Posted by Jona Vark on 09/15/05 20:39

interesting stuff Steve.. thanks. Kudos to you for doing the gig..


"Steve Guidry" <steveguidry@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:YjiWe.11909$9i4.6460@newsread2.news.atl.earthlink.net...
> I had the pleasure/horror of working in New Orleans and the Mississippi
> Coast this past week shooting News for RTE, Ireland's National TV Network.
> For what it's worth, here are some of my impressions . . .
>
> On a human level, the devastation was just horrendous. The pictures on TV
> just don't do the devastation justice. Thousands upon thousands are
> completely homeless. The Point Cadet section of Biloxi was particularly
> hard hit. This is particularly notable because of the population density.
> Whole city blocks now look like one giant pile of used lumber. St.
Bernard
> Parish was inundated with a foot of oily sludge from the refineries, and
> will likely have to be demolished. Venice and Port Sulphur are basically
> gone. Nature has reclaimed much of its own.
>
> While the human tragedy was immense, the gig was, from a professional
point
> of view, quite fulfilling. Here are some observations on working the
event
> :
>
> - First, the Irish were great to work with. Paul Cunningham and Robert
> Shortt were great folks, and true professionals in the news arena.
>
> - I found that most European News agencies use Beta SX as their mastering
> format. They send their folks out with a luggable "laptop" editor,
> although I wouldn't want it on MY lap for any length of time.
Basically,
> it's two Beta SX decks built into a suitcase-sized case, with 2 LCD
screens.
> Machine-to-machine editing is done with BVW-75 type front-panel controls.
> The networks put in the graphics.
>
> - Deadlines for European TV are murderous. With a 6 hour time
difference,
> we were feeding the 6 PM news about 11 AM. This effectively cut the day
in
> half, as the reporter had to do a live report at the same time. We then
had
> about 3 hours to grab lunch and shoot something nearby before he had to do
a
> live for the 9 PM news at 2:30 or so.
>
> - The days were long, starting at 8 AM or so, and finishing about 1 AM.
>
> - Production and editing are time-crunched as well. One day, we had to
beg
> a power tap from the side of the sat truck on Canal St. and edit in the
> shadow of the RV sitting next to it. We sat on milk crates, and balanced
> the editor on its own case, all the while breathing exhaust from the
> generators. We finished most of the editing by feed time, (see below)
and
> fed a comp reel of stock raw video to the network for them to finish it.
> Ain't news grand.
>
> - Feed times are absolute. They are typically booked in 15-minute
> increments, and cost several hundred dollars per window. If you miss
yours,
> not only do you have to pay for it anyway (probably), it's unlikely that
> you'll get another before your newscast. AND you'll endure the scorn of
> your editors and derision of your fellow broadcasters.
>
> - Sat truck guys work the longest hours of all. They're "on" from early
to
> late, working 12-hour shifts, typically.
>
> - Sleeping arrangements are prized. We were lucky enough to have a
travel
> trailer, but some guys slept in their cars, and others drove 2-3 hours out
> for a hotel. Also, I'll never head into another emergency zone like this
> without a generator. So many things would have been easier with a stable
> source of power.
>
> That's my observations. More later, if there's interest. Check the audio
> and video clips at www.rte.ie/news. Click on the archive date; anything
> from 9/5 to 9/13 related to Hurricane Katrina is ours.
>
>
> --
> Steve Guidry
> Video Works, Inc.
> Live events for TV and Video
> www.videoworksinc.com
> 800.844.4404
>
>
>

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