Week Eight

Wednesday was a festive day at the station as I went into work on July 4th. As soon as I walked in, I was informed that I was going to be covering a story on the biggest Independence Day celebration in North Carolina. We headed down to the South Port parade where we spent the 4th with thousands of people including Fergie and Josh Duhamel. We got b-roll of the parade and craft fair before interviewing vendors and visitors to the festivities.  I quickly did my stand up in the middle of the street after the parade was over and we had all of the video we needed. While doing my stand up we noticed a movie camera had set up not far from us. Upon further investigation, we found out an HBO movie starring Hilary Swank was filming in the area. We got enough video of that to put together a short VO before heading back to the station where I put together my package.  Click here to watch it.

Thursday I went out with Cliff on a story about a Vietnam vet who had his dog tags returned to his family from a man in New Jersey who spends his free time collecting tags and having them returned to their rightful owners. Although very hot, the ceremony was very moving and featured the young grandson preforming the star spangled banner on his guitar.  To watch the package click here. After we got everything we needed from the ceremony, I was informed that I was going to be putting together a package for the 5 o'clock show on some high school students that had put together a video on the dangers of smoking. We arranged for the girls and their mentor to come to the station so we could interview them on set. It was super interesting to see the set used one of the few times I had been at the station. The girls were decent interviews but very nervous. With Cliff's help I was able to get all the sound I needed from the girls and their mentor. I was also given a link to the video that I was able to use as b-roll and another sound bite. I found it a little difficult to use all of the video in my package, VO and VOSOT. It was definitely a learning experience, but everything came together. To watch the package click here. After the evening shows, I stayed to go with Marissa to a meeting about Belville merging with Leland. The meeting ended up being extremely colorful when it began with the board members fighting with the mayor. The meeting continued with many homeowners calling out the mayor for his misuse of power, and the board passing a mandate that took away some of the mayor's power. After the meeting, we were able to get interviews with one of the board members, two homeowners, and the mayor. To watch Marissa's package click here. 

Friday was a slow news day, but one of my story ideas about a fundraiser for a girl with a rare disease was picked to be a package for Marissa. Before we got interviews with the girl, her mother, and a close family friend, we went to get b-roll of a Sonic that was robbed Thursday night. When we got back to the station, the girl and her family met us for the interview, and for the second time that week I got to see the set in use. The interviews were so good. Both mother and daughter were extremely well spoken and we were able to get some really good sound.  As her b-roll, Marissa was able to use video of the girl on America's Got Talent and other YouTube videos. While Marissa worked on her package, I was able to put together the VO on the Sonic robbery. Everything came together in time for the show, and it was amazing to see my story idea come to life. To watch the package click here.