Hello again...

I've apparently been neglecting my blog. I realized my last post was over a month ago so I thought I'd better check in. There is nothing major to report on the work front. November sweeps will be upon us soon as will winter weather in Indiana. As such I'm working on special report promos and a winter weather image. We do have some great special reports this month so I'm hoping that will translate into even better ratings. Fingers crossed. As for the weather... it's supposed to get to 83 today. Seems odd that I need to swing by the office later to log snow footage. Bleh.

So have you been following the latest goings on in Hollywood lately? No, not Brittney and her custody crap... the possible impending writers' strike. I can't say that I blame the writers for threatening to walk. We're no longer just a TV and multiplex world. We've got I-Tunes, DVDs, online distribution... the entertainment product is making its way to viewers in a multitude of new ways. It seems only fair that the writers get a nice slice of that money pie. But the thought of what a strike could do to everyone else with a job in the entertainment industry... ouch. I'll be watching closely to see what happens in the coming week or so. I just wonder what the networks will do once they run out of programming. Will they switch to British shows as some have suggested? Will they simply opt for cheap and lame reality programs? Their choice, if it comes to it, will be telling.

I guess I do have one little thing to talk about when it comes to work. I finished a promo that teases a big sports interview we have for November. We don't say who it is in the spot and that approach seems to have revved up people's curiosity. It's fun to do promos like this but also a little odd. The spot serves to get the public talking but it's also obviously designed to be a little of a mind game for the competition. I feel so devious... I'll talk more about this when I get to a point where I can identify the subjects of the interview. This one has been a wild project to take on.

I'll try not to let a month go by before my next post. See ya.

How the other half lives...

Today's pics... Night shooting for ids... A million dollar + view in the daylight... Taking over a neighborhood... The million + view at night. The city shots were taken from the 7th floor of the Villagio on the south side of Indianapolis. Pretty sweet...

We wrapped up shooting yesterday with the Steadicam but I forgot to bring my camera for that one. Oops. The shots we got at the Villagio were absolutely beautiful. We shot them on HD and our anchors looked gorgeous.

I love night shoots. I hate the long day that usually goes with them... but it always seems worth it if the fates aligns to give you beautiful shots. The fates were indeed kind. I can't wait to get the transfers back. This should make the competition a little green with envy. At least we hope so! :-)

The Steadicam shoot was interesting. I was a bit rushed for my part of it (late anchors) but I saw some shots that I'm hoping will look as kickass on a big screen as they did in that small monitor I was watching. Fingers are crossed...

I think the pace is about to pick up at work. A lot of things seem to be materializing in the pipe and rushing at us with quite a bit of speed. I may not have much time to post in the next few weeks but I'll try...

Finally...

My days of being the Susan Lucci of the promotion department are over. It only took nine nominations but last night I finally won a freaking Emmy. Oddly it was for a promo I came in and did on a weekend because there were a lot of reservations from management about doing it. It was decided that I would put it together so we could show off a finished product instead of trying to explain what it would look like. It paid off then and apparently now. How about that?

Unfortunately we didn't do so well in some other categories. It's tough when you think your co-workers have the best stories but don't take home the trophy. Just to show you how fickle the whole process is, however, one of our reporters won ever major award for an investigative piece, including a Peabody, then didn't even get nominated for the Emmy. Weird.

Research is back so we'll soon have a new slew of promos to produce. In the meantime I've been wrapping up all the launch and re-launch work for our My Network affiliate. Tomorrow will be the worst of it then it should get considerably easier. I do have promo shoots the first three days of the week. I'll bring my camera along since we'll be working with a Steadicam on one of them.

Back in action...

I've been a little remiss in updating this blog recently. Truthfully I haven't had a whole lot to report. Work has been busy but there are no huge projects on my plate at the moment. I'm sure that will all change once we get our research back at the end of this week.

Saturday was SkyConcert - the Labor Day fireworks show in downtown Indy. I worked most of the day setting up our station's tent and handing out goodies to everyone. Man, you want attention at your booth at any event... get a prize wheel. People flock to it like it's crack. I'm not a fan of participating at events but I don't absolutely hate it, either. I'm just happier sitting in my edit booth or working on a script in my nice air conditioned office than mingling with the masses.

I'm getting more involved with our web projects which has been very educational. I spent Thursday in our regional internet director's office trying to come up with a tag line and promotion campaign for a new site we're working on. When I left we were pretty up beat about some of the ideas we generated. Right now I have to admit that this is the project that's got my creativity sparking. It's nice to step outside your comfort zone every now and then - especially when you don't fall flat on your face...

I'll be serving in more of a special projects producer role this coming Monday. I'm sworn to secrecy about the shoot for now, but I can say that it's a huge interview and that there are lots of cameras involved. The reporter actually asked me to come which I thought was nice. I'm not usually a fixture on interviews. I'm the one who promotes that we have them.

Off to paint my spare room. Hope everyone has a nice Labor Day!

So I finally checked out Saving Grace. I missed the pilot since my DVR decided to record black instead - again. The show is a bit over the top, yet, I found it engaging. Weird but engaging. Give it a try if you're looking for something to watch. Just prepare yourself. The language is not what you're used to if you're a network watcher like me.

I also gave Mind Control on the Sci-Fi channel a shot. It was good for one episode but I can't imagine checking in week after week. And speaking of Sci-Fi... what is wrong with their promo department? Could they make Flash Gordon look any more boring? The show's lead is a handsome guy but the promos make him look dull as dirt. I have never gotten this channel's way of promoting their shows. Still don't. The only one they ever managed to promote halfway decently was Battlestar. If they'd give their other shows a little more promo love they'd probably do better in the ratings...

So now that I'm yapping about promos I might as well turn to the promos I'm working on. I'm still wrapped up in the fall launch for our My Network affiliate. I had made a lot of progress - until the programming department went and changed the whole syndicated schedule!!!!! Ouch. My head hurts from banging it against the wall. So now all the work myself and an editor did is in the toilet. We start over almost from scratch next week. Blah.

I'm also still working on Colts promos. I hope to have one done on Monday. Keep your fingers crossed.

We're also looking at launching a new website so I'm fiddling around with a spot for that. I can't say more until things firm up on this front but the project has the potential to be a lot of fun. I'm hoping I can jump into this one with both feet. Any additional experience I can get with on-line stuff is a good thing.

Oh, as for on-line stuff... Check out Denver's CBS 4 promo reel on YouTube. A co-worker stumbled across it the other day. They've got some really enjoyable spots - stuff that stands out from the norm. Maybe the folks at Sci-Fi should take notes...

Later.

Colts' week continues!

This morning we worked with Dallas Clark (Left) and Bob Sanders (Right). I wish I could work with these guys every day. They're hysterical. When we had a moment of downtime they asked, "What should we do now?" My reply? "Dance," I said jokingly.

They did.

I'm pretty sure it was some version of the infamous Colts' Crunk. I was laughing too hard to really pay attention. Seriously, both Dallas and Bob were genuinely nice guys and a pleasure to be around. And I was the lucky girl who got to put her arm around both of them in the group picture. But I'm not going to share that one... ;-) That's WISH sports anchor Anthony Calhoun in the middle on the second shot. We kept calling them the three sexy men during the shoot. I think they liked that.

So it was a crazy day at work. I'm pretty good at juggling lots of things at once, but this morning there were just one too many things in play. I knew I was going to forget something. I could feel it. Lunch finally rolled around so I left for a bit to regroup after running around like a demented chicken with its head cut off all morning. On my way back I got a call from the boss. "Aren't you coming to the web meeting?" Crap. Told you I was forgetting something.

So I rushed back to the station in time to catch the last 20 minutes or so. Then I stayed afterward for a bit to chat with our internet director. He's got some really amazing ideas. I'm looking forward to helping implement them... and being on time for the next meeting.

Not much else to report. I still haven't checked out Saving Grace, yet. Hopefully I'll get around to watching it this weekend. I did finally see last week's "summer finale" of Ghost Hunters. The one that took place near the site of the Manson murders. I don't know if the show is real or not but I got goosebumps on that one. Maybe they have the voice they caught on tape on-line at Sci-fi's website. Creeeeeepy.

Something you don't see everyday...

For the football fans out there... yes, that's Colts' coach Tony Dungy in the middle of both shots. I'm happy to report he's as nice and genuine in person as he comes across on television.

The top picture features WISH and WNDY personalities Karen Hensel and Eric Halvorson. The second photo has Tony flanked by some folks from United Way of Central Indiana. Toss in Radio One personality Amos Brown and former Indiana 1st lady Judy O'Bannon. The rest? Anchors from all the stations in this market. WISH, WXIN, WRTV, WNDY, WTHR, WIIH... they're all there. In one place. Like I said. Something you don't see every day. Why are they all looking up, you ask? There's a still photographer right next to me on a ladder taking their picture. In fact my foot was holding the ladder still while I snapped the shot. Am I a multi-tasker or what?

So I was back at the very cool Studio Midwest this morning for the above mentioned shoot. We were producing a special for the United Way which will air simultaneously on all the stations one night in August. We shot the open, the tag, bumps, and promos for each station. It was fun seeing all these guys in one place and everyone was on their game. Especially the coach. The guy is just a pro - period. The stations in our market take turns producing the special so it will be awhile before it comes our way again. Thankfully things went well and we actually wrapped an hour early. Love it when that happens...

I'm not finished with the Colts just, yet, though. As I mentioned in my previous blog we'll be shooting Dallas Clark and Bob Sanders on Thursday. I'll see what I can do to get pictures of that as well. The set won't be nearly as neat. We're shooting green screen. Hopefully I'll eventually have some cool before and after pictures by the time all is said and done.

I'll let you know how it goes on Thursday...