Rick Beeman

What a day it has been. I think I had three days worth of activity happen again to me. I love days like today. I had to get into the office and do a music mix of the Port video, burn the DVD and get it off to the client before 10:30. That’s always interesting when you are dealing with deadlines. After that I had my meeting with the head of Bahrain Radio and Television. We just really clicked. He liked the concept of our show, but not necessarily the production value. I absolutely agreed with him. We only set it up so he could look at the concept. He liked it very much. So now we have to figure out how we can work together. Im supposed to give him several proposals. So the meeting went very very well. On my way out, I told him that he has thousands of hours of footage, he should turn them into something. So we are also going to figure out how we can make not only Bahraini documentaries out of the programs, but Middle Eastern programs as well. That broad...

I’m pooped. But a very fulfilling kind of exhausted. I think I did three days worth of activity today. I got up early to do my kayak. That always is fun. I still get nervous taking my bottle of water out in the bay. I have to look around just to make sure that there are no boats around. That early in the morning, its usually only a fishing boat or two at most. Its very peaceful. I got into work and did the detail work on the project. Details include, color correction, picture tweaking, effects. All the little things that don’t really affect the story. I have to put it on DVD tomorrow for the higher ups to review. But at this point I think its nearly finished. This way I can turn my attention to another project that is currently underway. I have hired a freelance associate producer to help on this project. This kid is fresh out of film school in Los Angeles, and really a great and enthusiastic kid. He is trying sooooooo hard. He likes to give me up...

I had an early morning meeting with the client to review the rough cut of the Seaport video. Now this client is very sharp, and she’s fair and particular. But she’s also tough and hard to please. So I had a little apprehension going into this. We watched the video twice before she had any comments. She really liked it. She also was amazed that we found some of the footage that we had in it. Many shots she had never seen before. Overall she was quite happy and proud of our effort. She only wanted a few minor changes to picture, a couple more Arabic-type music selections for the soundtrack. As she was leaving, she dropped a bomb. We’ll also need an English voice over version. It sounds simple, it is…but its really time consuming. If only she would have told me that two weeks ago when I did the Arabic voice over. I had just finished the subtitles for the entire project. That is some amazingly tedious work. Not only do you have to figure out how to break ...

It was a tough day today. I had to let my sales manager go. He slipped out early…I think to go to his next gig, so I had to call him back into the office. I had never had to fire anyone before so I wasn’t really sure how to do it. Although I have been fired so many times you’d think I’d be an expert, but this was just the first time on the other side of the desk. I confronted the sales manager on his second position. He denied. Just like he denied something the previous day which I showed him irrefutable proof. That just got me to think. When you catch someone in a lie, even with proof, why don’t they ever say…”That’s right, you got me…I lied.” Does anyone ever fess up to that? I’ve lied in my day, but when I’m caught I confess. Yet some people go to the grave in their denials. I guess if you tell yourself something for too long, even you start believing it. Its amazing how the mind can play tricks on you. Someone can take a 10% truth and fill in the ot...

Well it was a day I was worried about, but it turns out my concerns were for naught. I love making movies. I was intimidated about the language situation. I knew I would have to make an all-Arabic speaking video one of these days. The day was today. So I conducted my first all Arabic interview. Fortunately the interview subject was fluent in English, so I could ask the questions in English. He responded in Arabic. This is where my actor training really paid off. I could tell it was a great interview even though I have no idea what he said. His body language, posture, smile, inflection all exuded confidence. That really is more important than the words. This guy’s name was Hani Mandal, so I remembered it by Howie Mandell. He ran this woodworking crafting company. He invented these machines that would carve these really artistic designs in woodwork. Some of the pieces he made were stunning. I went into the wood workshop. The smell of the woodworking to...

Not much to write about today. I stayed up late last night watching movies. Then I slept in late. I kind of wasted the entire day away. Well wasted might be too severe of a word. I didn’t get out much. I have all the delivery places on speed dial, so there wasn’t much of a need to go out. I couldn’t get food anyway…so the only way was really to stay in. Saturdays were meant for lounging around and recharging the batteries. So I feel fully loaded to head into the next week. I did make it out for a bit today. I had a squash match set up with a new friend named Austin. I was a little worried because he had my phone number but I didn’t have his. I haven’t been able to receive incoming calls all week. I wasn’t sure how I was going to connect with him. It has been a bit frustrating. I went to the my cell phone dealer they said it was a problem with the sim card…so they gave me a new sim card. Same problem, I could make outgoing calls and texts…just coul...

A nice relaxing day off started with getting up early to go to church. Im starting to really get to know people in this church. There aren’t a lot of singles that go, so I’m in the minority. There are lots of families. Seeing all the little children run around just makes me miss mine all the more. Im starting to get serious about the squash playing. Darren and I are pretty evenly matched, but when I play the Finn or his compatriots I always lose. So I know a good craftsman never blames his tools…still it wouldn’t hurt to stay competitive in the equipment racket (pun intended). So I got a top of the line squash racquet (its only $75) but I had it restrung to professional grade. I can’t wait to play again to try it out. I do not like losing. Its interesting the work out regimes Im doing. Kayaking is mostly arms, Squash is mostly legs. Both really take a lot of energy exertion. Im supposed to play a new guy from the UK tomorrow. One of the guys I went to d...

What overall nice day it was from start to finish. I went to bed early. Since Im fasting I know my energy levels are going to be down. So I wanted to be plenty rested. I can’t remember the last time I got 8 hours sleep on a weekday. So I was glad to have it. I went into work and started scoring the short film I just completed. Normally the music selection and mixing takes 2-3 days. Im very particular about the type of music I use and I have to hear it in order to feel if it fits. So sometimes its like finding a needle in a haystack. But today I scored and mixed the piece in 3 hours. I think it’s a combination of me getting more efficient and God blessing my efforts. I called Saji, my brilliant editor in to look at it. He was amazed at one of the edit moves I did. He wanted to know my secret how I did it. I was happy that I impressed him. I really respect his work. After work I went to play my good friend Darren squash. I bought a new racquet at th...

Woke up a bit early to do a shoot. Im really being particular about the shots Im choosing for this video. Its so nice to be able to be in this position. Most of the time, Im working with so little footage, there isn’t much of a choice. Now Im well stocked with choices. I wanted to reshoot a scene at the Bahraini Fort (the one that is 1500 years old.) I wanted to get it at high tide. It makes a difference. So high tide was at 8:01 this morning. I figured since I was out there so early, might as well throw my kayak in the water while Im there. So this was a new place to kayak. The water was so calm. I really prefer it that way. Although when the water is rough, it’s a better workout. But this was serene for me. The water was quite shallow all the way out. Since I was in a new area I stayed close to the shore. The water ranged in depth from 4-10 feet, absolutely crystal clear. You can see the bottom of the sea from up to 40 feet out here. The water ...

I had a really nice day at work today. I am focusing my efforts writing and directing a project. That is my true passion and when I can do only that, Im in heaven. I realize that my duties as being General Manager has me doing a lot of different things. While Im good at the administrative and managerial aspects, my true love has always been creativity. This is why Im so fulfilled working on this project. I can spend a great amount of detail work on it. For example, I’ve been working on a nine minute video full time for about a 1 week. Im not even half-way done yet. Im really being meticulous. Today I worked for 8 hours and only covered about two minutes worth of video. I have 10 hours of footage at my disposal and I’ll I need to do is cover 9 minutes. I really enjoy being in a position where I can focus on the detail. Im really looking forward to going into work tomorrow to finish it up. My cell phone suddenly stopped working this past weekend. You don’...

Well I wanted to try out the kayak in the heat again. But this time I went in the morning. I didn’t push myself too hard. I only went out for 40 minutes. It was only 110 degrees which isn’t brutal..but the humidity was 70% that is what will do you in. When I am in the water, I don’t really notice the humidity since Im usually drenched in sweat. But it is taking its toll energy wise. I have to work up to it like I work up to most things. I do love the kayak as you hear me go on an on about it. You wouldn’t think it was great exercise but it is. It works the arms, abs, but, even the legs. Its like running for your arms. But what I like the most about it is the meditative part. It really relaxes me. I get about ½ way out, I stop drift and listen to God. That’s my prayer closet way out there. I do take a litre of water with me. I know it’s a public place but there is no one around when I do. I still don’t understand how the Muslims go without water in t...

I ordered my breakfast in before I went to work today. I also packed a lunch. I had leftovers from the Macaroni Grill last night. This thing is workable, it just takes minor adjustments. As an astute reader commented last night, they fine you $250 if you get caught drinking, eating, or even chewing gum (Im told) in public. There is a lot of pressure. Its amazing the influence they put on this. Parking tickets cost about $20, littering $25, Speeding or traffic violations around $50, Having a drink during Ramadan $250, Adjusting and respecting a different culture…Priceless. Ok…I had to throw that last part in. But just looking at the price figures shows how much emphasis they place on religious values. I think I like Ramadan. On my way home from work at 6:00 there was absolutely hardly any traffic. A 45-60 min. ride was done in 15 min. Its like the streets were deserted. I can imagine all the Muslims looking at their watches. With fork in other hand wai...

The cannons went off at 6 PM last night signaling the start of Ramadan. So that meant I couldn’t do my regular breakfast routine this morning. It will be an adjustment. Its amazing as a society how nearly a continent of people can all be so unified in a religious act of discipline. Now whether you follow Islam or not, you have to respect their unity and singularity of purpose. I wish that Christians had that kind of unity on that broad of a scale. A unity where there would be more of a expectation to live your life according to Biblical precepts. Its seems like in the U.S. it’s the opposite. There is more of expectation to NOT live your life according to Biblical precepts. Maybe that is fueled by the media. I believe at one time the U.S. had more societal pressure to do so. Back 50 years ago (in the salad days…or the good ole days) in the U.S. there was an expectation to stay married, to stay faithful, for kids to avoid partying, to avoid drugs. If you deviat...

Today was a very good day for me. This is important since it’s a weekend and I sometimes dread the alone time. Today was different. They didn’t call Ramadan…so the moon wasn’t spotted. That gives me an extra day of daytime eating. You see during Ramadan all the stores and restaurants are closed during the day. Since I don’t really choose to cook it would impact me. So I bought a whole bunch of sandwich stuff. But I just found out that certain Western restaurants while closed during the day, will still be open for delivery only. So I’ll be able to eat and drink, Im just not supposed to do it in front of Muslims. So that was a relief. It will just be a big four weeks of adjustment. Ramadan is a celebrated time for Muslims. During the daytime they all seem to be miserable…then it is so festive at night. . Its really quite a dichotomy. At night, it’s a great family celebration. Think either Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner for 28 straight days. Buffets ...

Today was a very good day for me. This is important since it’s a weekend and I sometimes dread the alone time. Today was different. They didn’t call Ramadan…so the moon wasn’t spotted. That gives me an extra day of daytime eating. You see during Ramadan all the stores and restaurants are closed during the day. Since I don’t really choose to cook it would impact me. So I bought a whole bunch of sandwich stuff. But I just found out that certain Western restaurants while closed during the day, will still be open for delivery only. So I’ll be able to eat and drink, Im just not supposed to do it in front of Muslims. So that was a relief. It will just be a big four weeks of adjustment. Ramadan is a celebrated time for Muslims. During the daytime they all seem to be miserable…then it is so festive at night. . Its really quite a dichotomy. At night, it’s a great family celebration. Think either Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner for 28 straight days. Buffets ...