Rookie-Move Confession Booth [Archive]

RichVid

01-13-2005, 07:59 PM

Yes...and the sad thing is, more than once! My excuse is my base of operations contains 2 screaming kids (now ages 3 and 10 months) and a wife who oftentimes rolls her eyes at me as I fumble with radios/cellfone/pager/diddy bag/etc while stumbling out the door...in the 7 years I was shooting before my daughter was born, I don't ever remember that happening... In the 3 years since, I've done it twice (I won't give the offense away...read the link!)First time, a rippin' fire similar to the one described here...2nd time, people being rescued from a sinking boat at a nearby beach in heavy surf...both times I wanted to burn myself alive...

Natural Born Stringer

01-13-2005, 08:21 PM

LOVE IT!!

I can relate. I went out on a similar call - big restaurant fire. I jumped out, grabbed the betacam, slammed a 15 minute tape in it and started to roll 10 seconds of bars before taking my first shot. What follows is somewhat of a greek tragedy. It was my absolute worst night ever shooting news.

Well the low battery light starts in right when I pressed record for the bars. So I pop out the NP1 and grab another. And another. And another. I had six of the damn things, and all but one were dead! I started 4 more going on the charger and proceeded to roll bars. That done, I run to the trunk to grab my trusty tripod. It's not there. Damn, I must have forgotten it! Oh well, OTS then... I start trudging over to a good spot for my establishing shot.

I adjust the iris, focus and roll. OK, we're getting it now... I record about 5 seconds worth and then a warning LED starts flashing. Dirty heads... ARGH!!! I'm ready to scream, but I don't, instead I shuffle back to my car to get the cleaning tape that I keep in the trunk...only now I can't find it. I dig and dig in that big Caprice Classic trunk for what feels like an eternity. THERE it is. I grab the blue case and open it to find... a regular tape! Where's my cleaning tape?! I open the other tapes. Not there...not there...not there...there! I pop out the old one, put in the cleaning tape and run it for another eternity (20 seconds) then out it goes, in goes the other tape...which...I never rewound!!!!! ACK! I rewind it and then the NP1 has had enough and it starts to blink at me that it's dead... and the other 4 are still charging away. I look around and the local Hi8 guy is on the phone with the stations. I'm hosed. Forget it.... I cleaned up and organized my trunk, then put the cam lovingly back into it's hallowed spot on the passenger seat (with seatbelt). I turn to see how I'm going to get out, and I'm blocked in by dozens of fire trucks and miles of fire hose on a monster fire that has just gone to the 3rd alarm. Aw hell, there goes the whole night... so I figure I'll lay down in the back seat and just veg until the batteries charge up, then maybe I can find a way out around the hoses. So I open the back door and there is my tripod, right where I left it. Then my phone rings and it's my best customer, good old channel 3.... the guy says "are you out on this thing? So-and-so is there but we hate him." I explain that I'm onscene but need to charge batteries up, then I can shoot it - he says "Fine, it'll burn for a while anyway so you're cool. Bring it in when you're done." So it turned out all right... but it's a small victory to get one sale instead of 5 or 6...

Needless to say, I kept my gear charged, rewound, clean and properly organized ever since that night. :D Live and learn...

[ January 13, 2005, 07:23 PM: Message edited by: Natural Born Stringer ]

been there shot that

01-13-2005, 08:54 PM

My first weekend at my big market TV job. The ND was at this event. As I left the event, the ND and I meet at the same intersection. He gets on the radio and says "Check you roof". It turns out I left a camera brick on the roof rack of the car. He was cool about it....

TightShot

01-13-2005, 08:56 PM

Originally posted by SandRat:
I'm always looking over my shoulder for my light post peeking over the backseat. I've never left my camera, but I've arrived sans battery before. I did this at the bond reading of a very federal felon who was extradicted to Cali soon after.

dhilljr

01-13-2005, 09:35 PM

I've never gone to a shoot without gear, but i HAVE come back with less gear than I arrived at the story with. About 10 years ago there was a drowning at a state park about an hour 15 south of the station...plus it was game 7 of the ahl championships..and it's Sunday night, and I'm the only one on...so I race to the drowning, get the ambulance leaving, the water shots and the bite with the cop, jump back in the car and head north 45 minutes, to shoot the hockey. I'm listening to the game on the radio, and as I pull up to the arena, OT is starting, so I'm feeling good, knowing I didn't miss anything, open the back to grab the cam and sticks...but no sticks...I left them at the drowning..so I run in, shoot the game off my shoulder..thankfully the game ended 5 minutes into OT..then shoot the post, feed back to the main studio..and then call every other station who was at the scene to see if they noticed I left the sticks behind. Only one other station noticed that I did, but just left them there anyway. So I call the PD, and yes, they had them, so I drive another 45 minutes south to get them. They were cool about it, joked that it would do a great job holding their radar gear, and I heard about it every time I had to go down there for a while. Now I always look in my mirror to make sure I can see the tripod plate sticking up, and my wireless antenna waving back and forth as I leave from anywhere.
David

cameragod

01-13-2005, 09:48 PM

Drove 3 hours to shoot a netball game and realised the camera was back at the shop getting its heads cleaned, should have had mine done as well, but was saved by a heavy rainfall, game postponed.

BluesDaddy

01-13-2005, 10:26 PM

Oh yeah, that sick feeling when you push the VTR key and nothing lights up. Thank God (and my "911 TAPE-KEEP YER PAWS OFF") it's been a long time since I left with no tape.

Shootblue

01-13-2005, 10:55 PM

Being an hour and a half away with out a tape is not fun. Thanks to a great old boss at another station about halfway back to my POE, I was able to get a tape and save the story.

KahunaPhotog

01-13-2005, 11:02 PM

My rookie mistake was while I was still a rookie...

I drove away after an interview on the interstate with the microphone and transmitter still sitting on the roof of my car. As I'm driving down the interstate, I hear it roll off the roof, I see it hit the road and get obliterated by a 18-wheeler.

Priam1998

01-14-2005, 05:27 AM

My personal worst was a fire at a wood recycling
plant lotsa flames.. i looked through my gear
light- check, mic-check,batteries- umm....back in to the car i go 35 miles back to the station.

photogguy

01-14-2005, 05:57 AM

You're bringing up bad memories that years of denial have only barely begun to bury!

I shudder at the memory.

:eek:

Eaglewolf

01-14-2005, 07:27 AM

It seems to happen to me when I feel like I am a stud muffin photog.....and am quickly reduced to a mere muffin

4got2white

01-14-2005, 07:47 AM

Shot a cool plane crash. It had clipped buildings, wires, etc. Nobody hurt, but had great pilot sound, and did a nice standup with the reporter. It was one of my first stories, and very excited. It was to bad I found out when I got back that I didn't actually roll on anything. I was introduced to the term "double clicked". Ouch.

Frank McBride

01-14-2005, 11:20 AM

Originally posted by Lenslinger:
Ever pulled this bonehead maneuver? (http://lenslinger.blogspot.com/2005/01/my-favorite-mistake.html)

C'mon, confession's good for the soul... Thank you for giving a lift to all us imperfect people. Anyone who can experience that and then write so effectively about it ain't all bonehead.

Horror stories like this one have made me paranoid enough to not have this happen...yet. Like some have mentioned, I often find myself straining to get a glimpse of that Frezzi bobbing around in the back. When I rode with an opaque camera case, I would sometimes get that feeling and pull off the road to check. The reporters were somehow always understanding about it. A lot of times I slip into reverse, pause, put it back in park and check to make sure the SX isn't sitting behind the back wheel.

I have frequent dreams where the most spectacular event you can imagine is happening, or worse yet just about to happen, and me and my camera are in different places. I try to run full speed and it instead is cruel slow-motion as I watch the plane plummet or the building collapse or, most common, the tornado bearing down on me.

There's been no shortage of screw-ups in my years doing this. The way I now work to prevent this particular one is any time the camera comes inside the station for anything other going into the shop, I hang my keys on the wireless antenna. That keeps me from going any further than the parking lot.

"Screw Ups" could easily be a permanent category on this message board. Too many things can and do go wrong in what we do. Heck, I could could keep that one going!

FMc

<elvez>

01-14-2005, 11:43 AM

This little topic will lead to some heavy weekend drinking to forget.
twice, the first was at a very rare one time onlyglimps into some
restricted logistical unit at a local air force base Some new program theya new General wanted to show off. i had to be vetted in advance, was met at the gate by I guess, high ranking officers as oppossed to the usual PA guy.
Open the hatch and to my horror, empty space.
managed to get back, sneak in and do the story, but at a price of several years off my life.

2nd time, my chief drove my cam out to me. nuff said.

<elvez>

01-14-2005, 11:47 AM

Holy Crap!
Here is the proof-read version.

This little topic will lead to some heavy weekend drinking to forget.
Happened to me twice, the first was at a very rare one time only glimpse into some restricted logistical unit at a local air force base. Some program a new General wanted to show off. I had to be vetted in advance, was met at the gate by, I guess, high ranking officers as oppossed to the usual PA guy.
Open the hatch and, to my horror, empty space.
I managed to get back, sneak in grab camera and do the story, but at a price of several years off my life.

2nd time, my chief drove my cam out to me. nuff said.

Nightside

01-14-2005, 01:01 PM

Hey Sandrat. I do the same over-the-shoulder peek. Only difference is that I'm looking for a wireless antenna flopping back and forth to the bumps in the road. Defintely gives peace of mind.

Tape Reaver

01-14-2005, 05:35 PM

Happened to me on the first shoot I ever went on. Luckily for me, I was by myself and didn't tell anyone at the fly-by-nite cable ad company I was working for.

Sooner

01-14-2005, 06:00 PM

I actually have physical proof of my best. A nice still photograph of me and my reporter interviewing Juliet Lewis at an event. Now if you look close you can follow the XLR cable from the bottom of the stick mic right into my pocket. Guess my johnson caught all the audio from that interview.

RichVid

01-14-2005, 06:57 PM

Does shooting with the Tally-Lamp on qualify for the Confession Booth or is that acceptable in some places (ie the wedding photog)? I've always thought that was the sure mark of a 'rook...

nickg

01-14-2005, 07:29 PM

Left my camera once! and only once! never to a huge story (it was the last night of a amusement park for the summer) and it was only 2 miles from the station so not so bad...but your stomache still falls to the ground!!

MDrnbrgr

01-14-2005, 09:04 PM

If this is a rookie mistake...I've still done it after 11 years: Man I hate it when you hit record and nothing happens--no round in the chamber. Now whenever a tape comes out, one goes in. Locked and loaded!

been there shot that

01-15-2005, 03:07 PM

I gotta stop reading these posts. I am afraid that I'll start doing them again. Doubble punch, no tape, no camera, no this no that...It's enough to make you not want to come to work. I'm afraid to fudge something else up. And I haven't done those things in years. I guess I'm due, thanks guys and gals...

Lenslinger

01-15-2005, 03:11 PM

Excellent accounts, B-Rollers...

I believe addixicon invented a new term: "checkin' my hump", -- that backwards glance behind the wheel to see if the gear you need made the ride. Whether it be Sandrat's lightpost peeking over the backseat of his news unit or dhilljr's wireless mic antenna waving back at him in the rear-view, we ALL obsess over the same in-flight worries - though not all to the degree of Frank McBride.

As for leaving random parts of equipment in your wake, I'm guilty of that, too. I did without a light once for six weeks because it was an inconvenient thirty miles away. And I can just SEE KahunaPhotog's transmitter and mic burst into nothingness on the impact of a semi's grill. Bummer that! How about driving off from shooting a fender bender only to watch your roadside tripod grow ever smaller in the rear-view mirror. Sun-of-BEECH!

Anyway, thanks for all the great responses, as it makes me feel like less of a schmuck to know others still sh!t the bed on a random basis. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

[ January 16, 2005, 01:51 PM: Message edited by: Lenslinger ]

JTFCM

01-15-2005, 03:44 PM

Had the worst vehicle in the fleet one day, the Explorer/Exploder...the guy that normally had it didn't like to report problems any more, because he broke a LOT of stuff in the past.

So I'm cruising back from a shoot, whip around a hard right turn at 35mph, and feel a cool breeze on the back of my neck, look back and see the rear door swing up. The camera flipping through the air in the portabrace semi-hard case...I locked up the brakes. Threw the shifter to ... some other gear (turns out I hit neutral) as I popped my door open. I sprinted the 25 yards or so back to what in my mind would be a heap of smashed electronics, scooped up the camera, still in the case, and ran back to my rolling truck. Talk about a rush!

Turns out I only broke the mount for the Frezzi and cracked the AB battery plate. I shot with the same camera the rest of the day. Turns out this guy knew and never reported that the back door of the truck didn't like to latch, we also found out the spare tire was in use and the original was re-mounted under the truck and had a four inch rip in it. Dumb. Like some magical fairy is going to come over some night and fix it or something.

The lesson...trust nobody. Always double check your gear.

Curves Ahead

01-15-2005, 04:20 PM

I forgot my camera last week!!! No big deal though, my reporter and I are good buds. She just got an extra chance to poke fun at me! Needless to say, feeling like a dumbass comes with it when you're WITH OUT your rig.

Typically looking in the mirror to see my wireless antenna wagging at me like an excited dog going out to playisn't good enough. I'll physically turn around to snap a glance at Old Trusty. :rolleyes:

SigLife

01-15-2005, 05:02 PM

Let's see...
I've gotten the name of Double Punch. The Washington Wizards, when Michael Jordan played/owned them or wahtever, would do their training here on the college campus. So MJ is also from here, so local ties, you guys can put it together.

Everybody was there...national guys, tv from around the state, and me. I swear I saw the blare of the red 'REC' in my right eye, turned out it wasn't. So I double punched Jordan, luckily an ABC affliate from D.C. was down here, thank God.

Large group of Marines returning from time in action after 9/11. Drive the hour or so to Camp Lejeune about 3:30 in the morning with all of my gear. Got back to Wilm that evening about 3:30, stopped to refuel and check the gear. No tripod, but I didn't have time to go check. I had to get my stuff on-air at 6 and turn another for 11. Called every number I knew on base, most returned nothing, one guy said my best bet was to call the next morning 0600. I needed answers then...drove the trip back to Lejeune, somehow got back onto base, and almost located the pod. Turns out Public Affairs picked it up, and locked it in their office. So, drive back to Wilm, turn the 11, go to sleep. On the road again by 6:30 the next morning to Lejeune again, and I have the pod back in my hands by 8:00. Whew...

01-15-2005, 05:11 PM

Originally posted by fstopme:
Typically looking in the mirror to see my wireless antenna wagging at me like an excited dog going out to playisn't good enough. I'll physically turn around to snap a glance at Old Trusty. For a long time after my camera was stolen, I would have to reach back and physically touch its replacement to be reassured of its prescence. It was almost a "mini panic attack" kind of thing.

2000lux

01-16-2005, 02:03 PM

The way I now work to prevent this particular one is any time the camera comes inside the station for anything other going into the shop, I hang my keys on the wireless antenna. That keeps me from going any further than the parking lot. There are a couple of guys at my station who do this. Now I know why, and I will too! 'Nuff said about that (lets just say I'm a chronic hump checker).

Once at a multiple car accident I jumped out of the truck and realized all the competition was already there. @#%&! I grabbed the hand held mic' and clipped it to my pocket, grabbed the camera and the tripod and ran.

After I shot the first couple of cars I realized there were more involved up ahead so I ran up there and shot some more footage. I was about to interview a victem when I realized my mic' was missing!

I walked up and down the highway several times with my camera's headlight on looking for it while they were clearing the scene. RE-50's aren't very expensive, but those Lectrosonics transmitters are!

Finally I asked a cop for the name of the towing company and called them. I had a radar detector stolen by a tow truck opeator once so distrust got the better of me. Their dispatcer got ahold of the crew. They said they thought they saw a fireman pick it up. "Yeah right" I thought, "As if I ever met a dishonest fireman." I went down to the towing company and met the owner. He let me search the rig and look around. Nothing.

When I got back to the station I called the fire chief just in case and then e-mailed my supervisor. An hour later the chief called back and said my microphone was waiting for me at a fire house less than a mile from the station. :eek:

After I picked it up I e-mailed my supervisor again saying "Nevermind" and called the towing company to apologise for being such a schmuck.

...AND THAT WASN'T MY WORST DAY!

Wideangle

01-17-2005, 08:58 AM

Oh my God, this is probably my most obsessive
act at work..checking and re-checking to make sure I
have everything.I'll confess that I've pulled over and checked
gear before. Wish I had a buck for every time I did
the over the shoulder "glance". Another thing I've noticed is that the more people you have on a shoot,
(multi-camera), the more likely you are to leave
something behind. Everyone assumes that someone else
picked it up, and no one does. So I'm a big believer
in the "idiot" check. That's the one you do AFTER
everyone assures you that they got everything.
Great read, lenslinger...something I'm sure
everyone can relate to.

imported_blank

01-17-2005, 09:58 AM

Wideangle,
I have pulled over many times to make sure I didn't forget anything. I agree with you regarding the multi-camera gigs too.

01-17-2005, 10:38 AM

ALL I NEED TO VJ IS MY HANDYCAM WITH BUILT IN LIGHT AND MIC. HOW COULD I FORGET ANYTHING? ALL I CARRY IS ONE HANDYCAM STRAPPED TO MY WRIST.

I NEVER WORRY ABOUT FORGETTING TO WHITE BALANCE OR FOCUS OR ANYTHING CAUSE I SHOOT IN AUTO MODE!!!

GET WITH IT YOU SUCKERS. DITCH THOSE BIG MANUAL CAMERAS, LIGHTS, TRIPODS. GET A HANDYCAM AND START VJING. YOU WILL NEVER AGAIN FORGET A PIECE OF GEAR OR WHITE BALANCING OR ANYTHING

:P ADOPT OR DIE SUCKERS!!!

01-17-2005, 10:58 AM

Nothing THAT bad, but something really embarassing...

Back in the day (before I had PortaBrace bags) I used to keep my "stuff" (spare bricks/cables/tapes etc.) in a black gym bag. One day I was called out to a 2-alarm fire (which eventually grew to 5-alarms). So I grabbed my camera & an intern...and rushed to the scene. Along the way, I did what previous posters did: I checked by rearview mirror, comforted to know that my stuff was all there.

Once at the scene, I pop out and grab my camera. I start shooting. Lots of good stuff. After about 30-minutes, the situation was under control...and the fire chief said he was going to give the first update/press conference in 5-minutes. So I sent the intern back to the truck to fetch "the black bag in the back of the truck" (the one with my mic & cable...and extra tape).

So...the media all gathers around...and here comes my intern with the black bag.

Only, it wasn't MY black bag. To my horror (and the media-zoo's & Fire Chief's delight), what the intern brought to me was a big black "Sesame Street" bag--with Elmo, Big Bird, Bert, Ernie and the gang all over the bag. And there were some other frilly stuff hanging from it, too.) The intern says (with a serious expression on her face), "Here's that bag you wanted me to bring." She handed it to me, but I accidentally dropped it (probably because I was too stunned and embarrassed)...which proceeded to activate a singing Elmo Doll inside the bag.

So there was the black bag, on the ground, with Elmo loudly singing "The Chicken Dance" song.

Everyone there howled with laughter! Firemen stopped rolling up the firehoses and even came around and chuckled. The chief was cracking up: "Nice bag, Joe!" "I didn't know you were a fan!" A coupld of firefighters even started doing the chicken-dance thing.

Somehow, my daughter's Sesame Street toy-bag ended up in my unit, on the rear seat. And this is what the intern fetched.

Of course, my "real" black bag was in the BACK of the SUV, because I saw it there in my mirror on the way there.

I sheepishly excused myself to fetch the "real bag."

That was 15-years ago...and to this day this story will re-surface every now and then among "the boys" at some fire scenes.

Wideangle

01-17-2005, 11:14 AM

"ADOPT OR DIE SUCKERS!!!"

Who let in the right to life tourist? I have two
so called grown kids who are a pain sometimes. I'm
not about to adobt any more kids or I'm sure that it would kill me.. :D

Lense_Cap

01-17-2005, 11:48 AM

yep... it happens to the best of us. I also find myself checking the back of the car for the antenne poking up from my wireless before I take off.

One tip... when you get inside the station and put your camera down wherever you put it, clip you car keys on the camera. You can't leave without your keys. :)

Tazam77

01-17-2005, 03:29 PM

My story starts on the weekend. I am on call and at a friends house watching football. Well a while into the game I get a page. So I call in and find out I have to go to a RV fire on highway 70. I open up the back of the car and check the camera. NO Tape! I check my bag NO TAPE. I race to my apartment (which was closer then the station.) I ran in looked through old tapes from school and found a tape!! That tape sits religiously next to my door! I havent had to use it since. Hopefully never. . .we'll see. . .

<elvez>

01-17-2005, 03:30 PM

lense cap has it.
I always put my keychain around the wireless reciever anttena.

Skye Winslow

01-17-2005, 06:05 PM

I shoot now but for 12 years I anchored (don't laugh). In Salt Lake City the photog dropped a brand new Betacam in the lake... In Beaumont, photog didn't lock down the camera and it feel forward smashing the lens...it was a quiet ride back the station. Also in Beaumont, a guy drove the live truck under a bridge 3 times with mast up... and in SA, TX we had a live shot in a locker room and ran a player with full frontal nudity for about 45 seconds! Feb ratings really went up after that! However, I can't laugh cuz I had morning sickness and barfed in a guys lap, had my hair catch on fire when a light blew and was attacked by dogs while interviewing someone. Photog jumped on the roof of the car and left me there! It's rough on both sides of the camera!

ken g

01-17-2005, 08:38 PM

shot a gas explosion last summer. got good stuff, and a couple of good sound bytes. threw my gear in the jeep, and headed for the main road. about 2 miles down I looked in the mirror just in time to see my sticks headed for the ditch and the fluid head tumblin towards the center line. I used to toss the tripod up on the canvas top while I was unlocking the door, only this time I forgot it was there.
Snapped the head clean off, but the sticks done ok. Needless to say I never use the car top as a staging area anymore.

2000lux

01-17-2005, 11:52 PM

I'm a big believer in the "idiot" check. That's the one you do AFTER everyone assures you that they got everything.I frequently do an idiot checks, especially after breaking down a sit down interview! I tell people I'm making sure I'm the only idiot left in the room. ;)

Man, I laughed long, hard, and loud at that Elmo story. Thanks for making my night! :D

Natural Born Stringer

01-18-2005, 01:07 PM

<KentDorfman> IS THE WINNER!!!!!

http://www.merrittsbakery.com/party/IMAGES/eimages/elmo%20birthday.jpg

That elmo story was awesome! ROTFL!!!!

vdoguy

01-18-2005, 02:01 PM

At my old station, many moons ago, we always kept the camera locked in the vehicle, so there was little chance of leaving it behind. However, a nearby major market station would often call me to fill in when they would be shorthanded because of vacations or openings. They always removed the cameras from the vehicle, even though it was in a fenced area with around-the-clock security. So when the hazmat call came in, I darted out the door on my way to get some great major market footage! I got about ten minutes down the road when it hit me - no cam. So, I raced back to the station and - remembering my ninja training with several of my adolescent peers from 15 years earlier, I slipped unnoticed into the photog room, grabbed a camera and eluded detection as I slipped out the back door, none the wiser!

The keys were placed on the camera from then on out!

01-18-2005, 11:42 PM

these testimonials make the less intelligent of us feel better.

Todio

01-19-2005, 12:42 PM

Originally posted by <SUCKERS>:
ALL I NEED TO VJ IS MY HANDYCAM WITH BUILT IN LIGHT AND MIC. HOW COULD I FORGET ANYTHING? ALL I CARRY IS ONE HANDYCAM STRAPPED TO MY WRIST.

I NEVER WORRY ABOUT FORGETTING TO WHITE BALANCE OR FOCUS OR ANYTHING CAUSE I SHOOT IN AUTO MODE!!!

GET WITH IT YOU SUCKERS. DITCH THOSE BIG MANUAL CAMERAS, LIGHTS, TRIPODS. GET A HANDYCAM AND START VJING. YOU WILL NEVER AGAIN FORGET A PIECE OF GEAR OR WHITE BALANCING OR ANYTHING

:P ADOPT OR DIE SUCKERS!!! Hey! SideLetter 11 Howz it hanging dude? Still licking yer balls?

LOL

punk

Todio

01-19-2005, 12:50 PM

My story didn't happen to me, it happened to a friend of mine Gord Miller. He was a cub reporter for a radio station in Edmonton when Wayne Gretzky was captaining the famous hockey dynasty there. He was sent to interview Wayne in the locker room after the Oilers won the Stanley Cup one year and, although very tired, Wayne agreed to an exclusive. Gord did the interview, thanked Wayne and left. In the hall he checked his recorder and it only rewound for a suspiciously short time. Upon playing he heard "Check one, two" and nothing else. He had forgotten to push record! With visions of this being not only his first but also his last gig in the industry he sheepishly knocked on the dressing room door and explained the situation to Wayne and begged for another interview. To Gord's relief Wayne agreed. To this day, whenever Gord interviews Wayne, Wayne always asks, "Are you sure that thing's on this time?"

Lensmith

01-19-2005, 02:04 PM

Originally posted by Wideangle:
Oh my God, this is probably my most obsessive
act at work..checking and re-checking to make sure I
have everything.I'll confess that I've pulled over and checked
gear before. Wish I had a buck for every time I did
the over the shoulder "glance". I'm guilty of this too.

It comes from having made all the mistakes once and not wanting to make them again.

newz

01-19-2005, 02:53 PM

I was still a rookie, about 3 months in, and went to shoot a perp walk of a guy who got nabbed because he was featured on America's Most Wanted. Got to the podunk cop station and realized I ....... had no tape. I went in and asked if we could delay the walk because I had "equipment problems". They did since I was the only station there and were damn proud to have caught this guy.

I had to call my chief and tell him. He rushed a couple tapes to me and I had to hear about it from him for a while. Although to his credit he didn't tell anyone else what I had done.

I still (9 years later) get the heebie-jeebies once and a while and have to double check for mics, batteries, tape, sticks, camera...

Natural Born Stringer

01-19-2005, 05:49 PM

Originally posted by <SUCKERS>:
ALL I NEED TO VJ IS MY HANDYCAM WITH BUILT IN LIGHT AND MIC. HOW COULD I FORGET ANYTHING? ALL I CARRY IS ONE HANDYCAM STRAPPED TO MY WRIST. Ha ha ha... I just saw this. Classic!

Sadly, I know a few stringers who actually think this way. That's pretty frightening. Even a tripod is not worth carrying to them. I guess they like making everyone watching their unlit grainy crap think it was shot during an earthquake. :rolleyes: Will they ever LEARN? Use a tripod at least!

Nice post, thanks for the laugh.