On Monday I was at Marineland being filmed/interviewed for a document on Niagara Falls. Local documentary film-maker Jay Cheel is putting together a documentary on the state of the tourism industry in Niagara Falls, and asking how Jay Cochrane would impact the industry.
I showed up at Marineland before it opened (9 am) and met with Jay (when I refer to Jay, it is to Jay Cheel, not Jay Cochrane) and Anne Marie Rondinelli. We were taken over to Friendship Cove and Jay setup his equipment. It was neat being there when no one else was around. I was able to talk to Anne Marie about various Marineland plans (not really anything new happening), how they deal with bad publicity (they try not to get caught up in things as it can cause even worse publicity), and how business was (some people aren’t happy, but overall it seemed like a decent year). I also had an opportunity to talk with a couple of the trainers. Before filming began I spoke with a female trainer (I didn’t get her name) who hadn’t been with Marineland very long. She spends most of her time with the Belugas, and spends one day a week with the Orcas. The whales seem to have a bond with their trainers.
The filming took around half an hour. I shared a bit about the AccessNiagara web site, the Jay Cochrane petition, and my general thoughts about the industry. Of course I won’t be in this documentary for a full half an hour, but Jay wanted lots of information so that he can edit it all together.
At the very end, Mike, the main trainer for Ike (the male whale on load from SeaWorld) came down and had Ike to some tricks in front of the glass. It was great. Since no one else was around, you could hear the whales making noises. Also, I was right in front of the glass, so the whale was only a foot or two away from me. Very cool!
Jay has already interviewed Mayor Salci, and is hoping to interview Jay Cochrane soon.
Don’t forget to sign the petition!
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