Shoot!

(Lay-O)
Thursday and Friday were heavy with filming. Thursday Dad and I hit the locations we scouted earlier in the week, starting with my Grandfather’s post war office building. I saw that it got nasty shadows in the afternoon so we needed to hit it in the morning but the clouds came rolling in just as we got there. So we waited it out with Leo the cat (pronounced Lay-O) and breakfast in a cafe across the canal. Yes, apparently dutch restaurants have no rules about animals inside.

(The capitol of Opa's office building)
As soon as things cleared we started shooting, then I realized I may have screwed up the focus, so we shot some more. We followed this with a return to the apartment because it was also Dad’s childhood neighborhood.
We got good footage of the Museumplein, the park where Dad used to play. Back then it was filled with abandoned Nazi bunkers and gun turrets. This was his playground.
Although there is one shot of a woman pulling her pantyhose out of her rear on the left of the screen unaware that she was being filmed. Meanwhile my dad was on screen right, narrating, oblivious to the other action.
As well we got shots of his former street and the door to his old home which was right behind the Amsterdam Concert Building. Plus a series of roving shots around his neighborhood and his route to school.

(Carnival in the Palace Square)
That gave us the night off to check out the touristy areas like the Carnival set up in front of the Royal palace for the upcoming Queen’s Day, the red light district and a restaurant that Dad had taken Mom to about 8 to 10 years earlier.
On Friday we were scheduled to see Dad’s Cousin Johan who is almost a decade older than my Dad so he actually remembers what happened to him. Very important. When I had last talked to him it sounded like he only had maybe 2 hours in the morning so it was going to be tight. Plus we would have to drag the heavy camera equipment bag by public transit to the edge of town where he would pick us up from the station.

(Johan in the car)
Friday morning Johan called, he was coming to pick us up! Not only that, he was free for the whole day but best of all Joop had called Johan because he had misplace my number. It turns out he could come over as well and spend some time on camera.
Now I had 2 of the most important members of the Amsterdam contingent covered in one day! Joop could only spare about an hour but we did brilliantly in that time. He was frank, and surprisingly optimistic in talking about tragedy. And like many of the dutch he had the kind of command of the English language that make me sheepishly shamed about my lack of linguistic skill.

(prepping for a walking shot)
Johan’s english was just as clear but a little slower as he searched for words and was filled with thoughtfulness. The only minor hiccup was Johan’s girlfriend’s dog who does not like strangers and had to be sequesterd in the kitchen. A couple of barks got on the audio track but I think it will be fine. Overall a very successful day.

(Angry, angry dog!)