What Would You Do??

[Newshutr]

Hypothetical...

A station hires a backpack journalist. Said bpj is fresh out of college but is "experienced", or so says the memo stating the new hire.

What would you do if the "experienced" bpj was trying out the new gear and was complaining that the camera wasn't recording. Only to find out that they were (hypothetically now, remember;)) trying to record on the cleaning tape?

Not saying this happened....might be true though

[2gigch1]

Sit back & enjoy it. It's fun to see bad ideas come to fruition.

[SeattleShooter]

Just tell him to keep recording with that tape. Sure to wear the heads down quick.

[Flaca Productions]

bah - they're new and probably a bit nervous - cut em some slack.
THIS time.
once is a mistake - 3 mistakes is a trend.....

oh - and don't give them tooooo much of a hard time - they were offered a job - you don't expect them to turn it down, do you? blame the people that OFFERED the job.

[code20photog]

I cut my first package alone at my current station, big market and all, on the cleaning tape.

It happens....

[f11vid]

First day.WLS-TV.Could NOT get my Ike 79 to work! Tried batteries.Switched on/off.Checked fuses....
Lens cap.

[elvezz]

I would remember my first day/story and then I would humbly offer my assistance.
It ain't his fault he got hired.
If not him it would have some-one else making the same mistake.
But as mentioned above, there is defiantly a limit to on the job courtesy as to how the job works.

[A Step Above Productions]

As already stated don’t take it out on the new guy – he was offered an opportunity that he or she could not turn down.

It is okay to be upset with management and you should be. Put your self in this persons shoes they know they are over their head and that all eyes are on them.

I would befriend them… offer them help and advice. Remember you were new at one time too. And if when you were green you were offered a job in a top 5 station as a Photog you most likely would have taken it too.

[D.St.]

I sure wouldn't take that camera out anytime soon.

[Canonman]

Hypothetical...

A station hires a backpack journalist. Said bpj is fresh out of college but is "experienced", or so says the memo stating the new hire.

What would you do if the "experienced" bpj was trying out the new gear and was complaining that the camera wasn't recording. Only to find out that they were (hypothetically now, remember;)) trying to record on the cleaning tape?

Not saying this happened....might be true though




Just remember, you're only one bonehead brain fart away from doing something equally as stupid... even with all of 'your' experience. As you've seen from the other posts, people do make mistakes and overlook the obvious at times. If the new hire develops a pattern of this kind of stuff, then you have a case.

I walked up to another photographer one time who was panicking because his vf quit working. A quick check by a fresh set of eyes (mine) revealed that his vf plug wasn't plugged in all the way.

cm

[Tippster]

I have never lied about my experience level EVER. ;)

On my first shoot I came back with very blue video despite my having hit the WB switch multiple times... in Pre-set. Oh, the cutaways were several different shots of the flower arrangement on the conference table.

[SeattleShooter]

My first day as a photog I missed a liveshot. HA HA!

I will say though...it was not my fault. Three spools into a USPS sorting warehouse and we had a bad cable somewhere.

[Sean-1966]

We're going to start telling our most embarassing stories? OK I once put a mini DV tape into a DAT player. It fit right in. Wouldn't let the drawer open back up though. I right that one off to first week on the new meds.

[MtnShooter]

I right that one off to first week on the new meds.

Wow. Where can I get some of those drugs?

I once recorded an entire interview without checking to make sure I was actually recording... which I apparently wasn't. I moved the camera slightly to the right and had the interviewee re-do it "for a safety take." She thought that was very professional of me.

Nyuk nyuk nyuk.

[Stoney]

I did a stupid one right after starting a new gig. I had a blurry lens... looked like a problem inside the camera, like a misalignment. I checked everything over and couldn't find it. I had to set up a live shot and was really under time pressure. What to do? I missed the live hit because the camera looked like poo. So, I had 1/2 hour to figure it out before the next hit.

I look at everything and I talk with the engineers. Nobody can figure it out. Finally, I got it... the 2x was stuck halfway! I nudged it and bam... everything is fine. Doh! I think I blamed it on the backfocus alignment and nobody was the wiser...

Give the kid a break, he is nervous. See if he can prove himself before too long. If he can't, then your station managers will look stupid on their choice.

[FTOJRLST]

I once recorded an entire interview without checking to make sure I was actually recording... which I apparently wasn't. I moved the camera slightly to the right and had the interviewee re-do it "for a safety take." She thought that was very professional of me.

Nyuk nyuk nyuk.

I did that TWICE just Saturday at two different Vo/Sots. Luckily I caught both right after the no-take. I usually blame it on a "glitch" in the camera.

The second one Saturday I had rolled and then realized on my color LCD that I needed to re-white-balance and I turned to do that on the nearest wall, reframed the interviewee and punched the button to roll, stopping the disc. UGH!

(and I've been at this for 15 years!)

[Dave.B]

So often we forget the "Golden Rule". Actually, we din't forget it more than we chose to ignore it so we can make fun of others around us.

Why not just try and help the guy find the problem. Nothing wrong with humbling yourself and helping the guy. Nobody's gonna laugh at ya'.

[cameradog]

I have to be the voice of dissent here. I don't think you do the guy any favors by helping him. He has signed on as a VJ. The sooner he fails, the better for him, because it's that much sooner that he realizes what a mistake he has made and moves on to more productive endeavors. Why help somebody do a half-ass job that's just good enough (as far as the management is concerned) to trap him in a bad situation? You might also help your station in the process, with his failure giving them another nudge toward rethinking their stupid cost-saving moves.

It's actually pretty easy to do, too. Just become the dumbest guy in the shop when he asks a question. For example, if he asks why his camera won't record, just shrug and say, "I dunno." He won't hold it against you that way. He might be amazed that you get such good video while being so technically inept, but he'll probably just chalk it up to you being some kind of idiot savant, a video natural. Which will discourage him even more and get him into something better even faster.

[svp]

Always help the new guys out for the first few months. If they're still making the same mistakes after a few months, cut them loose and let them hang themselves. Every newbie thinks college is EXPERIENCE when its not. College newscast are nowhere near being realistic to newsrooms in the real world. All of us were NEW at some point in our careers and probably felt WE were experinced. Cut them some slack.