Z On Location

by J. J. Howard

  “I am ready to have an adventure,” I told her as I patted Popcorn’s furry head.

  Mom looked at her watch. “We leave in half an hour. So be sure you’ve got your gear together.”

  “I do. I just need to bring it all downstairs. Come on, Popcorn.” I raced to my room to scoop up my bags, then hurtled back downstairs. I saw through the front window that the RV was already parked in the driveway.

  Dad was sitting in the driver’s seat, and he beeped the horn when he saw me in the window. Grinning, I ran outside.

  “Just checking out this sweet ride,” Dad told me. “After all, it’s going to be carrying both my girls. Had to make sure it was roadworthy.”

  At that moment, it hit me how much I’d miss my dad. He could always, always make me smile.

  What I was thinking must have shown on my face, because Dad jumped out of the RV seat. “Don’t be sad, Z,” he said as he helped me lift my bags into the RV. “You’ll be so busy on the trip, the time will fly by.”

  “I know. I’ll still miss you, though.”

  “Popcorn and I will miss you, too, sweetie. But you’ll be home soon, with lots of adventures to report.”

  “Here’s to adventures!” I answered. “Speaking of which … I’m going to explore this home on wheels.”

  Dad gave me a quick hug. “Sounds good. I’ll go check if Mom needs help with anything.”

  I climbed into the RV, pulled out my camera and hit RECORD, starting by focusing on the driver’s and passenger’s seats of the RV. “My dad says this is a Class-A RV, or recreational vehicle,” I narrated. I walked back to the middle section and shot the dining table with its booth-like seats, and the long sofa-like seat across from it. “Here’s where we’ll fuel up for our shoots.” I walked to the back of the RV and panned across the queen-size bed. “This is where Mom will sleep,” I said. “And here’s the bathroom. Check out how tiny this sink is!” I kept walking back toward the front. “Here’s where I’ll sleep, in this fold-out bed that’s built into the wall. As you can see, we’ve got all the comforts of home; they’re just a little smaller—and mobile.” I gave a thumbs-up. “Z out!”

  Popcorn hopped up into the driver’s seat. I put my arms around her. “You be good for Dad, okay, girl?” She licked my face.

  “Let’s get on the road,” Mom called from the driveway. Dad shooed Popcorn out of the driver’s seat, and Mom climbed up into the RV.

  I stepped back and Dad shut the side door, giving me a wave and a smile. I waved back.

  “Before we go, I have a little something for you,” Mom said. “Check under your seat.”

  I reached down and, sure enough, there was a sparkly silver bag. I pulled out a black baseball cap from under the tissue paper. The word CREW was stitched in white thread.

  “I love it!” I thrust the hat onto my head and reached across to hug her. “I’m so psyched to be part of your crew.”

  “I’m glad to hear it. And I’m happy to be able to spend this time with you this summer, too, Z.” She put her hands on the wheel and asked, “Ready for our adventure?”

  “Ready!” I agreed.

  Mom nodded and pulled out into the street, backing up slowly.

  I settled in to the passenger’s seat. Soon I’d see all kinds of new sights—and be able to record them for my vlog and Winter’s #summeradventure contest. Even though I would miss Dad, my friends, and the fun Seattle summertime, I was excited and ready to hit the road!

  Our trip started with a huge bang. Literally.

  Mom took the first turn out of our neighborhood a little too fast, and the snacks I’d just stowed above the dining area flew out of the cabinets.

  “Hope I didn’t scare you,” Mom said as she pulled over.

  “I’m fine.” I unbuckled my seat belt and followed Mom back to survey the damage.

  We started picking up boxes of crackers and cups of instant soup. “Oh goodness—I forgot!” Mom smacked her forehead. She opened up one of the drawers and pulled out a pile of bungee cords. “The rental place gave me these, and told me to be sure to tie up anything I loaded in. Give me a hand with these, will you?”

  “Sure thing,” I said, chuckling. It was unusual for my super-on-top-of-it mom to forget a detail like that. It was probably because she’d been so focused on preparing every aspect of the shoot. Which made me realize I should keep studying, too, instead of just daydreaming out the window.

  For the past three days, I’d been practicing with all the equipment we’d be using on our interviews. As we secured the last cabinet’s handles, I said to Mom, “I’d like to go over the microphone setup one more time.”

  Mom gave me her proud-professor smile. “I think that’s a very good idea.”

  I pulled out the binder Mom had given me with all the equipment information and notes on sound recording. The RV started to move again as I put my feet up on the passenger’s seat to get comfortable. I loved being up front next to Mom. I turned to the page about the Rode NTG-3, a handheld mic. There was a diagram of it, and Mom’s note read:

  This microphone uses a supercardioid pickup pattern to record sound from one direction while avoiding pickup of background noise.

  Whew. This was complicated stuff.

  My phone dinged a few moments later. Lauren had already posted pics from soccer camp. It looked like she was having so much fun. I liked all the posts, and then wondered what Mariela was up to. She’d posted some shots of practice with her band, Needles in a Haystack. I wanted to share what I was up to, too.

  I looked around the RV for something to post. My options were pretty limited. I had a binder full of complicated information about sound equipment, and some cabinets full of food (now secured with bungee cords). #RVsafety? #Funwithmicrophones?

  I sighed, but then reminded myself, You’re on your way to a real film shoot. That’s the first adventure.

  I had an idea. “Hey, Mom, will you make a Z’s Crew post with me? I want to tell everyone how excited I am to be on a real film crew.”

  “Sure. If you don’t mind me driving and talking.”

  “No—it’ll be more authentic that way, since this is a filmmaking road trip.”

  I turned on my camera and held it out in front of me. “Greetings from the road, Z’s Crew. I’m here with professional filmmaker Michelle Yang—a.k.a. Mom. We’re on our way to our first shoot. Mom, can you tell my followers a little bit about the documentary?”

  “Of course, Z. For the past several years, I’ve been pulling together ideas for a documentary about new forms of technology, and ways that tech can help us to communicate better.”

  “Thanks, Mom!” I said, and turned the camera back toward myself. I beamed into it. “Z’s Crew, I can’t tell you how excited I am about this film. I mean, connecting with all of you through tech is kind of my thing, right? And I’m lucky to get to learn from my favorite filmmaker and my personal hero, my mom. Okay, so I’d better go finish getting ready for our first shoot. For Professor Yang and Z from Highway—where are we, Mom?”

  “I-5.”

  “Okay, from I-5 on road trip day one, this is Z’s first official #summeradventure post. See you soon! Z’s Crew—out.”

  I leaned back in my seat. “Thanks for appearing in the vlog,” I told Mom.

  “No problem. How’s the studying going? Have you run into any questions?”

  I felt a stab of guilt, realizing I hadn’t gotten very far in my studying before getting sucked into my friends’ photo feeds.

  “No questions yet. I think I’m ready.”

  “Well, good. Just let me know. We have about an hour until we reach Tacoma.”

  I opened my binder. I knew Winter Costello was going to be at VidCon, but I couldn’t recall the specifics of the person we were interviewing first. I scanned the page and remembered the awesome story of our first interview subject, Kacey Kravitz. She was an inventor who, at only eighteen years old, already had a patent for a robot that she created to help kids with learning difficulties und
erstand how to interact with others.

  I read about Kacey’s background—science fair wins, graduating two years early from high school. I couldn’t wait to meet her. I wondered if she’d let me post something about her new work for #summeradventure.

  After I’d read up on Kacey, I went back to studying the mic information. As Mom always said: A good filmmaker is always prepared!

  We were meeting Kacey at her dorm on the Tacoma campus of the University of Washington. Mom steered the RV into a parking space, and then she got out her clipboard with the checklist of everything we needed for the shoot. I started to feel excited butterflies in my stomach as I put on my CREW hat, loaded myself up with gear, and followed Mom toward the building. A real film shoot—this was it! I couldn’t wait to show my mom everything I knew. I was going to be the best assistant she ever had!

  Kacey spilled out of the double doors with some other students as soon as we got close. “Hi! You must be Michelle! I’m Kacey.”

  “It’s so nice to meet you,” Mom said. “And this is my production assistant, Z. Also known as my daughter!”

  I blushed a bit, but then quickly said, “Thanks for holding the doors. I wasn’t sure how we were actually going to open them.”

  “Oh, here, let me take one of your bags,” said Kacey.

  “Thank you so much,” Mom said. “Just please be very careful setting it down—that case has some camera lenses in it.”

  “Basically every bag and case in our house has camera equipment in it,” I told Kacey. “You get used to setting everything down gently.”

  Mom smiled at me and rolled her eyes at my teasing. We always teased each other, but suddenly I wasn’t sure whether I should be more formal when we were on a shoot like this. Kacey was close to my age, though—and so friendly—that I felt more relaxed than I’d expected to on the first shoot.

  “I thought we’d do the interview right here in the common room, if that’s okay,” Kacey said to Mom. “There’s plenty of space.”

  “Sounds great—and there’s lots of light!” Mom said as she looked around at the many windows. “Okay, Z, let’s get everything set up. I think we’ll be fine with one camera for today. I’ll get started on that setup. Can you open up the mic case and get going on that end?”

  “Sure thing!” I ran over to the case, and thump! I tripped over another bag I had set on the ground.

  “Cool move, huh?” I said, trying to cover up my klutziness.

  “It will only take us a couple of minutes to get set up,” my mom told Kacey.

  Great, I thought. I couldn’t even smoothly handle one of the first tasks Mom gave me.

  “No rush, Michelle.” Kacey came over to see what I was doing. “So you’re in charge of the sound?”

  “Yup,” I told her. “This is actually our first shoot for the film, so I’m still learning.”

  Kacey picked up the mic I’d chosen to use—the one I’d read most about seemed like it would work well. “Nice microphone—is it a condenser or dynamic mic?”

  My first pop quiz! “It’s a condenser mic. We’ll use it to pick up your voice without any background interference in the interview.” Nailed it.

  “Sorry to be nosy,” Kacey said. “My robots are all equipped with microphones so that they can seem to interact with the kids. Studying sound equipment has become one of my new obsessions.”

  “Can you come on the rest of the trip with us?” I joked. “There’s so much to learn!”

  “I’d love to, but I’m stuck here getting this project ready for Roxie’s next public appearance.”

  “Roxie?” I knew Kacey had created a robot, but I didn’t know it had a name.

  “You’ll see in a minute.”

  I fumbled a bit setting up the condenser mic, but I eventually figured it out. Maybe I should have practiced putting this together instead of just reading over Mom’s notes.

  Mom called out to me to see if I was ready.

  “All set,” I answered, snapping the last connection in place. I think I had it right.

  “Okay, guys, you can bring Roxie out!” Kacey called.

  Kacey’s friends appeared, each holding one arm of a bright-pink robot wearing a University of Washington ball cap.

  They set it down on a low table and hit a button on its back. The robot whirred to life. Blue lights flashed from its eyes, and one pink arm raised in a wave.

  Kacey patted her leg. “Meet Roxie the Robot!”

  Both Mom and I clapped. “She’s not what I was expecting,” I said. “She seems so …”

  “Do I seem smart?” Roxie asked, and I burst out laughing.

  “Roxie is programmed to pick up on more than a thousand words and phrases and frame an appropriate response.” I looked over at Mom and saw that she’d removed her camera from its tripod and was capturing Kacey introducing her robot. Lesson one, I thought. Always be ready to film on the fly.

  “Say hello, Roxie.”

  “Hello. Would you like to shake my hand?”

  I giggled and reached down to shake the metal hand.

  “Sorry her hands are cold,” Kacey apologized. “I’m working on a way to make them warmer, and add some degree of softness.”

  Mom captured some more footage of Roxie the Robot interacting with me, and then she directed Kacey to the seat she’d selected for the interview.

  I stood beside Kacey but made sure my mic—and I—were out of the frame. Mom asked Kacey a few questions about Roxie. Kacey was relaxed and funny, and the interview flew by as she explained that her cousin, who was on the autism spectrum, was her inspiration to create the robot. Roxie provided a safe way for kids to practice interacting with others.

  “Okay, I think we’ve got what we need. Thank you so much, Kacey,” Mom said.

  “Why did you decide to make her pink?” I asked.

  “It’s my cousin’s favorite color. I do have plans to make ones in different colors, too, but I have to admit, I love the pink.”

  Roxie’s pink head nodded and the blue lights of her eyes twinkled. “Roxie is happy!” The robot twirled around twice, and we all laughed. I could see how kids would really respond to her. Before we broke down the set, I pulled out my phone to snap a few pics of it for a #summeradventure post I’d put up when we got back to the RV.

  We waved good-bye to Kacey and Roxie after we were all packed up. I carefully balanced the bags I was carrying while we walked so I could thumb through my photos to find the best one for my post. I couldn’t wait to show my friends what a real film set looked like.

  “That was a great first day,” I told Mom as I hoisted the case I was carrying higher on my shoulder. I had to admit, even that short interview had been hard work. I didn’t want Mom to see how tired I was.

  “Yes, Kacey was a very relaxed subject. Let’s get our gear packed up in the RV and then we can go get some ice cream to celebrate a successful first shoot.”

  “Bring it on! Z is happy!” I twirled twice, just like Roxie had done. Mom laughed at my robot impression. Once we reached the RV, Mom asked me to double-check our equipment to make sure nothing was left behind.

  I ran through the list: Cameras, check. Mics, check. Adapter cables, uh-oh.

  “I’ll be right back, Mom!” I sprinted back toward the dorm, just as Kacey was coming out with the cables in hand.

  “I saw these under the table and hoped I’d catch you!” she said.

  “Thanks! I can’t believe I forgot them.” I was so embarrassed, but Kacey just smiled and said, “It happens. Safe travels!”

  I ran back to the RV, hoping I could get the cables packed without Mom noticing, but no such luck. “Maybe next time we should bring the checklist to the set with us?” she said, putting a hand on my shoulder.

  Before we headed out for ice cream, I had to post about the day. I had led some shoots for my CloudSong short film, but that was nothing compared to a real, professional shoot. I was happy I’d learned enough about sound equipment to get it right, and except for leaving c
ables behind, I really felt like I’d earned my CREW hat today. I went to stand in front of some of the equipment in the back of the RV and took a selfie in my gear.

  Once I had a good shot, I typed the caption:

  Hopefully, my followers would think this was as cool as I did. And even more, I hoped they couldn’t tell how wiped out from the day I felt. I was ready for that ice cream.

  My phone dinged really early, and I opened it to see it was another #summeradventure post from Winter. I immediately hit PLAY. She was wearing a helmet and standing in what looked like a giant forest.

  “Hey, gang! Wow, you guys have been getting your adventures on hard already! I have seen some amazing posts from you all. It’s going to be a hard decision when it comes to who gets that special feature on my vlog! You guys inspired me to do even more adventurous stuff, so here I am, hundreds of feet in the air, ready for my first-ever canopy tour! I hope you don’t have a fear of heights!”

  I took a deep breath, half afraid for Winter, and half afraid that my posts wouldn’t stack up to the rest.

  Winter’s camera wobbled while she strapped it into her helmet and launched off the platform. Winter whooped and I could totally understand why. I felt like I was flying through the tops of the trees! I had to try that! When she landed, the camera wobbled again while she took the camera off.

  “That was amazing! You guys, wow! What an adrenaline rush! Keep your videos coming, I’m going back up to do that again! Bye!”

  Oh my gosh. How was I going to compete with that kind of adventure? I was going to have to step up my game. I was going to have to be on the lookout for awesome post material today.

  I stood with my mouth open, gazing up at high ceilings set with flat screens showing footage of fast-moving cityscapes. This was our next interview location? It was seriously impressive. I shot a few seconds of video from my phone. Maybe I could edit that together with some other shots from the day for my post.

  “Ms. Danvers,” I heard Mom say, “this is my daughter, Z. She’s my assistant on the shoot today. Z, this is Calista Danvers, the CEO and founder of Cortex.”