Category Archives: Production Diary

AND HOW NOT TO HANDLE ONE Train wreck at Gare Montparnasse, Paris, France, 1895 LONDON 1986 I have a production company with Adrian and Cameron, two former Molinare employees. Adrian would pull in jobs and Cameron and I would do … Continue reading →

WHAT DID I DO RIGHT? PRUDHOE BAY, ALASKA It’s the spring of 1969. I’m on the North Slope of Alaska, doing research for a BP sponsored documentary. Outside it’s -10°F – that’s -23C. Brrrr… but inside it’s warm and cozy. … Continue reading →

Dear Desmond, I’ve just written a piece about shooting Kaper Kops back when. I thought you’d like to read it. Then I looked you up on Wikipedia and discovered that you were dead: Desmond Tester (February 17, 1919 – December … Continue reading →

A Cool Way of Saying “Thank You.” Why is it that while the big, complex jobs can go smoothly, the little, simple videos for friends, family and clients are a world of hurt? SAN FRANCISCO February 2010 We’ve finished a … Continue reading →

By Stefan Sargent If you’ve been reading my diary here over the last three years, you might sense a pattern: I get a job, there’s lots of pain and grief — finally, I get the job done and save the … Continue reading →

USE A NO-BRAIN FORMAT My grand parents were from Germany. One Christmas they gave me a copy of Struwwelpeter http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Struwwelpeter – a German children’s book of cautionary tales. Pauline plays with matches and burns to death. Augustus won’t eat his … Continue reading →

NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE SAN RAFAEL, CA JUNE 2010 We’re out on our deck. Caroline has come to see my homemade pole camera.  She’s about to leave for eight months shooting in China. She’ll be producing, directing and doing the camerawork. … Continue reading →

Writing last month (read all it here) about an unexpected round-the-world job made me go all misty. An RTW! Yeeooww baby! Those were the days! SAVILLE ROW LONDON 1986 I am in a boardroom with Mr. Big. He wants a shoot in … Continue reading →

LONDON, JANUARY 1995. It’s the beginning of the year and I’m in misery. My best client, Entertainment Productions, has gone bust. I’ve got no work for the whole of ’95. I’ll starve. We’ll have to sell the house and live … Continue reading →

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 1968. I’m editing The Change at Groote, a documentary about mining manganese on a tiny island off northern Australia. Big business wants the precious mineral on a remote island. The natives are unhappy. “They’re mining in one of … Continue reading →