Off to a good start

[cameragod]

It’s New years eve. One of the few times I don’t mind that the camera acts like a dickhead magnet attracting every dickhead around. I’m on the usual round of shooting the bars and streets as the partygoers see out 2006. It’s bitterly cold and the outdoor concert I was going to get the countdown at has been cancelled because of the high winds.
So I’m looking for an angle. I have a few things in mind as I shoot but “Bad weather affects New Year celebrations” is high on the list.
I get some bouncers saying attendance is down from last year and a helpful DJ runs a terrific countdown to 07.
Back on the street I get the drunks pouring happily out of the bars.
I notice the long rows of lit Taxis and think cool shot.
The road is busy, boy racers cruising quickly, traffic is moving way too fast and I’m not wearing a vest. I stand in a pool of light provided by a Taxi’s headlights and get a nice shot, love the cross filter on the XD.
As I button off and look away from the viewfinder a drunken figger trips off the sidewalk and lurches between me and the taxi onto the road. Acting on pure reflex I grab his T-shirt with my left hand and pull. He swings like a pendulum back toward me and a fast moving car collects his leg with a thump snatching the shoe from his foot and keeping it.
“Are you OK?” I ask.
He stares dimly at me, the heavily branded ONE News camera on my shoulder, moves unsteady on his shoeless foot and says “I watch 3 News so F*** off.”
And away he limps back onto the sidewalk.

2007 starts and I probably saved a guys life. That feels very damn good… even if he was a dickhead.

Hope you all stay safe and have a happy New Year

[The Toplens]

Happy New Year to you Stephen...!

It's 1.15 in the afternoon UK time and so far (touch wood) we haven't been called out to anything - hopefully by the time my shift finishes at 1030 tonight I'll not be too far from home and can get back and see in the New Year with my beautiful fiancee... but knowing news I'll more likely see it in with the hairy arsed engineer I'll be sat next to in the sat truck!

Take it easy and stay safe - and that goes to all the other brothers and sisters out there!

[elvezz]

That is an awesome story.
Happy New Year everyone.

[Freddie Mercury]

Maybe he will figure out what you did for him when the booze wears off and that foot starts throbbing. Well done.

PS- Why is it so cold there this time of year?

[wtv]

Happy New Year to all at B-roll (my favorite web site, well almost...)
from Mogadishu.......

Watch out for our exciting midnight live shot............

[canuckcam]

2007 starts and I probably saved a guys life. That feels very damn good… even if he was a dickhead.

My Christmas morning (overnight) ... I was first on scene of an SUV rollover. The driver went so fast that when he hit the iron street light it sheered off the front quarter panel, tire and suspension right off . The streetlight had a some paint scratches but not even a dent. Debris field was incredible.

In find two bodies unconscious inside the SUV. Calling 911 to update them, I smell and survey the fluids coming out of the vehicle. No gas. Good. The woman comes to and starts to scream. I manage to calm her down and get her name. She insists she's not injured and wants to get out. I help her crawl out of the wreck. The driver is pinned by the steering wheel.

Meanwhile, another 911 call comes in around the corner, the homeowner said a car crashed into their house. It destroyed their living room and cracked the foundation. I end up doing some translation since the residents didn't speak any English. Sure enough, same vehicle description.

Afterwards, I was told the couple in the SUV was drunk and the driver was getting "serviced" when the accident happened. Thank god for Purell. <<shudder>>

Now please excuse me, I have to go back to do some more MOS for the show. I did "What are your New Years Eve plans" ... now for "New Years Resolutions." Another guy just finished one, not sure of the question. Now just "Are you drinking tonight? Will you be using the free transit to go home?" remains.

[cameragod]

PS- Why is it so cold there this time of year?

Global warming??? I don’t know but it’s the first time I can remember it raining on New Years and the cold has certainly go me pining for the lovely English weather… which should tell you how bad 06 has been.

[Canonman]

Global warming??? I don’t know but it’s the first time I can remember it raining on New Years and the cold has certainly go me pining for the lovely English weather… which should tell you how bad 06 has been.

Good thing you're shooting on XDCAM since it will likely survive the foul weather even if you don't. :D

cm

[Mighty Dyckerson]

It’s New years eve. One of the few times I don’t mind that the camera acts like a dickhead magnet...It’s bitterly cold and the outdoor concert I was going to get the countdown at has been cancelled...

Only dickheads use the phrase "bitterly cold."

[cameragod]

That means a lot coming from you Dick :D

[Tdomi74]

Granted I wasn't working tonight at the stroke of midnight, instead I was in the middle of it all. As a member of the sometime cursed media, I too did my one good deed in preventing a brawl at a local club this morning. Nobody should start the New Year with a stupid drunken charge of Simple Assault.

Just like in the movie Roadhouse, "All you have to do is follow three simple rules. One, never underestimate your opponent. Expect the unexpected. Two, take it outside. Never start anything inside the bar unless it's absolutely necessary. And three, be nice."

After promptly alerting the cooler A.K.A. "Big Lee" that these gentlemen where having a disagreement and we should probe the matter further. I stepped in with "Big Lee" and was "Nice", together we cooled them off and the party continued for all involved.

Damn, I miss being a bouncer at times!

Wait a minute, I do it everyday with the Assignment Desk.

"I want you to be nice until it's time to not be nice"

[Icarus112277]

Happy New Year everybody!
Sawa bunch of fights but didn't step in- there were more than enough cops around.
Spent the night putting gold chains and teenage rappers on air. But got to do it from the comfy confines of a studio in Times Square- got to go outside and sample the craziness without having to wade into it.
Oh yeah and that started a triple (about 39 clocked hours) between three places. Right now I am seriously jonesing a shower and my bed.

Good luck to all in '07.

[pre-set]

Why is it "bitterly cold" in N.Z. this time of year? Isn't this the height of summer for you guys?

[cameragod]

You’d think so but we just had the coldest December on record… apparently the stream of cooler air that brings rain to Australia has been knocked south by global warming which means they are getting droughts and we are getting floods and landslides.
Good weather for ducks and news stories