In this behind‑the‑scenes vlog, Victor Justin Rhodes and his crew document a production day on their multigenerational farm as they shoot a pilot for a new high‑end homestead/permaculture TV show. The video opens with early‑morning crew arrivals, introductions, and a quick recap of how the idea originated after a visit to Polyface. Rhodes walks viewers through the massive gear they’ve rented – multiple $800 camera rigs, a $2,000 camera body, $8,000 lenses – emphasizing the $30K+ equipment investment. He shares personal family history, describing his great‑grandparents’ hand‑milking routine and the farm’s 100‑year‑old bench, positioning the farm’s legacy as the narrative backbone of the series. The vlog outlines the show’s launch plan: a free Valentine’s‑Day premiere on February 14th in the Abundant Permaculture member area, with a call‑to‑action to join an email list via a linked 11‑minute micro‑documentary. Rhodes also discusses the intended production cadence (potentially 12 episodes a year), the emotional tone of on‑camera interviews, and the collaborative dynamic among crew members. The video ends with a reminder to stay tuned for the premiere and to sign up for updates.
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The crew is here, half of it anyway. You can't see behind me. Jason's here. It's like 6:20 in the morning. We got a 6:30 call time. How you been, Jason? Doing good. You excited for this? I am. I got my long johns on. I'm good. It was good. Uh, he's gonna be the assistant for them. And it was what, a week and a half ago when we went to Polyface? Yes, we started talking about this. Like, what would it be like to have, like— and we've done instructional videos in the past, but like, what about a high-end entertainment inspiration? And here we are. Yeah, I know, that was— it happened quick. That was a heck of a mastermind meeting right there. Hey, you ready for this? Yeah, he's kind of got a big role making that importance of land connection between one generation to the next. They might even have you doing some reenactment, buddy. I know, I heard. Because he— because you look like me, you might play little Justin. All right, just a little bit of housekeeping updating here. This is a— this is going to be a premiere show, and we are going to show it to you guys for free for a limited time. Not this weekend, next weekend. So the February, um, 13th weekend, probably that Saturday. So is that February? I think, yeah, February 14th. Let's have a premiere Valentine's Day. But that's not to be confused with Um, this weekend we're doing a 2020 year review video. This really has nothing to do with that. So what we're filming today, uh, it's not for this weekend but next. Just look at— oh my gosh, look how cold it is! There's water dripped out of that hose all the way down to the ground. That's how cold it is. I know you Minnesota people get cold. But 8 degrees is 8 degrees, and that's cold. And wind is wind, and that's destructive. Oh, my main man Arun! That's my another coffee. Got his cup of coffee. So cold, you know. I hope you're warm. You got long johns under that? Yes. Okay, real gear, dude. Look at that camera rig. What I'll do is just leave it in this place. I figured Jason would really like this because as filmmakers ourselves It's really cool to see other people's setups. Really, as far as gear is concerned, take it to another level. Look at all Manzo in there. Jason, you want to guess how much those vents would cost if you were to buy them? I'll give you a hint, we rented them for $800 apiece. Really? $5,000. Not even close? Too low. Too low? Cold, very cold. 20. So I'll give you a hint. So this camera I'm using is about $2,000 and you can rent it for $150. Okay, you weren't too bad for a lens though. You're pretty close. Oh, I see. How much? How much, Ben? Uh, it's $8,000 a lens. Whoa, $16,000 worth of lenses right there. Hope you got the rental insurance. Let's do just you this time. We'll do both. Such a good walker. Well, we just filmed walking around up in the pasture, but I looked through those viewfinders. That's— look, it's like watching a movie. Did you, did you look behind the viewfinder, Jason? Yeah, amazing. Now he's going to be down here, uh, we're going to wait a little while to do chores. He's going to get some shots of the animals and firewood. This is a 100-year-old farm bench. It's Grandpa's. So Grandpa milked by hand. Grandpa and Grandma, they milked too. Grandpa milked 50 cows a day. Grandma built an old tent, and back in those days everybody had a milk cow. I'll get some shots of them getting some shots. Hey, you guys ready to be movie stars? Not really. Movie stars? No, not really. Oh, you'll be all about it. She came to me last night and said, which dress do you like, Papa? Give me two choices. I like that pink one, it's a little more— you can just go in to— and, uh, let's do it. All right, so they're filming out there. I don't want to get in their shot, so I'm trying to be around the corner. What's it like being on this side of the camera, not having to like, you know, like put on the the show as much. Is it different? This is a huge relief having somebody else down because when you're filming yourself and you're in the moment and you're in the farm and you're with your family, you have to think about camera position. You know, that's what's going through my head. Is the camera position right if I'm holding it like this, trying to keep it as natural as possible? Is the mic on? I kind of grew up like a city boy. Who lived in the country, because my dad was a country boy. We lived on, on, on the land out in the country. My mom was from the city, so we ended up going to school in town, church in town. My dad, uh, would do a men's breakfast, men's prayer breakfast in town on Saturday. So every day in town. Now, I grew up around fences and cows, and that's about it. My dad would keep cows, I think, probably just for nostalgia. And one day, you know, we did that garden and then that was kind of it. And I said, why don't you do that anymore? Why don't you garden? And he said, because it's cheaper to buy it in the store. And if you assume that homegrown food is the exact same as food in the store, it's totally fair. Where for you, like, what really stands out about that time. Okay. But basically he, you can start with, with Lyme disease, but maybe don't go too deep into that. We'll do that later. Okay. So we're like, okay, you know, and it was kind of like one of those things that you just were like expecting to heal and then it just didn't. My roots are deep here, being the fourth generation to farm this land. The farm brings me happiness, from the pastures, via forest animals and daily chores. They are serious. You can tell how serious by the size of their lights and the size of the cameras, right? And tripods. I think it's going— Rebecca, I think it's going great. Isn't this cool? We're producing our own TV show. It'll go up in Abundant Permaculture member area. We're gonna premiere it to you guys for free for a couple of days. February 14th. Everybody can make it a Valentine's evening, right? Yeah. So you want to make sure you get on my email list to get that. One great way to get on the email list is to sign up for the micro documentary that inspired this. I'll leave the link for that down in the description. Sign up, enjoy that 11-minute video of our story, and look forward to that story that's there times 5, man, wouldn't you say? Yeah, it's going to be twice as long. It's going much more in depth. Yeah. He's really pulling the stories out. He is. And he's, he said next time he wants to talk to me. You're, you're the star of the next show. Yeah. So if this pilot goes well, if we sell this first episode well— that's the only way we know if this is a good way to serve you guys, is how it sells. And if it sells well, you're the star of the next show, probably because Snowball could be here. Well, he will be. Isn't that crazy? He will be. And so if the first show goes well, I think we're committing to 12— I mean, 12 a year, one in a month. How do you feel like getting a, getting a nice— I think, I mean, 12— I think it'll be good. I really— or sorry, I really am enjoying it. As intense as it is, 12 hours a day, it's still in some ways easier because we don't have to edit, we're not directing. Yeah, they just say sit here, answer this question, and he Oh my gosh, this is really hard. Well, you're not supposed to get emotional. Save that for the interview, Becky. She got emotional in her interview, and I did too. Were you in here? I wasn't. I must not have been in here talking about the animal sacrifice they make for us, for our health. I think I came in after that. Yeah, that was so good. I hope that makes the cut. All right, I'm gonna wrap this up. They're gonna be calling me any second. Guys, stay tuned. This— get on my email list. Watch this premiere show coming up February 14th.
