On the River

I love my job.                                           

                                                                    

 So do my friends.

Celebrating the beauty of Chattanooga, I rounded up the gang to head to The River Inn where we enjoyed a lovely dinner on the Tennessee River.

There was only one catch- we were filming some shots...which meant a lot of Hurry Up and Wait. 

So, yes, you have the delicious Herb Chicken and Beef Marsala, Shrimp, Tortellini, and Caesar salad. 

Not to mention the beer and wine we smuggled in. 

(Beer actually looks a lot like watered down sweet tea when poured in a wine glass. Go figure.)

It was a basic shoot, eat when the camera was rolling, stop when the directors yelled cut. 

Luckily for us, we were not the table that was chosen to have the food delivered to them on every take. 

Which meant we were actually allowed to eat in between takes.

Well...kind of.

You see, you couldn't eat too much or you would find yourself with an empty or unbalanced plate- which would look weird on camera. So, we had to improvise. 

Since it was a small shoot, the caterers didn't bother with too much food. They obviously don't know my group...because sure, we were the last in line the first go around. But when everyone else sat and stared morosely at their food....our task force of dedicated foodies ran back around the building, smuggled out another plateful of deliciousness and brought it back to the table at great risk to their person.

Well, no not really but still- it was impressive. 

Being in the background of the shoot, we had to come up with a few other ways to eat and still keep the plates looking appetizing. Thus, the bread cover. You'd carve out a slice of bread- and eat the rest of it- leaving it looking like a full roll when it actually was little more than the end piece with some hanging left over. 

This was used to great success by the females of the table. 

Other tactics included the push around, which involved spreading out different parts of your plate so it appeared full, the desserts hidden on the napkin next to your plate, which were bite size deliciousness. (Oreo Brownie Truffle Bites- How I Miss You) and the water pour. 

Well, I never really got the water pour, despite me draining my diet coke and looking earnestly at the staff to refill my cup. No, they instead pretended to pour into Rach's and Shell's already very full glasses. The downside of having my back to the camera I suppose, but still. Can't help a girl out?  

My group of kids is a fantastic bunch- which means plenty of dirty jokes during Action, awkward moments during the cuts, and a whole lot of planning how to go get more food.

All in all, it was a lot of fun, free food, and some good times on the beautiful riverside porch of River Inn. 

With that said, come see Chattanooga.