Here are lessons from a multimedia journalist who also provides shooting tips, which we start with.  After you enjoy the story, read below about the story behind it.  You’d never know this by watching the story itself.

TURNING A NEAR DISASTER INTO A GOOD STORY

Here’s a detailed critique by multimedia journalist Galen Culver who faced the challenge.  It’s a great example of how flexible you need to be.  Now Galen in his own words:

I offer this story as an example of how you can salvage a story even when it doesn’t turn out to be quite what you might expect. Everyone who set up this story assumed Lon Hedge’s was turning 100 years old. The makers of his favorite drink were using the occasion to promote its return to the Oklahoma marketplace. The master distiller came all the way from Kentucky. The largest liquor distributor in the state was there and I had a press release telling me that old Lon was to get a specially signed 3 bottle gift from the makers of ’4 Roses Whisky and Bourbon’.

It didn’t turn out that way. Lon was turning 94 not 100 and he’d stopped his drinking at the behest of his wife back in the 1940′s. So is there still a story here? You bet. Sometimes uncomfortable moments also make for great television. It turned out that Lon, if not 100, certainly was a gracious host. He hoisted one back just for his guests, making for a lovely ending to what turned out to be a sweet, memorable story.

As for shooting. There’s a pretty good sequence off the top. Lon is feeding cattle. The shot of the bucket going into the feed and then onto the four-wheeler both come into the frame. He drives it into frame. The next shot is a wide shot of the four wheeler pulling up to the trough. It’s a little bit too short. The next shot is a cutaway of a hungry calf, then he comes into frame again with the feed bucket. I shot that sequence in the space of ten minutes. I tried to put a little sound from him underneath the video but you can’t really tell what he’s saying. I should have taken it out. The next element is a slide show of old pictures with a little sound underneath.. Then we introduce the elixir. I set the bottles up beneath a table lamp. The light gave the bottles a nice, alluring glow. I didn’t use a light during the interview. That same lamp lit one side of Lon’s face while daylight from the porch lit up the other side. I white balanced in between and got a nice result. White balancing can be really tricky in situations where there is a warm, tungsten light mixing with daylight. I re-white balanced several times to make sure I was getting something usable. You can tell the difference in the next two interviews. I shot them at the kitchen table with a window light off to the side and in the back. I framed them so they each had a dark background behind them.

I shot the official giving of the gift then hit with the suprise of the story. Lon doesn’t drink anymore. There’s a nice reaction shot of his wife. I’ve got several uneasy, nervous laughter type shots from the gathered friends and distillers right after he says ‘I give it up.’ There’s a good natured sound bit from Lon where he admits to a nip when he’s sick. Then there’s a transition to the table. I started with a couple of clinking glasses. I got a little lucky with the bottle in the foreground and Lon acting angry about all the fuss. There’s a little sequence of people scooting up to the table, another piece of sound from Lon, tight shot of pouring, wide shot of table, tight of housekeeper, then the toast. The final toast is the payoff. Old Lon drains his shot and then goes after the dregs. The very last shot goes back to the bottle. Pretty good story from what could have been a disaster. Lon Hedges did most of the salvaging but I’m glad I hung around to see what would happen. 

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 21st, 2009 at 2:45 pm and is filed under broadcast journalism, Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists, TV news training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.