Posted by TandA on 09/29/05 22:33

How do you get intelligble sound with all that wind?
Tom

Steve Guidry wrote:
> 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 . . .
>
>

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