I began working for Quincy Media’s WPTA21 in May of 2018. I work as an editor, photographer and line producer for ABC and NBC. During my time here, I have put my various skills learned throughout my study of communication to the test. From camera work and cinematography to consistent editing. While there is no need for specialty camera work in this field, I always try to find at least one interesting angle while on a scene. Similarly, with editing, I try to find an interesting transition when I can, but you are not asked to spend an abundance of time editing these.
PAINT SPOT
The painted spot was an interesting shoot. I came into work not knowing what to expect. I received a text from a coworker telling me to go to the location and ask people what the mysterious paint spot meant and get some VO. I was as much in the dark as anyone who saw the West Central post to begin with. I made my way to the location and immediately began shooting. It’s always a task to figure out ways to shoot static subjects like a painted square on a road.
I made sure to get some shots from an angle with the cones. I thought the cones provided a decent symmetry in the shot and an interest on top of the spot. I also noticed the chaos of bikes in the corral and thought that would be a good contrasts to the empty paint spot.
I was also asked to get one or two man-on-the-street interviews. Being my first time doing a MOS, I wanted to get the practice in. I stayed there for awhile and managed to get nine brief SOTs. This proved to be a bit difficult because most of the time, people would only say something in passing. I only had one to two seconds to adjust the camera and put the mic closer to them. Many people denied interviews, but a two let me set the camera up for a slightly longer interview. Shooting this was a great experience for what it’s like in news: fast.
I did not edit this one.
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KROGER SHOOTING
This was a shooting that was ironically hard to shoot.
I came into work and was asked to meet our reporter Kayla Stewart at the Kroger gas station down the road. I arrived and immediately began shooting while she asked around for an interview. In situations like this I try to always get a shot of the sign. This obviously shows the viewer exactly where something occurred and it is a classic news shot.
When I arrived, it was not clear where the crime exactly took place, so I stuck to primarily long shots. I filmed some of the bystanders as well as the police waiting to take action. There was a time when the other reporters there were sitting around talking while we waited for the police information officer (PIO). I took advantage of this time to get some shots that might give our station an edge. One of these shots was of shooter’s car being towed. We later found out that it had been shot at and ditched. With this addition to the story, the footage I shot of the car turned out to be useful.
After a little while, Kayla had no luck finding an interview. This happens quite often in situations like these. Odds are that people either do not want to talk and get involved or that they didn’t even see anything. We were running around trying to find anyone to interview. Kayla even asked the gas station clerk for an interview several times, but she was too broken up and had to keep working.
We were about ready to call it quits when someone drove up to us and asked what we happened. We gave him a brief summary and asked if he’d be open for an interview. As usual, he was very hesitant, but accepted. He didn’t see what happened, but we asked him about the safety of the neighborhood and his loyalty the Kroger.
We also went back later that night to do a live shot.
I did edit this one. I stated with a shot of the scene. I like to do this to hopefully grab the attention of a potential viewer before showing the sign. As the VO continues, I showed different vantage points of the scene. I then use the shots of the car being towed as that’s where the written VO mentions it.
This was another story where yo have to come up with solutions on the fly. There were a lot of people there, but no interviews. There were a lot of police, but the PIO eventually canceled his arrival. There were a lot of police car, but no exact scene to film.
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WATER MAIN BREAK
This was a busy night. I was first sent all the way out to Leo to cover an unrelated story. I had only been back at the station for a short period before I was sent out to a water main break.
Scenes like this are often very difficult to shoot for a few reasons. Firstly, it’s dark. Our cameras have a high gain function and aperture control, but beyond that, lighting is difficult at night. Secondly, it’s a water main break. They happen all the time and they’re not the most aesthetically pleasing thing to film. This is another situation where I tried to get some interesting shots to make the VO stand out. Another difficulty is just the weather. It was very late at night and extremely cold. You have to operate the camera with numb hands and not get bogged down by the temperature.
I did edit this one.
I began by showing a long shot of the scene. I primarily shot from this angle because it was the primary light source. Again, I show the geography next by using the road sign. This was a bit difficult as well because the sign was in the opposite direction of truck with the light. Initially, the sign was just too dark to even film. I decided to use one of our led lights to light the sign. I held the light just to the side of the camera and caught the reflection in the sign to help it stand out on the background.
I used a lot of close ups in this scene because I was at the same angle for most of it. I could not access the scene from other entry points as it was taped off. By using closeups, I tried to get different enough subjects that the viewer hopefully remains intrigued.
I think my favorite shot from this VO may be of the back of the truck with the light glowing. I think has a cinematic feel due to the balance of the static truck and movement of the dozer bucket.
When I filmed the men working, I used the same technique as the sign. They were standing in compete darkness, but I did notice they were wearing reflective coats. I held my light out to the side and started rolling when it caught the reflective tape on their sides.
Before Leaving I also asked if either of them would be interested in doing an interview. Obviously they were too busy with the main break for an interview, but they did give me a quote.
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HIGH STREET SHOOTING
This was a big scene. I was the first of the news outlets to arrive. I first setup my tripod for a long shot, as usual. While I was filming, I sent a photo of the scene from my phone to Rex, my weekend producer. We send photos from our phone so that they can write the article and have something to post before the final VO is completed.
I moved around a bit on this shoot, but I didn’t get very close. sometimes, if I feel comfortable and safe and the officers allow it, I will get just about as close as possible. This was a different scenario. Someone was lying dead in the yard. Families were outside of their houses. The young adult’s mother was screaming and crying. I refrained from filming any of the people in distress as I was only trying do my job and not exploit their distress.
This was especially difficult when one police officer was walking with a young man to console him and he yelled at me through his tears asking why I was there. It was difficult and I apologized, but I was sure to get what I needed and back away.
Obviously, I did not want to film the body itself, so I opted for more artistic shots. I think this was a respectful way to show the scene without exploiting any one specifically.
I was not yet able to leave though. The PIO was running late and I was tasked with getting his interview. He finally arrived and I set up the shot. He gave his release and I asked any extra questions.
I rushed back to the station and began editing immediately.
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69 FATAL
This was another difficult shoot.
Firstly, when I arrived, it was difficult to get to the exact exit. I had to get off going the other way and turn around so I could take the correct exit. Furthermore, I could only get so close to the scene as being any closer would have been too dangerous. This was definitely a scenario where the long zoom came in handy.
Due to the long distance, it was also difficult to find a diverse set of shots. I couldn’t get much closer than a medium shot of the vehicle and a long shot of the scene. I tried to get some slightly different angles and compositions so that when edited back-to-back, they seemed more diverse than they really where.
This was another scene where two body bags were present, which is an interesting aspect to the job as well. Whereas some stations may show bodies, we do not. What makes it difficult though, is that sometimes you don’t even notice them. This was a scenario where I was filming from a certain angle that I was happy with until I noticed what looked to be an airbag on the ground. It wasn’t until later that I realized it was a body bag. I immediately changed my angle and refrained from shooting that direction.
Again, I raced back to the station. when shooting things, I am always in a rush, but more so on weekends. a lot of times, I got sent out on our 1 hour break between our 2 shows. This leaves no more than 15 minutes or so to get to the scene and get back. I then have to ingest all the footage, which can take quite a while sometimes. After ingestion, I have to edit the piece. Sometimes, I have to make multiple versions of it is shown in different places throughout the show. It is common for breaking news to appear in the headlines, mid-headlines, a tease, and it’s own line of VO.
It is important to remember when shooting footage like this to get plenty of material. the reason being because a day crew can go back and film in the morning, or even a week later. For a crash in the middle of the night, there isn’t anything to re-film. Because of this, the VO from this crash was played for several days as the narrative unfolded.
Dead-End Dreams | A Short Film 
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