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…he came into our family in 1995…a scraggly kitten who had been dumped with his mother on a country street. We were in the process of moving into our new home…and wouldn’t you know it, with three daughters, any wandering animal was a target for love and cuddling. So, although we swore we’d never fall victim to being softhearted, we agreed to take in Mama Cat (aka Fluffy) and her only surviving kitten, soon christened Gandolf the Grey. Gandolf survived a direct hit by a car, learning to live a full life on three legs and a lot of gumption. He was a champion mouser, and furball purrball machine who loved sneaking under the covers to cuddle, and was the personal pet of our middle daughter. Stubborn to the end, he insisted on spending his last day in the great outdoors, soaking in the fresh air, laying in the pasture, and generally being a pain in the butt. Doing it his way. I only hope I get the freedom to chose my way out, as he did. On his terms. RIP ole buddy.
Let’s consider MOS for a mo…
Has a couple of meanings…in the olden days of film, it mean “mit out sound.” Then it evolved into “man on the street.” The current meaning. A series of uninformed random folks hunted down and nailed with a compelling stare and threatening hunk ‘o metal and demand for their opinion, but “keep short.”
I was never quite sure WHY we did these random snatches of sound. Perhaps because we were attempting to be democratic and allow our community’s voices to be heard. Maybe just to fill space. Who know? But….
Story idea: take the MOS, the man on the street to another level. Rather than skimming the surface, dive deep and get some real meaning.
If you ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO poll the public, try to go for more than a snapshot and short sound bite…or if you’re the local rag, more than a thumbnail and single sentence. Give your viewers, your audience, some dignity and let them explain their opinion rather than just spewing it.
Typical MOS.
What do you think of (pick a topic).
Answer: It rocks!
or: I think they should ban it!
Duh…what have we learned here. I mean, LEARNED. Not much except one guy loves and and the other hates it. Whatever “it” is.
Now try again.
What do you think of (pick a topic).
Answer: It rocks!
Why?
Answer: Because…(reasons and personal connections).
Ditto the opposing side.
And while we’re at it…let’s get into “fair and balanced.” Uh, no – not that “fair and balanced.” The part that says we always have to balance everything…to the point where we are desperately pushing the deadline to find one – perhaps the ONLY one – person who opposes or thinks otherwise.
Think about it. An MOS is basically a poll…a survey. It is NOT a news story. Surveys are random. If you ask ten people a question and they all have the same response, it indicates something. Now to keep it “fair and balanced” you do need to make sure you are shopping for subjects in an area that representative of your community. (In other words, don’t expect an unbiased set of answers about Universal Health Care if you only go to the Republican Central Committee meeting in your county.)
And…should you be a high school student or teacher lurking around my realm…don’t just interview your buds, your friends. Get out of your comfort zone and go after the gang-bangers, the geeks, the gentry. Hit all of those segregated little clans in the lunch crowd. That way you’ll be sure to cover all of your bases.
The bandwagon that is. I’ve been enjoying the above video as it has made the rounds on my favorite blogs and facebook and finally feel compelled to join the wave and post for my audience. Unfortunately the bootcamp for real life broadcast photogs is MUCh worse and much more undefined. Compared to the reality, this group of unhappy campers are wusses.
What other career has you lounging in comfort and knee deep in flood waters less than an hour later…interviewing the Gov one moment and slugging thru mud to a plane crash minutes later. Dressing for both success and death on the same day.
Grueling? Yep.
But wouldn’t trade one day of it for a lifetime of mediocracy.
Books, that is. A high school in Houston (TX) has banned books in its library in favor of e-books and coffee. Novel (excuse the pun) concept…but what the heck?
Thanks to Amanda Emily for this link to what is either the greatest or most profoundly stupid idea yet in education.
The Lamar High School Library has been converted from a bookish enclave to a dawn to dusk coffee house and the only reading is done electronically. While I am thrilled at the expansion of technology, I am appalled at the methodology. Books were tossed out wholesale…with some teachers refusing to allow their students to “volunteer” to get rid of books “any way they can.”
I mean – come on! Wasn’t there some way to phase this in? While those who can afford e-book readers, laptops and who are lucky enough to be among the few who get in line early to check out the limited library readers, many will be left looking in from the outside. The technology limits who can access this new paradigm…and also excludes those who don’t have the bucks for the (not free) coffee and dunken donuts or wherewithall to use this marvelous new facility during the expanded hours.
So here’s the ranking:
Bright idea ahead of its time – 10 out of 10 points
Method of implementation – minus 4 out of 10 points
Overall evaluation – let’s wait and see if students actually read more and/or learn more. (BTW, is anybody keeping track?)
I must have at least one reader out there. Put up a post a week ago about shooting what isn’t there – picturing shadows. A creative challenge.
One Linda M. Toki (okay, so she’s my husband’s cousin) took it to heart and produced the above images. There’s more, but these are my favs and I didn’t want to totally steal her thunder (and lighting).
I’m especially taken by the shadow of what appears to be an arm (Linda says the arm of a statue of G.Washington). And the very stark lines on pavement…almost three dimensional, abstract. Great stuff.
…so what to do? A bit of blogging…a cuppa hot tea. Cruise the waves and find something to occupy a busy mind until sleep comes…
…is on a B&H Photo wish list. Not that I’m expecting it for the upcoming holiday season – no way. But it is definitely in the future as part of a retirement gift to myself.
Camera
Panasonic AG-HMC150. I’ve been eyeballing this little girl for a while. She’s compact, sturdy and shoots to memory cards. At the high end of my affordability scale, but with nearly everything I want. The lens isn’t as long as i want (I hear your pain, Lenslinger), but with a tele converter, maybe, just maybe I can ease that pain a bit. Having used the 200A (at about $700 more), I like the heft…and the controls are pretty much in the same positions of the many pro cameras I’ve used. This is where it gets personal. There are other styles of cameras out there – shoulder mounted, bigger, heavier and pretty much in the same price range. So my final defense in getting this one is – I like it.
Accessories
The usual. At least two/preferably three extended life batteries. Two 8GB and one 16GB cards. Not cheap – but they amaze me. I can get up to an hour twenty of hi-def on the 16GB card. Wow. That and the ability to choose which scenes to download? I’m in the choir!
(Rant warming)
Allow me to digress for a moment. I will ALWAYS go with removable media. I was never a fan of the the current crop of hard drive cameras. Why? If the recording media goes down, what cha gonna do? That is reason #1. Reason #2 is convenience. I can shoot on one card and hand off a full card to someone else for editing. I can store different stories on different cards. If a card goes bad, I can replace it.
Card reader. Yeah…ties in with the rant above. If I hand off a card to download, there must be a way to get it into the computer. Plus, less hours on the camera.
LED dimmable light. May as well update the on-camera light while I’m shopping. Longer run time, brighter light than what I’m using now.
Still checking prices, but most likely Kangeroo or other foul weather gear and maybe (further down the line) tele and wide angle adapters. Whoowhee!
Tripod
The old Bogan-Manfrotto is getting heavy as I get older, so in the market for something lighter with a half or full-ball head.
Computer
A Mac of course…what model/processor, etc depends on what’s on the market when I get my stuff together.
The final tally won’t be cheap…which is one of the reasons I’m back in school, doing the long term sub gig. Life’s little pleasures must be earned. And during the next six months, who knows? The next bright shiny object of my desires may change…
This week’s idea is once again geared towards the shooters on staff…still slackers and moving videots.
Everyone needs to sharpen up their skillset by setting up challenges to become a better visualizer. If all you ever do is the same ole same ole, all you will ever be is the same.
Let’s talk weather…windy weather. Not a gentle breeze. A gusty wind or stormy blast. How do you visualize THAT? (Hey, we’re back to seeing what isn’t there again!)
Story idea: how do you show weather when it is invisible?
Answer: show the effect of said weather, of course!
And this is where your excellent retentive memory kicks in. Every good camera(wo)man I know can pinpoint places where sunlight scatters, water puddles, and winds careen around corners. It’s all part of your repertoire…your bag of tricks. If the Desk So Wills, you have to know where to grab a weather scenic in less than 15. So while you’re out wandering the world on other assignments, your brain is busy clicking away and storing visuals for future stories.
In this case, think back to times you’ve been heading somewhere on a windy day and something danced past your vision and almost made you hit the brakes. A pile of leaves twisting a ribbon of orange into the sky or crawling along post-haste like crabs across the pavement. A corner where the unaware meet the hat-snatching, umbrella busting, hair ripping winds. That’s where you should head for this assignment.
The basics are: NO staging. Like a wizened hunter, take up position, set your shutter on high speed and aim. And wait. Sometimes it is better if you don’t go after the game, but let the game come to you. (It also helps if you plan your visit for when folks are heading out and around that corner or when the neighborhood hasn’t had leaf pickup yet.)
Did I hear someone ask, why set the shutter on high speed if I’m shooting video? If this is your first time playing with shutter speeds, give it a shot. Shoot once with shutter on 30fps, then ratchet it up to say a 1000th. Once you’re back in house, pop the video into your computer and play both clips back. There is a definite difference…the high speed clip is crisper. And should you decide to go with slo-mo, you will still have that crispness and not a blur as you would from same ole same ole. (For a real old fashioned visual trip, try shooting in a snow storm on high speed…WOW!)
Another great idea, brought to you by a sleepless mind…
Took a day off from retirement to be a substitute teacher at my first school – Middle College High School at Delta College in Stockton, California. The name’s a mouthfull, so we just call it MCHS or Middle College.
I was subbing for an AVID 12/English 11 teacher. And no – for the nonlinear crowd, AVID in this case is NOT a software program, but a class which focuses students on getting into college.
Both English classes are studying Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience.” Now I’ve read excerpts in the (distant) past and have a fair grasp of the intent of the essay and today listened to student presentations and led discussions with students on the topic.
Civil disobedience: dissent without violence. The song of my generation (which did turn ugly at times). Basically outright refusing to acknowledge what one might consider unjust laws. War. Segregation.
And today? The lone voices of the past have exploded into a crescendoing calliope, a mountainous roar of masses crying out, “Unfair!”
Think John Tyner protecting his “assets” from what he viewed as overzealous airport security earlier this week. He refused to submit to a personal body search and chose not to fly when told he had to submit. Civil disobedience in action.
So after the presentations (excellent both of you!) and the class discussion of homework, we did a bit of role playing in MY areas of expertise. How does the media use civil disobedience.
Actor #1 – a simple yet honest cop protecting a crime scene
Actor #2 – a simple yet honest TV cameraman covering the crime
Action – Cop standing casually on scene. Photog walks up, says hi, and starts to shoot scene. Cop block Photog and says not photography. Discussion between the two ensues.
OK…so in the class this erupted into a shouting match and nearly had the cop drawing his (finger) gun and taking out the “shooter.” We walked it through a second time and I got to be the cameraman. No acting necessary.
Action: Cop standing…I walk up and say hi and aim camera…Cop says no photography. In real life that body ain’t gonna move. So this time, a calmer discussion.
Him: No photography.
Me: I’m with Channel 10 covering this story.
Him: I can’t allow any pictures to be taken. Now go away.
Me: You know, there’s a section of the California Penal Code that actually allows the media access to crime scenes.
Him: Really…no photos
Me: It’s PC409.5. Look – why don’t you call your superior officer. I’ll put the camera down and wait until you get clarification.
End of discussion, assuming the superior knows the law.
And a practical application of civil disobedience.
Time for a short rant for the pros out there.
This scenario is repeated WAY too often. The line cops…the guys who are on the streets every day and every night…are not always informed of or knowledgeable about media rights. They learn, but too often the hard way – in confrontations in the field under stress dealing with equally stressed news crews. Like many of you, I’ve pleaded and shouted to get access. I’ve ignored orders from law enforcement when I knew they were wrong and risked arrest just to get the picture…the story…for the public.
And in these uncertain times, when security is rampant and civil rights are being locked up in the name of safety, even photography is considered a crime – a potential terrorist plot. You want examples? Check out Carlos Miller’s Photography Is Not a Crime site.
Oh – and don’t do this for amusement folks. Every act of civil disobedience has consequences. Some minor – some not so. Think first – act second. Be prepared to explain and defend your thinking and your actions. Be prepared to suffer the consequences and please do NOT say, it ain’t fair. It isn’t. That’s why you’re disobeying. Civilly, of course.
Note to students: word choice is critical to good writing. I took a fifteen or twenty minute break to hunt down two words: crescendo and calliope. Crescendo (thank you Roget’s) means “increase” and calliope is a very noisy carnival music maker, rather outlandish. Both were buried in my brain, but each has the exact nuance…targeted meaning I wanted. Plus they add a bit of alliteration of what could otherwise be a dull piece of work.
Yeah, that’s me. Ever the English teacher. With a trigger finger on the record button.
I AM organized. I know where all of my tapes are, and they are labelled. A good thing. But inevitably things stack up, and and now it’s time to winnow thru more than 200 mini-dv tapes (let’s not go there with other formats yet) and make some hard decisions.
One thing I’m blessed with is a wonderful visual memory. Looking at a few seconds of a tape can spur memories of the event and whether I did an outstanding job, okay job, or let’s forget we did this. There are none of the latter in the bin shown above…I usually jettison or record over those bad moments.
So I’m sorting and will separate, based on the following:
1. Is this worth keeping? Uh, old tapes shot by students for assignment? No. Family events, trips. Yes. Old projects that never went anywhere. No. Old tapes with scenics. Yes.
2. If not worth keeping, can someone use it? Well – yes, these tapes ARE re-recordable. So any SONY tape which is dump-able and not confidential is going in a pile for my old high school. With times as tight as they are, they can use some freebies. I’m keeping the JVCs and Panasonics for my own personal (re)use.
3. If it is someone else’s memories, pass it on. So the wedding tapes, other people’s kids graduating, that kind of thing will be mailed out or handed of asap to those who care.
4. Uh – deathtrap tapes. Is the content a keeper but the tape a killer? I use wet lube tapes…and have a couple of old TDK, which are dry lube. If I put them in my camera to play back, it is certain death for the camera…so I’m putting these aside. Maybe I’ll find an old camera on its last legs and do final rites with it and save the tape that way. If the tape is NOT a keeper, I rip apart and trash the tape. No good someone else screwing up their camera.
5. And now we’re down to the keepers. Right now that’s about half of the tapes. I’m sorting them – so I have one section for daughter Pearl, one for daughter Lexi, one for scenics, one for family road trips, one for ongoing projects, one for business (paid) projects, and so on. They’re all going in an old wooden gift box, with a post-it note identifying each category.
6. Final step is to capture to computer, edit down to the essentials and save that in QuickTime format. THEN I can toss or reuse the tape.
And that’s kind of it. A bit like cleaning out the house for a garage sale. What can’t you live without, what can you put out on the curb and sell, what do you need to toss?
Final note: WHY? Why go to all of this trouble? Well…I see a time in the near future when I’m gonna go tapeless…and all of these tapes have to be in digital format before that time just to clear the deck and make my life easier.
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