BACK FROM THE SHOOT

A Rough Day Working with Mr. Beautiful
From: Rose Rinn

What really is a photojournalist/videographer (whatever the "in" name is)....my analogy...a pretty microphone holder that graduated to an idiot holding a camera that is giving us real shooters a bad name. Firstly, the photojounalist in my news room really irks me. He always gets the stories with great color, you know what i'm talking about, the ones that make your heart skip, because the pictures are so visual that every shot can be gold. I mean with great pictures you don't really need to voice too much because the pictures and sound already shout out what the story is about.

Secondly, if the story is about some political scandal, (that contains generic and mundane shots), he always gets a shooter to work with. Ya sure, I understand it is a little more trying to get a story that contains no visuals, and one needs some what of a brain to cover politics,so I guess he needs a shooter to partner up with. But what really bugs me is he thinks that now that he is multidimensional he knows how to shoot better than the other guys that he works with. Instead of doing his gig and trying to get a focus on what the story is about, he is meddling on what kind of shots to take. I mean he is literally asking for the camera to set up a shot, and then he will say okay, "here is the shot, press record". Hello?? This is unacceptable. I knew how to shoot a story before Mr. Multi-tasked boy showed up, I think I can take care of getting some color for his god damn story. I can't stand working with the guy. In the middle of a shot that I am doing, he will pull my sweater and drag me to shoot something that he thinks is a better shot. Hello? I am sure I will see it if you just leave me alone and let me do my job and scope out my own shots. He will actually say I want you to slow zoom here, or get a close up here. Or here is a good wide shot. Hello? Shouldn't you be going to find the organizer of the event? Or thinking of a good bridge to tie in to why we are here?

Photjournalists have it so good. They can shoot a really visual story, and if it isn't visual they get a shooter. They always get to pick the best of stories, and they always get all the praise. Maybe I should go for it, buy a razor, get rid of my jeans, and put gel in my hair. Hey, I'm a photojournalist. I can do every thing. I am so special. Look at me. Aren't I the bomb? I am beautiful.

The whole catch is that this crazy idea is really knocking management's socks off. They think is is cost effective. But how?It is not asthough the stories that he covers on his own are bringing in some better ratings. He can't cover every story on his own. The news room can't ever send him out to a fire because he might get a little dirty. So how heavy does this new way of covering stories really benefit the news room? Most of the photojournalist stories are fluffy and are put at the end of the cast, in case we need to dump out of a story early. He gets paid more the rest of us because he is doing two peoples jobs, (upon convenience), so what's the big hooo-haa about? He is a mediocre reporter,and monkey shooter. YES, I am bitter.

"A Giant Rooster Attacking Cars"
Brian Behler, WKYC-TV Cleveland, OH

It started as a "normal day". I had just returned from a morning live shot and was getting ready to be lunched 2 hours into my shift at 7am.(Yeah I know..early!) My Nextel vibrated and the desk asks between laughs if I'm ready for some spot news. Sure, who isn't?? Well, I'm told, "Head to East 65th and Bessemer. A giant rooster is attacking cars." I look at my Nextel, make sure it's working right and ask if I heard her right. "Yes," the desk replies, "A giant rooster."

Ok, I hop in my truck with visions of old Japaneese godzilla movies running through my head. While I'm driving to the scene, I pass through dense smoke about 7 blocks away. I think to myself, "Nahh...couldn't be!" Well, I finally get to E65th and Bessemer and what do I find: blood?? gore?? singed feathers?? dead army troops and overturned tanks???

Nope...NOTHING..NADA..ZIP..ZILCH..(like I expected.)

BUT, on the bright side, there is a house on fire a block down from where I was told to be. I call the desk and say no giant rooster, but there is a house fire. I'm going to shoot it. I pull up and start shooting the fire. After I shoot the fire, I talk to a couple of Cleveland's cops. I tell them, "I've never done any illegal drugs, and I'm not under the influence of any right now, so when I ask you this, please don't arrest me. Ok, did you guys hear anything about a giant rooster attacking cars in this neighborhood?"

The cops burst out laughing, "Yeah..we took the call. Some drunk was walking home and saw a big Rottweiler chasing cars." Well at least I got a fire out of the trip. I head back to the station, have lunch and then get a call to head out to Aurora, OH to Sea World to shoot the newborn baby penguins. (This next part is also true) I ask the desk what's with the bird stories. First a giant rooster, now baby penguins!! The reply from the desk, "Brian I guess you're just having a foul day."

GOD...I LOVE MY JOB!!!!!

"Strength Through Stability"
From Richard W. Adkins, Chief Photographer, WRAL

It was a dull gray December morning. Outside the winter shower had subsided giving way to a thick drizzle. The temperature was just above freezing. Every drop that hit your face felt like an ice pellet shot from a hunting rifle. It was the kind of day you knew would be a frozen hell if you had to stay out in that weather, it was the kind of day most Television Photojournalist dread. Yet one after another the veteran photographers of WRAL-TV emerged through the back door of the television station dressed in pressed suits, sharp ties and shined shoes. This was no ordinary day, this was the day the station owner honored the long term employees, and nearly every photographer on staff would be recognized.

Like cliché characters in a bad gum shoe novel, the men and women who make up the photography staff at WRAL-TV know the streets. They’re veterans of TV News, and they have paid their dues. Most have more than five years invested at this number one rated station, many have ten years or more. They are a living history of the market’s great news stories. The team gains it’s strength through stability, a long term commitment to a profession that quickly dismisses the weak.

A quick look at the 24 people who hoist an Ikegami camera to their right shoulder reveals another one of the staffs strengths: Diversity. 3 women, 21 men all from varied backgrounds with unique qualifications. Some grew up right here in the rich soil of the Tar Heel State’s piedmont. Others found a home in Raleigh after bouncing through many markets. Each has their own style, their own expertise and their own interest. All share the same commitment.

WRAL-TV’s mission statement reads in part "We seek to attract and retain the very best people at every level." The station meets this goal by providing a professional work environment. Each photographer is issued a "Take-Home" car and individual gear. Everyone has their own wireless mics, wide-eye, complete light kit and most any equipment needed to get the job done. The future looks just as promising. WRAL-TV is currently shooting special projects in HDTV, and will televise the next shuttle launch in HDTV.

When the 82nd Airborne made their historic jump into Kazakhstan, WRAL-TV had the only local photojournalist on the ground shooting it. When members of Raleigh's Ligon GT Middle School Silver Strings orchestra traveled to St. Petersburg, Russia to perform with the Russian Children's choir, a WRAL-TV Photojournalist traveled with them. While North Carolina high tech comapanies displayed their gadgets at the World’s Fair in Portugal, WRAL had the only Tar Heel Photojournalist there. WRAL-TV photojournalist log a lot of miles covering stories. When Hurricane Fran hit the coast, they were there. When four law enforcement officers were murdered in the line of duty, they were there. From the town of Murphy in the western mountains to the coastal city of Manteo WRAL-TV photojournalist bring the news home to the viewers.

Yes, it may sound like the last paragraph to a hokey novel, but to the men and women of WRAL-TV's photography staff, it's real life.

"Another roadtrip from hell"
from "Jake Blues," (FOX) Florida

I'm sure you've had road trips go strange, so you can relate.  There's been wildfires that have threatened northeast Florida for a couple of weeks now, so when we got a press release stating that many local firefighters were helping out... We were sent north!

We flew into Orlando, since the desk thought it was closer to where our firefighters were (not to mention cheaper than flying into Jacksonville). When we arrived, we had to wrestle with the rental car people. They didn't send us with a company credit card... and mine is maxed. My reporter couldn't rent a car, since she was not 25... yadda yadda yadda... an hour later and we're heading north.

Its 11AM... our feed time is at 5:45 and we haven't shot a frame. We drive an hour north, and find the command center. They're more than helpful... telling us that our crew is about 40 miles north. They'll hook us up, but my shoes have got to go. I had to stop at wal-mart and buy some non-flammable work boots. Yadda yadda yadda... I have new shoes and we hit the road.

Its 1pm... our feed window (in Orlando's FOX affiliate) is at 5:45 and we haven't shot a frame. We arrive at the fire scene. 30 MILES SOUTH OF JACKSONVILLE!!! Hook up with the firefighters, and they're on lunch break! Half an hour later and we're finally shooting. Problem is... our fire crew is working "hotspots"--- translation: NO FLAMES! We do get some great interviews, and good b-roll (working that "local boys helping out" angle) and we leave. Its 3:30... You know when we have to feed, and we now have to drive 2 hours south to edit. We get on the phone to homebase, and finally convince them to work it out with the Jacksonville FOX. only 30 minutes north!

We'll make it!

We arrive at the Jax FOX... nice new shop. DVC pro. I'M SHOOTING BETA!!! We finally figure out that I can transfer tape in master control. Its 4... Feed at 5:45. Half an hour of tape. yeah, sure we'll make it. Its 4:30 and we have the raw dubbed. I don't know how many of you have worked with DVC pro... If you have, my sympathies. The Jax FOX has a strange system for reporter tracking, that involves a digicart, and precise timing. (basically, hit autoedit... and when the edit hits, fire the cart.) So I said screw it, x-ferred the digicart to another tape... and i'm now editing at 5:00.  45 minutes till feed time. DVC pro sucks (if you take offense, you've not shot beta)

YOU CAN'T HEAR AUDIO IN SHUTTLE!!! "We gonna make it?" my reporter asks... "Sure, no problem" I am the master of a false sense of security. 3 nat breaks... 5 bites & standup. Sweet b-roll... 1:45 run time. I make it by my window. I still can't figure out how.

Its miller time! We pulled it off! We checked into a beautiful hotel on the beach... hooked up with some ex-employee type friends and had a good time. Little did we know, the fun had just begun.

Day 2 follows next....

We wake up in Jacksonville. Get ready and check in with the station. They proceed to tell us that another crew came up from our area, and they were working the "raging inferno" in Waldo (a town close to Gainesville, an hour away.) We have to edit in Orlando today, since our flight out is at 8:20pm at Orlando International. We were told to head southwest to Waldo's "raging inferno"...

10am... we have to feed at 5:45 in Orlando (2 hours south)... great. We arrive in Waldo, commenting about the nice blue skies on the way. We find out that late thunderstorms doused the "raging inferno" last night. The local authorities set up a command post... herded the media into this area and forced us to use pool video. THE FIRE WAS OUT!!!

We find out that yesterday's featured crew is fighting a REAL BIG fire in Jax... and tell the station we really should be there. (unless they just want firefighters standing around). The desk got totally defensive... took a "questioning our decision making authority" stand. Told us we had to do the Waldo story anyway... and still feed in Orlando.

The competition sent up a crew to Waldo... and they were shooting the pool video (they got there 30 min. earlier).  I'm not going to say anything bad about the pool crew, because I'm sure someday he'll be a good reporter. (and the shooter has a love affair with a tripod that i'll NEVER understand... I didn't even bring one, and never will)

The pool crew finally returns, and I pull a favor with a buddy from the ABC in Tampa... and am able to dub the tape. Its a half hour of dropouts... old tape. I'll make something out of it, i'm sure. We escape the command post corral, and shoot a standup in an area that looks like the moon with burnt trees. We wrap & roll.

Its 2:30... we feed in Orlando at 5:45. and we have an estimated 2 hour drive.   Halfway to Orlando we hit a bad-ass thunderstorm. I've been in nicer hurricanes. Hail... Raining sideways... 10 foot visibility. The Twister ride at Universal is lame in comparison. We had to pull over (the reporter was sure of our imminent demise). It finally let up enough to drive (barely, but we got a deadline). A mile down the road, we pass a flipped tractor trailer blocking traffic in the opposite lane. We called 911 and kept going (screw it, its not in our A.D.I.) It finally lets up... and we hit Orlando. Here's a tip. NEVER DRIVE ON I-4 DURING RUSH HOUR!!! (well, you can't exactly drive, more like park)

We arrive at the Fox in Orlando at about 4:35... have to dub the raw, 'cause (God bless them) they have DVC pro too. They don't have the insane audio setup Jax had... but they have suitcase editors. Nice concept... edit bay in a suitcase. Wish they'd worked out the design flaws, but I digress.

I start editing at 5:15... window's at 5:45. She wanted 2 nat breaks & 5 interviews and a standup. She got one nat break. "Are we gonna make it?" she asks. "No way in hell" I reply. (There's the false sense of security again). We made our window. I have no idea how. I mean it, NO IDEA... 1/2 hour edit time, on DVCpro.. a personal best considering the adversity & complexity of the pack. 

WHEW!!! its all over. All we gotta do is make our flight at 8:20. Its 6:15.. no problem. Remember I-4??? Still rush hour. We arrive at the rental car place at 7:45. Drop the car, hit the shuttle bus, and arrive at the airport with 15 minutes till take off.

Funny thing is... Delta Airlines (may they burn in hell) closes out the flight 10 minutes before departure. After cutting in line, we get to the desk at 8:10... and we're locked out. NO GOING HOME! Now what the hell do we do? The Airline guy said the tickets had "no value" now. We got no car, and no later flights. We scope out the rental car companies, and they'll charge about $100 bucks to get a car one-way for 2 hours to Ft. Myers. I'm thinking "Hey... The station paid full rate for the tickets, there's gotta be some value here!" We go up to a different clerk, who actually is helpful. They checked out the computer, and it said that I was actually ON THAT FLIGHT!!! (Yeah... pleasant takeoff, really love Delta). After wrestling with the computer for a half hour, they got us on a flight the next day, and gave us a discount voucher for a hotel. An hour later the hotel shuttle arrives and picks us up. We check in, and head for the hot tub (hell... we deserved it!) We got halfway in and Security closes the pool area. ARRRRHHHHHHH!!! It never ends!

Our flight the next morning took off without incident. I clocked the walk from the ticket counter to the gate... 4 minutes, casual pace. We would have made it last night, no problem. If I never fly Delta again it'll be too soon. We got home... looking like the walking dead.

Funny thing was, If the Desk listened to us in the first place, we'd have worked out of Jacksonville... saved us about 4 hours a day drive time, and we would have made it home Friday. But as we all know... the desk NEVER listens to the crew.

Well I finally have a horror story to top my "Busting out my knee and getting trampled by a bunch of drunken seminoles" story. And sometime, if you get me drunk enough, I'll tell you that one too.

YO MAMA!
From Richard D'Albert, TV Photographer, Florida.

We were shooting a concert for the "Mamas and the Papas" here in FL. They upped the number of cameras from two to three and at the last minute I was scrambling for a shooter. My brother came to my rescue and jumped behind the viewfinder. He was sitting in the first row with a Fujinon A10x4.8 wide angle lens on a sony D-30 a couple of minutes before the show starts and I hear over the headsets threats of physical removal by police if he didn't strike his camera right then and there. being behind stage directing the show, I jumped out and asked the house people what was going on. They jumped in my face and told me we where in the way and that we would have to move or else.... I quickly grabbed the camera off the Oconnor tripod, Joe grabbed the carbon fiber legs and we scrambled out of the front row. I then shot back stage and informed the bands manager and keyboard player that his primary camera had been removed under threat of arrest. He then informed the house's stage manager that he and the band where not going on until our camera was repoed back into position. The General manager appeared and a heated discussion insued.

Minutes later we were back into position and shooting a killer show.  I thought it interesting because we usually get threatened when running and gunning not shooting a concert at a musical theatre, OH Well another one for the books.....
Richard D'Albert, TV Photographer, Florida.

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