NAB 08: Wrenching Images

You ever take a few photogs to an electronic media Show? It's like watching suspects go through that To Catch a Predator house: no matter what surprises the dude in the suit has for them, they're gonna stop and eat a few brownies. If that analogy weirds you out, how about this one: it's like leading a herd of drunks through a brewery tour and getting pissed when they fill their flasks. Then again, Team Slinger and the b-roll buds we met up with were there to do just that: Point, Shoot, Lather and Repeat. Unlike all those schlubs with the fat paychecks, we weren't beholden to any particular booth, sponsor or party line. Instead we did the voodoo that we photogs do: We wandered the conventin hall floor cracking wise, stopping only to stick a lens in whatever struck our fancy.

Trouble was, most everything engorged our F-Stop spot. With so many toys and so little time, I could barely get three feet without a member of my party dropping to their knees in a pool of drool as they fired off a few stills, rolled continuous tape or dug in their fanny pack for just the right magenta crayon. Hey, it's how we make a living. You spend your life shoving tripe and tragedy through a tube without developing a certain proclivity for bagging vistas. With that affliction and little else, we ricocheted from booth to booth with viewfinders at the ready, snapping shots of OTL's (Other People's Lenses) and dispensing a river of snark along the way. Since not a one of us could stop traffic with mere dimples in our chin, we were left alone, the movers and the shakers no doubt wondering who let the lens-rabble in.

That's cool, for we behind the lens simply adored being ignored. How else are we going to obtain all those unlikely angles? Don't bother answering, just know that we shot oodles of video; silly little segments that will no doubt illustrate why we usually stand behind the camera. As for when you can see these clips, Simma Down, Aiiigghhht? We're doing this on our own time and our own dime - an insipid enough assignment for men settling into their early forties. Still, The Mighty Weave is busy chopping our spots, provided he's plowed through the last of his MacGyver box set. Just have some patience, Would ya? He, like me, is operating on precious little sleep. In fact, I hafta crash...

Up next: The B-Roll Bash...