Papert becomes HGTV fodder...

[Charles Papert]

Last spring my girlfriend and I were the subject of an episode of "reDesign", an HGTV series which has at last reached the airwaves. As part of a year-long house renovation, we had the master bedroom designed by Kenneth Brown for the show. I had fun with the crew...after the first taping was plagued by hotspots from the skylights, they returned a few weeks later to discover I had silked the offending windows and they had nice soft light to shoot in all day!

Regardless of the curiousity factor of "let's watch Papert make a fool of himself", the transformation of the room is pretty amazing. It was exceptionally ugly beforehand (exactly as it was when I bought the house) and the production company has proclaimed this their favorite episode of the show to date. We loved working with Kenneth, although the reality was that many aspects of the design were the result of a group effort off-camera, and others that we brought to him.

The episode is called "Zen-inspired Master Bedroom", and airs on HGTV this week at the following times:

AIR TIMES:
• October 16, 2005 1:30 AM ET/PT
• October 20, 2005 8:30 PM ET/PT
• October 21, 2005 12:30 AM ET/PT
• October 22, 2005 4:30 PM ET/PT

[Chris Hurd]

Ladies and gentlemen, start your Tivos!

Hah, can't wait to see this! Thanks Chas,

[James Emory]

Originally Posted by Charles Papert

I had fun with the crew...after the first taping was plagued by hotspots from the skylights, they returned a few weeks later to discover I had silked the offending windows and they had nice soft light to shoot in all day!

Why didn't the DP catch that the first time? Did you get a half day for silking the skylights?

[Charles Papert]

They used different DP's for different shoots. The "important" days were shot on 2/3" DVCam, but many of the inbetweens were shot on a PD150, often by an associate producer. Such is the nature of basic cable...!

Actually, when some things were going on at the house while the show was on their Xmas break, I shot a bit on the DVX for them; a couple of shots made it into the final show.

[James Emory]

Yes, field producer/shooter combos are becoming more and more common. Now that a few shows actually send their own DV camera packages with the field producer, I was told by a few that they are expected to get city/location b-roll when arriving or leaving to prevent having to pay the crew OT after they shoot show content all day. They are also notorious for shooting in full auto. Oh, they don't get paid any extra for that either.

[Greg Boston]

Originally Posted by James Emory

I was told by a few that they are expected to get city/location b-roll when arriving or leaving to prevent having to pay the crew OT after they shoot show content all day. Oh, they don't get paid any extra for that either.

Although I don't always agree with every action that some labor unions engage in, this is one example of why they came into existence in the first place.

Hey Chas, will be setting the PVR to catch your 'in front of the camera' debut. You forgot to mention the most important thing. How does Amy Jo feel about the finished product? Or, better yet, how long did it take the two of you to reach a consensus. That seems to slow down a lot of my projects around here because Sandy and I have two different ideas about re-modeling. :-)

-gb-

[Charles Papert]

That's usually the biggie with remodeling, isn't it Greg. Amy had always envisioned herself in more of a rustic, Tuscany Villa kind of vibe, so I thought there would be difficulty bringing her around to the contemporary, streamlined look I had envisioned for the house, but it turns out that she embraced it entirely and we've had virtually no disagreements of taste in any aspect of the remodel (which has incorporated a complete gutting and rebuilding of 7 rooms and the exterior), which is astonishing.

[Greg Boston]

Originally Posted by Charles Papert

That's usually the biggie with remodeling, isn't it Greg. Amy had always envisioned herself in more of a rustic, Tuscany Villa kind of vibe, so I thought there would be difficulty bringing her around to the contemporary, streamlined look I had envisioned for the house, but it turns out that she embraced it entirely and we've had virtually no disagreements of taste in any aspect of the remodel (which has incorporated a complete gutting and rebuilding of 7 rooms and the exterior), which is astonishing.

That's awesome! What a gal.

-gb-

[James Emory]

I saw the show tonight. I bet you can't wait until your royalty checks start rolling in, especially when it goes into syndication. The house looks great and just in time. Is my room ready yet? I'm almost done loading the moving truck and should be there by next week. :)

It's time to do an episode of Cribs and you've got the tool and know how to do it!

[Charles Papert]

Originally Posted by James Emory

I saw the show tonight. I bet you can't wait until your royalty checks start rolling in, especially when it goes into syndication. The house looks great and just in time. Is my room ready yet? I'm almost done loading the moving truck and should be there by next week. :)

It's time to do an episode of Cribs and you've got the tool and know how to do it!

You said "tool"--huh huh...

Actually James, we are championing the return of the Murphy bed for our guest room; disappears neatly back into the wall for everyday use as Amy's office. As you may have guessed from the cabinets and hidden doors in the master bedroom, I have a fascination with the Ken Adams production design from the earlier Bond films; just adore secret panels and things that flip out of the walls, etc.

[James Emory]

Originally Posted by Charles Papert

As you may have guessed from the cabinets and hidden doors in the master bedroom, I have a fascination with the Ken Adams production design from the earlier Bond films; just adore secret panels and things that flip out of the walls, etc.

Yep. I also noticed the motorized skylight panels. Are those the ports for your super duper flux capacitor laser beam or just a way to look at the stars with your refractor telescope?

[Mike Teutsch]

Charles,

Enjoyed the show and the room looks beautiful. I think a small pit in front of the fireplace would have saved the hearth size, but otherwise it is coooooool!

Mike

[Charles Papert]

Imagine walking around in a dark bedroom half asleep in the middle of the night with the possibility of falling into said pit...! We examined that idea a couple of years ago (even going so far as having a 2-level room, which would have saved having to raise the whole floor) but it seemed like a bad idea pretty quickly.

The other thing about that fireplace is that it was built as an outdoor firebox and thus would always have smoked too much for indoors--it's fairly shallow front to back. And rebuilding it was out of the question, structurally speaking.

[Mike Teutsch]

Originally Posted by Charles Papert

Imagine walking around in a dark bedroom half asleep in the middle of the night with the possibility of falling into said pit...! We examined that idea a couple of years ago (even going so far as having a 2-level room, which would have saved having to raise the whole floor) but it seemed like a bad idea pretty quickly.

The other thing about that fireplace is that it was built as an outdoor firebox and thus would always have smoked too much for indoors--it's fairly shallow front to back. And rebuilding it was out of the question, structurally speaking.

Charles,

That makes a lot of sense, especially the second part!
Best of luck.

Mike