Production Weighs In on Bermuda’s Seasonal Weather
After spending over a month shooting on the island in summer 2009, the entire Voyage.tv crew came to know and love the fickle weather of Bermuda. As any local Bermudian will tell you, “If you don’t like the weather in Bermuda, give it five minutes!” From our experience upon returning to the island in January to shoot our brand new Golf Bermuda series, truer words have never been spoken.
While there we had to contend with unseasonably strong winds and more rain than usual (Bermuda doesn’t have a rainy season, it’s pretty even year-round). And considering we had our Director of Photography shooting glory shots down the middle of the fairway from the roof of a golf cart, the wind was definitely difficult to contend with. But with the wind came quickly moving clouds, so the few times we were caught in a downpour, we knew the sun was never far behind.
While it is about ten degrees cooler on average in the winter months than in the summer, that’s still a balmy 65-70°F! For anyone who isn’t fortunate to live in a tropical climate, it’s still paradise.
Our verdict: Whether January or June, if you’re heading to Bermuda, sign us up!
Enjoy taking a look at some behind-the-scenes photos from our trip below. —Jessie Warner
Notes from Production: Back to Bermuda!
For those who can’t get enough of our Bermuda signature programming, we have some exciting news. This January, Voyage.tv returned to the beautiful island of Bermuda to shoot a brand new series, Golf Bermuda. Our challenge included 1 Golf Pro Host, 1 Crew, 7 courses and 4 days!! From the sprawling fairways of the Port Royal Golf Course (which recently underwent a major $15 million renovation), to the sun-drenched, rolling greens of Mid Ocean Golf Club, we covered every nook and cranny of golf in Bermuda – an island that flaunts more golf courses per square mile than any other place in the world.
This year’s Bermuda Open Golf Championship boasted the first ever female competitors since its inception in 1966, and we were there to get exclusive interviews with some of the players about their experiences. We also sat down with Terrett West, President of the Bermuda Golf Association, to talk golf.
As always, the people of Bermuda – the entire golf community included – welcomed us with open arms, and provided us with lots of great content for the series. It was a busy and successful week, and it was hard for us to leave!
While you anticipate viewing our Golf Bermuda programming in the coming months, take a look at some behind-the-scenes photographs straight from the green:
Unveiling Our Newest New York Signature Programs
If you’re eager to discover even more New York programming from us here at Voyage.tv, you’re in luck. This week we’re excited to bring you two new signature programs straight from the heart of Manhattan.
In Village Underground our production team ventured to the West Village to duck inside Hotel Griffou, a cozy speak-easy style restaurant plating up seasonal French-inspired dishes and mixing inventive cocktails. With our inside look you get to hear from the owners themselves who share with us the restaurant’s history as a 19th-century boarding house where famed artists and writers of the day used to gather to exchange ideas over drinks. We take a peek inside themed dining rooms like The Salon, The Library and The Palm Terrace where varied lighting and decor create an ambiance to suit any mood. Hotel Griffou’s executive pastry chef recommends some of her favorite sweets from the menu, and the bartender reveals the nightspot’s creative drink blends, mixing up the aptly named Writer’s Block Tonic.
Next up, our production team headed to Devachan Salon and Departure Lounge in SoHo to film our Best Tressed video, a must-see for all curly girls out there. Here owner Lorraine Massey gives us the lowdown on her inspiration for the hair salon and spa, familiar with the woes of taming unruly locks as a curly girl herself. In this original video she shares all the salon’s innovative tips and technique’s for cutting, washing, coloring and styling both straight and curly hair, and our host Paula Garces even gets to take part in the “curl-volution” with her own hair makeover. (Take a look at our Production Manager Jessie Warner’s behind-the-scenes post for even more details on this segment.)
Check out these brand new signature programs at Voyage.tv today! –Lisa Bonarrigo
Expanding Distribution
Getting our video in front of as many potential viewers as possible is of paramount importance for our business. The quality of what we produce has allowed us to take our video and syndicated it beyond the Web and we’re pleased to be creating a Video on Demand platform with Charter Communications, one of the largest cable companies in the United States. They join our existing efforts that have us in roughly 30 million homes where our video can be seen on the biggest monitor in the house – the living room television.
As we all know the only constant with the Internet is change. And one aspect of the Internet that continues to see rapid and often disruptive change is with video delivery. Cable operators are grappling with the fact that the programming they once monopolized is being distributed, for free, on the Internet. We’ll be seeing more and more big screen TV’s hooked directly to the Internet, enabling companies to bring their programming direct to consumers. These efforts are a threat to the traditional cable model with both viewers abandoning the set-top provided content, and advertisers who may bolt for the more measurable on-line environment. The push back from cable is seen in their recent negotiations with programmers, as they no longer want to pay premiums, especially if they lose control of where the audience can view it.
Voyage and our type of HD, interest specific programming is a part of the solution. We don’t require cable to pay for the content; we create value around it together. As our cable partners roll out interactive functionality like click-to-call and telescoping, viewers end up with an interactive experience that was once exclusive to the web. With “retail” TV we don’t just show viewers beautiful places, we take them there as well. –John Pasmore
Notes From Production: Shooting Our New Retail Show!
Now that our New York City cycle has launched, our next exciting project is already in the pipeline! This week we shot the pilot for our new Weekly Travel Video Deals show. The production, commercial and editing departments have been working very hard for the past few weeks to create a show that will highlight the must-see travel deals around the world. Itching to get away? Watch for vacation ideas that range from a day at the beach with pink flamingos at the Renaissance Hotel in Aruba to a night at the famous Egyptian-themed Luxor hotel in Vegas. The choices are truly endless! We know staring at videos of white sandy beaches all week has made us want to hop on a plane to sip Caribbean cocktails in the sun and the travel deals make it so tempting. But alas, back to work so we can bring the deals to you. Be sure to watch!
Now On Voyage.tv: POIs!
Last week, our production group announced our new POI or Point of Interest videos will be debuting on voyage.tv with the New York program cycle. We’re excited to announce they are finally here! Here’s some video of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn Bridge and Time Warner Center:
Check out more POIs, including video on the Statue of Liberty and Washington Square Park here
Voyage Preview: NYC Video Highlights!
Two weeks ago, we informed you that our New York programming cycle will be launching soon on voyage.tv. Well, the NYC microsite is near ready and set to go live in a matter of days! And, just to whet your audio/visual appetites, we have three videos we’d like to preview here on our blog! Without further ado, we present “MAD for Creativity” – our look at the Museum of Art and Design at Columbus Circle, “Broadway Babies” – our look at the South Pacific musical at Lincoln Center and “Welcome Aboard” – a look at the historic and luxurious Ventura Yachts Company in the Financial District. More to Come! Enjoy.
Coming Soon To Our Site: POIs!
Hey everyone! Voyage.tv’s Series Production Manager Josette Persson reporting. We are excited about the New York cycle because production is launching a new series of videos that we have dubbed POI or Points of Interest. These videos will cover topics that are quintessential New York and will give you even more information to plan your trip! Click on one of the videos and you can find out just how many steps it takes to the top of the crown of the Statue of Liberty. You can discover a brand new park that hovers high above Manhattan that is built off of a former elevated subway train. 
Learn where to purchase the freshest produce in an outdoor market where some of the best restaurants in New York find their ingredients. And find out where to go for the best view of the Manhattan skyline. There are a lot more topics we covered so be sure to click on the videos to find the not-so-hidden gems of New York! Keep checking back to www.voyage.tv, as our brand new POI videos will be rolling out in the next few days! –JP
Our New York Launch Is Coming Soon!
We’ve been pounding the pavement in production for our NY shoots and are very excited to announce that the programming cycle will be rolling out very soon! On the commercial front, our acquisitions team has been hard at work booking shoots at some of the best luxury hotels money can buy — including the New York Palace, The Waldorf=Astoria, the W Union Square and Times Square, The Gansevoort, Le Parker Meridien and more. Yesterday was our shoot at Le Parker Meridien and the hotel PR informed our crew that things could get pretty busy in the lobby, not just due to the continual draw of their famous in-house Burger Joint, but b/c the Philadelphia Phillies were staying there while in town for their match-up against the Yankees in the World Series!
Here are some photos from our shoot in Gravity — the hotel’s amazing two-story gym.
It even includes a custom Nintendo Wii Racquet Ball room!
Manhattanites, you can become a member without being a guest.
Our shooter caught the lunch rush at Burger Joint,
then broke to chow on their world class burgers.
Back to work…
Shots of the pool and the lobby.
Commercial Manager Ben Roth is enjoying managing the New York cycle. “The beauty of New York is we’re right in our own backyard,” he says. “We have terrific local guys so we’ve been able to dance around the weather .”
Pick ups of the exterior and views from inside the rooms will continue over the next few days as the skies clear up.
Our Signature series crew has also been busy on our lifestyle programming. We recently shot all over Manhattan while filming the hugely popular Sex And The City Tour operated by On Location tours, with host Amy Albert.
Name sound familiar? That’s because you know her from our awesome “Need For Speed” Vegas video.
The tour begins at The Plaza hotel and stops at places like Magnolia Bakery in the West Village and The Pleasure Chest where Charlotte bought her “rabbit”, then Aidan and Steve’s bar “Scout” — which is actually the very cool “O’Nieal’s”. This bar is nestled at the intersection of Little Italy, NoHo and Chinatown and is accessible by an underground tunnel connecting to the police precinct across the street through which officers would sneak to hit the bar during the Prohibition. Fun!
At the moment, the crew is filming in SoHo at Devachan, the place for curly hair care, otherwise known as the “Curl-Volution”. 
The crew interviewed owner Lorraine Massey on founding her salon and learned about the various processes the salon is known for.
Check out our Production Manager turned Hair Model, Gema Moreno.
Lookin’ Good, Gem. Check back early next week for insight into this shoot in the form of a guest post by Production Manager Jessie Warner.
What’s been detailed above is just the tip of the iceberg. We’ve got exciting segments produced with our resident editorial consultant Veronica Webb, segments covering the best spas and hottest restaurants in the city as well as some of the most fabulous places to indulge in retail therapy, such as Catherine Malandrino and Intermix. You’ll have to stay tuned to see what’s really in store. Until then, enjoy video of an office fav — Our look at “Cafeteria”, another spot made famous by Sex And The City.
Enjoy!
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