1st Place
Dan RenzettiKING-TV, "Too Loud"
Judges Comments
CS-WTVF TOO LOUD 8 8 10 8 I love that you keep the contrast going through out the piece -- that made this stand out from a lot of similar stories on this subject. I thought it felt too long and there were a few abrupt audio edits, but other than that nicely done!
SC-WTVF TOO LOUD 9 8 9 9 You really put in a lot of time and effort for this story. It was a little long, but it was really well done and the pacing was really good. I like that you expanded out from the protest itself to show what's happening around it. Great job.
MR-WTVF TOO LOUD 8 9 9 8 Nice hustle. You were all over the place and it showed. I felt like I experienced a variety of view points in this story, just a tad lengthy in my opinion.
AB-WTVF TOO LOUD 9 8 8 10 Wow, nice stuff! There was a lot of different things going on, but I didn't feel like the story deviated on it's course of growing action and resolution. Nice work on being able to keep the narrative going, and keeping continuity with what "Browan" was doing, it helped move the timing along. Takes a good amount of commitment to force yourself into the action, even when the crowd can be less than welcoming to you (ie, the hands and signs in the lens). Great story!
2nd Place
Chris HansenKUSA, "Solidarity and Support"
Judges Comments
CS-WTVF SOLIDARITY AND SUPPORT 7 9 8 9 This was great - I love how much you let it breathe. You really captured the scene and what it felt to be there.
SC-WTVF SOLIDARITY AND SUPPORT 8 9 8 9 You did a great job with this. I didn't expect this to be a natpkg and honestly didn't really notice it was until about 30 seconds. I was just really drawn into the story. Great job letting it breathe as law enforcement saluted the passing patrol cars. Great job.
MR-WTVF SOLIDARITY AND SUPPORT 9 8 9 8 NICE JOB. Loved the pace! Totally drew me in.
AB-WTVF SOLIDARITY AND SUPPORT 8 9 8 8 Awesome visuals, and really great job of letting the shots breathe. Great job capturing the human side of this story with the officers standing at attention and letting the motorcade go by. Every shot and edit had purpose to encapsulate the feeling of this scene. Awesome work!
3rd Place
Mike PerryKOMO-TV, "Granite Falls Weather"
Judges Comments
CS-WTVF GRANITE FALLS WEATHER 7 6 6 7 Pacing felt good - nice use of radio nats off the top. I would try to get a little more shot variety in there, its hard to shoot in the dark like that but always go for more wides and tights. The deputy really helped carry the story and get good reaction. That bite at the end with the lady in her car felt awkward, we can see the lav mic and it felt like you guys were trying to get her to stay...I would have left that out. Nice story!
SC-WTVF GRANITE FALLS WEATHER 8 7 7 7 I liked the quick cuts with scanner nats at the beginning. I also liked that you left the debuty mic-ed up while he was working and directing people what to do. My favorite thing you did was use what light you had out there (police lights, etc.) to light the interviews instead of flipping on a top light. I think that helps the viewer feel like they were there. Good job
MR-WTVF GRANITE FALLS WEATHER 7 8 7 8 Nice job. I like the use of natural lighting....or using what is available vs. over doing it with a top light. Police sound was a good nat sound driver. Keep up the good work.
AB-WTVF GRANITE FALLS WEATHER 8 7 7 9 I really enjoyed the use of the radio nats to set up the begining - the fast cuts really make for great first visual impact. The sound with the deputy was really great because it wasn't "official sound," it was mostly him just talking to people, and it made for some great moments that were put in the story. Very nice. I hate top lights, so I also appreciated the use of natural light and gain to make it work. I would have liked to hear some nats of the water when the story transitioned to talking about the flooding. Also, some wide shots were missing at the begining of sequences. Upcut audio on a few of the bites. Overall, really nice work given the difficulty of shooting in dark and inclimate conditions.
Honorable Mention
Brandon WhitworthKSL, Salk Lake City, "A Ton of Snow"
Judges Comments
CS-WTVF A TON OF SNOW 6 7 6 7 That kid rocked!! I really liked that you spent time with them and got all those little moments. That really drove the story. I think it's pushing the limit on Spot news though, yes weather is an unplanned event so I think you're safe but it has a very general feel.
SC - WTVF A TON OF SNOW 7 7 7 7 I agree that this is probably not spot news. I loved the story though. It has a ton of great moments. Again, I don't think this can be categorized as spot news.
AB-WTVF A TON OF SNOW 6 7 7 7 I loved the nats with the kid; the shovel hitting the dad was a fun moment! You found some awesome characters to do what could've been a benign and forgettable story, and that shows great committment, nice work! One criticism would be the pace of the reporter track towards the top of the pkg seemed too slow "That sound means"; it felt like it was almost dragging the pace of the action. Great story, but this has more of a General News story feel than Spot. Sure, it is technically an "unfolding news event", but it doesn't match the urgency that a typical spot news situation has. Keep that in mind for future submissions.
MR-WTVF A TON OF SNOW 6 5 5 5 Cute story. Love the kid and the "Zipper" moment. Just be careful with an entry like this. At what point does a spot story become a general news story? Sure, the snow fall is an unplanned event, but the lingering results eventually yield a different feel to the story. Similar to flood or tornado clean up.
Judges: WTVF-TV (Nashville)