Snowstorm Cliché

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Well it’s time for all the TV reporters in the field interviewing people about the snow.

You have the guy in the snowplow who has been plowing for 36 hrs in a row.

The shot of the big dome bldg that holds the salt/sand.

The reporter measuring the snow with his trusty ruler.

Thousands of people buying snow shovels. Apparently the shovels expire after last years snow… Gotta buy a new one!

Bread milk eggs…Say no more.

Feel free to add more.

2

If it’s not a northern state, you have the requisite shot of the bare shelves at Wal-Mart.

Because, you know, that 4 inches that you could get in Virginia could be the Apocalyspe. The Government could collapse. It’d be like a colder version of Mad Max.

…so you’d better stock up on toilet paper.

3

I used to work in market analysis for a major Boston area supermarket chain. I got put in charge of a project to try and figure out what people buy before a snowstorm hits and how much for us to buy in advance. We figured out that we could sell millions more by buying up staples like milk, bread, eggs and batteries right before even a minor snowstorm struck. People, mainly older ladies, raided the shelves as soon as the weather forecast indicated there might be a problem and always wiped us out of those items previously.

This is in NEW ENGLAND and it happens every single year multiple times. If you don’t have enough to eat for a few hours then you have bigger problems than I can help you with. The stores were mostly urban as well and people could always just walk to the nearest one if they wanted to. In Massachusetts, most supermarket chains can’t carry beer and wine in more than three locations but those were among the first to get wiped out in those locations.

I am convinced that a lot a human activity is an extreme duplication of effort. Snow storm footage proves that.

All you need is stock footage of:

  1. One car spinning its wheels in the snow.
  2. Shots of a car slipping and sliding at speed.
  3. A car sliding down a hill into other cars.
  4. Cute little kids going sledding.
  5. One crappy snowman.

You would never have to send another reporter back out on the street if you got your hands on those things but don’t tell them that because lots of people would be out of a job. I have similar ideas for floods and tornados that will make me a fortune some day.

4

I would say you also need

  1. footage of several cars stranded and abandoned off the side of the road on a highway, possibly near an exit ramp
  2. footage or an interview of motorists stranded somewhere because a highway like I-80 has been shut down somewhere
  3. footage of someone digging their car out from a parking space in a city neighborhood
  4. a report from the airport, where all flights are cancelled and passengers are stranded and angry
5

Don’t forget “Guy on cross country skis.”

6

Yeah, this goes with what I was wondering: if it’s true, is it a cliche? The grocery store thing happens multiple times a winter, not just on film.

7

Since this is DC, we get to see tourists interviewed and asked what they think about our snow. As if they don’t have snow in other countries.

8

or trucks are late because of the weather making fast turnover items scares. You don’t see the shelf of water chestnuts empty because nobody uses them on cereal. :slight_smile:

I just watched a news piece on a level 3 emergency (nobody allowed on the road). She’s standing on a nicely plowed rowed talking about how bad it would be if you slid off the road. :dubious: I guess we’ll all just stay home until the flowers bloom.

9

Soundbite from parents worried about having to spend extra time with their children when school is closed.

10

And the guy on a bike with snow up to the pedals!

11

In addition to the cute kids sledding, you also need the cute little kids (or perhaps college kids) having a snowball fight. Viewers pictures of the snow in their backyard are important to share as well.

12

**Baracus **is right. Inevitably, a few days after the snowstorm, they have to share their viewer submitted pictures of their snowy backyard, kid’s snowman, snowy branches, etc. Hooray, snow is pretty. But I really don’t care what your backyard looks like… if I want to see snowy trees or a snow covered roof, I can look at my own back yard.

13

If this is a halfway major city, you also need interview footage of somebody who got stranded at the airport/train station/bus station. Bonus if they’re going somewhere warm, or on a vacation to someplace like Disney.

14

Ducks slipping clumsily on a frozen pond.

Large and dangerous-looking icicles on a building (probably a shed or barn).

Some mundane object frozen solid or encased in ice in such a way as to render it whimsical.

15

Footage of cars slipping down a hillslope or ramp, preferably several in a row at the same place.

16

I just realized that I have never in my life seen this kind of report, despite living in Canada, and then it occurred to me that I’ve never seen this kind of report because I live in Canada and snow is not considered to be news.

17

What, no maple syrup or powdered sugar?

And what is it about snow that makes people crave french toast?

18

I don’t crave french toast. If anything, I wish I had some ice cream I could eat while soaking in a hot bath.

19

I made French toast for breakfast this morning, just to use up some of the eggs and bread we had left over from Snowpocalypse I. Yes, there was maple syrup (the real kind, not the fake stuff) involved.

20

Wait, wait - you can see the ice on the pond? The only reason we ever clear off the ponds in Canada is to use them for ice skating. Otherwise they are under a foot or more of accumulated snow.