Media Frenzy in Sanford

TonyCooper

The Seminole County Courthouse the day George Zimmerman
made his first court appearance:



All the talking heads want the courthouse in the background.



Lunch break for the talking head


The cost of all the equipment around the courthouse today is probably
equal to the GNP of some country.



Meanwhile, in downtown Sanford, one lone protester remains on duty.



I have more images of the media coverage and the protest marches in this
Smugmug gallery:

http://tonycooper.smugmug.com/Other/Media-Frenzy-in-Sanford/22414490_snZGD2#!i=1791807860&k=HMKjzGh

Sam

Nice informative post. While looking at all the equipment I wonder what a 5D II or 5D II video with a simple diffuser, reflector and or maybe one light of a news broadcast would look like compared to one with all the stuff you have shown.

Sam

lensmole

I have been following this story with interest since you first posted some of your images . I can't wait to see the reaction of a bunch of supporters on either side when they announce a verdict on this case. Should be some good photo ops,when ever that happens .Thanks for the images Tony !

Chris02

I think the chap with the green tie is from my side of the pond, Sky News

TonyCooper

Chris02 wrote: »

I think the chap with the green tie is from my side of the pond, Sky News

There are media reps from many countries on this. I've talked to reps
from Australia, the UK, and Germany. The on-air "personalities" are not
that easy to chat with, but the cameramen and techs are glad to chat.
Most of the time, they're dead bored sitting around and waiting for
something to happen and something to record or film.

The on-air types, "talking heads", usually retreat to their vans/trucks
when not doing sound or video checks. I guess they're afraid to get
their hair mussed or their make-up smeared.

This series of photographs has been informative for me in what media
reps do. Mostly, they wait around. They spend very little of their
day actually engaged in what we see on the telly.

They remind me of hunting dogs. They loll around or nap until a
rabbit is spotted, and then they spring to life in a frenetic burst
of energy and activity. They jockey for position for the best background
or the best light or the best access to the rabbit.

Wind is their enemy. It musses their hair and ruins the sound. One
"presenter" was attacked by seagulls and had to do several takes.
She was trying to record something on camera, but she was standing
in an area with some residue of lunches left by an earlier crew. The
birds kept swooping in to grab morsels from the ground. To move
meant moving all of the screens and reflectors and lights. She was
terrified of the birds and used some very salty language.

RyanS

I worked for two years in a truck like those you've shown. What you describe is exactly right. "Hurry up and wait" describes precisely what we did. I always thought being in the truck was better than being outside. It is climate controlled, quiet, and dark. The boredom was the downside. Being a boys club (it still is), we found all kinds of immature ways to pass the time. For example, having the camera man strategically zoom in on certain... subjects. What may not be apparent to outsiders is how much crap the talent often puts up with. They were some of the hardest working people there. When in the truck they were writing reports, chatting with the news team about the story, working on voice overs, doing research, being yelled at from the studio, etc, etc. Women seemed to be given the hardest time.

And the food on the ground. I bet a dollar that was done on purpose. The hardest part for me in the industry was how cruel co-workers could be. I did audio work. During a broadcast we developed audio problems. I ran out to the talent to figure out what the deal was while they took another camera. As is common, the talent camera pointed at me so the truck could see that I was at the mic working on it and waiting for feedback that all was well. The camera guy took a knee and focused on an area below my waist (on purpose). I couldn't figure out why everyone was laughing at me when i got back to the truck until I watched the tape. The mic had been strategically aligned by the camera in a... creative... fashion. The director had taken the talent camera live for about 2 seconds. Just a few million people saw it. I got the message. It wasn't a place for me, I wasn't mean enough.