Chris Vlahos Blog 11

REFLECTION
After two consecutive Friday’s with VO Patrols I now have two Friday’s before my first reporting shift. With the next two weeks free, I decided to use the time by reflecting on my last two experiences at KOMU. (The Good…The Bad…and The Ugly…)
First lets start with the good since I’m a glass is half full type of guy… I have discovered what I think is the most efficient way to edit. After I shoot, I look at the card my clips are on and delete all the shots that I’m certain I won’t use. Then when I get back the station I edit my clips on the Clip Browser and sub clip the exact shots I plan to use. Then I can convert the clips into Avid and it is almost like a copy paste job. I find this method also helps me organize my thoughts and prevents a possible disaster that I have seen too often. (Trying to convert every single clip you have shot into Avid, which takes literally forever.) Another positive thing I learned from my two VO Patrols is that just because it is the stations gear that doesn’t mean it isn’t broken. My first shift I failed to test the tripod and paid the price. I had a wobbly tripod, which led to crooked and shaky shots.
The Bad would definitely have to be my interview framing in my first VO Patrol story (Geography Bee). Rather than make excuses and blame it on the tripod I will simply say my bad. I screwed up and it will never happen again. If the focus or lighting is bad that’s one thing, but there is no reason I can’t shoot from a person’s clavicle bone up. I also learned that it is critical to have called contacts for your story and be ready to leave once you get to KOMU. I am going to try an avoid showing up and then trying to get in contact with people, it slows everything down.
And now what you’ve all been waiting for…. The Ugly…no it’s not the Yankees pitching staff, but it is the business of broadcast news. I learned an important lesson these last two weeks Even though you may have a good story that doesn’t always mean it will hit the air. My Flashlight Easter Egg Hunt was soft news no doubt, but it was something I had pride in and because the newscast was running long and the story was the kicker it was cut short. I wasn’t upset because I thought it was a groundbreaking story. I was upset because the parents and kids that took time to talk to me wouldn’t get to see themselves on the news. They took the time to do an interview and this was my way of thanking them. I learned that there are some battles not worth fighting and this was one of those times.
GOOD OR BAD JOURNALISM
I watched a story on April 20th, the ten-year anniversary of the shootings at Columbine. The story was about how the tragedy affected the lives and career choices of two survivors from the shootings.
I like the way the reporter starts the package by saying one line and referencing two shots showing what April 20th 1999 took and then going to a sound bite. The bite itself is hard to swallow. A woman comes on screen and says, “I was in the library and ten students were killed there.” Again the reporter does a strong job of referencing by saying that dark day lit their way and using two shots of burning candles.
The standup was shot in front of a monitor displaying what looks like a graduation tape possibly from Columbine. I liked the word choices Roger O’ Neil used in the bridge stand-up, but I found the camera zoom a bit unnecessary. I thought the zoom was used strictly to be dramatic and didn’t aid the story. In the end of the stand-up, O’Neil does a good job of leading in to the next bite about how April 20th shaped the lives of these two individuals. I also liked O’Neil’s use of natural sound, when he had Krystal talking to a group of students about day to day problems and how they shape an individuals character. I found the end of the story to be the strongest part of the package. The last bite is about the importance of never forgetting what happened at Columbine and how it is about more than just a moment of silence. In order to honor those killed on April 20, 1999, Andrew Robinson believes we must try and make people aware of how to prevent school violence.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/30315124#30315124