The first official interview on the Rentz documentary is in the can... or... on tape. In a little plastic box. My point is that the first interview is done and it went terrifically well! We shot in a very impressive corporate office that was full of folk art. The CEO displayed numerous important pieces of Rentz among her collection. We used natural light, which gave a very flattering effect. The sound was clear but a bit thin because we didn't use a lav mic. I think I'll consider buying one for the next project. Still, for the first day I was very happy. My co-producer and I had all our questions ready and our interviewee (who is a lobbyist so she's used to public speaking) covered all our ideas like a pro.

Later on that night I went to a Doc Soup movie. Doc Soup is a series of once monthly documentary screenings that occur throughout the winter. The series as a whole has been getting better, and the size of the audience has almost tripled since it began three years ago - good news for anyone making docs. Tonight's film was entitled "Tom Dowd and the Language of Music". It was a biography of music engineer and musician Tom Dowd. Upon entering the theatre I had no idea who Tom Dowd was but now I will be hard pressed to listen to music without thinking of him.

Tom Dowd captured and recorded the music of an amazing array of artists from the Forties to the 21st century including John Coltrane, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, The Allman Brothers Band, and many more. The film uses a lot of archival footage of these legendary musicians performing their classic hits and that alone is wonderful to watch. Beyond this, the connection between Dowd and the musicians is strengthened through interviews with the artists and the record execs who praise his talent. Dowd was a natural musician, a true lover of all kinds of music and a great technical mind as well; he pioneered the use of 8 track mixers that revolutionized the way music would be recorded. In the film's many interviews with Dowd he exhibits a kind of humble warmth and humour that makes him one of the most likable people I've ever seen in a documentary. I read the film makers shot on 16 mm cameras and had to conduct the interviews over a period of six years because they kept running out of money. I admire their perseverance and am thankful for their efforts. I really enjoyed this film and would highly recommend it to anyone.

Well, off to bed. Holla out to Anson and his family in beautiful BC. I'll think of you while I'm enjoying another cold front and maybe (just maybe) walking to work tomorrow morning with hail blowing in my face.