After a LOT of location debates (inside with greenscreen? studio?) , we decided to shoot Ep 101 outside and after we saw the first cut, the consensus was that we really liked the look. We thought it went well with our VJ’s segments and gave it a more authentic urban feel.

Of course, shooting outside brings its own set of troubles. Planes and trucks don’t seem to care much if you’re shooting a show. Even dogs and people on cell phones can bring things to a halt. Have you ever noticed that people talk especially LOUD on their cell phones? Why is that?

While shooting the end of episode 102, we were right next to a warehouse that decided it had to do all its heavy lifting and loading right then. Sarah would get through half her lines and then BEEP BEEP BEEP the loading trucks would go off on cue. The crew kept cracking up by this impeccable timing, but Sarah had to catch a flight and was pressed for time. She’s such a pro you can’t even tell how frustrated she was... BEEP BEEP BEEP!

Developing a new TV show is a lot of work. You have to get your concept down, hire your crew, set a production schedule, audition hosts, choose locations, create all the content, and develop a plan of action to pull it all off! Whew!

It’s also really exciting.

We had no idea what kind of stories our VJ’s would pitch to us and we were looking forward to finding out. We knew that they would be the best resource for finding stories that our audience could relate to. We wanted a variety of styles and voices and a local focus to each story, so that viewers could discover what unique and inspiring things were happening in different cities across North America.

First things first, though... we had to find our VJ’s. We sent out a call and the ideas came flooding in! It was a little crazy working with all the young VJ’s, who were spread out in different cities, in various time zones. Coordinating the segments was no small feat, especially since they were shooting on different days, using  different equipment, and each experiencing their own challenges. Technology can be your friend, but not always!

A huge shout out to all our first VJ’s for being our guinea pigs. Trial and error is one of the best methods for figuring out how to best do something. Our first group of VJ’s really stepped up to the plate.