1st Place
Chris DavisWHTM "Home Runs For Lilly"
Judges Comments
RS-WHO HOME RUNS FOR LILY 9 9 8 8 Great job with this! Awesome shot variety, great nat sound. Editing was really nice. I was hoping to hear some more from the players/coaches as they were doing their hitting (action/reaction) but you did a good job using what you had. I think you could have gotten to the turn a little sooner, and given it a moment to breathe right when she talked about how long she and Lilly had been friends - it lets the emotion really sink in, especially since we don't see Lilly other than the pictures. Other than that, really nice work. Good hustle, keep it up!
MB-WHO HOME RUNS FOR LILY 9 9 10 9 Great story. Lot's of great elements in here. The pace was nice, I liked the reveal and all the way through thoughtful composition and nats that wasn't overdone. The message of kids helping a friend was loud and clear without being beaten over the head with it. Really Good!
2nd Place
Drone RacingWHTM "Drone Racing"
Judges Comments
SM-WHO DRONE RACING 9 9 8 8
RS-WHO DRONE RACING 8 8 9 8 Cool story. If I didn't know what the story was about from the entry title, I think I would have been a little more surprised. That being said, you did a really nice job with this. The edits were tight, the pacing was really nice. Great job weaving the nats throughout the story - I felt like I was flying along with them. I wish we could have seen a few more reacitons from Jeff as he was flying the drone around Get right up close with him and ask how he's feeling flying through the air. Good job being in the right place when they knock the goalpost down - illustrates how fast these things can go. Great stuff!
EG-WHO DRONE RACING 10 9 9 8 What a great story! The TRT was almost 2 minutes but it wizzed by like 30 seconds! Besides being a very interesting piece to view, you had so many great moments. Showing the drones crashing was a definite plus for me followed by "That tree isn't supposed to be there!" I also know it is very difficult to follow drones during a shoot and you did a remarkable job.
MB-WHO DRONE RACING 8 8 8 8 Really well done in terms of shooting and getting moments in the story. A little weak off the top, for example describing the path of cones and not seeing it. I loved the reaction shot of the boy but wished it had been placed better, when there was something to react to. Overall very good piece on a fun new subject.
3rd Place
Paul GesslerWBFF "Finish the Fence"
Judges Comments
SM-WHO Finish the fence 9 8 8 9 Great nats, good way to start the pkg.
RS-WHO Finish the fence 9 9 8 10 Nat central! Everything sounded so crisp and clear. Loved all the natural wipes. Great opening and closing shot. I loved how you kept getting sound - I think this could have been a very easy story to just grab the father and one of the police officers and call it a day....so glad you didn't. Loved the little natural pause with the dad when he was talking about the lack of words in his heart. Subtle, but powerful. Outstanding!
EG-WHO Finish the fence 7 8 7 8 A great use of NATS! The building of the fence had so many meanings that could be interpreted. I would've loved to see a shot of the finished fence as a closing shot.
MB-WHO Finish the fence 9 8 7 8 Well done. A thoughtful story to personalize murder. I liked the symmetry of the opening and closing shots but thought the closing was dark and soft, especially considering the shot it followed. There was a lot of great nats and really good sound bites. Great job!
Honorable Mention
Katie EastmanTWC-Albany "Beauty in the Berkshires"
Judges Comments
RS-WHO BEAUTY IN THE BERKSHIRES 8 8 8 8 Great story! Really enjoyed the pacing and being taken along for the ride....literally. I liked how your worked in the tidbit with their trip to Tahiti, setting the stage for their next adventure later into the woods. I wish we could have heard a few "quiet" moments after the gentleman says "you hear nothing" - you started with the water trickling, but then went back to your track. Let the story breathe there for a second, to reward the viewer for sticking along on the ride, and to transition to the next part of the story. Shooting was solid - there was a jump cut about 10 seconds in that you could have used the 2nd shot to tie things up, but that's being picky. Great work!
EG-WHO BEAUTY IN THE BERKSHIRES 8 7 7 8 "Leaf peeping." haha. Some really pretty shots in there along with some great elements besides just them taking pictures. I would have preferred a mixture of transitions besides the camera flash sound effect. I also would've liked to a pause of ambient nature sound just to slow it down. We were in a peaceful place yet I felt hurried. It was an awesome moment when we learned that they met on a picture trip years ago and continue to do it!
MB-WHO BEAUTY IN THE BERKSHIRES 8 9 8 8 Nicely done! Either small group would have made a good story. You combined them very well. You even made the noisy swiss machine into a charactor. The problems here are little ones. Some wobbly handheld of the photographers. The long wait for the guy to get out of frame before going to his bite. Just use a tight transition. The 'listen to nothing' moment was nice and you could have made more of it. From the tight water flowing shot edit you could to a wider water shot and let the subtle sound there prove the tranquility.
Judges: WHO-TV: Des Moines, Iowa