A Photog's/Camera Operators 6th Sense

[Antares]

So there I was last week waiting around the courts, having a coffee with my peers from other networks, and the discussion rolled around the "6th Sense" we somehow find ourselves attuned to, in different situations..
All of us potentially are in, or have been in situations from Riots to a single individual that gives us the "Something doesn't seem quite right" feeling.
Do you feel this feeling or instinct has improved since you started shooting? After all we are in an industry where we observe and record human behavior everyday.
Have you listened to your instincts? Have you avoided conflicts yet still got the vision??

I realise this thread can be discussed on several levels, but it would be interesting to read your thoughts.

[newz]

YES! However, my "6th Sense" is more attuned to our desk and producers. I can tell if I will be assigned to breaking news, not based on the location, but by the fact that they think I should be done editing a 2 minute pak in 15 minutes. Also, if there is a live shot, even though a producer says they don't want something from you, I can tell when they will call you and demand a package!

[The Daywood]

It is absolutely because you deal with people and their reactions on a daily basis...You know the shot will only happen once, and you learn to anticipate; sometimes wrong, most times right...

Sometimes I'd amaze the reporter, and sometimes myself, and I'd just blame it on my "spidey sense"...

I once covered a Klan rally on the Courthouse steps. I could tell my reporter exactly where all the snipers were, who the loudest protesters would be even before they opened their mouth, and when the bus carrying the Klan was getting ready to roll up (police made them park elsewhere).

My reporter looked at me like I was psychic or something...I just told her you have to open your eyes and be an observer...

[newz]

...I just told her you have to open your eyes and be an observer...


After years as a photog, you become a better observer of human behavior. I notice alot more things off the job as well as on.

[focusthis]

The Force is a powerful thing, and can be honed by years of people watching. Somebody that may have given you a slightly odd feeling a few years ago, will today display recognizable clues to their true nature. The Force also influences inanimate objects, like VTRs, generators, and the assignment desk. Have you even been called by the new guy asking why their edit won't take? I bet you fixed that one over the phone! Call it what you will: Force, Fonz, Spidey Sense, Schwartz, it's to be used for good, not evil. Okay, it's fine to listen when it tells you to go to lunch NOW, but try not to screw peeps over with it.

[pre-set]

I can spot idiots sometimes minutes BEFORE they run behind my talent and fawk up my liveshot.


Not that I'm ever really able to do anything about it, though....

[CHIEFPHOTDOG]

As weak as it sounds it's like Spider-man, when we're at a live shot where their might be D.A.'s lurking I watch the crowd, then I see one and pull them aside before our hit. Some of my shooters are passive in nature so if I notice that a D.A. is getting hostile with a shooter, sometimes it doesn't matter what station their from I tend to step in, yeah they might swing at me, but just my luck they don't. The one sense I wish I had is the one where I could tell there was a hole or even a step behind me when doing the walking backwards shot, I used to rely on the reporter but I've fallen way to many times to keep that up, the shot is worth the risk though :).
FYI: D.A.= Dumb a$$'s.

[amp]

I too have a highly honed Spidey Sense and a greatly accurate B.S. Detector. It is amazing how many times when we do a story on a murder, and we figure out who done it early on.

May the Farce be with ya'll! (stated with heavy southern accent)

[INLANDNEWS]

You can almost anticipate when news will break too based on the time of day, the weather and how the day is going. If the temperature is hot, the winds are blowing, and its been a slow day, there is almost always a major homicide somewhere. If the winds are really blowing and its hot, we always get a big brushfire somewhere.