Video wrap-up: A Day at the DCSPCA

After working for the last two and a half weeks to complete this project, I can confidently say that it was a great experience, but a challenging one.  Actually getting permission from the Dutchess County SPCA to make this video was a much more difficult process than I had imagined, because in the past, people have had ulterior motives for coming in to film the shelter.  However, with some help from Zolz, I was able to visit the shelter for a day last week and shadow some of the volunteers there.

Another challenge that I faced while working on this project and filming at the DCSPCA was trying to figure out how much b-roll footage I wanted and how much interview footage I wanted. I ended up going with more b-roll footage because I wanted to focus on showing the beautiful facilities that the DCSPCA has just recently been able to build (the new adoption/education center was finished in 2011) and show the dogs, cats and volunteers doing what they do everyday.

It was awesome to see the work that goes in to making dogs who are abandoned or surrendered to the shelter adoptable and ready to go home with families.  Even though it’s tough work, I could tell from the volunteers and staff that I met that working at the shelter is incredibly rewarding, worthwhile work.  Overall, I had an awesome time completing this project, and I got to meet some really cute dogs and cats, so it was a win all around.

Premiere of “A Day at the Dutchess County SPCA”

Hey everybody!  Thank you all so much for following along with the promotional campaign for my short film A Day at the Dutchess County SPCA!  Here is the full film, enjoy, and if you’re looking for a new pet, head over to the DCSPCA!

My Future: Amy Lavigne

“A Day at the Dutchess County SPCA” Premieres Tomorrow!!!

Do you love cute animals?  Are you a dog person, a cat person, or a little bit of both?  Do you want to learn more about one of the oldest animal shelters in the country?  Then look no further!  The world premiere of my short film “A Day at the Dutchess County SPCA” is tomorrow right here on my blog!

Last week I visited the Dutchess County SPCA to get a first hand look at what the shelter is like and what the volunteers do on a daily basis, and filmed it all so I could share how awesome the DCSPCA is!  After getting a tour from the DCSPCA’s communications director, I shadowed a couple of dog volunteers as they walked and trained with two dogs named Coco and Pluto, and visited with some cats!

Even though I had a ton of fun visiting at the DCSPCA and getting to meet all of the awesome animals, staff and volunteers, the real purpose of “A Day at the Dutchess County SPCA” is to bring attention to the shelter so they are able to find many more animals forever homes!  So, get ready for the premiere tomorrow, and spread the word about the DCSPCA.  Promotions have been going on over that past week on twitter and facebook, so head over and check out the trailers for the video.

My new favorite restaurant: Pangea

Over this past weekend, my sister came to visit at Marist for the first time and we decided to go to the Culinary Institute for dinner on Saturday.  However, because we left reservations to the last minute, the only restaurant we could get a reservation for was Pangea, a C.I.A. restaurant that I had never heard of.  We arrived at the restaurant with low expectations, because usually restaurants at the Culinary Institute are booked months in reservations for weekend dinners, but we were pleasantly surprised!

The dining room at Pangea

The dining room was beautiful, and the waitstaff were all extremely attentive (our waitress literally refilled our water glasses every time one of us took a sip), but the most impressive thing about Pangea was the unique food and it’s gorgeous presentation.  My sister took pictures of everything we got to send to my mom, and when we looked around, all of the other diners were doing the same thing.  Most of the things on the menu we had never really heard of (seriously, when we first looked I had trouble finding anything that I had ever eaten before) but everything we tried was awesome!

The restaurant’s homemade bread and flatbreads

For dinner, you choose from a menu of sweet and savory options, and pick four courses.  Appetizers were also provided, we were able to try deep fried chickpeas and crickets (not as bad as they sound) and also had the restaurants homemade bread, crackers and flatbreads (pictured above).  I had the Roast Rutabaga, Thyme, Bacon for my first course, the Goat Cheese, Wine Braised Carrot, Chestnut for my second, the Cast Iron Cornish Game Hen, Pan Juices for my third and the Constructed Lemon Meringue, Shortbread, Raspberry for my dessert course.  The goat cheese with carrot and chestnut was my absolute favorite, but everything else was amazing too, especially the constructed lemon meringue, which our server prepared at the table in front of us!  Overall, although our expectations weren’t very high going in, my sister and I had a great experience at Pangea and we will definitely be going back the next time she comes to visit!