I'd like to bring you behind the scenes with House Hunters International. While filming our episode in Mexico City, we ate a couple meals with the crew and had the pleasure of getting to know them. The show flew three people to Mexico for our story. The director, the cameraman, and the sound engineer. That was it, the three of them and us. We also had a producer who worked on the episode from New York and a local Mexican fixer. I quickly realized that these were fascinating people with fascinating lives and jobs. It occurred to me, for the immense popularity of this show, not many people know who makes it all happen. Who are the folks behind he scenes? I decided it would be fun to conduct a little interview with them. I have made it a two part series so the posts aren't too long. I begin here with my director and producer. Justin Herman, Director Instagram @Justin_Herman How did you, get into directing? After film school I was lost in terms of how to start my career, so I did what seemed the most fun; I shot my own comedy travel show pilot. I directed, hosted, produced, wrote, edited, etc. It helped me get my first job producing travel shows and it's a genre I’ve specialized in ever since. What is the craziest place, circumstance, or story you experienced while working in film? Carnival in Salvador, Brazil. Carnival further north is not the flashy runway work of Rio; it's a street party of 2 million people dancing in the streets, while these double decker trucks called Trio Electricos drive 4km an hour through the streets with famous musicians and bands and DJ’s blasting music from the top, while people dance around it. Our Trio Electrico got tear gassed while the host was doing a final lines to camera. It was nuts. One place you have always wanted to go for work? Antarctica. One piece of travel advice? Or one thing you always bring when traveling? Travel foam roller. The old bones ain’t what they used to be, and a good foam roll can be a saving grace after the physically taxing days. Dream project? I still think I nailed it when I was 22 with a comedy travel show! How many House Hunters/House Hunters International episodes have you done? I’ve worked on dozens of episodes of this show in various producing and directing capacities. Is there one contributor (episode subject) you will never forget? Good or bad. No need to name names. I think a lot about the Namibian and South African couple who moved to Galway. They were young, excited to see the world and came from a very different point of view compared to the more common western or American perspectives we more commonly showcase. Worst thing about Mexico? It’s hard to hate anything about a beautiful, rich, diverse country with such kind people. Best thing about Mexico? See above. Justin moonlights as an international stand up comic. So I asked him if he had any good Mexico jokes... Most of my cultural comparison jokes are usually vehicles to point out the flaws in America compared to how the rest of the world lives. I love touring internationally, but because I predominantly perform in the US, its more important to me to expand the minds of that audience to see the rest of the world as better than perhaps stereotypes suggest, and show that we have as much to learn from them as they do from us. No joke there, but a terrific mission in my opinion. I do remember Justin joking around about how fantastic his bank account looked in pesos! I second that feeling. Ines Pierce, Producer Instagram @tuddaloo How did you, get into production? The road to me becoming a producer had lots of twist and turns. I’ve been in this business for 14 years and started producing 7 years ago. I started as an intern at Entertainment Tonight which in turn got me my first full-time gig out of college working for a production house. I was a PA/Production Coordinator and eventually they let me produce a few red carpet events. When the recession hit, I started freelancing (which was terrifying) and started working on commercials and music videos still as a coordinator/manager. Somehow I landed in the reality TV end of things and after a few gigs I knew I wanted to get into creative. I had a friend set me up on a food network show and things spring boarded from there. I worked on a few big name reality shows (Apprentice, Chopped, Project Runway) and eventually landed my current gig at HHI. My current position is considered perma-lance which is a unicorn in this industry. I’m pretty happy and get to really enjoy a great work/life balance which is also very rare when working in TV! What is the craziest place, circumstance, or story you experienced while working in film? I one time had to drive three hours in the wee hours of the night in rural Louisiana to find an armadillo for a nature show I was working on. Looking back it was a pretty dumb move to go with one other person to some random guy’s house, but when I saw him literally watering an armadillo out of a tree (ala Looney Tunes) I knew he was legit. One place you have always wanted to go for work? The show does a lot of traveling and I am fortunate enough to get to go on a shoot here and there. One place I would love to go to is Iceland and see the northern lights. One piece of travel advice? Or one thing you always bring when traveling? Always bring a pair of plug-in headphones with you and an eye mask. You never know if you are going to be stuck in a bright hotel room after traveling for 15+ hours and desperate for sleep! Dream project? I would have killed to work on Game of Thrones. #teamdaenerys How many House Hunters/House Hunters International episodes have you done? I’ve been here for two years and produced about 40 episodes, which is nuts to think I have done almost two a month in order to make that happen. Is there one contributor (episode subject) you will never forget? Good or bad. No need to name names. I’ve had a lot of unique contributors and have been pretty fortunate to keep in touch with a lot of them. I don’t have any favorites but the stories that have stuck with me are the ones where the person is in a second chapter of their life. Something about their passion and fearlessness to change course and live their life to the fullest really connects with me. Worst thing about Mexico? The mosquitos. The end. Period. Best thing about Mexico? The people. The colors. The FOOD. I really love the warmth of the culture and how vibrant life is there. Every time I have left I really start appreciating the little things more and more and realize what is most important in the every day. It has been fun to shed a little light on the people who create House Hunters International. Feel free to tell them what you think of the show in the comments! Part 2 will be posted tomorrow with my interviews of the cameraman and sound engineer.
Don't forget to tune into our episode Tuesday Oct. 15th! In Love & Tacos
1 Comment
Terri Wells
2/1/2020 04:24:42 pm
I’m not really sure where I should leave this comment, but recently while watching House Hunters International, the two house hunters looking to relocate from CA to Mexico introduced themselves. One of the men said he was a landscaper and landscape designer. The narrator of the show at the beginning and end of the show said he was a landscape architect. Since the G of HGTV stands for gardens, I thought you should know the difference, as a Landscape Architect requires quite a bit of education, college degree and certification. Thanks so much.
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Rants of a Diplomat's WifeHola, I am an American married to a Mexican Diplomat. I am on my 3rd post as a trailing spouse. The first two posts I joined were in the US, and in July 2018 we moved to Mexico City. Maybe it was the fact that I was pumping out my diplo-babies, or maybe I didn't think anyone would be interested in diplomatic life at my US posts, but I didn't blog then. Now I am in Mexico, and perhaps you might find it interesting to know what life is like here. This is where I share my adventures and thoughts at my current post. Archives
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