I kind of reached my original goal when I was directing at Channel 7. When I was working at NewsChannel 8, they merged with WJLA channel 7. Because they merged, I had a chance to direct channel 7 shows. Even though people were satisfied with my work, I didn’t truly feel that I earned it. Because of the merger, I got the Channel 7 directing by “default”. I still had to prove that I could direct though. Now, when I got the job at Channel 9, that’s when I realized that I final reached my goal. I felt this way because I went through the interview process and proved my skills through the work that I’m doing.
Right now my schedule varies. Most of the time, I do the early morning show, the 6am newscast. Depending on the schedule, I sometimes do the 5am, 6am, and 9am shows. I’ve also done the late shows at the station. The shows have a lot of video and graphic elements. Sometimes the shows are so fast that I barely have time to give out all the cues. At Channel 9, I do not need to roll my own video tapes like I did at Channel 7/8. The Technical Director rolls the tapes.
One of the cool things about Channel 9 is that we have a really big studio. We move the cameras around all over the place and get some really creative shots! I think some of our camera shots are the most creative out of all the Washington DC news stations.
The people here are very nice. When I first came I was a little nervous. I didn’t really know anybody and I hadn’t directed a show since I left Channel 7/8 to go to CNN. But everyone was very understanding and would answer all of my questions. One of the main things I wanted to know was how things worked. I wanted to know how the Technical Director sets things up, what important information does the Audio Operator need to know, how would everyone like me to call the show (what kind of cues should I give), how do we set up records and do live shots, etc. etc. The more I knew, the more I would understand the process. And the more I would understand the process, then the more I would understand what people went through to get certain things done. All this would help me call my shows better. Example: There is usually a slight delay when a Camera Operator calls up a shot. Because of this delay, I need to give the cue a couple of seconds early. I’m not successful 100% of the time, but I try.
The teamwork attitude here is great. Everyone looks after each other. Sometimes I may miss something and the Technical Director, Audio or Camera Operator, etc may give me a heads up. I try to do the same for them. Check out my philosophy about directing section for more info.
I still have tapes of the shows I do now. I’ll be more than happy to send out copies so you can see the behind the scenes of tv shows.
>>> Go HERE for more info on how to get copies of newscasts from me. <<<
If you want to link me to your page please feel free
to do so. If you want to know more about me, have any questions
or comments, then just e-mail me. I look forward to hearing from
you, LM.
