked on other days so I went out an enjoyed the beach all afternoon.
Next week is a big one, lots of filming on the kayak trip, a special guest and St-Jean Baptiste!

Part XXI: Here fishy, fishy, fishy!

Today I touched my first krill. It was small, it was squishy, it was dead. I spent 10 hours on the Calanus II today, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Coast Guard boat. It was quite the experience in the French language, smoking and 'les hostie filets'. This isn't your momma's fishing experience.

Fisherwoman Kelly, taking a break


Apparantly you need to smoke this many packs per day to be a real fisherman.


Welcome to my office.




Not a long post today, tired. Also when I told the fishermen about the Halak trade, I've never heard so much French profanity.

Part XX: I got 99 problems but a pitch ain't one

Today I was purusing my blog, looking over all the amazing posts, pictures and things I've done. I've come to realize that I haven't shared the pitches for my films a.k.a what the films are about.
So here they are!
Theme (given out by Parks Canada): Jobs at Parks Canada
I am going to be following Nadia Menard, a marine biologist, who is in the midst of an extensive research project this summer. She is trying to determine why there is a fluctuation in the number of whales that visit each year. Since the whales are pretty much the Park's rasion-etre, her research is especially important in the conservation and economic domains (tourism is the number one industry because of the whales). She is using echolocation to track the whale's prey and track the whales, seals and birds that all feed off of it.
She has a great personality. Today when we were on the boat looking for fish shoals, she leaned over the railing of the boat and started chanting, "here fishy, fishy, fishy!" Also, she speaks English. Bonus.

Theme: The natural beauty of the Park
Now this one can come off as just a series of glory shots but I have a storyline that will be interesting to stick to. Most people see the St-Lawrence as a huge garbage can. They think it's full or pollution, corpses and snowmobiles, but that's really not the case. The St-Laurent-en-Directe program run by Parks Canada shows people the wonders of the sea floor. They send a cameraperson and a biologist diving into the St-Lawrence to show the tourists a live feed of the creatures of the deep. The best part is that the visitors can ask questions to the biologist underwater and ask the cameraperson to go left, right, up or down.
Combined with the beauty on top of the water that the tourists usually see, it should provide a pretty nice picture of why this area should be protected and respected.

Theme: My own choice!
For the video of my choosing I was really helped by my Intermediate TV professor Jacques Grenier. He turned me on to the idea of doing a Globe Trekker style video. This is a kind of adventure into the unknown (except I know all about it, the viewer is discovering along with me) that is the Saguenay fjord. I'm going on a three day kayak expedition down the fjord learning about the history, geography, industry and ecology of the fjord. Since the fjord is often overlooked by the tourists and largely untouched by man (there are no roads along the fjord, only boats and walking paths really have access) it's kind of a journey into the wild. I will of course have a trusty assistant/cameraman/pack mule to aid me.

So what do you think?
Also, I am feeling massively dizzy because I was on a boat all day. I still feel the waves hitting me.

Don't have a good picture for today so here is a shot of the fjord stolen from CBC.

Part XIX: Sunrise

This photo was taken at 3:46 this morning. It was exactly 36 minutes after I had gotten out of bed. I woke up this morning with a goal: time lapse sunrise.
Although this was the goal, I realized something about myself today. I cannot do math ridiculously early in the morning. For example: should I put it on a 10 second or 30 second time lapse. Well here is the math behind the decision. There are 30 frames per second of tape. If I put it at 10 second time lapse then it will take one frame of video every 10 seconds. Follow? So how long will it take to get one second of tape? Well 10seconds x 30frames = 300 seconds. 300 seconds divided by 60 seconds equals 5. So what does this all mean? It will take 5 minutes of footage to get 1 second of tape in time lapse. Now this seems simple right? Okay, now wake up early. You're groggy, you're trying to figure out where is the best camera location, you're trying to do math. Ugh.

Turns out the footage isn't so bad. I would like to try it again with a 30 seconds lapse to see the difference and then have some more choice in what I will be using.

So there I sat in my pickup, watching the sunrise over the St-Lawrence and wrapped up in a sleeping bag. Eventually I fell asleep only to arise with the sun beaming in my face and the clock reading 5:15. I collected up my equipment and headed back home. Went back to bed at 5:30 and woke up at 9:30 fresh and ready for work!

I feel like if I don't use this clip it will be one of those ones that only you realize how much work goes into filming only to come up with nothing.

Part XVIII: Sand Dunes

Hello dear readers, sorry for my absence. I took the advantage of this weekend's nice weather to return to Ormstown and Montreal. Went to the Ormstown Fair, St-Laurent street festival and saw a band with a very talented lead singer/guitarist/bassist/pianist. A 14 hour round trip but well worth the exhaustion.
Unfortunately the trip left me in a stupor and it was so hard to drag myself out of bed this morning. The day passed in a daze, I didn't get much done and found myself surfing the web for kayak trip tips with no real objective. I was content to sit in my plush office chair and read for most of the day, broken up by sending e-mails to co-workers and scanning personal e-mail accounts.
The real fun came after work.
Rosemary, Tanya, Kevin (the new guy) and I went out for coffee at cafe Boheme. We had all been cooped up all day and were looking for adventure. Adventure we found, in the *Not actually me, taken from Internet*

form of sand dunes. The Tadoussac Sand Dunes are huge cliffs of sand, bigger than your grandmother's dunes. They are really steep and the beach below looks like a little sand bar. I heard that a fun Tadoussac activity is to throw yourself down the hill and roll to the bottom. That's exactly what we did.
I reached the bottom, dizzy and discombobulated and covered from sand from head to toe. All the while laughing hysterically and trying to catch my breath from the rush.
I was soon followed by the others and we all explored the beach. We ended up climbing over some rocks and finding a hidden beach where we sang as loud as we could. It's like I was drunk but without a drop of booze. One rendition of Stop, As Long as you Love Me, Make a Man Out of You and Don't Stop Believin' later. We faced the dunes again, this time going up. It was a trek and a half, I had to stop about eight times to catch my breath. Came home to a nice sand-free shower.

Tomorrow I am planning to wake up at 4:00 AM to film the sunrise. We'll see if it actually happens.

Part XVII: A regular day... which is still pretty awesome

This morning came quickly. After sea kayaking yesterday I was exhausted. Seriously exhausted. Like watching Dawson's Creek in PJ's with wet hair tired. So as I came into the office this morning I was kind of in a daze. Threw my co-workers a quiet, 'Bonjour,' threw all of yesterday's clips onto the computer and re-charged the battery and opened my e-mail. Went from about 0-60 in 10 seconds because Craig Colby had sent me the feedback on my footage. I eagerly jumped down the list of available positions within Parks Canada (why do they send me those things?) to the title of, "Kelly: Feedback."

Craig is one of our mentors for Canada's Greatest Summer Job. He works for Oasis HD, a nature channel based in Toronto. Pretty much he's the guide in terms of content. So when I opened my e-mail today I was really happy to get some guidance. Craig told me that I need to connect with my first story. He referenced another student and what they did right and how I can improve mine. Trouble is, I'm not sure what connection I have to the fjord. I've never been here before, I don't have any history with fjords or whales or Saguenay. I'm trying to figure out how to make the story mine. The story only Kelly Greig could do.

The rest of the day was spent back in the stupor because I needed to log tape.

Another thing that I've been thinking about: baby animals. Everyone loves baby animals. They appear in commercials, the news as kickers and in nature shows. It makes everyone go 'awwwwww!'. Have you seen a baby beluga?

Am I the only one who thinks it looks weird? I mean it's like a gray pogo, and I love pogos but don't like the looks of this guy. Even harder, they live in water. It is soooo hard to get good beluga footage.

Part XVII: Sea kayaking

Another day of beautiful sunny skies in Tadoussac. I figured screw the office, I'm going out into the field. Good idea but I don't think I got much good footage from it. Unfortunate in terms of useable material but good in terms of learning how to sea kayak.
It was also another opportunity for me to wear another ravishing outfit.

Looking good eh? I'm going for the human-kayak meld there, once again in a ravishing yellow life vest, this time with matching yellow kayak.
The fjord is really beautiful and the weather was perfect for kayaking, but because the tide was coming in there were some huge waves. It was actually a lot of fun being buffeted around but I was worried for the welfare of my camera.
All in all our group kayaked 8 km (3 hours).
Here is me at the turn around. Notice the look of elation (a break!)

It makes me confident that I can actually do this kayak excursion planned. Our longest day will take about 4-6 hours of paddling depending on the weather. It will probably be longer with the stopping to get footage, but still a do-able day.
Post-kayak I am surprised. My arms are fine, what hurts most are my knees and inner thighs from working the rudder.
More kayaking Friday!


No cameras were hurt in the making of today's footage.

Part XVI: BEST DAY EVER!

... well so far.

The cheery tone of my cell phone alarm was quite infuriating this morning as I had to arise a half hour earlier than normal. A half hour of sleep is a gift, it's like when you wake up early and look at your clock and say "YES! More time." It's one of those things you really appriciate when you don't have it.

Anyways, I dragged myself out of bed and make it to work for 7:30. I had to be there early so that we could catch the ferry from St-Simeone (an hour from Tadoussac) across the St-Lawrence to Riviere-du-Loup.

Now you may be asking yourself, "Kelly, I've carefully studied the map of the Marine Park and Riviere-du-Loup does not lie within its boundries. Whatever were you doing there?" Well, this is what I was doing there:


Beauty, isn't she? This is the l'Alliance, the Parks Canada boat. It was being fixed in Riviere-du-Loup so I came along for the ride to bring her back. Luckily, it was a sunny day and we got her into the water quick (I helped!). I felt like a waterbound, not as awesome, Indiana Jones. As we were bringing her out onto the fleuve, I was standing on the top deck, camera at the ready and raring to go.

Here is what I looked like:


You may have noticed my extremely fashionable yellow jacket. It is actually more than just a regular jacket, it is a coat and life jacket all in one. Technology, I tell you.
Along with the orange helmet from yesterday's post I think that I have a strong future as a runway model.

Since I hadn't actually see the Haut Font Prince; Tadoussac's famous lighthouse (or phare re:French word of the day) we passed by it. Here it is.




And just for kicks, here are some pics:
Captain Kelly (I wasn't actually driving)


On shore leave?

Part XV: From Basques to Belugas

Do you remember Schoolhouse Rock? It evokes memories of a childhood Kelly sitting on our brown carpet in the living room in PJ's on a Saturday morning. I loved it. I didn't even realize I was learning while watching because it was all fast and musical and before you knew it it was over and all of a sudden BAM! I knew about conjuctions and grammar. It is possibly the sun that shone on the sprouts of my illustrious journalism career. More recently I legitimately watched Schoolhouse Rock while studying for POLI 322: Politics of the US. I love the part when they are sitting in committee and then they vote and the fat guy runs the bill over to Senate.

Anyways, after today I feel like I could pen a Schoolhouse Rock spot. I did an hour and a half interview about the history of the region. That's right from glaciers to whale watchers, from Europeans to tourists, from whalers to... well you get the idea.

I think maybe if I have enough time and can somehow steal the Schoolhouse Rock music I would be a very successful rip-off film artist. I can see my future now.

Here are some of the fun facts about Tadoussac that you maybe didn't know:
The first winter the French tried to stay here. Five out of the 15 lived.

Tadoussac was founded eight years before Quebec City. Take that!

Tadoussac originally had a dirtier name. The french sailors nicknamed the town after the town hills on either side of the Saguenay fjord that looked like breasts.

The more you know.

Part XIV: Via Ferrata

Hello dear readers? Did you miss me? Were you outraged on Friday when you checked in with your favourite blog only to find no new posts? I apologize but I am very busy and important you know and my time is very valuable and in high demand.
The excuse for the lack of posting was an apres-work 5 a 7 that required my attendance. Afterwards Tanya, Rosemary and I (the three summer students) stayed after and partook in some genteel discussion accompanied by lite beverages (some more than others).

Back to the real reason of my post. I took full advantage of Friday's beautiful weather to have an adventure. I went rock climbing. Yes people, welcome to my life.

The climbing took place at Cap Jaseux, about an hour away from Tadoussac. It is an adventure camp for kids and adults alike. During my visit about 150 elementary school aged children suddenly appeared from the bush from their camping area. It offers rustic camping, cabins and most interestingly tree houses. Like entire houses (space for 5) held about 20 feet in the air by posts.

I jumped at the chance to do the Via Ferrata, Italian for Iron Way, with the head of the camps Jerome Gouron. We had a nice little interview on the beach beside the Saguenay. The entire time a loon was calling in the background, I hope it doesn't screw up post-production. After the talking we set out on the adventure. Suited up in a very fashionable Dior harness with matching orange safety helmet (I predict a trend for autumn 2010) we set out on a hike to the cliffside. Along the way we discussed everything from the French Alps to Stephen Harper's new energy policies to my distinct preference for cake over pie.

Once at the cliffs it was all business however. To stay alive and not plunge into the freezing cold (four degree) Saguenay river you have to be hooked onto a cable at all times. Then while climbing over rocks and up mountain faces you have to stop and re-clip yourself when a new cable starts. Sound alright but try doing it with a movie camera. Yup, I was trying to do this thing one handed. A challenge indeed.

Fortunately Jerome understood my plight of trying to film with no tripod (couldn't set it up anywhere), climb and talk. We traded off filming each other and his stuff wasn't bad, a little shaky but overall I am surprised at how useable it is.

On the downside I totally forgot to put on sunscreen and now have a nice red face. It is reminiscent of my high school basketball days where my red face would provide a lovely compliment to my blue and white uniform.

Here are some photos of the awesome.

Climber extra-ordinare


Jerome scaling some rocks

Part XIII: Kayak Excursion

Sometimes you just love your job. Especially when you have Canada's Greatest Summer Job. Example: today I spent the entire day planning a three-day kayak excursion down the Saguenay river. Yes people, I am getting paid to do it.

After backpacking across Europe I've kind of gotten into the mentality of, "ugh, planning... things will just work out..." Often times, they do and everything is thumbs up. I think that this trip might require a bit more effort than the simple, "meh," that has become my catchphrase lately.

Some of the things on the "to-bring" list:
Sunscreen
Wet suit
Sleeping Bags
Sean's Power Box (doesn't that sound amazing. A box of power. Comparable to his Achille's heel)
A kayak
Waterproof Camera Bag
Tide charts

Yes people, I am a boy scout. I am so prepared that I could probably get stranded in the middle of the river and make an airplane and fly home. Wrap your mind around that.

So the weekend of St-Jean Baptiste I will be kayaking down the Saguenay. I feel like Magellan, or Lewis&Clark, except not as brave or discover-y. (See what I did there?)

Alas my dear readers, I bid you adieu. I must fly, free whale-watching cruise awaits!

Today's French word of the day: rafale. Meaning: gust.

Since I don't have a picture for the day, here is a random one. It still doesn't exist

Part XII: When Everything Comes Together... Only to Fall Apart

As a journalist, you spend half your time chasing down interviews. Phone calls, e-mails and even in-person visits sometimes don't even make a dent in the armour of the non-responder no-commentor. Sometimes you just want to bang your head against a wall or throw yourself down a flight of stairs. Then there are those days. Those days where everything falls into place perfectly. Your interview subjects agree to interviews are enthusiastic and having a flexible schedule. The perfect storm of awesome. Today, was one of those days.

So far this week I've secured nine interviews for the next two weeks. Nine. In three days. Not counting the time it took to do the first two yesterday. A feat unto itself. I've scheduled them all in nicely, including three interviews on Friday. Sprinkled around this copious flapping of gums are activities like rock climbing and sea kayaking. All in the name of the film of course. Ahh, thank you Parks Canada.

Where the magic happens. Tres messy.


By 1:30 my day was going swimmingly. I got my pitches finished and sent out for feedback, had a pre-interview with a resident of Tadoussac and author, and was flying through schedule organization.

Then it happened. (DRAMATIC PAUSE)

Right before the big first conference call I met with my supervisor, and boy, was he ever not enthusiatic about my ideas. This one kernel of doubt exploded in to a popcorn of worry. How's that for a metaphor.... now I want a snack.


**10 minutes later**

Mmmm.... nachos. Where was I? Oh right, the downfall of my day. So I went into the conference call a little worried about my pitches. Would they be rejected? Would my Parks Canada life as I know it be over? Ugh, I felt like I needed some sort of hearty shake and a slap across the face. "You got this far," I can hear my voice of reason saying, "you got this job for a reason. Now just DO IT."

So from now on, I'm going rogue. A commando unit. A lone wolf in the wolf pack. I'm just going to throw myself into my stories and PROVE that I belong here. That's right world, I'm going to kick down your door, put you in a headlock and take your children hostage. Watch out, here I come.

So as I always try with my roommates at the end of the day, I'm going to focus on the awesome. So, I'm kickin' back, havin' a glass of wine and looking up the world's address.

Bring it.

A musical rendition of my mood. Thank you Disney.

Part XI: FIRST PAID INTERVIEW!

Hello everyone. My name is Kelly Greig. I'm a journalist. A professional journalist. That's right everyone, today for the first time in the history of Kelly (consequently the epicentre of the universe) I have been paid to do journalism!
Break out the banners and ticker tape, I'm throwing a parade. Even though I'm student and just getting paid so that Parks Canada can cash in on that sweet, sweet Economic Action Plan moolah, it's still an amazing feeling. BEST DAY EVER!

Another first today: driving a hybrid car. I felt like I was 16 again because I needed a lesson on how to drive the thing. Firstly there is no key in the traditional sense. You know those Volkswagon keys that flip out from the base? Picture that, but instead of flipping a key out, just shoving the whole thing into a slot. Then pressing a power button. I felt like I was booting up KITT from Knight Rider.

It's quite strange driving the car. I have no idea what half the functions do and so I'm trying to assess a chart of kWh vs. time while figuring out how to get the only English radio station and why the car sounds like it's struggling whilst staying on the road.
Fortunately my passenger (Rosemary) and I made it back alive to and from our destination.

Also, totally off topic but did you know that the Canadian government authorized and participated in the bombing of beluga whale pods in the 1920's. They thought that the belugas were responsible for a decline in the fish stocks available for fishermen in the Saguenay and St Lawrence.


French word of the day: babouches. Meaning: flip-flops!