Posted by Steve Guidry on 09/29/05 21:33

Ok, if you're not yet bored with hurricane stories, here's another . . .

I worked Rita as a soundman for ABC in Lake Charles, which turned out to be
the dirtiest of all the reporting spots. Our live footage and stories aired
on GMA, as well as World news Tonight and Nightline. Here are some
impressions :

- It was my first hurricane to actually be IN the storm, so I didn't have
much to compare it with. However, the other guys (all 30+ year veterans)
all agreed that it was the worst one they'd ever been in. Our live shot for
Nightline was only about an hour before the "eye wall" hit. The wind gusts
were about 80 mph. It was exhilarating !

- Most sat truck dishes are only rated for 35-40 mph winds. But our sat
truck operator (Matt with the Freebird truck) was a genius : After our 5 PM
liveshot, he cruised around and within about an hour and found a U-shaped
cluster of buildings with the open end to the Southwest. It even had a tree
in the background so we could place our correspondent in front of it. This
sheltered us somewhat and allowed us to shoot out when others couldn't.
Now, if he could have just had time to erect that awning to keep the rain
off . . . <grin>

- Before this, I wondered how folks could be stupid enough to place
themselves in harms way for a news story. I've come to the conclusion that
no one goes in thinking that it's going to be so bad. You go in believing
that "the producers won't ask us to do anything dangerous." Wrong. Still,
you don't just decide to do it. Instead, you're making a series of small
decisions along the way which eventually lead to being in the eye of the
storm : which city to cover . . . where to set up . . . where you're going
to ride out the storm . . . what time to pack up and head for shelter, etc.

- News producers who take care of their crews are prized. Ours had us
sleeping in our cars and scrounging MRE's from the rescue workers when
hotels were available only an hour away in Lafayette. All while the
producers and correspondent ate cooked meals in their RV. Grrrrr . . .

- I've never been so wet in my life for so long. I have to believe that
this is what it was like (in small part) to be a soldier in Vietnam's rainy
season.

All in all, I think I might stick to shooting the aftermath in the future.
I want to live a bit more. Still, it _WAS_ exciting . . .


--
Steve Guidry
Video Works, Inc.
Live events for TV and Video
www.videoworksinc.com
800.844.4404

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