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This week I worked security for the TV show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. It’s just as busy behind the scenes as it is in front of the camera. It was an exhausting eight days and I’m glad it’s over. I worked almost 70 hours and this does not include a two-hour commute each day. I admire what the show does for deserving people, but I can’t see how the production crew keeps up that pace for months at a time. Some of the folks I met would wear out a two-year-old. REALLY!!
The shoot started last Thursday and they left Friday evening. The house was out in the country 40 miles north of Lexington in an area full of long and winding roads. ABC blocked off everything for two miles on both sides of the house. Because of the terrain, they had to set up light towers and radio relay stations around every turn. This prevented accidents and kept communications going from one end to the other. There were also countless Winnebagos, tents, Porta Potties, and electrical cords for all the equipment. I heard that there were 20 security guards working overnight made up of mostly National Guard and off-duty law enforcement from the area. A few of us were from a local security contractor. Add in day shift and there may have been 40 - 50 people working security.
The first two days were spent prepping the old house for demolition including putting furniture, appliances, and everything that the family wanted to keep into storage. The utilities had to be turned off and marked so the heavy equipment didn’t unintentionally knock out service for the neighbors. The old house was on a 30 – 40 degree slope to make things interesting.
The first two nights I watched the old house and garage to make sure that no one got into anything. The weather refused to cooperate. It was cold, wet, and windy. The first night the breeze actually knocked over half of the Porta Potties. I was on my feet for almost twelve hours straight and felt miserable by the time that my shift was over. My legs were numb and I could barely walk. On the morning of Day 3, my supervisor caught me or I would have passed out in front of a church group that came to watch the demolition. I heard that the demo itself was delayed by thunderstorms in the area. The rain did let up later in the week or it would have been impossible to finish on time.
I worked at one of the radio relay stations most of the time. We had to move vehicles of every size in and out of a very small area with the house in the middle. Try to imagine parking heavy equipment for a project this size on nothing bigger than two high school football fields. This didn’t stop even after dark. It was just as crazy as Grand Central Station with the night before the reveal being the worst. Add in volunteers, shuttle buses, and vehicles for security and production people to complete the picture. The word ‘chaotic’ is an understatement.
The first time I got a look at the new house was on the night of Day 4. The first and second floors were framed and closed in. Workers were putting shingles on the roof as I drove by. The exterior didn’t have siding and the landscaping wasn’t finished, but this was an incredible amount of work in a day and a half. The new house was done in three days except for moving in the furniture. That was the last thing the crew did before the family came home. Amazing.
I didn’t get any pictures or autographs from the design team, but I did get a new appreciation for all the effort that it takes to put a show of this caliber on the air. My hat goes off to all the people that makes it happen.
The shoot started last Thursday and they left Friday evening. The house was out in the country 40 miles north of Lexington in an area full of long and winding roads. ABC blocked off everything for two miles on both sides of the house. Because of the terrain, they had to set up light towers and radio relay stations around every turn. This prevented accidents and kept communications going from one end to the other. There were also countless Winnebagos, tents, Porta Potties, and electrical cords for all the equipment. I heard that there were 20 security guards working overnight made up of mostly National Guard and off-duty law enforcement from the area. A few of us were from a local security contractor. Add in day shift and there may have been 40 - 50 people working security.
The first two days were spent prepping the old house for demolition including putting furniture, appliances, and everything that the family wanted to keep into storage. The utilities had to be turned off and marked so the heavy equipment didn’t unintentionally knock out service for the neighbors. The old house was on a 30 – 40 degree slope to make things interesting.
The first two nights I watched the old house and garage to make sure that no one got into anything. The weather refused to cooperate. It was cold, wet, and windy. The first night the breeze actually knocked over half of the Porta Potties. I was on my feet for almost twelve hours straight and felt miserable by the time that my shift was over. My legs were numb and I could barely walk. On the morning of Day 3, my supervisor caught me or I would have passed out in front of a church group that came to watch the demolition. I heard that the demo itself was delayed by thunderstorms in the area. The rain did let up later in the week or it would have been impossible to finish on time.
I worked at one of the radio relay stations most of the time. We had to move vehicles of every size in and out of a very small area with the house in the middle. Try to imagine parking heavy equipment for a project this size on nothing bigger than two high school football fields. This didn’t stop even after dark. It was just as crazy as Grand Central Station with the night before the reveal being the worst. Add in volunteers, shuttle buses, and vehicles for security and production people to complete the picture. The word ‘chaotic’ is an understatement.
The first time I got a look at the new house was on the night of Day 4. The first and second floors were framed and closed in. Workers were putting shingles on the roof as I drove by. The exterior didn’t have siding and the landscaping wasn’t finished, but this was an incredible amount of work in a day and a half. The new house was done in three days except for moving in the furniture. That was the last thing the crew did before the family came home. Amazing.
I didn’t get any pictures or autographs from the design team, but I did get a new appreciation for all the effort that it takes to put a show of this caliber on the air. My hat goes off to all the people that makes it happen.
