Comedian – Lynn Ruth Miller

So recently, I helped in a collaboration project between RMITV (RMIT’s TV) and Catalyst (RMIT’s magazine).

I was to be the camera/lighting operator for an interview with a comedian named ‘Lynn Ruth Miller’. We had some time before this comedian showed up, so I ran over to the cafe near the RMITV offices to grab a bite. Shortly after, one of the volunteers came running over to me saying that the comedian had arrived. So I grabbed my stuff, and ran back over with him. I pointed at a younger woman standing near the office and asked, ‘is that the comedian?’. He replies, ‘no, it’s the one next to her’. Standing beside the young woman, was a little, innocent old lady.

I had some trouble digesting what I was seeing. I never once thought that someone of that age could be a comedian. I’m pretty sure she said she didn’t bring her hearing aid. Surprisingly enough, she turned out to be a very interesting person – and a funny one as well. She was just the type of person you could listen to for hours on end. I didn’t even know what she was talking about half of the time, but I enjoyed listening anyway – she just had that sort of vibe.

This was a new experience for me, as I had never done any camera work for anyone besides myself (what a selfish guy!). The clients were actually asking me for advice on what I thought on the shots and lighting. It was a bit bizarre, simply because it was my first time in a situation like this. Luckily, I had a partner who was a bit more experienced than I was who made the learning curve a lot smoother for me.

After setting up the camera; adjusting their settings to the perfect configuration, and also have a two-point lighting system set-up – it was time to shoot. I also ended up boom operating; which for those who don’t know, is simply just holding a metal pole with a shotgun microphone attached at the end. Now, I had done this before –  but never for this long. The thing with older people is they tend to have A LOT to say, so I was stood there with my arms trembling as they got more sore over time. But I suppose that can be my workout for the year… or like, decade.

Overall, it was a great experience to meet not only Lynn, but also the volunteers at RMITV and Catalyst who were involved in the project. Hopefully I can get more involved with projects like that as time goes on. Anyway, here’s the final video!