In L.A.breaking news can happen in a hot second.There are so many things going on, murder, political corruption, Hollywood stars, the weather, the list goes on and on.When news breaks you have to be able to drop one story you've been working on all day and pick up on another story just like that.
In times of mass chaos like that it's nice to have an experienced reporter like Mary Beth McDade working with you.
I'm always curious about how experienced reporters gain their experience.
I knew Mary Beth had been working in the L.A. market for a few years and had worked at many different stations. I even worked with her a couple of times at 2/9 CBS/KCAL before we both eventually ended up here at KTLA , but I wanted to know more.
So the other night when Mary Beth and I met in Orange County to do a liveshot at the O.C. Sheriff's Dept. I asked her how she became a reporter here and this is what she said.
Coming soon an interview with Micah Ohlman!!!
Stay tuned.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
A Candid Interview With David Begnaud
A few nights ago I found myself working with another one of KTLA's new reporters.This time it was David Begnaud a per diem reporter out of Southern Louisiana. Right off the bat I could sense the enthusiasm he has for his job.
When I work with someone like that it kind of gets me pumped up! I feed off the energy and I push myself to do more.Work is alot of fun when your challenged like that and it makes the night go by so much faster.
David describes himself as an old school reporter with a strong work ethic.He says he has a passion for telling stories and truly loves what he does. I told him Iwas writing a blog at work and asked him if I could interview him for it . He said yes and I am glad he did .
When I work with someone like that it kind of gets me pumped up! I feed off the energy and I push myself to do more.Work is alot of fun when your challenged like that and it makes the night go by so much faster.
David describes himself as an old school reporter with a strong work ethic.He says he has a passion for telling stories and truly loves what he does. I told him Iwas writing a blog at work and asked him if I could interview him for it . He said yes and I am glad he did .
Monday, February 7, 2011
KTLA'S newest reporter is a Hitt!
Anytime you work with a new reporter for the first time there is a sense of apprehension. You never know if you are going to hit it off with them and sometimes personalities clash. Creative differences can make it difficult to work together, and belive me, when you spend 8 hours a day with that person in a livevan stuck in traffic day after day it helps if you can at least tolerate each other.
Last Friday I found myself headed to LAX to do a live shot with Brandi Hitt the newest reporter at KTLA . I was alittle nervous at first but the minute she got in the truck we started talking trying to get to know each other and she is cool beans!
Told ya she's cool!
I think Brandi is going to be a big HITT!!!
Last Friday I found myself headed to LAX to do a live shot with Brandi Hitt the newest reporter at KTLA . I was alittle nervous at first but the minute she got in the truck we started talking trying to get to know each other and she is cool beans!
Brandi began telling me about herself and how she became a reporter and as I was listening to her I
said to myself "Self,grab your camera and start rolling. This is good stuff!"Told ya she's cool!
I think Brandi is going to be a big HITT!!!
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
My friend "E"
The other day as I was working on A Minute 30 package with my friend Elizabeth Espinosa.
I asked her if I could interview her for this blog and she agreed so I ran out to my car and grabbed my camera and started rolling .
She went on for about 6 minutes on how she became a reporter,what its like reporting in L.A. ,and she also gave a couple of tips on how to become a reporter if you are interested in becoming one
If you didn't all ready know Elizabeth is competing for a chance to host her own talk show on the Oprah Winfrey network .
The reality show runs every Friday night on the OWN network. Good Luck "E" we are all pulling for you!
I asked her if I could interview her for this blog and she agreed so I ran out to my car and grabbed my camera and started rolling .
She went on for about 6 minutes on how she became a reporter,what its like reporting in L.A. ,and she also gave a couple of tips on how to become a reporter if you are interested in becoming one
If you didn't all ready know Elizabeth is competing for a chance to host her own talk show on the Oprah Winfrey network .
The reality show runs every Friday night on the OWN network. Good Luck "E" we are all pulling for you!
Saturday, January 29, 2011
"The Package"
Before I start writing about my job,the stories I cover,and the interviews I plan to post in this blog, I thought I would better familiarize you with some basic terms you might hear as we go along.
Again this is for the benefit of the people who have an interest in the news business but don't work in it.
A Minute 30 story is called a Package in the news business and is made up of four smaller individual parts mainly. It is these four parts that my co-workers and I spend 8hrs a day , driving around,researching,talking on the phone,shooting video,writing scripts ,editing and then feeding in the finished product back to the station to be ran in the show, and somewhere in there try and get in a healthy meal and a bathroom break.ANYWAY!!!
The names of these four little darlings are:
Natural Sound
Track
Sound Bites
Vo
and my definitions of these are :
Natural Sound or "nats" for short are naturally occurring sounds that are captured on video we use these sounds to enhance the story to give the viewer a sense of actually being apart of what's going on, for instance the sample video in my first blog has coins dropping in the meter,cars driving by,and a musician playing his guitar and singing, these are examples of how we use natural sound in a package.
Track is the narrative in the package and is read by the reporter. I think in the sample video Dave Malkoff''s first track in the story is "They're singing a new tune in "Ventura"
Sound Bites or "sots" are 10 to 15 seconds long and are taken from interviews from people who are personally affected by what is happening around them or from an authority figure that is informed on what is going on like a fireman , police officer, doctor, or attorney
In the sample video the kid in the store is a good example of a sound bite.
Vo or "voice over" is video shot in the field and edited to match the track.
For example when the track talks about meters you see meters,when the track mentions the confusion the meters are causing you see a guy using the meter with a confused look on his face etc....
So there you go!
These are the four basic elements that makeup A Minute 30 Package.
I hope this was helpful!
Again this is for the benefit of the people who have an interest in the news business but don't work in it.
A Minute 30 story is called a Package in the news business and is made up of four smaller individual parts mainly. It is these four parts that my co-workers and I spend 8hrs a day , driving around,researching,talking on the phone,shooting video,writing scripts ,editing and then feeding in the finished product back to the station to be ran in the show, and somewhere in there try and get in a healthy meal and a bathroom break.ANYWAY!!!
The names of these four little darlings are:
Natural Sound
Track
Sound Bites
Vo
and my definitions of these are :
Natural Sound or "nats" for short are naturally occurring sounds that are captured on video we use these sounds to enhance the story to give the viewer a sense of actually being apart of what's going on, for instance the sample video in my first blog has coins dropping in the meter,cars driving by,and a musician playing his guitar and singing, these are examples of how we use natural sound in a package.
Track is the narrative in the package and is read by the reporter. I think in the sample video Dave Malkoff''s first track in the story is "They're singing a new tune in "Ventura"
Sound Bites or "sots" are 10 to 15 seconds long and are taken from interviews from people who are personally affected by what is happening around them or from an authority figure that is informed on what is going on like a fireman , police officer, doctor, or attorney
In the sample video the kid in the store is a good example of a sound bite.
Vo or "voice over" is video shot in the field and edited to match the track.
For example when the track talks about meters you see meters,when the track mentions the confusion the meters are causing you see a guy using the meter with a confused look on his face etc....
So there you go!
These are the four basic elements that makeup A Minute 30 Package.
I hope this was helpful!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
For mom...
For those of you in the news business, when the term "a minute 30" is used you know exactly what it means, so this explanation is not for you but for the people who may read this blog who are not familiar with our lingo.
"A minute 30" is the approximate time given a news crew (a videographer and reporter) to tell a story in a newscast, so roughly the amount of time it takes me to nuke my daughter Heidi's bowl of oatmeal in the microwave every morning is the same amount of time we have to explain to you whatever issue we are assigned to cover that day.
I have always found it interesting how many hours I spend each day gathering information,shooting pictures,and interviewing people to produce a story that runs about as long as it takes most people to brush their teeth!
What I also find mind boggling is how many other people in the station are also wrapped up in the same story and how much time they provide in producing that same minute 30, I mean there's news directors, producers,writers,graphic artists,promotions,anchors,people who take feeds from crews in the fields,editors,the list goes on and on.
I intend on trying to use this blog as a way of introducing people to the craziness that is the news business,the stories we cover, and some of the people behind the scenes that spend their day striving to give you as much information as they can fit into a minute 30.
I also intend to use a lot of video of stories and interviews with my co-workers to add an educational twist to this blog for people who may be interested in what it takes to break into the top markets like Los Angeles where I work.
( Sample video of a minute 30 story)
On a personal note:
the title of this 1st blog is FOR MOM
My mother use to keep a daily journal .
She would write whatever she did that day like walking her dog , talking to her sister in Washington
, spending some time with her grand kids, or out karaoking with her husband philly a.k.a THE PHILMIESTER ,she was full of life.......
She past away last year and I miss her alot and i guess in some way I am tring to use this blog to get to know her a little bit more and to keep her sprit alive!
For you.......MOM!
"A minute 30" is the approximate time given a news crew (a videographer and reporter) to tell a story in a newscast, so roughly the amount of time it takes me to nuke my daughter Heidi's bowl of oatmeal in the microwave every morning is the same amount of time we have to explain to you whatever issue we are assigned to cover that day.
I have always found it interesting how many hours I spend each day gathering information,shooting pictures,and interviewing people to produce a story that runs about as long as it takes most people to brush their teeth!
What I also find mind boggling is how many other people in the station are also wrapped up in the same story and how much time they provide in producing that same minute 30, I mean there's news directors, producers,writers,graphic artists,promotions,anchors,people who take feeds from crews in the fields,editors,the list goes on and on.
I intend on trying to use this blog as a way of introducing people to the craziness that is the news business,the stories we cover, and some of the people behind the scenes that spend their day striving to give you as much information as they can fit into a minute 30.
I also intend to use a lot of video of stories and interviews with my co-workers to add an educational twist to this blog for people who may be interested in what it takes to break into the top markets like Los Angeles where I work.
On a personal note:
the title of this 1st blog is FOR MOM
My mother use to keep a daily journal .
She would write whatever she did that day like walking her dog , talking to her sister in Washington
, spending some time with her grand kids, or out karaoking with her husband philly a.k.a THE PHILMIESTER ,she was full of life.......
She past away last year and I miss her alot and i guess in some way I am tring to use this blog to get to know her a little bit more and to keep her sprit alive!
For you.......MOM!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)