I'm Ready for My Closeup

Evidently, my doctor thinks I'm somewhat of a success story because I've managed to lower my cholesterol without drugs but just by making some lifestyle changes. As a result, she asked me if I would mind being featured in a national news release video about women and heart disease being produced by the American Heart Association. I told her that if it meant educating other women about the dangers of high cholesterol and heart disease, sure.

Well, last week I got a call from the video company and it was a go! I talked to the boyfriend (they wanted to feature him, too, about the effect my lifestyle changes had on him), he was cool with it and we all agreed on Saturday, Jan. 7, as a shoot date. The vid production team said they were shooting (no pun intended) for a half-day shoot, beginning at 10 AM and ending up around 1:30 PM.

Prior to the shoot, I needed to get permission from my two older brothers to use their likenesses in the taping, since the AHA wanted to show the familial relationship to heart disease. Both brothers were agreeable, although one of them asked if I would be using a flattering photo! LOL! I told him, of course, that I would use the one from my older brother's wedding a year ago.

The crew was extremely professional. They showed up early and were done by noon! If they moved any furniture and whatnot, it was moved back into its proper place before they left. They had instructed me on what colors to wear, how to dress and what questions they would be asking me.

That being said, I think they should have asked me more about the type of dwelling in which I reside. When they arrrived at my place, the cameramen groaned that I lived in a three-story walkup! No big deal to me but then again, I don't have to carry 50 pounds of camera equipment up the stairs, either. They were also a bit perturbed that I live in an apartment which faces the street, thereby picking up all the street noise. These are physical things over which I have no control but I still think they should have asked me about them so that they wouldn't be so surprised when they arrived.

The first 20 minutes of so was spent filming me running in Verona Park. Fortunately, today was a gorgeous day so the cameraman got some good shots. He filmed me running towards him and then away from him and the lake in the background was a nice backdrop. A couple of people walking by wondered what we were doing and that was kinda cool. My 15 minutes of fame had arrived!

Back to the apartment when they proceeded to interview me about my family history, my own history and my thoughts about women and heart disease. I think a big point of this video is to show women that heart disease is not just a "man's disease," that it's still the #1 killer of both men AND women. It's just that in the past, all of the studies and research have focused on men.

They had told me not to wear red or any type of print or pattern that might be distracting. So I had worn a black turtleneck and black pants which made me look very slender. However, since my running outfit had been all black, the cameraman decided that I needed a splash of color. Well, since red was out (too bad, it's a fave of mine), I suggested an olive green V-neck sweater. They didn't seem thrilled about it until I put it on and then they loved it! Said it brought out my hair and eyes. Speaking of hair, the interviewer would occasionally lean over to push a tiny strand of hair off my face.

Then (and this one cracked me up) I was told that they needed to powder to my nose and forehead because my skin was shiny! I always complain about my dry skin in the winter and am always slathering on tons of moisturizer so I don't know where the shine came from. Maybe because I had just come back from running, who knows. They asked if I had any powder (I don't, I never wear it) but they did have their own.

For the most part the interviewer liked my answers, only asking me to repeat a couple of them for emphasis. The street noise proved to be problematic at times, though, and we had to halt taping a couple of times due to a car horn or truck noise.

Then it was onto the kitchen where they wanted to get some b-roll and me and BF preparing food. This was the most annoying part of the shoot, I have to say. Everytime one of us opened up the fridge or a kitchen cabinet, we had to turn cans, bottles and boxes around so as not to display brand names! I understand why they asked us to do this but it was still a pain in the arse.

Also, it felt very fake to be cutting up fruit for salad after we just ate breakfast about an hour ago and making inane conversation while doing it but I imagine that most of this will end up on the cutting room floor. The director said she'd rather have too much b-roll than not enough.

Anyhoo, it was a fun morning. But I gotta tell ya, I would NOT want to do this (be an actor or a video spokesperson) for a living. It's a fussy business.