Tag: scenes

Attack of the Video Capture Gremlins?

Double uh-oh…

It seems that Affogato’s ongoing renovations aren’t the only production hurdle we have to clear this week.  Now we have a new problem: gremlins in our video system.

Somehow, our footage for this week’s episode has a problem: it’s missing something.  Like, half of every clip.  Without getting too technical, check out this pic:

This is what a folder of Baristas clips looks like in Final Cut. See all those numbers under the clip names? Those are the lengths of each video clip. We usually film each scene in multiple takes that last several minutes apiece, and then we cut in for closeups. But these clips aren’t a few minutes long; they’re a few seconds long. And what’s missing is a few seconds between each clip, which means the footage is a patchwork quilt of half-finished sentences.

That’s never happened to us before, and we’re investigating our video capture process to see where it went wrong (and to make sure it won’t happen again — otherwise, we have a real problem on our hands…).

So while we try to find the gremlins in our system — and re-digitize and re-edit this week’s episode from scratch (oh boy…) — here’s a deleted scene from our Customer Is Always Right episode to pass the time.

Story Contest: Tell Us YOUR Best Real-Life Coffee Shop Story (and We Just Might Film It!)

Rich Mathis (Erik Schark) is UnimpressedThe Baristas takes place in a cafe with a huge cast of screwballs who each have their own problems. And, honestly, we could write about the comic flaws of Dierdre, Sam, Astrid and Rich forever — and we just might.

But now we want to hear all about your strangest coffee shop tales!

If you ever worked in a cafe — or even sat in one for ten minutes — you know coffee shops are the modern answer to an Old West saloon: crazy characters, strange brews, and the vague sense that anything could happen at any time.  And it usually does.  Probably to you.  And that’s what we want to hear.

Whether you’re a real-life barista, a devoted customer, or you just had a craving for a latte at the best (or the worst) possible time, we want to know about it!  (And we just might film it.)

Here Are the Rules:

1. Write your craziest / funniest / strangest personal tale of caffeinated truth.

2. Email us your story by midnight on Thursday, June 30th.

3. You can send as many stories as you want, but email each one separately.

4. We’ll read them over the 4th of July weekend.  (Happy holiday!)

5. We’ll post our five favorites on The Baristas blog on Wednesday, July 6th.

6. Those 5 winners will each receive a swag bag bursting with Baristas goodies!

And, even better…

If we really dig your story, we just might shoot our own version of it on an upcoming episode of The Baristas!  And that means you’ll get a “Story by” credit, which is your gateway to fame and fortune!*

* Okay, so maybe not fortune.  But you’ll get to see Ben, Gary or Madison live vicariously through you, and that’s a reward all its own…

So what are you waiting for?  Start scribbling!

Like Us on Facebook and See More of the Show!

We’ve filmed more footage for The Baristas than we’ll ever be able to fit into our weekly episodes. That means we have a lot of scenes that no one will ever see, and that’s a shame, because we hate to squander comedy.

So now we have a solution.

For every 100 new fans who “like” The Baristas on Facebook, we’ll post a new deleted scene. And, in honor of our 300th fan, we’ve already posted our first clip.

So if you like The Baristas, “like” us on Facebook too — and don’t forget to tell your friends about us! More fans = more show!