Shoe Shine Man

Allow me to be your first GL. This is wonderful, exactly what I think a pod should be. Music is perfect, editing, coverage, great character studio, keep 'em coming. Funny coincidence, come support my Shadow Boxer,
link Seamus Patrick McDonagh is a shoe shine man too! Truly wonderful pod. Getreel

What a great pod about the dying art of a shoe shine man (boot black). Them elders keep giving us advise, if only we would actually listen to them once in awhile. Keep the films coming, you really capture his character well.

delightful! I remember years ago, I used to get my shoes shined for school and a gentleman just like him had been doing the same thing for years. Interesting how such a simple craft could bring about so much pride.
GL from me!

This has such an intimate and personal quality to it, akin to sitting in a barbershop chair actively listening to a natural storyteller who has nuggets of wisdom to impart. It made me feel very comfortable. I especially like his illustrative point about bondage, and the difference between need and want. GL all the way!
I'm curious as to what you think of my promo, "Leap off the Edge."

I loved it. Well taped, good sound and thanks for putting the captions. The guy is so wise, so positive, so good in what he does. gives a great message and deep indeed. Great selection of the character and well done video. I really liked it. I would love to see this on TV.

Great piece, Jaime. Thanks for introducing us to William.

This is a perfect work, good content, edition, and excellent music. Very good use of the time and images. GL

GL without a doubt. Wonderful character! Music and subtitles worked well too. Very wise person, too bad the world is moving on faster than these guys. Here in Colombia there are plenty of shoe-shine kids. Nice work, if you have time check out mine which should be here:

link .htm"

What a genuine and inspirational slice of life, great job!

Forgot to say that Lyle is cute as all hell. Anyway, my link never seems to work on this website. My pod is Lanterns of Quimbaya and cut-and-pasted is here:

www.currenttv.com/watch/19151293?s1=newVids&list=newVidsByAssignmentGroup&filterone=1&filtertwo=0&sid=19151293&fr=28

Excellent done and great music! Green light!

Could you check my promo? at:
NO ONE CAN STOP HER

Great short documentary. Love his motto: "It ain't what you do, it's how well you do it". Great interview & music...Nice job! GL ~MBS~

What a great little character piece, Jaime! I really love seeing videos like this that highlight people who are often overlooked, especially by mainstream media! Try finding a segment like this on CNN or FoxNews!

I really liked the piece. The video work and the music very nice. I found the subtitles distracting. I ended up trying to ignore them so that I could actually concentrate on listening to Mr. Thigpen. Reading something that I could actually hear if I paid attention caused me to become lazy, and not pay as much attention.

I LOVED THIS STORY. What a beautiful piece, pure poetry. Subtitles worked fine for me, and are needed IMHO. I can understand him finr, but I'm sure plenty might have a harder time than others, I did not find them distracting at all, and they added a sense of permanence to his words I feel. I can't wait to see your next story. :) -zen

Thank you Jaime for a beautiful portrait of a beautiful, kind, sincere man. I am Seamus from the two boxer pods, and would you believe that I and a few friends operate a part-time shoe shine business, at the Moscone Convention Center and four other locations in downtown San Francisco. I love it and am a little tired right now from a hard days work.GL here.

Jaime,

Wonderful piece. Nicely organized. Nice, natural use of close-ups. It has a nice natural flow and you let Mr. Thigpen speak his mind. I wonder what the result might have been if you took a more active role. It's hard to say. It's certainly to a pleasure to hear his pleasant, insightful patter.

My only critque is to simplify the "logo" with the "blind" dog at the head. I found it distracting and difficult to absorb. Also, I wonder if you need the stock shots. Do they relate directly to Mr. Thigpen?

Wonderful story about an authentic character. I congratulate you for putting this piece together the way you did, considering the other perspectives that you could have approached the subject matter. Well done all around. GL from me!

Great job Jaime! You inspire appreciation for a beautiful profession that has been taken for granted for years. I love the classical theme.

Really cool , the kind of stuff I like to see . I really liked that guy , and I`m glad I got to know him a bit . I liked the way this story told itself , you let the film be a film .

Sweet work, Jaimie!

PDX Steve

Very touching. Great way to get to know someone who you otherwise wouldn't come across.

great job...very warm portrayal of a very real person.

Hey Jaime...Nice job!!! I liked the subtitles...gave greater importance to the dialog. Well edited. Look forward to more

i WANTED to watch fox tv. but i NEEDED to watch this film. amazing capture by this filmmaker!

thank you...

stephanie

Interesting perspective from the Shoe Shine Man. I've passed these stations in airports many times without even thinking about the workers, but now won't be able to pass one without remembering this story.

Thank you all for such wonderful and helpful feedback and the fantastic support!!! I really appreciate it and look forward to exchanging thoughts, ideas, work projects, and critiques with the community here. I have enjoyed EVERYONE's pods!


I have come across shoe shine people (or bootblacks as they are more commonly called historically) all over the world while I've been traveling and have been fascinated with the profession for some time now. I have seen such an eclectic amount of people (women, men, old, young, and of course, children) who do this in such interesting places throughout the world. I have been so intrigued by it, that a year ago I finally bought a pair of shoes that would require a shinning just so that one day I may use the service! Crazy, I know! But I love it!

I hope I have helped in bringing the attention of a business like this to a younger crowd who otherwise may never even notice such a wonderful and personal service!
Thank you again!
Jaime Byrd

This film does a great job of just telling a story without being overly sentimental about it.

This is a "shoe-in" for broadcast!

This is real and raw. A humble perspective on life and hard work. Quality story, well told.

GL !

(:JAH:)

This is really wonderful, so honest and sincere....

I'd like to invite you to check out my profile as well at

link would love some comments and feedback.

Thank you.

this one definatly belongs on the air, this network was started with pods like this in mind.to allow smart well intended people to capture and share peoples stories with the world. this pod gives me hope that, I to, can do this. well done jamie,keep up the good work

GL from me and I just think this is so well done and so worthy to go on TV but the MOST amazing thing is, when Shadow Boxer went to #1 yesterday, the #2 pod was also about a Shoe Shine Man, in my case, Seamus Patrick McDonagh. Don't you just love Current TV? and please keep podding, you have real talent to add to our community. Getreel

Jaime,

Thanks for your compliments on my pod, Living Iraq, and for your invitation to critique Shoe Shine Man. Quite frankly, I don't think there's much that I can pinpoint that would make this better than it already is. I maybe would've cut it a little shorter, but that's a matter of personal taste, and clearly the majority feel you're spot-on with things as they stand. I can't argue with that -- this gets my GL as well.

You obviously know what your doing. Follow your muse -- I'm looking forward to seeing this make it to air, and seeing what other stories you can tell.

Dan

P.S. Does Lyle actually wear those goggles, or is that just for show?

Please keep making such beautiful pods. GL!

Jamie, your art speaks for itself. This unique charachter really has a lot of interesting things that deserve to be heard by millions... thanks for putting it together. personally, thanks for your comments on my ad. , "New Year's Favorite".
Good Track

Jaime, nice rythym to your film. It was soothing it shined my soul right up.

thanks Lula

What a great piece. One of my fav. I love the perspective you shot this from. I feel as though I'm right there in the chair you're in. Mr. Thigpen is a gem and thanks for sharing him us. A great person to look at and get wisdom from. He has a fan in Ca.

You have a gift. Great cuts, great subject, and great music. Kudos.

Well, the other commentators have said everything I was thinking about this great piece, but I'd add that you did a beautiful job of interviewing. You must have known instinctively that the way to approach this subject was to just let him talk, with few interruptions for questions. He was musing on life and values, and to add a lot of direct questions would've broken the flow and his thoughts. Good job, also on keeping the frames tight on him. Long establishing shots and other people's dialogue would've just been distracting. A "polished" gem of a piece that you honed while he polished. Great job. GL

I like the simplicity of the way you shot this. You just sat there and let the situation and this man whose obviously seen a lot of life...breathe. I like that. I wish I did that better. You seem to have an innate sense about telling a story, which is more important than anything when it comes to film. Very nice work and I wish you the best with future films.

great job keep up the good work

Jaime-

As simple as your pod may seem...there's a lot of goodness going on in there. Allowing his story to take precedence over any flashy edits or catchy visuals was absolutely necessary...and well executed. Nicely done...GL

Reminds me of a piece I did on a gentleman just like this in Orlando some 20+ years ago for the local soft news. A nice slice of life done in the traditional verite style that I still find the most compelling. Well done.