Fat people with their heads cut off - Why?

[2gigch1]

@psiekier

Here’s my question, then, 2gigch1:

As much of a joke between my wife and I as her suggestion (see my post above)is, what are your standing orders? Knowing how crazy it is just to keep videos and photographs of my own two children organized - let alone all the footage of a typical TV news station - wouldn’t it be easy just to take “fat people footage” or “schoolchildren at play” footage when it is convenient and store that away in the vault rather than trying to wade through a bunch of footage you taped for something else in the hopes that there is some waddling or childplay involved?

Basically, what I’m asking is: where does the footage come from?

It happens three basic ways -

1. All edited video we air is dubbed to master reels and cataloged nightly by title and keywords. It usually fills two 2 hour digital file tapes. Thus a quick archive file search on the station’s computers will give us tape # and timecodes of possible useful video for the story, assuming the tape has not been misplaced or stolen by reporters working on resume tapes.

2. Almost all stories of this nature originate from national stories which appear on the AP wires. Each network has an affiliates feed service for the stations to get stories from outside their area. For example, if you watch WCBS in New York and they have a live shot with a woman at the California wildfires, and she talks live with the anchors, she actually works for CBS Newspath, an affiliates service. She does the same live shot 20-40 times a day for various stations depending on how sexy the story is.

So if the story about fat people hits the wires, it’s likely that CBS Newspath will have generic head-cut-off fat people video on the feeds sometime that day for hundreds of affiliates to use around the nation.

3. Go shoot it:

Station - “Base to Unit 23”

Me - “Unit 23 go”

Station - “Go shoot a VO of Fat people!”

Me - “Joy. 10-4”

Station - “Oh and be sure to get a lunch!”

Me - “Roger”

Or something like that.

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Ther are no ‘standing orders’ per se in my business, though right now I am supposed to look for a certain homocide detective we’re profiling; and try to get same accident video at certain dangerous local intersections, but that is quite abnormal. Actually that shows some planning abilites which I am unaccoustomed to encountering.

So the bottom line is we go shoot it. That’s what I’m paid to do.

[2gigch1]

As posted on my favorite industry board, B-roll.net, a list of Newsgathering Truisms, for your amusement -

Newsgathering Truisms

The average sheriff deputy will hack through a mile and a half of heavy underbrush to chop down a half dozen spindly pot plants if enough TV cameras tag along.

When covering hurricanes, dry socks trump the fanciest of sat truck gadgets.

A certain breed of reporter will build his or her entire story on the one sound bite that is visually jarring, completely out of focus or barely audible.

There is no convenient time for a plane crash.

Late, noisy entrances to packed press conferences are simply unavoidable and should be measured solely on style.

Some news stories are impossible to produced, but the mass majority of them can be successfully executed merely by showing up on scene.

People watching their possessions burn are infinitely more compelling to photograph than the fire itself.

Millions of dollars of intricate broadcasting equipment can be rendered inert by one neglected nine volt battery.

Photogs have three natural enemies: rent-a-cops, rookie reporters and revolving doors.

The best news anchors still consider themselves reporters.

Women who spend an inordinate amount of time on their appearance will readily shun the camera. That guy in the gravy-stained beefy-T will talk all day.

With the right sunlight, even shattered windows wrapped in crime tape are beautiful.

No one is more cocky, swaggering and cynical than the 20-something show producer who rarely ventures outside the newsroom.

Trophies, awards and accolades past are great, but your immediate colleagues will only remember you for that piece of crap you put on air last week.

5 out of 10 PR people are downright delusional. Most of the rest are merely useless.

Dirty sheriffs, overdressed ghetto preachers and people with liquor on the breath before noon deliver the best sound-bites.

The only folks more irrational than those who wave weaponry at police can be found ogling for face time at the County Commissioners meeting.

New city, new logo, same game.

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Stewart ‘Lenslinger’ Pittman
News, opinion and a few good lies at lenslinger.com