You’ve Got A Friend In Allentown

I returned on Friday from a one-day shoot in Bethlehem, PA. I was field producing a segement for the show Dream Builders on HGTV, produced by the same people who make Old Homes Restored, the NAHB Production Group. The story is about collection of catalog plans for “Simple Farmhouses” developed by a Virginia architect. The farmhouse we were visiting in Bethlehem was built from these plans by a former software executive who has dropped out of the rat race to enjoy a simple country lifestyle with his family, raising crops with draught horses and baking bread. Yow! It was interesting and inspiring. And nice to be shooting out in the country, too, although it was a lot to get done in one day.

I’ll be writing the story later this week. I’m not wild about the fact that they want to pay me exactly the same as for an OHR story, even though the end product is twice as long, and is produced from twice as many field tapes. I may try to revisit this issue with the show producer, as she’s new and may not yet know the real deal on freelance rates.