The Making of a TV Star

Venice, Italy - Sometimes people tell me that I would be a good host for a TV show on the Travel Channel. Okay, one of those people is my mom, so maybe that doesn't count. But there have been a few others.

When I attended a writers' workshop in January, I learned that this is the dream of many travel writers. Just like shower-singers want to be Kelly Clarkson or joke-tellers want to be Jon Stewart, travel writers really want to be Samantha Brown.

By the way, this is not because we long for fame and glory. This is because we want to be able to stay at the swanky hotels and resorts we review, but cannot afford.

Anyway, a few months back, travel writers were invited to submit video auditions for a new TV series (I really know nothing about it so I can't divulge any details). I decided to do this - not because I think I might become a TV star - but because it sounded like a lark. Beside, you can't win it if you're not in it!

So when we arrived in Venice, I turned my attention to this project. I had to create a 3-minute clip, and what more picturesque setting than the Queen of the Adriatic?

I decided to do a blurb about the art of mask-making and the festivities surrounding Carnival. In retrospect, this subject is probably a little tired. But I had only been in town for a week - all of which was consumed by Carnival - so I think I can be forgiven.

Unfortunately, aside from my webcam, I don't own a video camera nor do I know the first thing about filming. Once when I was in the 9th grade I was interviewed by the local news about the pressures facing teenagers. Then there were a few cameo appearances in Uncle Randy's holiday specials. But that is the extent of my experience in front of the camera.

So I felt pretty certain that I needed to hire a professional to do the filming and - most importantly - the editing. And as with all things I undertake, I had no time, as the deadline was already past. I needed some help - fast.

There were no listings for "videographer" in the Venetian yellow pages. So I set to calling every business that might somehow have some video connection, however remote. I got my first promising lead from a wedding planner, who suggested I call this guy named Andrea Rizzo, who lives on Lido (an island in the Venice lagoon). The wedding planner assured me that this video man does excellent, highly professional work. She also indicated that he charges about 1000 euros a day... I didn't bother.

My next brilliant idea was to call a conference and event organizing agency that advertised equipment rental. This proved to be false advertising, but the woman on the phone did pass along the name and number for the camera man they usually use... Andrea Rizzo, from Lido.

The two owners of the photography shop were stumped by my inquiry. Then one suggested to his partner "Do you think this is something Andrea would do?"

The guy at the video store was completely flummoxed, but I pressed him. "There is this guy on Lido, but I don't know his number."

"That's okay," I said. "I have his number."

So I called Andrea Rizzo, who seems to have cornered the Venetian video market, and he came over from Lido to meet me for a capuccino. I was very straightforward about my financial limitations. I think he realized it would be an easy job, or maybe he recognized that diamond-in-the-rough quality and he wanted to be involved in the making of a star. In any case, he agreed to the (much lower) price I proposed. And the next morning we were traipsing about Venice with a giant camera in tow.

So here it is: Mask Maker, Mask Maker.. an Andrea Rizzo production.