Mission accomplished..I shot the Penguin

Nothing inspires my creativity like an everyday conversation that goes like this, “I’m missing another shot for the video so I have to go to the school and shoot the Sister and the kids.”

That just didn’t sound right.

As most of you know, I was recruited to produce a short videofor the Blessed Sacrament Catholic school and Church. With the help of my friends and wife, I planned, shot and edited a nice 7 min video to be presented at the annual School Gala tomorrow night.

This past Sunday the Principal came over and “blessed the video” but he asked if I could shoot some video of the Sister they have on staff. How can you present a Catholic school without some sort of religious figure?

“Sure…I’ll go shoot her.”

Again, that sounds bad and can be misinterpreted so please read on.

This past Wednesday, I got out of work early, drove to the school, grabbed my camera gear, walked up to the art classroom and did my pick up video shots of the Sister in her classroom. It took me all of 20mins. But as sat in the truck waiting to pick up my daughter from the school….the wheels of creativity began to turn in my mind…

I felt like a hit man…and I was inspired to write.

It was cold. Bitter-cold.

As I stepped out of my truck, I could feel the icy fingers of the Artic front dig into my bones on the day of my mission. Grimacing against the sting of frigid air on my face, I pulled a long non-descript gray bag out from the back seat, slung it over my shoulder and headed towards the school.

Cold…gray weather…what an appropriate setting.

I walked to the school office and quickly flashed a faked smile along with my forged credentials to the staff. Without any fuss they waved me on my way. I mentally reminded myself to get Joaquin a bottle of Chivas for his hard work…damn…that boy was good at forging.

Before my skin had even the chance to warm up, I was back out in the frigid weather, taking the less traveled path between two buildings towards building D…where my target…the Penguin was located. I bounded up the metal stairs at a brisk pace.

At the top, I pushed through the glass doors, then flashed another fake smile to the people who had noticed my entrance. I had a badge – I looked official and was friendly enough…so they went about their business without giving me a second thought.

The soft carpet muffled my footsteps as walked down the long hallway. I shifted the heavy bag to my right side and visually scanned the doors for my target’s room. In an instant, I locked in on the room, moved towards the door while I placed my iPhone on vibrate.

Five feet from the room, I quickly glanced over my shoulder then ducked into a small alcove by the doorway. I dropped to one knee and began to quickly assemble my weapon of choice.

With practiced precision, I quickly and silently opened my bag, grabbed the black anodized steel tubing and assembled my gear by touch — my eyes constantly scanning the hallway for stragglers. I only had 20 and didn’t want to get interrupted.

Strap, Slip, Clip – Slap…it was assembled.

Another quick peek down the hallway and I mounted the steel armament onto the tripod. The coast was clear and I was locked and loaded.

I got up, closed my eyes and drew in a long breath.

In my mind, I brought up the room layout from my previous recons. As I slowly exhaled, I opened my eyes, relaxed my shoulders and began to slow my breathing. With my back against the wall, my left hand hooked the tripod as my other hand slid towards the door handle. Unconsciously I had already flipped the switch to “ON.”

I was hot.

I quietly rotated the door handle a quarter turn clockwise and pushed the door open. In a smooth fluid ballroom dance move, I snaked into the room with my camera, my finger already on the red button. I stopped, quickly stabilized the tripod legs and began to shoot the Penguin.

It was over in 5 minutes and I was already in the hallway before they knew what hit them. In less than 2 minutes I disassembled and stowed my gear.

I stood up, wiped the thin bead of sweat that had formed on my upper lip and then casually strolled out of the building like Jason Bourne.

It was a good shot. I got what I wanted. Now to head home and view the footage.

Now before I start getting hate mail about my story, all I’m saying is that I had to film the Sister/Nun at the school. She doesn’t wear a habit but c’mon, you can’t just say, Sister or Nun and not think of the Black and White color right?

I’m going to add the footage I shot into my video tonight.

Now you know part of what goes on in this big ‘ol noggin of mine.

Beto