The Strawberry Powered Chip

We were hired to prompt a video about a silicon chip that operates with very low-power. To make the point, they produced a short video with the designers giving a demo of the chip — powered by the acid from a strawberry.

When I arrived, the producer explained the project. We would record the chip designer (on-prompter) as he introduced the device, break from the prompter and shoot b-roll as they connected the chip to the strawberry, and then finish with the designer back on camera, reading from the prompter.

During the prompter break, I watched as they tried to connect the wires to the strawberry and the chip. It was a bit of a struggle, the wires didn’t stay in the strawberry, the chip and berry wouldn’t stay in position, and setting it up took more effort than expected.

They were finally successful. The LCD clock came to life and began counting off seconds. The crew and I watched this for a few moments. The producer turned to me and said, “okay, now let’s rebuild the prompter.”

I was about to spring into action, but something was bothering me. I didn’t remember anyone saying “roll camera.” So I asked the producer, “Don’t you need a shot of the chip and strawberry working?”

“Oh right,” he said, “thanks for reminding me!”