As the week wore on our breaks became shorter and shorter and less and less frequent. Our diet consisted almost entirely of caffeine and fast food. The company had accounts at most of the food vendors at the arena. Initially we treated the privilege with respect, but as the days passed we began to abuse the company account more and more, stuffing ourselves with whatever we could fit into our stomachs.
Spencer’s asthma continued to slowly worsen. Finally with two days left in the show, when breaks were all but non-existant and nerves were already frayed Spencer got on a bus to return to Calgary. Nobody could blame him. The job sucked and he had a perfectly legitimate out. The poor guy could barely breathe, even with the SARS mask. That left Alex, James, Aaron and I along with the three local videographers to handle the finals.
By now we understood our jobs very well. We were streamlined. All of us could create DVDs on the fly while shooting a competition and preparing for the next. We were efficient, but we were tired, we were cranky and we were beginning to crack. There were murmmerings of job action, demanding more pay if we were going to work such inhumane hours. By this point we were putting in 15 and 16 hour days, almost all on camera.
There was debate over whether threats would work, or whether it was even the right thing to do. My arm ached, my hand cramped, my feet burned from hours of standing and pivoting in place, my eyes started to glaze over. Alex went crazy, talking gibberish, throwing things, wearing a box on his head. But we kept going.
We ultimately finished the show after midnight on the Saturday. Aaron’s insistence that we just do our best and hope our efforts were noticed worked out. All of us who stayed ended up getting a bonus on our cheques, plus a $100 cash bonus. Unfortunately by the time we made it to the bar there was only time for one round. I woke up at 5:00am and caught a taxi to the airport to embark on my next adventure. Filming a documentary at Burning Man…
Videographer’s lament
Dr. SARS threatens to quit
I need alcohol
Headboard
