Well things got really busy once we hit Week 3 and began official filming. There just aren’t enough hours in the day for planning, filming, getting from one part of Ecuador to another, reviewing footage, taking pictures, sitting down to eat once or twice a day, and, well, you get the idea.
The TECHO crew hit the streets and kept the camera rolling.And it was back out to the villages where TECHO builds houses a few times to interview beneficiaries, follow their characters, and catch a gathering of volunteers and locals.There was to be a shoot at the local university but, well, sometimes these things don’t work out.The FCT crew headed up to the mountains to film with the locals near the cloud forest.Many hours were spent traversing muddy, boot-sucking paths through the forest.Did I mention it was an overnight trip in the mountains? With fancy homemade dinner and all?And we met the bear camera.
When shooting week wrapped the editors were already hard at work. The rest of the crew shifted gears to translations, finding media, and interview selects.
Many hours were spent in front of the editing computers.Seriously, many hours.Stories were reworkedand reworked again.Somewhere the US national team tied Portugal in the World Cup.
Many awesome cuisines were had in the last week as well.
First off was the Guac Off. Five pairs of people, five teams, five creatively different types of guacamole.With all entries fairly judged against each otherOne team, one guac had to win.
And then a fine lunch…
Tiesto’s fine dining!
And a fine dinner at La Cucharra Magica…
with song…with celebration…with magic…and laughter.
Everything came together for one final evening gathering at a fine cafe on the river Tomebamba known as Republica Sur.
The films were greatand the crowd was good.Crews had a final farewell with their changemakers.New friends will not be soon forgotten.And there was much celebration.
You can ask the crew members about that wild swing day that didn’t quite fit into this post.
DOCUMENTARY ABROAD: ECUADOR 