Slug & Lede

http://www.lasvegassun.com/videos/2008/dec/18/1320/

This piece followed University of Arizona and Brigham Young University football players as they visited children spending the holidays at Sunrise Children’s Hospital in Las Vegas. Their visits were part of several events the week of the Las Vegas Bowl game, in which the two teams participated.

The video involved a few brief before and after interviews with players from both teams, as well as a variety of shots showing the players interacting with the patients and hospital staff. The shots of the players are mostly from a side perspective, stationary and usually shot from slightly below the level of the player. Two panning shots are used in this sequence. Moving shots of players walking down the hall with their school’s respective mascots begin each team’s half of the segment. The ‘after’ segment in which players describe their reaction to the experience takes up a few seconds more than the ‘before’ section.

This is a well conceptualized and well produced piece which suffers mostly from a lack of depth and running time. This piece is posted on a website, was meant for a website, so the short length doesnt make much sense. Most of the players speaking sections are only 10-15 seconds long, and I feel that all but one of them could benefit from allowing the players more time to explain their experiences. Visiting children with serious illnesses is clearly a difficult topic to disscuss, so allowing at least a few players more time to describe their experiences would add much to the video. I also believe that wider frame shots of the players in the patients’ rooms would make the feeling of team much more clear. Finally, there is only one comment in the entire piece from a staff member and no comments from patients. This is a player-centric piece but its simply not complete without some commentary from patients and staff.

Overall, it was a great concept, with good camera work and solid execution. it simply lacked depth and length.