Wednesday, July 13, 2011

{ DATE #11: Brandon Pitcher }


When I opened the door and found Brandon on my doorstep, I couldn’t help but notice the Ford Mustang behind him. Alright, this guy speaks my language! I assumed that he must be local and that the car must be his because that’s not a typical rental car. The truth is that Brandon lives in Texas where he’s finishing up Dental School. As for the rental car, the customer service rep had informed him that he would be receiving a Kia Soul.

Brandon determined this would not be a sufficient car and utilized his negotiation skills to get himself a Mustang at a good price. Ironically, just that morning on my drive to work I had looked at a Kia Soul on the road and thought to myself, “man that is an ugly car.” Please forgive me if you own and love your Kia Soul. I am happy for you to have found a car that suits you. In dating we all have our preferences and people that fit and ones that don’t, so too in cars do we all have different opinions and matches. I wondered if Brandon and I could match on more than just car interests.

I quickly learned that Brandon was from the great state of Colorado (my home state), and that he, like I, did not grow up snowboarding or skiing – which often comes as a shock to people who live outside of Colorado. It just wasn’t the activity of interest for either of our families. And in my personal defense, I did live about 2 hours away from the slopes. This excuse held sway in Utah, but it doesn’t do much to help me in AZ where people drive 3 hours to go snowboard.

Over dinner at Café Rio I discovered that Brandon shares a love for all that is BYU, but he also likes the Texas Longhorns, as do I. Lest you should question my loyalties, BYU is ALWAYS #1, and when I go to the BYU v. Texas football game this fall, I will be cheering for BYU all the way. But though I was raised in Colorado, I was born in Texas, so I gotta have a little bit of pride! I’m glad that Brandon and I saw eye to eye on this.

It was time to get up and get active, so we headed to Golfland for a round of min-golf. Brandon showed his great creativity with a game he’d created to go along with our golf round. At each hole we pulled a slip of paper from a BYU bookstore bag, and on the paper was a specific way of hitting the ball, and each one related to something unique about him. What a great way to get to know more about my date! It turns out that Brandon is an All-American guy. He loves sports, he enjoys a good movie, he’s willing to bust out an accent and play a character, he’s solid in the Church and he loves his family.

Amid our fun we happened upon a frog on the course. I couldn’t resist picking it up. I learned long ago that frogs use urination as a defense mechanism, so I wisely held him on his sides and far away from me. Tell you what though, when this little guy let loose I was blown away by how much he had held inside for just a moment such as this. I was getting the vibe that this couldn’t be my prince charming…perhaps I just needed to focus on Brandon and see if he was possibly my prince charming!

As for the performance on the course, though I started off with a hole in one, the number of strokes on each hole for me were varying greatly. Meanwhile, Brandon was playing nice and consistently. With a few holes left Brandon had a pretty solid lead on me, but then I started to catch my stride and he could feel the pressure. Did I succeed in closing the gap? I guess you’ll have to watch the video and see!

Win or lose, I had fun with Brandon on a very pleasant evening in good ol’ Mesa, AZ.

15 comments:

Rebecca Lynn said...

What a brilliant idea. Someday, the mormonbachalerette should branch out into a book on creative dating ideas...

Joanna said...

Oh Ashley, he is cute! You two are cute! So many similarities and same interests - which I believe isn't just coinscidence.

Becky said...

A BYU football fan is always a good catch! Plus you two look good together.

Rachel said...

Does anyone else wish we could see a little more of the dates? I feel like we only get a very tiny glimpse, which makes it really hard to see their interactions. Maybe its better for Ashley and her dates that way, but I have to assume there is at least a little more footage than what we get to see.

Kim Messick said...

Oh, finally!

Julie Tomoser said...

I could see him getting a 2nd date!

Deveny said...

Adorable date & idea; he needs a 2nd date for sure!

It Started With a Wink said...

He's my new favorite!!!

Leo D said...

Amen, Rachel. Did we actually get more than 4 sentences from him?? Who's editing these videos anyway? In the next vid we'll be lucky to get a photo of her date or a 2 second shot of him getting a sip of water. We were robbed!

Chrissy said...

Yay, Brandon! He needs a second date for sure!!

I have been meaning to compliment the new videography though... it is a HUGE step up from last season and I can tell there is a real artist behind the lens. The music is perfection as well! I'd would like to hear a bit more dialogue though ;-) Just so we can get an idea of their compatibility. Keep up the great work, and give whoever is behind the camera a big raise!!!

anniebobannie said...

I want to see more of the dates too!!! I want to see their interaction not just music and what they are doing. I wish we could see the dates beginning to end. Akward, wonderful, boring, I want to see it all!!

Spencer said...

first, i am in no way involved with this project. just want to get it out of the way.

now, if you're honestly complaining about the quality of these videos, i'd love for you to please give it a shot. maybe you aren't aware of how much work goes into even a short production. i'm assuming the majority (if not all) the crew are working for free, and in their own spare time away from work.

a full out reality show consists of much more than a cameraman or two, who also double as editor. getting continuity of conversations requires a completely separate person (or two...or three) just to do that, which by lack of credit it looks like this episode did not have. to pump out an episode nearly everyday is ridiculous, as is expecting to see the date start to finish with all the dialogue included.

on a side note, is this shot with DSLR's? if so, please understand that DSLR cameras can get about 10-15 minutes of continuous recording before the camera overheats and needs to be shut down for a short bit to cool off. this means that in the middle of a good conversation, especially unscripted real life situations which go on for much more than 10 minutes, the camera can shut down to protect itself.

i don't mean to be rude, but when you don't have a large budget there have to be sacrifices. your production will reflect that and you have to do the best you can. personally, with the small amount of people who are physically doing the work on these videos, i'm impressed.

give it a rest and enjoy.

Anonymous said...

I think the quality of the vids is great. However, having followed the show in previous seasons, I appreciated seeing more of the date, more of the interactions between the people. Before, even when the video was music instead of conversation and the video clips were much shorter, the audience saw more of the people, so it felt more personal. I think that's what people miss/want, even though production is really impressive. It's a different crew, so there's going to be a different artistic take on it. I think it's good for viewers and fans to kindly make suggestions/voice opinions so the MB can continue to maintain, improve, and grow its audience. Just my two cents.

Plain Jame said...

He's my favorite match so far!!!!!

Chad Goldthwaite said...

Spencer, your comment gave the complainers some perspective, but you are nonetheless too complacent. Any production crew would be perfectly eager for input from their audience. That's what makes high-quality productions. You've got to get in the trenches and see what the front lines are experiencing.

That said, I agree that it is very frustrating to see long video montages that take up a good percentage of the entire allotted video time. In a full-length movie, they can get away with a 2 or 3 minute scene with just background music. But in a production that is only around 10 minutes in length, it doesn't work.

Don't get me wrong; The team did a stellar job! They do need to shorten those types of scenes though and show more of the interactions between her and her dates. It's honestly been driving me crazy for a while, and I'm on video #11 out of 22; only half way through.

And as far as the DSLR thing, I highly doubt that they were using a camera that is so outdated that it overheats. Also, I feel safe in assuming that showing more dialogue really wouldn 't change the production costs. It's just a difference of directing and editing style, and nothing more (in my humble opinion).