05.10.07

Personal Profiles: A TV Show by Students for the Community

Posted in My Life at 3:47 pm by Freeman Wicklund

Lori was the host of the episode of Personal Profiles in which I was interviewed.

On Friday, May 4, 2007 I walked into Eastern Middle School in Silver Spring. Lori, who is a student there, had called and invited me to be interviewed for a school project called Personal Profiles. She got my number from her mother, who got it from me when I gave her one of my business cards one Sunday at church.

Originally, I was unclear about what this interview was about. Was it an audio or video recording? Would it be shared with her class or just her teacher? Imagine my surprise when Lori took me to a fully functioning studio with three cameras and an editing room!

Behind all of the equipment were other students in her class, operating it. The dozen or so students who were not running cameras, signalling cues or working the editing board, served as the studio audience. Moreover, the video would be played on a local Montgomery County, Maryland cable access station.

Quiet on the set!

One of the students showed me how to put the mike on, and another, from behind the glass of the editing room started the countdown on his fingers. My brow was starting to sweat. Was I nervous, or was it just the hot lights bearing down on us?

Lori had done her homework. Having read my Web bio, she had developed a long list of questions that were very challenging and insightful. She asked questions about my pet sitting business, my involvement with animal rights, living as a vegan, and my religious beliefs. I think we have found the next Diane Sawyer!

I had brought visual aids to help me talk about the problems of modern-day farming and to let people know of the delicious look-a-like vegan hamburgers, hot dogs, pizzas and ice cream products that exist.

Before the show started, I asked Mike, one of the students, to take pictures. He took a ton of great photos which have been added to the photo gallery.

What do vegans eat? Everything from hot dogs, burgers and pizzas, to lasagnas and ice cream–only we eat vegan versions of them!

Halfway through the program we took a commercial break where Maddy read a commercial for my pet sitting job. How cool is that?

When Lori finished her questions, the audience was then allowed to ask a few questions before the program was a wrap. We all cheered the completion of their first episode. Two minutes later a videotape copy of the program was put in my hands!

I was terribly impressed by how professional all the students were and how skilled they were with using the equipment and working together. Then I learned this episode was the very first episode this class had produced! Kudos to all of the students for their hard work and commitment to the project.

For all of you who live in Montgomery County, Maryland, keep a lookout for the Personal Profiles show on your local cable access channel.

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