This was supposed to be the exciting post in which I re-premiered a revelatory autobiographical documentary I made many decades ago. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be, as thanks to my over-attachment to outdated technology, I have no way of converting my old VHS tape into a digital format at the moment. (Ironically, the software we had for the task no longer runs on our current operating system.)

Despite this technological failure, I will still share with you the title of the video: Kathy P: Listoholic. In the spirit of the piece – which will have to wait for another day – I present to you, a list:

Five Random-But-Slightly Related Things You May Not Know About Me

  1. Back in the stone age pre-Internet era, I worked in film and television as a production manager, associate producer, script supervisor, and editor, among other stressful, demanding, and unglamorous positions. If you – or your children – watched TV in the 1990s, you may have seen some of my shows.
  2. I used to be called Kathy. My moniker morphed in 1992 when I assistant directed a kids’ TV show and the floor manager’s name also happened to be Kathy. Two Kathys on one control-room/studio intercom system was not workable, so being the younger Kathy I volunteered to give up my name. Kathryn stuck.
  3. Before I thought I wanted to work in film and television, I thought I wanted to be a professional actress. I had small parts in movies and acted in plays from about the age of eight to my late teens, when I discovered super-8 filmmaking and decided that being behind the camera was a much better place to be than in front of it. (Later in life I would learn that behind-the-scenes was not all it was cracked up to be, either.)
  4. I get nauseous and headachy watching movies that are too handheld, fast-cut, or that were shot with a high frame rate. If I take anti-motion-sickness meds beforehand I can usually handle it.
  5. My favourite genre is the documentary. There is nothing quite like reality to move and inspire.
kp commercial
One of my stranger gigs back in the acting days. I’ll let you guess what I was doing and for what kind of production.
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10 responses

  1. That picture is awesome! I have no idea what’s up with it, though. Sci-fi hotel bell-hop? The best I can do.. 🙂

    1. Close… I was a stand-in for Diane Dufresne in this commercial I can’t believe I found on YouTube:

      1. What a ridiculously-awful commercial! Then again, I can’t say tv commercials are any better these days. Question: Why weren’t you wearing any pants?! 😀

        1. Ha! As I recall it was super hot under the lights and wearing the hat, so I was in shorts.

  2. You could try a low-fi digital conversion, like a flat screen showing the video, speakers for the audio, captured on a digital camera, and basic digital editing. If it’s decades older, it might add a neat feel to it. Who knows. Good luck with that.

    1. That’s a very good idea, thanks! We’d need to re-hook up the long-ago-detached VCR to the TV but it might be the easiest route at this point.

      1. Occam’s razor strikes again. 🙂

  3. I have the same issue with old VHS tapes so if you find a better solution, do tell.

  4. Stand-in for Diane Dufresne? Wow ! a different era ! Kathryn I am started to wonder if we did work together ? For 5 years, I worked as either P.A., office P.A. and later location scout on a few TV series roughly 15 years ago.
    Nathalie

    1. It’s possible we did, Nathalie! That was around the last time I worked in film & TV.

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