Lights, camera, action - our days with Croatian national TV crew

When we entered the olive picking competition, we were looking to learn a little more about olives and have fun; we had no idea what would transpire.  One of the organizers used to work at the National Croatian TV station and told the station of our family travel and the next thing we knew we had a film crew following us for a TV special.

Franka and her film crew went above and beyond every expectation.   They worked with Mia, a radio host from Hvar, and set up a day of adventure followed by a day of "filming our everyday life."   The crew helped to coordinate wine and chocolate tasting as a way for us to experience more of the islands history and culture. (see the separate blogs on these two amazing experiences).

Franka was the mastermind of the project, she was relaxed, funny, warm, welcoming and allowed us to be ourselves.   She set up the events, interviewed us as well as our hosts and helped choreograph the filming of our daily life in the windmill.   The cameraman and sound guy were the brawns behind the project, scrambling to get the right angle, or capture our voices through the wind and church bells.

In helping to create this TV story, we were given the opportunity to reflect on what it was that we wanted to share.  Why were we doing this year? What is our morning routine? What had we learned so far? What was it like having parents as teachers?  

It was fun to see the girls rise to the occasion, speaking comfortably for the camera, willing to go with the flow and wait patiently when it was not their turn.   More than anything it was a real treat to spend a few days reflecting on our year through the process of helping create this story. We will post the final piece when it is done. Thank you so much, Dan, Franka and HRT, we can't wait to see the final product.

Getting the mics ready.

Getting the mics ready.

Isabelle being interviewed at the chocolate shop.

Isabelle being interviewed at the chocolate shop.

Franka and her magic.

Franka and her magic.

Getting on film what many of our days really look like.

Getting on film what many of our days really look like.

Getting ready to tell our story.

Getting ready to tell our story.

They told us they would like to get some footage of us making breakfast for the girls, but the deal is we rotate on who makes food, and they often make is, so we had little one make breakfast for the camera crew.

They told us they would like to get some footage of us making breakfast for the girls, but the deal is we rotate on who makes food, and they often make is, so we had little one make breakfast for the camera crew.

Getting the story behind Gamulin’s chocolates.

Getting the story behind Gamulin’s chocolates.

Getting behind the behind scene.

Getting behind the behind scene.

Sharing the difference between “Norwegian space bubbles” and “Croatian expressions” as we jumped between these very different cultures.

Sharing the difference between “Norwegian space bubbles” and “Croatian expressions” as we jumped between these very different cultures.

Making funny faces at dad while he is on camera.

Making funny faces at dad while he is on camera.

Funny to see your life from this angle.

Funny to see your life from this angle.

Cheers to a great few days! You all are the best!

Cheers to a great few days! You all are the best!