Florida Post-Mortem, Part I

Its been a while since I updated the blog. And for a good reason: it was a case of wait then hurry up.

I had not moved forward on the documentary in a few months. A review of the material I had from my December visit left me scheming for a third stab at the elusive interviews. So there was little to report as I waited and prepared.

When I decided the time was right, I took two weeks from my job, shipped my new housing to Key Largo, and hailed a cab to the airport.

Before all else, I want to thank Dave Hartman for his continued support of this project. Without his generosity and willingness to let me use his house as a base of operations for each trip I have taken, I would have given up on Florida after the first shoot. Not only has he been there as a friend, but is also an excellent resource when it comes to local knowledge, locations, and contacts. It’s a shame there isn’t more production work in the Keys – he would make an excellent location coordinator (and I’ve told him this many times).

On my last visit, when Billy Causey learned of the difficulty I was having in gathering candid stories around Key Largo, he provided me with a list of vocal advocates who were willing to go on camera without fear of retribution or scorn from their peers. Three that I contacted were more than willing to speak out on camera, and I could sense from our phone conversations that these were not people who would back out like previous candidates. So as I packed, I felt more prepared than on either of the last two visits.

I also planned for a longer stay to give me the flexibility in getting diving footage and the interviews. I had three confirmed interviews going in and a fourth in progress, a good deal on diving, and a new housing for my camera. My biggest mistake the last two trips was thinking I could manage the shoot as if I was a legitimate show. After all, if 60 minutes is in town for a day and wants to interview you, chances are you would make it a priority and accommodate it in your schedule. Obviously, I’m no Mike Wallace, but it took me two visits to realize I was the one who had to be flexible.

In this case, flexible means two weeks in the Florida Keys to get what I still needed. If I were Mike Wallace, it would be four days.

Since there are quite a few stories I would like to relate in this forum, and I have this terrible habit of penning long-winded tomes, I will spare my readers (all 6 of you) and use an innovation I recently discovered: chapters.

I. The interviews
II. The Diving
III. The Production Assistant
IV. The People
V. The Side Project
VI. The End?
VII. Wrap Up and random stories