My Encounter behind the scenes: Rabbi Kaplan, others, interviewed in Israel

Here’s a behind the scenes look at an interview with Rabbi Shmuel Kaplan, filmed last week.

The interview took place in the Har Nof neighborhood in Jerusalem. The cameraman you see is the supremely able Dror Lebendiger. JEM’s Israel director Zushe Wolf conducted the interview, that’s his vacant chair (he was probably taking this picture). 

Are you wondering why it was necessary to interview Rabbi Kaplan, he of Baltimore MD, in Israel?

I’ll let you in on a little secret. There’s a new My Encounter project on the production fast track, the subject of which is the Rebbe sensitivity; it will feature stories about the Rebbe’s concern for individuals and his attention to their varied and detailed needs.  Rabbi Kaplan tells just such a story, and waiting for his return would delay the whole project. Enter JEM Israel, setup, shoot, and in hours the tape is being edited.

Now check out the magic a good cameraman and lighting technicion can make of a plain looking room. 

Pretty nifty, huh? The dappled lighting pattern creates a nice, textured effect; the shallow focus provides good depth of field; just the look were aiming for.

After the break, behind the scenes pics and screenshots from other interviews filmed that day.