Three weeks ago, I, along with a core crew of five (three of whom – Neil Rogers, Tiffany Hopkins, Kevin Kusina – are some of QU’s finest) taped the New York International Auto Show as guests of the General Motors Corporation. My blog – warning shameless plug – automobilesdeluxe.tv focuses on luxury and exotic cars. Those of you who watch Q30 will likely have seen some of my automotive segments featuring BMWs and Rolls-Royces. So, when GM e-mailed me and asked whether I’d like to cover North America’s second largest automotive showcase on their dime, I wrote them back and said I’d like to do NYIAS one, no, make that five better.
Over the course of two and a half days we six traveled around the City to be wined, dined and put in contact with the people who move and shake the automotive world and transport yours. Being one with the media, Quinnipiac’s own butted shoulders with agents de presse from the Wall Street Journal and New York Times, main broadcasters like CBS and Fox, notable car bloggers from TopSpeed and AutoSpies and fellow student press from Columbia and New York Universities, to name a few. On the automotive end, all the top brass from every major manufacturer was there to represent their latest products.
Since our time at the show, my team has been editing furiously. We’ve taped, captured, logged and rendered hours of high-definition footage that covered press conferences from BMW, Pontiac, Lamborghini and Mercedes-Benz; a fashion show held at the IAC center hosted by Saab (complete with an ice bar); insightful interviews with Cadillac, Pontiac and Saab execs, designers, and engineers; a brief encounter with Pontiac spokesman 50 Cent who wants the General to name Pontiac’s new truck the “Curtis” (for obvious reasons), and one long talk with Aston Martin CEO Dr. Ulrich Bez – a legend in the automotive world.
Q30 and YouTube fans stay tuned as these new segments will be broadcasted in the next week or so.
Our production efforts have also given Quinnipiac filmmakers a leg up with the folks over at the New York Office of Film, Theater and Broadcasting. At our request, the School of Communications supplied City officials with Quinnipiac University’s credentials which will help students take advantage of producing content set in the city.
NYC’s law, as it currently stands, dictates that if you set so much as a tripod on a sidewalk, you’ve got to provide any police officer proof of production insurance in order to shoot footage. More info on the specifics can be found on the office’s Web site http://www.nyc.gov/html/film
For any gear head, the experience was akin to being parked on a plane of nirvana that lies somewhere between your rich uncle renting you a Ferrari for a day and buying you one of your very own – in tutto rosso. For any freelancing journalist, it was the first step through legitimacy’s door. To catch a glimpse of that experience, in the next week or so, tune in and watch the fruits of our labor.
