teen drivers and cell phones

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the average of teen traffic accidents in Missouri is equal to one injury or death from teen driving every 25.4 minutes.

Ford Motor Company has a study that shows that teens are four times more distracted than adults by cell phone use when driving.

My 3rd TV package story this time would be about teen drivers and cell phones. MOPTA raised this issue during their Kids Legislative Rally last week. At this event, parents got the chance to address their concerns to the legislators and hear what they have to say about it.

I went to the event and talked to Rep. Mary Still, D-Columbia, and also talked to the MOPTA official named Stephanie Miller who helped put the event together.

Since it has been my teacher's concern that a story about a meeting will feature nothing but BOPSA (bunch of people standing around), I'm going to find some footage that shows teenagers using their cellphones while driving. Meaning I will be standing by the corner of Stadium and Providence Rd. intersection all day and see if I can find those people.

Vigilantes in pink

Photo: G.M.B Akash/Marie Claire

Finally, women fight back. I'm not talking about women in the U.S where human rights are way much more appreciated compared to those in third world countries. But seeing these women from a poor village in India actually take a stand and defend their rights just seems so empowering.

In this article featured in Marie Claire called Vigilantes in Pink, a group of women in the district of Banda, North India, was fed up with their abusive husbands and corrupt officials. So they armed themselves with sticks, learned some self defense, and declared themselves as the Gulabi gang or the "pink gang".

The article was written by Jan Goodwin. It has a handful of interesting facts. Among them are:
1. These poor women only earn about 75 cents a day.
2. They are married off before puberty
3. People pay respect for these women and just to know that they're coming is already enough to scare the bad guys away
4. Because of these heroes, there a fewer rapes now in the area and more girls are attending school.

This is a really interesting issue that the international world is not really familiar about. It might even bring a good impact if women in other parts of the world who suffer the same thing as the pink saris women read this and get the message out of it. Even the photographs are really captivating and set the reality atmosphere clearly.

I'm not sure exactly how this writer got all this information but I'm guessing they actually paid a visit to the village. As an article consisting of three paragraphs, it doesn't contain the most comprehensive information that I'd like to know more about. I'd like to hear more about the personal feelings of the women. I know what made them start this movement, but I'd like to hear more of a personal response in their own words. I'd like them to share their painful experience and tell me what unshackles their fear and turn it into power.

With those things, it would have been a greater article and more engaging to read.

when I finally decided to make that phone call

Last Friday I called MO Rep. Gayle Kingery office and left a voicemail saying that I would love to talk to him about the measure that would allow MO schools to have 4 day week. It was Friday afternoon and I was left with uncertainty after I hang up the phone. I was just taking my chances. I had to literally tell myself that the worst thing that could possibly happen is either they don't call back or they just say no.

But apparently lady luck was on my side (although it might have something to do with the fact that I went to church this past Sunday). I got a call from his office around noon today and told Rep. Kingery himself that I would like to do a short video interview and will be there within an hour. So there I was, putting on my best outfit, grabbed my keys as fast as a lightning, and headed out to the Capitol in Jefferson City.

The interview went really well. Apparently he's been stormed by the media over the past few weeks since he introduced his bill. He was being very articulate and didn't mind sparing some more details and specific examples to every single information he has. It's not that hard to find questions to ask him. This time I did my homework really well. I knew a lot about the bill already and the situation around it quite well too. But hearing more from Rep. Kingery himself is just a lot more inspiring and I also got to find out his rebuttals for all the controversial reactions regarding the bill.

What I wasn't expected at all is getting a call back from Rep. Kingery's office. I called a bunch of sources including Columbia Public Schools (CPS), Missouri Parents Teacher Association (MOPTA), all of which are located in Columbia, refused to talk to me and help me out. But knowing that Rep. Kingery himself is willing to lend a hand is just very heartwarming.

Tomorrow, I'm moving on to the next quest of finding parents at the Lee Elementary School and see how they think they're life or their kids' life is going to be affected by the bill.

Today's lesson: Always take your chances. You never know.

Cody's Rescue

Photo: Poynter Online

Yesterday I stumbled into Poynter Online: The Best of Television Photojournalism 2007. I know it's been 2 years but even the works are still amazing. The 1st winner for the Spot News category is Cody's Rescue by Everett McEwan/KGWN Denver.

I recognize that in this piece the photographer was able to use his photography and journalistic skill even though it's an unfolding news event without any chances to pre-plan things.

What I really admire from Cody's Rescue is that its richness of natural sound, strong photography, and interesting visual storytelling angle. It almost gives me the same feeling after watching an epic movie in the theatre. The story looks deep and further into an event that could easily pass someone's life by and makes it big. It is action-packed and very fast-paced that it sorts of build up my emotion and that I can too, feel worried that Cody is needing a rescue. The photographer captures emotions really well. It's really easy to not realize that the story is comprised of a sound bite after sound bite as the main storytelling tool used here. The flow is just flawless and the use of sound bites just personalizes the story and gives it a life.

I am amazed by the strong photography that exists frame by frame in this story. The photographer never fails to provide such captivating angle for each frame. Each detail within a frame seems to add a whole lot of information and succeeds in making things more dramatic than the way they really are.

At the end, yes I feel relieved that Cody is safe. I feel the same reaction with those kids who are cheering for Cody.
I feel like I'm even ready to lend a hand if he's up for adoption. That's how strong this story is for me.

critique session for my Hallsville jewelry-maker TV package

I survived the critique session. That's a good news to start with.

Well to be honest I wasn't confident at all with how the TV package turned out. It's not the best "baby" that I have given birth to in my entire life. There were just inevitable situational restrictions that limit me from doing the story the way I wanted it to be.

And I'm personally not a big fan of my own stand up. To start out with, it's not the most enjoyable thing in the world to see and listen to myself on tape over and over again. But I guess picking up the most perfect take is even harder. Because there's almost none of it! Oh well, at least that what I think.

My teacher went over a lot of things. Some of them are:
- I should avoid pop cuts.
- Think tighter. Some of my shots are too lose. All of the other things around my focus can be very distracting.
- I can't be "soft" on my stand up. Meaning that I must not be out of focus while the things around me are in focus.

My Hallsville jewelry maker story

Last week I shot a story about a Hallsville woman who self- taught herself on how to make copper jewelries. She's an administrative assistant working a 9 to 5 job but she works on her jewelries over the weekend and sells them online. It took me quite a while to hear back from her. I tried contacting a Missourian writer who talked to her once. But that also took quite a while. So finally when I heard back from the lady herself, Tracy Harmon, I was thrilled.

She's really nice and helpful and said I could come anytime I want but the thing is that she works everyday from 9 to 5. When I got there to do the interview last Wednesday, it was really dark. Her garage- turned workshop isn't lit enough to support adequate lighting. I tried my best. I kept on harassing her asking if I could go in to her house and get some shot of her doing her normal life in the kitchen, cuddling up with her kid and all. But she kindly refused by saying that her house is really messy and she wouldn't want it to be on tape. Bummer.

So, I went back to her house last Sunday during the day, hoping to get better lighting this time. It worked out really well except that I was kind of afraid that I don't really have a variety of shots since she was just there sitting on her chair, doing her work. I was almost tempted to ask her to walk around but I thought it would be what they call staging. There are some nice close ups of her doing her work but it's really hard to get her face from the front since her desk is facing the wall. I then asked her if I could videotape her at work. I said I promise it's going to be really quick and I can be as discreet as possible. She was really hesitating and told me that she needs to ask her boss first. There's very little chance I can do that, she said.

Interviewing her was really fun. I like it best to shoot my B-roll first before doing the interview. That way I get to know my interview subject a lot better and she also has more reasons to open up to me. The Interview went really well, I think. She has a lot of interesting stories to tell about her self-learning process and her determination is the only thing that took her to where she is right now. It is quite hard talking to her husband, Steve. He's very soft- spoken and most of the time I have to really cross my fingers hoping that he would catch the bait. But overall he's really nice and helpful.

Tracy gave me a call today and brought me a bad news. Her work won't let any kind of camera in the building for whatever personal matter. She has to go through different personals at the top of the corporate chain just for the permission. She said it's a no. At this point I really don't know much what to do except to make the best out of the footage that I already have.

I will capture my tape tomorrow night and write a web extra out of it and do some editing. I have 3 days before it's due for the viewing of my teacher's eyes. *breathe*.

intended consequences

Photo: Jonathan Torgovnik/MediaStorm

There's this story in Mediastorm that really caught my eyes from the very first time I went to the website. Intended Consequences by Jonathan Torgovnik. It's about the women who suffered from 1994 genocide where rape was used as a weapon of war by the Hutu militia groups against the Tutsis. The video with each woman sharing their painful experience are just amazingly deep and personal. These videos somehow act as windows to the women's soul. It lets me to acknowledge, and further, feel their pain and desperation simply through moving images and audio.

I wonder how such journalist is capable to portray moments like this. How does one build such trusts from strangers of a different nationality, race, and background? How do you make people share something that reveal their painful past experiences? What makes these people agree to have their stories up for publication? Wouldn't they just get scared away with all the equipments that these western journalists bring? How many people does the journalist have to talk to before he can find these people who are willing to open up?

The journalist doesn't even speak the same language.

The video adapts a very riveting storytelling technique of using words after words written on screen to deliver some of the most dramatic parts. The audio suddenly stops. There's just silence and some bold words carrying vivid imageries tell what happens next. I also enjoy how the women are in close-up frames most of the time when we hear their stories. It adds a great depth of personality.

I witness some very disturbing brutality here although I didn't see any of the actions. Honestly I didn't make it through the end of the interviews. Just like I gave up in the middle of watching Sukiyaki Western Django and Black Hawk Dawn, even though they're just merely fictions. I can't take the violence that I'm being exposed to. Just the thought of it disturbs my peace of mind. But this story is no fiction.

This story uses journalism as a way to tell others one soul's grief and desolation as a result of social injustice.
Hail to Jonathan Torgovnik!