Very true, Walloon. The gruesome details are left to our imagination. Mine has no difficulty filling in the outline, alas.
What bothered me about the clip is that it’s real. I’ve seen a lot worse in movies and TV shows, but I knew those deaths were fake. I know this clip is of real people dying a horrifying real death.
As I mentioned upthread, my memory (which I admit could be faulty over the quarter century since it happened) is that the original broadcasts I saw of the incident did not show the actual crash, only the running through the water part before it. I don’t think it would have hit me so hard if I’d been expecting to see the helicopter go down.
Ah, well. I expected a range of reactions, yea and nay, when I raised the issue. It’s been interesting to see the different takes on this.
When director John Landis was on trial for the deaths, I believe Entertainment Tonight showed the clip — unedited (what is there to edit, after all?) — when it was introduced in evidence.
I need to correct this. There is not a cadre of folks standing around watching an editor edit. I know. I’m a cameraman and have spend hundreds of hours in edit suites, watching my work and that of others be cut. When it is an entertainment long-format show, or a feature or commercial? Sure. Quite a few folks paying the hourly sit in. Music video? Maybe one or two. News? Nope. Just the editor putting the piece together. The producer of the piece might have sat in, or might have just screened it before air. Or might not have screened it before air. You need to remember something- the axiom in news is, " If it bleeds, it leads". News editors edit uncut footage from the field- they see EVERYTHING that we do not. They are more callous as to the impact of footage.
I’m not apologizing for what was clearly a distasteful choice- there should have been a comment made that there would be footage of a death accident, or they should have used other footage.
At the time of the Twilight Zone accident, there was quite a bit of talk about the other cameras that were rolling that night. Yes. Quite a few other cameras.
From a book I am holding, “Outrageous Conduct: Art, Ego and the Twilight Zone Case”, by Stephen farber and Marc Green, 1988, William Morrow/Arbor House:
( my bolding )
There were several cameras rolling. The main one on the Chapman crane, up in the air. The other angle near the tree. The airborn one. Others along the river. All rolled, all captured the accident. At the time of the trial there were comments made about the other angles being locked down by the trial judge, that nobody would ever release or print them. One was supposedly a much closer shot of them ( which of course is true, because seconds before you CAN SEE THEM in close-up, struggling through the waters ).
ABC showed a tiny piece of snuff film, but it has been aired many times before and I am not sure that ABC needs to be villified for airing what is a sickening piece of old news. You can see bodies falling from the Hindenberg with the same level of (lack of) clarity and nobody hesitates to air that infamous bit of footage.
I didn’t see the footage, I did have the news on and I heard the report but I wasn’t watching the TV. I remember thinking why are they dredging up that old incident, Kidman didn’t die on the movie set. I had no idea they actually showed footage of the movie.
Barbarian hit the nail on the head, the footage was out of line because it had absolutely nothing to do with what they were reporting. It was pure sensationalism and was unnecessary and in bad taste.
What you describe is correct for most of the places I’ve worked, and is the standard for my current locale, but it’s not what happens on the national level at ABC.
There are always at least two people in the booth for every item cut for ABC News in the office tower on Peter Jennings Way. Whether it’s a 10 second voiceover or a 3 and a half minute package, if it’s for World News with Gibson or Good Morning America, you will always find a producer sitting next to the editor. And anything that deals with sensitive topics is likely to find the writer or reporter in the booth as well. So sayeth the almighty union contracts.
I found it crazy as hell the first half-dozen times I encountered it, but different strokes for different folks.
On a similar note, at the top of the front page of todays LA Times they have a photo to go with a story about a clash in Iraq yesterday. The photo is of a girl walking down the front steps of a school where 5 girls were killed. The steps are covered in a pool of blood that looks to still be in a very liquid state, with what appears to be a backpack laying in it. Sure, there are no bodies or anything but I still find it nauseating and in very bad taste.
I would say this crosses the line of good taste, what do you other dopers think?
I obviously accept what you are saying, as you get to go UP in the elevators whereas I get to go down. Walk past SMAG, to TV 1 and TV2, and wend my sneaky way down the side stairs past the very first all Digital control room that ABC put in, for TV-7. Where I spent quite a few years making t.v. every Saturday.
Small world. Was that you that took my favorite cruller in the caf ??
I preferred the glazed donuts in Slant, although I’d also poach bagels and Cokes from outside the Tunnel near the Mac room, and help myself to whatever was beside the Rim in 147.
Well, the food was great next to the Rim because that was the brain and blood of World News Tonight. Years ago I shot some commercials promoting the show and did a lot of Steadicam shots with P.J. around the Rim, and I tracked him down the hallway, up that blasted set of stairs and right onto set, in time for him to sit down and do a show.
Did you know that at one time TV1/TV2 with the doors open was the largest working sound stage in NYC?
Cool!
I unfortunately missed out on my chance to work with him – I had a prior commitment when asked to do some WNT work, and soon after that he announced he had lung cancer, never to return.
I did work with Woodruff though. Shared a limo a few times. I’m very glad he’s planning to return to work, albeit gradually.
