House Hunters
We were the talk of the town. Probably still are. I mean, who do we think we are? Adakavas is about the size of a teaspoon and very little out of the ordinary happens here, so when TV cameras roll into town it gets everyone’s attention. It wasn’t enough that we bought a house out from under a poor 94-year-old woman, then tore it down to remodel, but now we were making a TV programme about it – sacrébleu!
It wasn’t our idea – they came to us. House Hunters International had heard of our search for a home in Lithuania and asked if they could help us find a property and document our journey. I’m not really one for cameras, so the thought of being on TV didn’t immediately appeal. Before knocking the idea on the head completely I decided to do a little research. It turns out that House Hunters International is a nightly prime time programme on HGTV, a cable channel that goes out to nearly 100 million homes in the US. That’s a whole lot of exposure for me and my little blog. To hell with camera-shy – I’ll do it!
Alicia, the director, hides in the boot to give instructions as we drive.
After several months of communicating back and forth (and a few comical casting videos) we agreed on dates for the filming. The show follows us as we view a number of potential properties around Lithuania looking for our dream home. There were a couple of mammoth interviews covering our life back in Ireland and our reasons for moving to Lithuania. Having watched a few episodes of the show I know that the background story is interspersed between house viewings and only accounts for about 5 minutes of the full programme. Our director told us it takes about 1 hour of filming for every minute of TV. No wonder those movie stars get paid so much!
We did take after take from this angle and that, close up and wide, individually and together. It was quite difficult as we’d walk into a house and give our genuine reaction, chatting between ourselves about the various features. After about 10 minutes the director would say “Ok, that’s great – well done guys. Now let’s do it again, this time focusing on June.” Are you kidding me? I can’t remember what I said 10 seconds ago, never mind a full 10 minute conversation complete with wisecracks and physical reactions on finding particular features in a property.
The sound man fixes my mic.
And again…
And again…
I’m on to you, Mr. Sound Man!
The process was tiring but really good fun. The crew was small – the director, camera man, sound engineer and local fixer. They were a great bunch – enthusiastic and friendly – and they kept us well motivated over the 5 days of the shoot. By the end of the week I had developed a new respect for all those involved in unscripted reality TV shows. Now every time I watch Masterchef or Hell’s Kitchen I think of the number of times that poor girl had to faint before they got the right shot!
Naturally, I got to do a little cooking. I was trying not to sound like Darina Allen or Nigella Lawson as I talked Arūnas through making šaltibarščiai. We invited about 10 of our friends round for dinner and I cooked for everyone, including the crew – my first mega meal in my brand new kitchen. It stood up to the task beautifully – all those hours of planning and design had resulted in a pretty perfect kitchen.
(Don’t worry – I haven’t forgotten you all want photos of the house now that the renovations are complete. They’re coming soon – I promise!)
Arūnas finds it all very amusing…
Until the tables turn!
More tweaking.
“If he touches me one more time…”
We’ve been advised that post production takes about four months so our episode should be airing early in the New Year. I’ll keep you posted and as soon as I get a copy (and permission!) I’ll put it up on YouTube for those who don’t have access to the channel. My 10 minutes of fame is finally on its way. Wish me luck!
PS: The sound man was an absolute gentleman and did his job brilliantly. The repetition just got funny! Many thanks to Arnas, our fixer, for capturing these moments so beautifully.
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Arūnas in action.
Me in action. The director was complaining about the noise of the camera, so this was taken through the window,
My Food Odyssey 
Wow June that’s fantastic! You’ll be Lithuania’s answer to Martha Stewart Yet!!! 🙂 K
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As long as I don’t wind up in prison I’m ok with that, Karen!
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HGTV! I don’t watch that regularly but I will definitely pay more attention to it during the New Year period (assuming they are airing during then). omg reality show superstars
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How exciting! An Italian girl I know in LV just did a shoot too 🙂 I know so many famous people haha!
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Oh! How exciting. I am following a TV star! 🙂 I don’t always watch the International ones, but I do watch some of show. My son watches quite a few of all of them. I can’t wait to see the pictures, and the show. Do you have your chickens at the new house? 😀
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Thank! Yeh, we have the chickens beside us at the new house, although we’ll be moving them inside soon for winter. Hopefully they’ll like their new home!
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Congratulations on your own show! Did you find a new home? I am so looking forward to watching it 🙂
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Thanks! We did find a beautiful home. We’ve just finished remodelling and I absolutely love it. I’ll be posting photos of it soon so you may get a preview before the show!
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Splendid, and congratulations on your new home too! 🙂 Looks like this show was totally worth it 🙂
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Ah, I love that show. I watched when I lived in the US. Now I feel like I live it sort of as I explore friends homes and see cultural norms… Now, I am excited to renovate our home! I truly hope to see your episode! It will be nice to see you and your man in more than just text and pics! Congrats!
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Thanks! I feel like that too, sometimes, when I visit houses here. Can’t wait to see photos of your remodelling!
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That show is big here! It’s always on the TV and the same episodes are played many times. Oh, should say I’m from the US, lol. I will look for your episode:)
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June! So climbing the walls in Rossmore was a good start! Looking forward to the TV program.
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I was destined for stardom from a very young age, Carmel! 😉
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Very, very cool. Looking forward to seeing it
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Thanks Sinéad! Enjoyed reading about your fun at the Blog Awards – would love to have been able to make it. Roll on next year!
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OKAY, now we have a time frame. I’ve been asking Butler constantly “So, have you seen them???” and he keeps says “Not YET babe!” lol. He rarely misses an episode so we’ll catch you guys. I’ve excited to see your new place. I can’t imagine being in the lime light. I would freeze up like a chunk of ice. I don’t do well off the cuff. Good thing you two have got a good sense of humor. This is gonna be FUN.
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Ah, thanks for keeping an eye out for us, Susan! I only got a timeframe myself a few days ago.If I get anything more definite I’ll let you know. I can’t wait to see the final cut! 🙂
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Aw, amazing! I watch House Hunters International (and House Hunters) all the time. HGTV actually originated in Canada, and most of the home improvement shows, to this day, are set in Toronto or Vancouver. And I’m obsessed with all things home improvement so… 🙂
Can’t wait to see your episode (which I’ll likely find randomly because I watch all the time) and announce to hubby, “HEEEYYYY! I know her!!” He will be so impressed. 🙂
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Thanks Nancy! Yeh, I’ve heard it’s really popular in the States. Everyone loves a look into other people’s houses! You might see it before I do, so let me know if you do!
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I absolutely will.
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Ohhhh, how cool!!! Back when I actually had a television, House Hunters Intl was one of my guilty pleasures. I’ll have to have a friend with TV and cable record it for me when it comes on. 🙂 How interesting to read the back story – 1 hour of filming for every minute of TV, wow, that is a crazy statistic! Sounds like it was an interesting (but super time consuming) experience. Now if only HHI would finally get to Latvia!
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Thanks Daina! It really was an interesting experience – I’m so glad we did it. I’m sure they’ll get to Latvia soon – I know of a few expats who have bought houses there, so plenty of options for them.
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What an experience! Well I’ll be waiting to see what happens next.
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Soon I’ll be able to say “I knew her from back when she was fowl wrestling.”
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Amazing 🙂 Xx
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Wow! That’s brilliant… looking forward to seeing you in all your stardom!
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Fantastic. If the photos are anything to go by…then Hollywood beckons!!!
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