Posted by Jona Vark on 09/30/05 17:15

awesome stuff Steve! Keep up the good work. WHile it always looks silly when
some reporter is bending in the wind and rain.. I think about the crew that
has to shoot the stuff. Hard work. I hope you are well paid.

We had our cars packed and ready to evacuate as they evacuated the
neighborhoods around us in So Cal. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Exhilarating for
sure. Although it was nothing like a hurricane.. I am still coughing today
from the smoke & soot.. Kinda wish I had a Press pass to go out shooting but
I did not want to get in the way as so many were in the past few days. I did
get some good shots though.




"Steve Guidry" <steveguidry@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:B4Z_e.6947$q1.3387@newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net...
> 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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