Covering murderball
Posted: July 18, 2009 Filed under: Reflections, Self-promotion, Video Comments OffI found myself in unfamiliar territory this week covering live action at the National Veterans Wheelchair Games at the Spokane Convention Center.
During my high school and newspaper reporting days, I wrote no more than four sports stories, all features. And I’d never tried to photograph, let alone video, athletes on the fly.
So it was ambitious to choose as my subject the game of quad rugby, also known as “Murderball.” But damn if it wasn’t worth it. The game is filled with collisions and athletes breaking up and down the court. The players exert themselves quite visibly. And the crowd gets into it.
Here’s the result. Dive deeper into the post for more post-mortem. Also, find the trailer for the outstanding documentary “Murderball.”
My own toughest critic: Advancing the National Veterans Wheelchair Games
Posted: July 14, 2009 Filed under: Reflections, Self-promotion, Video, Work | Tags: Brent King, National Veterans Wheelchair Games, Spokane, veterans Comments OffLast week I found the time and inspiration to produce a new video. The National Veterans Wheelchair Games were coming to Spokane, and I decided I’d find an angle.
Here’s where media relations people are your friends. At the official games site, somebody had helpfully prepared bios of Spokane-area athletes who would be competing.
A lot of these guys – and they were all guys – were competing for the first time. But I noticed one who had been to the games before and seemed to be pretty active in the veterans community. When I called up Brent King, of Cheney, he was happy to work with me.
Check out the almost-finished* product below, then keep reading for why I’m not happy with it.