A dog’s life

It’s not my best video work, but it’s serviceable, and the talent was top-notch.

What moved me about this story was the barely spoken relationship between Lucky the Belgian Malinois and his handlers. Just listen to the way Staff Sgt. Gerald Martinez talks to Lucky as he’s running him through the obstacle course. The way Tech. Sgt. Levi Wilson wishes he could adopt Lucky. This dog has seen far scarier situations than I ever will, but he’s had good people taking care of him.

I received some nice compliments about this effort, but I know there’s room to improve. I let a TV cameraman into my shot. I could have asked better questions. I refrained from putting my wireless mike on Tech. Sgt. Wilson when he played target for Lucky. I had focus issues during my interviews. And I had to rush the edit because of other responsibilities and the daily deadline, so the audio is rough in spots. Those reporters from the TV stations? They could teach me a few lessons in turnaround.

Despite all that, I’ve got a good feeling about this story. It was prepackaged by the Air Force public affairs office, but Lucky made a sympathetic subject. He puts a different face on the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And he’s a damn good-looking dog.

Today I watched the stories produced by our TV competitors. My favorite was KXLY’s. Jeff Humphrey leveraged his expertise in public safety reporting, focusing on the tactical aspects of Lucky’s service. (And I enjoyed watching him work; he’s got it down to a science.)

KHQ shot some great video (warning: popup). The script relied a bit much on superlatives for my taste, but Kaitlyn Bolduc and the cameraman impressed me with their take. I like how they brought in the details about how toys are Lucky’s reward and motivation for service.

And the third TV station…. well, I give props to the cameraman for his B roll and interview skills. He was more pro than me. But KREM was apparently too short-staffed to send a reporter to the dog show, and as a result their story contained a crucial error: Lucky isn’t assured retirement. His veterinarians and handlers are certainly recommending that outcome, but the decision is still months off. Really, though, good use of gas money to send that reporter to the base gates for the live standup.

And for the stones-in-glass-houses crowd, let me be clear: We print the occasional inaccuracy at the S-R, so I’m not claiming perfection in that arena. But you’ve got to get the essence of the story right.

Final note: TV reporters and shooters do these kinds of stories every day, and I’m sure it’s all very standard for them. But my duties are pretty varied. When I get to go shoot a video like this, it’s a welcome exception to the norm. And there’s always something to learn.