[Chicago Slices raw: Jim Hensel #2]

This video contains raw footage for the television show "Chicago Slices." On this tape, videomaker Skip Blumberg meets stock trader Jim Hensel at the Chicago Board of Trade and shoots Hensel and others in the "pit."

00:00Copy video clip URL This tape begins with footage of Michigan Avenue near Water Tower Place. Blumberg gathers footage from inside of a car. He gets a few shots of the actual Water Tower and Michigan Avenue as well.

02:10Copy video clip URL Blumberg gets an interesting, almost fast-forwarded shot of Michigan Avenue from inside of the vehicle. Blumberg also gets a shot of the Wrigley Building, Chicago River, and the Chicago Sun-Times Building.

05:12Copy video clip URL Blumberg briefly speaks with a cab driver.

06:37Copy video clip URL Cut to a shot of the Chicago Board of Trade.

07:24Copy video clip URL Blumberg and Ahdee Goldberg enter the Board of Trade and take an elevator up to meet Jim Hensel. Once there, Hensel’s colleague Bob Chuckerman introduces himself. The group makes small talk as they wait for a person to guide Blumberg through the floor. A woman named JoAnn approaches the group and goes over some ground rules for being on the floor. He is told that he cannot move while taping on the trading floor.

12:27Copy video clip URL Blumberg gets a shot of a sign that reads, “Misuse of keycard or jumping over turnbuckle: $1,000 fine.” Shortly afterward, Hensel and Blumberg make their way down to the floor. Once on the floor, Hensel begins to explain what’s going on. “They are trading the debt of the United States here.” Blumberg gathers footage of the many clerks at work on the floor. Eventually, the group makes their way deeper into the pit. Hundreds of people are seen shouting and gesturing at their brokers. This lasts for several minutes.

24:51Copy video clip URL Chuckerman explains what is happening on the board. Chuckerman talks about “ticks” and how they affect the clerks on the floor. Hensel also talks about the chaos on the floor. Hensel talks about the physicality on the floor and the many risks of the job. “There’s very few jobs where you might have a bad day and you didn’t make a sale or something didn’t work out, but you come back the next day. Here, you could have a bad day and lose thousands and thousands of dollars. It’s not like you still get paid. If you have a bad day, it could cost you a lot of money.” Blumberg asks Hensel about the fact that there aren’t many women out on the floor. Hensel states that there aren’t as many women involved in this type of work but that a person’s trading prowess is not based on one’s gender. “If you can trade, your money is as good as anybody else’s down here.”

29:59Copy video clip URL Hensel comments on his progress on the floor. He states that it’s been slow for him the last few months. He goes on to talk about the rigors of the floor and their reasons for wearing such casual clothing. Hensel states that when one is out on the floor, he or she is absorbing someone’s sweat because of the close quarters and amount of people out on the floor. “It’s not the place to wear your Armani suits.” Hensel talks about being on the floor in more detail. He also talks about his lucky charms for trading.

33:06Copy video clip URL Hensel states that the only way to learn about trading is by losing money, but states that one has to be extremely careful in the beginning. He goes on to talk about the financial backing he needs in order to be out on the floor. Hensel also states that most of the people on the floor have had different careers prior to trading. Blumberg then gathers more footage from the floor and is scolded by JoAnn for interviewing traders other than Hensel.

38:05Copy video clip URL Hensel explains the hand signals used in trading. He goes on to talk about the trading process in more detail. Blumberg then continues to gather more footage from around the trading floor.

45:36Copy video clip URL Blumberg asks Hensel about the communication process on the floor. This is followed by more footage from the floor.

49:24Copy video clip URL Cut to a shot of the entrance to the Board of Trade. A slew of traders and brokers are seen walking out of the revolving doors.

51:29Copy video clip URL Blumberg speaks with an older man outside of the building. This lasts for several minutes.

54:41Copy video clip URL Blumberg asks Joel Cohen to give a brief overview of Hensel’s story for Chicago Slices.

55:26Copy video clip URL Hensel gets on the Metra train on his way home after a long day at the Board of Trade. Blumberg asks Hensel why his family moved out to the suburbs. He states that the main reason was for better schools for his children. However, he states that he misses the city. This lasts for several minutes.

58:45Copy video clip URL Cut to footage from a construction site along the Kennedy Expressway. This lasts for the remainder of the tape.

59:26Copy video clip URL Tape ends.