A decade before the #MeToo movement, there was no speak of gender equality in Film Production or Equal Pay. It is wonderful that there is now, a discussion and the times are changing. Back when I began this project, self distribution was not exactly an option and there was no Netflix or VOD for #IndieFilmmakers. One of the very 1st Women in Film, who I had the pleasure of working with, was an instructor of mine at #FullSail in 2006, Amy Zimmitti. Amy taught Advanced Post Production Audio with Dave White and it was an honor to be able to work with her out at the Dry Tortugas for one of the shoots.
I remember her always being helpful in class and encouraging my questions and inspiring me to always get great audio and take no BS from anyone. We stayed at the Casa Marina Hotel in Key West, which is stunning and a welcome treat. I believe it was still under construction in the pool area and wondered why I still had to pay those room prices but it was worth it because camping on Garden Key is primitive so good to have the contrast of somewhere so nice.
We somehow got lost, (possbly when I turned out of the Gas station I went the wrong way!) coming back from our camping trip to the Dry Tortugas , on Highway 1; I was driving and we must have already passed Marathon and as I thought we would soon be getting out of the Keys. I saw a stop light that looked a lot like one in Key West. It was dark by then and I said, "Wow, this looks just like Key West!".
Amy laughed and belted out, "that's because this IS Key West!".
We ended up spending another night in the Keys and I will never forget the loudest sounding thunder I ever heard in my life that night and jumping 3 feet in the air out of the bed and the laughs we had on that trip.
Also, we had the privilege of going to the Everglades National Park where the curator allowed me to to go through some of the archives of the, hand printed, black and white photographs of the fort that were taken by the Navy and other Military. I will definitely be sharing some of those here, in the near future.
Special Thanks to Amy Zimmitti for being a solid professional and a true friend!
Comments