I have shot and edited over 200 videos during my time at the Appeal-Democrat. I use FinalCut Express for the editing process. Any voiceover work is done either with the camera microphone or with GarageBand.
Here are a few of my favorite videos. In order to speed loading, I’ve split this into two pages. Go here to visit Page 2.
Two Plays
Description: Tyler Zepp was slated to be the starting quarterback for the Wheatland Pirates in 2009, until his season came to a halt because of a heart defect. However, with the combined effort of his family and coach, he was still able to get on the field for two plays his senior season, and he made the most of them.
Notes: This was a video that came together on relatively short notice. I found out about the story the day before Tyler was having heart surgery, which meant I had just the one day to go down to Wheatland and get the interviews. Both newsroom cameras were being taken out for features projects, so I had to borrow a camera from the photography department. This video also incorporated some donated game footage, which added an extra element to a story we were having to chase.
Egg Drop
Description: Every year, Central Gaither School, a small elementary school 10 miles south of Yuba City, has its students build devices that attempt to protect an egg thrown off the top of the school’s gymnasium. Central Gaither serves a rural, agriculture-heavy population and the egg drop has turned into a community event.
Notes: It was fun trying to come up with different angles to film the IEPDs (improvised egg protection devices) being tossed off the building. There was also the sound aspect of this video, both trying to get the sound of the IEPDs hitting the ground and trying to interview a student and have it be audible while around a couple hundred excited kids. The yolky remains of eggs also provided a couple of nice b-roll shots.
Football Playoff Preview (production only)
Description: The shooting on this was done by the sports staff at the Appeal-Democrat, while I did the editing. Every week during football season, we pick a local “Game of the Week” and do a preview video interviewing the coaches in addition to filming the game itself. We mixed things up a little bit for the playoffs, and talked to coaches who were hosting first-round playoff games. The sports editor is also known for producing some funny outtakes, so coming to the end of a grueling season, we decided to throw in some at the intro, just to change things up a little more.
Notes: I feel fortunate that our sports staff is both good at filming video and always asking questions on how they can do it better. As the season rolled along, the video I was given to produce looked better and better. These videos are also different in that unlike most of our videos, they are two-camera shoots, so this edit is cutting back and forth between the two cameras (and syncing the audio), along with utilizing game footage shot in the weeks before and scrolling statistics along the bottom of the frame.