A training session in using the satellite controller and the Avid Capture Manager

Joe LaFurgey and Jessica Leffler (right) receive training on the Avid edit computers

The “Command Center” of our satellite and microwave feeds

After weeks of “shuffling around” everyone has found their new place in the newsroom and we are finally “settled in”.  The ambient noise has certainly gone up a notch or two but all the edit stations have headphones so it’s not a problem. Check out these photos for some of the finished layout.

Giving hands-on demonstrations

Speaking to the fourth grade about my simple machines

Recently I had an opportunity to speak to a large group of 4th graders at Georgetown Elementary where my son’s entire grade is studying simple and complex machines. I was invited there to share how I use simple machines in my daily work and it was an honor to be their first “special guest” to speak on this topic.

To demonstrate what simple machines I used the most I brought a couple “tools of my trade” along, my camera and tripod.  I showed them the many different simple machines within them including screws, levers, gears, and inclined planes.

The group was VERY enthusiastic and had a LOT of great questions to ask. Probably the most unique question I was asked was “what was the most embarrassing thing you ever had happen while you were shooting live video?” To which I had to give an answer I knew they’d never forget.  I told them about a time I was shooting a live shot in the cold and I had to go to the bathroom REALLY BAD, and was doing a “funny dance” all through the live shot. All the kids of course, got a good laugh with that one.

My main point of this post is to share the “lesson” I took home from being involved with this class study. It reminded me that our lives always “run smoother” and “mesh better” when we keep things simple.

Thanks to Mrs. Jurewicz and all the fourth graders at Georgetown Elementary for my “refresher” course!

Check out this quick video of the group and the awesome “thank you” card they created for me.

mjo-gtown-elem

Sometimes as as news photographers (or Media Techs as we’re now called), we get the opportunity to shoot and edit a story we really enjoy. This story is a good example of one of them. In this case it’s about a local party store that seems to have sold more than it’s share of Michigan Lottery winners.

What made this story so fun to shoot wasn’t just the excitement of a recently sold $100,000 winner, but the abundance of what we call “nat sound” or “nats”. This is the sound that’s naturally heard at a scene that we’re shooting at. This can be anything from the sound of a car whizzing by to the faintest “tick-tick” of a clock.

When putting a story together an editor will use snippets of this “nat sound” to “spice up” the story, much like a good chef would use seasonings and spices to make a recipe the best it can be. These “nat pops” are usually sounds we all recognize but when we hear it for a second or two within a story we’re “drawn into it” by the sound versus the pictures. It also tends to give the viewer a more “complete experience” of what the photographer saw and heard .

You’ll notice in this story that I tried to use this technique enough to make it interesting but not so much that it “slowed it down”. It’s fun to edit a piece like this too and I was fortunate to have enough time to “splice, dice, and spice” it to my liking.

I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!

In the last couple weeks our newsroom has been in transition as part of the “retooling” process. This transition is designed to bring all the components of the newsroom together to improve efficiency and communication. Currently all our computer editing stations (Avid) are down the hall and on the opposite end of the floor from the newsroom. (In what used to be sound booths in the old days of WOOD radio).

Our “new” newsroom will have all but two of the edit stations along one side wall to allow our editors and producers to directly communicate. Our “web hub” and reporter stations have also been moved. Watch for further updates here on PHOTO OP as more equipment finds it’s way into our newsroom.

Moving all the web computers

New "Web Hub" area

Racks for ENG Receive equipment

A View of the New ENG Receive Area

Happy New Year! The PHOTO OP blog was started as a way for us to share some of our thoughts, experience, and skills with you and as 2009 comes (and all the negatives of the downed economy with it) I’d like to share a positive experience I just had.

I was shooting this story of a suspicious death in Muskegon yesterday, and my reporter and I were walking door-to-door asking neighbors what they had seen or heard and if they knew anyone living at the home involved.

Now I know many of you are asking, “why do you have to bother those people (friends/family) who have just experienced a major loss/tragedy by shoving a camera in their face”. Well, like it or not it’s very much a part of the job. A part of it we hate more than anything else and if we could choose to, would just rather not do. But that would be like a police officer choosing not to go to a major accident scene when called by their dispatch. When when do have to do it we try our best to do it humbly, respectfully, and professionally as we can. And when we’re told “no”, then we say “thank you” and let them be.

Well, in this case we came upon one particular neighbor, Dianne was her name, who invited us into her home, insisting we come inside to keep warm. She was very kind but clearly shaken by what had happened. After talking with her further we had found out that she was indeed a good friend of the woman found dead and the man who had been arrested in connection with this incident. She was in tears as she told us how she and her boyfriend had plans to go out with this couple to celebrate New Year’s Eve together. In her interview with us, she told us about the many positive things about her friend who was found dead and how much of a kind and giving person she was.

What moved me most by this whole experience was that this woman (Dianne) in the middle of a personal tragedy, would be so kind to total strangers, invite us into her home, and treat us a not just some news crew, but as friends to share her pain with.

It still shocks me when this happens, and from time to time it does. But it reminds me that even in the middle of tragedy and the evil that can surround it, there IS some basic good in humanity and that we always need to be willing to see it and value it.

It’s my hope for you that this year you too can see and experience the good of humanity.

I recently shot this story about a car-eating pothole on Burton Street just East of 131. It was a painful reminder to over 15 drivers to watch the road as closely as you can. On this evening it was rainy and quite foggy as well and visibility was bad. (A good reason to don my “visibility vest”, as seen on a previous blog). ). So be careful out there to watch the road for potholes (and people).

WOOD Photojournalist Mark Jones wears his vest to stay safe near a roadway in low visibility

With new technology comes new challenges, and for us, now a new job title. The previous job title of the WOOD-TV Photojournalist has now become “Media Technician”. So what does this mean for us? Well our duties have been expanded to now include writing news stories and operating our digital satellite truck (known to us as the DSNG truck). In fact, all of our newsroom staff will be taking on new roles (and some new titles) in an effort to bring our viewers, and especially our web audience, even more content and local stories. With this “shift in paradigm” we are literally “throwing out” the old model of producing news and changing our focus to more fully utilize our people and resources. We’ll be producing different versions of each story for the web and on-air. As Media Technicians, we’ll be editing different versions of what we shoot for air and web, plus creating stills from video or slideshows for the corresponding web story. We’ll also be looking to maximize the image and content possibilities of our website. The next few months will be a challenging but exciting time for us and you will be seeing many new changes as we step-up into our new roles. Keep checking PHOTO OP for pictures and updates of the transition of our newsroom and new titles!

Well it’s official, our Hi-def cameras are now being field tested! These new hi-tech tools of the trade will allow us to deliver video from the field in full HD (high definition-1080i for you “techies”). These cameras will provide greatly improved color and resolution and will actually make our workflow in the field faster.  These Sony PDW-335’s record to an optical disk that’s basically a re-writable Blu-Ray DVD that holds about 60 minutes of video. These “video files” can then be copied to our new laptop computer editors at 2 1/2 times normal speed. The camera also simultaneously records a low-res version of each file that can be copied to our reporters laptop in a matter of a few minutes. These features will allow us to log and edit our footage much faster than before and quickly provide our viewers with video on air and online. We’ve been training with this new gear for several weeks and are still learning how to fully integrate what it’s capable of.  These cameras are also capable of shooting in SD (standard definition) so we’ve been able to try them out in the field. (Although you won’t be able to actually SEE the difference in quality-here’s a story recently shot with the camera by Photojournalist Evan Linnert.) Just to give you an idea of how advanced these cameras are, the menu has 84 PAGES of user-adjustable settings! The camera also has a memory stick to store user settings for the camera as well as settings for our Avid editing software. Keep checking out PHOTO OP for posts on our newest “toys”.

Be on the lookout for “strange creatures” along the highways with a greenish-yellow irridescent glow adorned with horizontal and vertical reflective stripes. These “creatures” could be members of your local news crew. As of November 24 a federal mandate went into effect requiring all road crews working within 300 feet of a federal-aid highway to wear ANSI level II certified reflective vests. Under this mandate working media within these areas fall under the definition of working road crews. So you will be seeing our newsfolk “sporting” the newest in reflective fashion when you see us covering highway accidents and similar events. Yes, this is a new “hassle” for us to deal with but it does make us much more visible and this past weekend I did discover another benefit-it keeps the wet, heavy snow from soaking through the back of our coats! And thanks for remembering to SLOW DOWN whenever you see these vests or emergency vehicles with lights on along the roadways. (The life you save could be one of ours.)

Welcome to “Photo Op”, a new addition to our WOOD-TV blogs. This will be a place for you to “get inside the mind” of those at our news scenes and hear our perspective from behind the lens. From time to time we’ll be sharing our thoughts on topics like how and why we shot what we did, our experience at a news scene, and the new technology we’re using in the transition to HD (High Definition) TV. Please post any comments or questions you have about what you would like to hear from us in the ”Photog” department. Thanks for checking out “Photo Op”!