One-Man Reporting Band (Part II)
It Isn’t Just Point and Shoot
Given that you don’t have unlimited bandwidth, you have to be very selective with the pictures you transmit. A talking head at 128 kbps is passable; a riot looks like crap. You must always take into consideration the limitations of the technology and work around it. For example, in a riot situation, tape the demonstration and send it as a digital file, but shoot the talking head live.
Be prepared. It’s not just the Boy Scouts slogan, it’s what Bruton believes to be his mark of success. He truly believes in having the equipment that’s right for the job and having backups. Issues that have absolutely nothing to do with the transmission can kill a shoot. Due to extreme conditions, Bruton’s lost monitors due to excessive humidity. He’s seen PCs destroyed due to subzero conditions and diminished air pressure.
Even simple problems like connecting the camera to the computer can be an issue. Most video compressors only offer RCA connections. ABCNews only considered systems with BNC. Nothing is more annoying than a transmission from halfway around the world failing because the cable fell out.
What are the Networks Doing Today?
Some networks have more mouths to feed than others. NBC must also supply MSNBC, CNBC, and Newschannel, while CNN has to feed Headline News, CNNfn and all its international divisions. For over-consumption reasons, both NBC and CNN have been on the forefront of consuming satellite videoconferencing. Today, all networks agree that satellite videoconferencing for broadcast should be used as a first line of defense. While you’re waiting to get a truck and secure satellite time, get video out now by transmitting a talking head via satellite phone.
With the recent attack on the World Trade Center, the networks pulled out the equipment for the first time here in the U.S., a necessary tactic since everyone lost their transmitters atop the World Trade Center. And when the Empire State Building was evacuated, no one had access to backup transmitters either. The networks resorted to videophones during the disaster, but no network will admit to using the Inmarsat system since the satellite network doesn’t grant licenses in the U.S.
With the overwhelming volume of video of varying quality shown during this disaster, the lesser quality videophone images did not stand out noticeably. Also, given the gravity of the tragedy, the networks put aside their competitive nature and freely traded video. A behavior prior to this event was unheard of in cutthroat news production.
More Cameras, More Stories
Competition among the networks has created a sea of new options, expanding news content. Besides the rapid deployment of many TH-2 videophones, CNN has begun outfitting reporters and producers with DV cameras and Apple Titanium laptops loaded with Final Cut Pro. "Sending one man enables you to be more adventurous," explains Mike Duffy of correspondent Mike Lee. Lee is ABCNews’ near-equivalent to Jim Bruton, who often reports by shooting himself with a DV camera held out at arms’ length.
Bruton sees the group of correspondents growing. One week after the interview, Bruton flew to the Middle East and started unloading his systems to NBC’s reporters. "It is a new paintbrush to paint a new painting," says Bruton, "The extrapolated concern is one day we’ll have broadcast quality over a cell phone … and then everybody’s a reporter."