I'm So Pumped!

I went to the CBC today to meet with the producer of the radio documentary that I am making for Outfront. Wow, wow, wow. First of all, the building itself is something else. I can't say it's beautiful but it's, well, it's the CBC, so we Canadians just love it as the embodiment of an institution. Look:


Then, they gave me a special pass so that I could go into the CBC, past the security guards and up the elevator. It was like being granted passage into some top secret agency. Then I spent the next two and half hours with an amazing producer who wanted to talk about nothing other than my creative project for the entire time! And he liked it and he encouraged it and he helped me make it better. And they're going to pay me for it. Pay. Me.

And I got some nifty recording equipment, loads of micro-disks (or whatever they're called), and a training session. So here's what is going to happen. I am leaving next week for the international portion of the tape-collection, working on scenes that I can only get in South Africa. When I get back, I listen the tape in real time and "log" it. That means I document track by track what is on the tape, what scenes etc. Once that's all done, it's time to come up with a narrative structure for my story, ending up in chapter titles that capture the dramatic arc of the piece. Then we get to start editing to shape the tape into my vision. When we have it roughly the way I want it, the producer takes over and does the final edit. It will be my piece. The final version requires my approval.

All I can say is, I am so very, very pumped.