Inauguration Day 5 Tuesday

Today is the day we have all been waiting for and I must say, up here in DC it was truly surreal.

Our assignment had us at the Mid Atlantic Ball as the pool camera…that was our only charge for the day. I was tempted to head to the National Mall with the other several million people to see the inauguration first hand but since were scheduled to meet the producer at 3p. Not knowing what kind of obstacles may lay ahead, we thought it best to stay away from the actual Mall area and watch it on TV instead.

Walter and I hit a local joint for lunch, a little sports pub with TV’s everywhere and of course all tuned to the Inauguration festivities. 

As we’re eating and watching, I looked around and EVERYBODY was in a festive mood.  You could feel it in the streets…everyone was truly jazzed by what was getting ready to transpire. As they brought my order of fish’n’chips, they were broadcasting the the pictures of George W. getting on the helicopter and leaving Washington for the last time and as that helicopter took off, the whole place burst into spontaneous applause!! I mean it was great!  It was like all the liberals were able to come out of hiding.

Totally electric!

We finish up and head to the Dupont Circle train station to head to the Verizon Convention Center where we are going opposite about…oh I don’t know, about a billion people coming from the Mall area.  I got tell you, the Washington transit system really works well.  The folks at METRO ran those trains often and the trains were long butt getting to the Center was as predicted.

The METRO station at the Verizon center was indeed closed….so we hiked 5 city blocks to our designated area only to be stopped at the press security checkpoint because the Secret Service were still setting up the metal detectors.  We ere supposed to have gained entry at 4p but it was closer to 6 before we actually get so we had to just wait outside and of course we’re on the shaded side of the building so it was freezing, literally. Walter and I brought some sandwiches along and they were frozen in the bag.  No place to wait but on the windy street.

Lots of female reporters and producer types who were dressed to the 9’s but with only a nominal outer wear.  They froze. They learned.

We finally get in the building,  made our way to our spot and pretty much just waited until the big guy got there.

While waiting, we and the other 7,000 party goers, were treated to a concert by the Grateful Dead.  Not my favorite group but better than say, Barry Manilow…IMHO!

Our schedule said Biden was going to show at 11:05p and Obama at 11:35p, however we are now getting word that the parade ran an hour and a half late and that Obama is not going to show until 12:30a or a bit later.

At this stage of the game, it’s pretty much guess work.  We have a liaison with the planning committee but he’s also on kind of a “need to know” basis, so we just have to be vigilant.

Now I know that the President always has a traveling press corps who pretty much cover his every move.

All the networks, foreign press, radio and print media…all have credentialed representatives who are attached to the presidential detail.  They’re called The Traveling press and they have their own camera platforms that I can see to my left.  Having been part of that detail in the past, I know when you see that platform start to fill up with folks and gear, the President is only about 10 minutes away.

So I keep my eyeballs on any activity in that general area.

Sure enough at about 11:00, the press corps starts filing in and setting up and about 10 minutes later the big guy himself hist the stage.

He gave a short speech thanking everyone for making history and then challenged everyone to participate in this effort.

Then he and Michelle danced, waved goodbye and that was it.  He was there for exactly 15 minutes.

Through my close ups of the couple dancing, I could see that Michelle was really tired  and it got me to thinking, they as a couple, have had the most grueling schedule on the planet, compounded by the fact they are the parents of young children.  It made me think that for the next 4 years, they may never get a long nights sleep.

I mean they still had 4 more balls to attend and then there was an ultra private party AT The White House…so I’ guessing these guys didn’t hit the sheets until dawn, if then; and Barack’s gotta get up early to start fixing the free world, so they will be sleep deprived.

What a way to start you first day on the job!

Before Barack arrived at the center, an interesting sight kept occurring
 
Every time the crowd thought Obama was about to enter the ballroom, thousands of people raised their digital cameras for a chance to get a picture of the 44th president; but from my vantage point, seeing all those viewfinders raised in unison, kind of looked like hundreds of crocodiles poking their eyes out of the water.

Just an observation!

So it’s down. We knock down and make the journey back.

Now we have to carry all the stuff we’d brought in the day before.  No cabs, just humping about the 5  blocks  back to the METRO station and pushing ourselves on board along with thousands of others.

One cool thing….all the METRO tickets were special Inaugural souvenir tickets, which is probably the cheapest and most leg mate keepsake one could have of this event.

On our way back to the hotel I made another observation and that was of all the poor women who wore those designer high heels. I saw hundreds of women in agony as they walked blocks and blocks in their high heels, feet bending over, limping and in some cases shoes in hand as they walked barefoot in below freezing weather on cold, dirty concrete!

There’s gotta be a better way!

Off to bed for an early start back to Atlanta!

History was made today and I was there….pretty cool, pretty dang cool!

Allen

I’ll post some pictures later!!
 

Inauguration Day 4.5 Monday

We hit the Convention Center at 4p, which was when we were told was the earliest we could arrive and of course other media were there hours before.  Not a problem but just curious.

It turns out the “dirty work” was done years before in that fiber links have been laced all through the center. 

Fiber optics are laser driven signals that can carry lots of info over vast distances with little to no degradation. You figure you are in Washington and that at any given moment the President  or some other high official can deliver a speech at some meeting or convention or something, so it stands to reason that the city convention center would be wired to the hilt.

Fine…however, FINDING the paths of those wires is another issue.

The Convention Center has a contract with a vendor who supplies all the video needs for the house.  Actually they provide the infrastructure, we have to supply the signal to the infrastructure and we also have to supply the cabling that leads from the building to the truck.

OK, some grunt work but not below my pay grade or above my intelligence, however…the fly in the ointment is the infrastructure. 

We were there for almost 6 hours doing what should have been a half hour job because the audio outputs were mislabeled.  We spent hours trying to get an audio signal to the truck and we would still be there had it not been for Walter discovering the mislabeling.

Bravo Walter!

So, we’re moved in,  set up and ready to go.

Transportation as expected, will be an issue so we will have to take METRO to the Center, which ain’t bad because we left our stuff at the cener.  I opted for that because with our stuff in place, the Secret Service can clear our stuff tonight instead of me having to wait in what promises to be a long security lines tomorrow.

The tough part will be breaking down and lugging our jazz back to our hotel via METRO. 

The METRO has a stop at the Center, which we were counting on, but for security reasons that station will be closed so we along with cocktail dressed ball goers who paid a $150 a pop to attend, will have to hump a few more blocks than expected.

Exercise is good, maybe not in high heels and cocktail dresses.

There is a bit of a rainbow here though.

While setting up our stuff we had to contend with the band doing their sound check.

The Grateful Dead!!

Yeah, with all the players sans you know who…so there is a slight silver lining to all this.

Well actually, The Dead is just the cherry on the sundae because I am at the center of history and I’m glad to be here…and we get the great credentials to boot.

More to come I’m sure!!

 

Inauguration  day 4 Monday

Today is what is known as a “light panty hose day”, meaning we only have one thing to do and hopefully no heavy lifting. 

We’ve been told that our set up at The Convention Center should be easy in that cable rats have already laid in the necessary audio and video run, which will terminate to the CNN truck that is pooling video from Center. 

I also just found out there will be 6 balls at the center.  Don’t know what makes one ball different from another other than you can’t fit thousands of people into one ball room, so I suspect The Convention Center will be more of the “peoples” event, divided by 6.

If all goes as planned, vendors have done the dirty work and we’ll just need to secure our designated “pool” spot, which will be right next to the White House camera, the only other camera allowed in.

You can never mount your own mic on any podium that has the official presidential seal on it…the White House always uses their own mics and runs that audio into the
 mult-box which then distributes the audio to whomever.

So, once we place our camera and determine that the satellite truck sees our picture and hears audio via the mult…we’re done.

Seems simple enough but Murphy’s Law is allows in place, so we’ll see.

Our only other major issue is just how do we actually get to the hall tomorrow.

Only official vehicles will be allowed into the District so it’s more than possible we’ll need to ride the METRO to the convention center.  Of course that means we’ll need to leave what we can at the center tonight and hump in the camera and basic stuff tomorrow via public transport.

We need to be OUT of the hall by 11p  because the Secret Service will spend the night sweeping and securing the entire facility and then locking it down.  We’ll not be able to get back into the building until between 4-6p tomorrow and then we’re there until the bitter end. It doesn’t seem like ABC can supply us any food or water so I guess we’ll be stopping at a Subway and bring in sandwiches!

That’ll be interesting.  I’m going to try and endear myself to the CNN truck operator and see if I can leave a camera and some batteries in his truck over night but I’m also hesitant about being away from my camera.

I’ll probably just leave the tripod and hump in the camera!!

Again, we’ll see!

As this is the day before the Inauguration, DC is really starting to get pumped.  Lots of people starting to hit town and no matter where you go, you see evidence of preparation for what is probably going to be the single biggest event Washington has EVER seen!

On the streets and in restaurants, every conversation is about the Inauguration and almost everybody I run into is part of the media. 

You can hardly walk anywhere without running into a camera crew or see a gathering of people who AREN’T in the media.  Media representatives from all over the planet are converging as, from what I gather, are large numbers of independents who are making films about the goings on.

No shortage of wannabes in this city!

I observed an interesting sight while walking from breakfast this morning.

I passed The Washington DC Hilton and noticed that it’s literally being turned into some sort of media center.  Huge HD video trucks, generators and exhibition trucks ring the hotel.  Police have blocked all entrances and lined the hotel with portable concrete barricades.  That tells me the Hilton may be the site of one of the official balls; but the most telling of all, to me anyways, was the missing trash cans. 

In Washington, like a lot of big cities, city trash containers are actually bolted to the sidewalk.  Then trashcans are placed inside.  I guess this keeps the receptacles from being knocked around and such.

For a block around the hotel these things have been unbolted which I’m guessing is a way of making sure some crazy doesn’t place a bomb in a can close to the hotel.

I notice that kind of stuff.

Another thing that seems to be popping up are signs promoting Statehood for Washington, DC. I know this has been a lot of discussion about this issue but it seems to be gaining more steam at this particular time.

Well off to lunch and the The Convention center setup.

Oh BTW…that big secret interview with Diane Sawyer was to have been with the USAir pilot.  I think The Today Show got him but I can’t tell because our $600 a day hotel has the worst TV reception ever, so we don’t even get NBC.  CBS seems to be breaking up and ABC goes digital.  Headline News and Fox come in fine but I haven’t seen anything about the interview so maybe it didn’t happen.

Mo Lata!

Inauguration Day 3

We got up at 2am to make a 3am call at the Mall in Washington.  This is that great grassy area between the Capitol and The White House, with the Washington Monument in between.

This is the Mall that thousands filled to hear and see Martin Luther King give his “I have a Dream Speech”.  This is the Mall that on Tuesday will be filled with perhaps millions of Americans who want to witness the inauguration of Barack Obama.

This is that great Mall that we were expecting to see some sort of set.. or set-up, indicating where the GMA show was being originated. 

What we see is pretty much a frozen tundra.  Not sets, no lights, no, cables…no nothing! Nada, rien, nichts, nyet!

Now, I am under the impression…the mistaken assumption it turns out, that my charge would be to do a live shot of one of the Sunday GMA correspondents or even maybe a live “pop” with one of anchors.

Oh how wrong can one man be??

Now I ALWAYS come to a job loaded for bear but on this special assignment, my van is really jammed packed with gear, so the unloading begins.

We’re going to be using the Capitol as our background so for the next few hours we set up lighting, run cables, run audio, etc. and pretty soon it starts coming together.

If only it were that easy! However little surprises are yet to unfold.

Like a youth choir from Atlanta singing LIVE.

The sound guys loved that one. 

For me, that little added attraction got accented by the producer(s), (hard to keep up with who’s really in charge here), deciding they wanted the choir 180° from where we’re doing the anchors.  They want to see the Washington Monument in the BG instead of the more iconic Capitol building.  That means that somebody has to 180 the lights and cabling in between a commercial break in like what…3 or 4 minutes??

That’d be me.

We do have some utility folk about, but they were really weren’t assigned to us. There were there to help with props and wrangle the Yellow Jackets.  Those are protective covers that the park service wants all the electrical cables to be housed in.

And speaking of props… another little ditty on us that was sprung on us.

A table filled with Obama products they wanted to do some shtick with.  Only trouble is they had the table set up in like Virginia and we’re in the District.

That’s local talk for Washington, DC!

 At that point I suggested in a calm, collected way…GET THE UTILITI GUYS TO CARRY THE TABLE TO THE SET PEOPLE!!!

It was a V-8 moment for the producer and all went well with that segment.

All in all the chaos actually worked and we did the show like we knew what we were doing…which we didn’t but nobody at home noticed.

The audio team was really thrown a curve however.

The producer had just come off the Obama train event where they lost audio for 20 minutes do to wireless mic issues, so at the 11th hour she wants all 8 mic feeds to be hard wired or cabled.  Very little time left here so my soundman, Walter James, hard wired the main anchors, Bill Weir and Kate Snow but stayed wireless for the other 6 mics and all was good.

A calculated gamble for sure, because if we did have some sort of mic frequency issues, the Do-Do would have been flying high and wide!!

It worked and the producer never knew.

As predicted, we did redo some of the segments for the west coast because well, it got lighter out and it looked prettier;  and since we already did a live rehearsal for the east coast, the rough edges have been smoothed out so why not?

The west coast, which rarely gets a live feed of a news show, does in fact get a prettier feed that is pretty glitch free. 

We on he east coast see TV in the raw, the way God intended.

Today was probably our toughest day. We’ve got nothing until tomorrow afternoon when we need to set up the pool camera for the Mid-Atlantic Ball at the convention center.  I’m thinking this may be the ball for the common folk but with 10 balls, who knows. 

All I do know is we need to set a camera position and run some audio and video cable for Tuesday night. 

Now how hard can that be??

Inauguration Day 2

We check out of our Comfort Suits room in Blacksburg or Blackbug or some damn place like that, and start out for DC.

We’re all a bit sleep deprived because at 4:35a, the fire alarm goes off.

Now it’s 4:35a.  I’ve spent the first hours of my attempted sleep time, trying to adjust the heating system to where it wasn’t like sleeping in an orchard nursery or Canada. I never got that worked out, so I wound up just setting it to FAN and let the room cool down to  Canada.

I was dead asleep when the alarm went off and I said ”Damn it, unless I smell smoke or hear people rushing about, the hell with it” and went back to sleep.

Hell, I’m on the ground floor with a window facing an embankment and I have a chair I can  throw through the window if I need a rapid exit, so zzzzzzzzz for me!!

It turns out that some bozo was heating up French fries in the breakfast room microwave and the fries started smoking.

4:30a, French fries, microwave!  Pretty much sums it up for me.

Anways, we hit the road and get to DC and check in with the bureau where we run into old friends and chat a bit.

Small space filled with people doing things, so we get our orders and depart for our hotel.

Our Hotel.  Actually it’s a cute little place, much like you would see in Europe or New York, only this one is undergoing renovation and is pretty much all scaffolding and plywood. In fact, we could barely get our stuff in because workman are still painting part of the small lobby area.

We finally check in and get settled.  Dinner is had and we head back to hit the sheets as 2a comes in about 5 hours from now.

One more thing, when we check into the bureau, we were told on the hush that Diane (Sawyer) is coming in and we need to be prepared to set up for a huge interview.  I was told who the possible subject is, but until it does or doesn’t happen, I really can’t say any more.

But…it will be a coupe for GMA!

Mo Lata
 

Inaug. Day 1  1/16/09

About two weeks ago, while on Christmas break in good old St. Augustine, FL, I got a call from ABC News Magazines putting me on hold for the Obama Inauguration in Washington, DC. 

Cool, a historical news event, could be exciting, why not?

I submit my jazz for Secret Service clearance and even though some would think I’d raise more red flags than a Georgia defensive coach at a Gators game, I have been security cleared in the past, so the process was painless and I was put on ABC’s list of prospective camera folk for the big event.

Then last Friday evening I get a call from Magazine World telling me that after carefully scrutinizing their “Specials” needs, (not SPECIAL NEEDS, people…although many would be quick to place me in that category) they determined that me and two other crews out of Atlanta would not be needed by ABC News Magazines;  however I was told that since we’d already been cleared by the SS, the ABC News DC Bureau, would gladly engage our service’s.

So, at this very moment my soundman and me, Walter, and two other crews from Atlanta, are driving up to DC for the big event!

Driving you say??

Yes!

We were given the option of flying but at this time, I’d much rather drive and the truth be told, so would the networks.

Ever since the airlines stated charging real money for excess baggage, it’s become a financial burden to fly some 20 cases of gear because at $150 a bag…ONE WAY…that math alone is sobering; and when we drive, we can bring a lot more stuff for potential rental.

You also wind up handing your equipment l like 4 times before you ever use it, so it really makes sense to drive, especially if you are going to be in place for 4 or 5 days.

Of course, it’s also nice to be asked if you has a left handed bammerflamus…and you do!

No too much ego here!

It would take about 12 hours or so to drive from Atlanta to DC but the network wants us to do it in one day.  We’re not doing that.  We’ll drive it in two leisurely days, pay the overnight ourselves, which I expect will be in Roanoke, VA ,and call it a day.

The pen is always mightier than the sword!!

Now it has been said that network television is a large collection of small thinkers, who in turn, are controlled by bean counters ,who you can also always assume will spend 5 dollars so save 1!

Case in point:

One of the crews we’re traveling with was booked by ABC Magazines but then released to news and now Magazines want him back because, well they just weren’t thinking. So they are begging for his services and the news bureau, while hesitant to release him, did so, but weren’t happy about it because they paid to get him up here!

It’s like they’re all separate companies or something…the same network but departmentally almost autonomous from one another.

Another example is hotel rooms. 

The last inauguration of George W. was pretty much a non-event but ABC booked over 250 rooms.

This event, which is the single biggest event in this country’s history (Maybe The Civil War…), ABC only booked 125 rooms!

Small thinkers!

Thankfully we do have rooms…so I’m told, however as of this moment, 12:25p, 1/16/09, we don’t know where.

We have been given our first assignments however….the Sunday Good Morning America (GMA) anchor spot, a show that maybe 8 people see because hardly any markets clear the Sunday show but ABC valiantly continues trying to woo affiliates to carry it.

To be fair, it’s a good show, just no viewers!

Call time???  Be at location at 3a ready for first picture at 6a, with the show starting at 8a, working the show for two hours, and then standing by for the West Coast feed just in case any breaking news happens, because the West Coast gets a tape delay or the East Coast unless new news happens, and then they cut in live to the West Coast feed where they will be live, just on West Coast time. 

No body on the East Coast sees this breaking news because GMA off the air in the East but just coming on in the West !

Simple!!

This is common.  All the networks do their news shows live at 6p, then do it again at 6:30a if there were fluffs or changes.  That show is what the west coast sees.  So, if you want to really see network news live, see the 6:30p show otherwise you’re seeing a taped delayed presentation.

It will be about 8-10° when we hit the streets for the Sunday GMA but those 8 viewers will never know that I will be bundled up closely resembling Ralphy’s little brother in the The Christmas Story.

Did I mention we’d be doing the show outside at the Washington Mall??  Yeah, it’ll be like 8° but by show time at 8a, it should be like a balmy 20°.  Not sure the logic of being outside but since they have an anchor position for the actual inauguration, already set up  I guess they figure night as well test it out on a show nobody sees!

Our only other known assignment after GMA is “pool” camera at one of the balls.

Pool means that one camera position feeds all other networks, thus “pooling” the position.  That saves having a million cameras all vying for the same position for the same shot.  It’s a common practice amongst the networks, particularly for political campaigns and courtroom coverage as well as other interview situations where it isn’t practical to have a gang of cameras around.

Apparently Homeland Security has declared a State of Emergency in DC from Sunday through Tuesday which effectively means Marshal Law is in place which also means citizens as well as the 5th Estate’s rights… are pretty much up for grabs.

To me it means very few questions will be asked before action is taken, so as improbable as it may seem to those of you who know me, I will be on my best behavior…for once!!

Just entering the Knoxville area and I’ sure we will be seeking out BBQ for lunch so ciao for now!

Mo lata!

Allen

 

We all know the federal mandate that requires all US broadcasters to cease analog
broadcasting in favor of digital broadcasting (DTV) starting in February 2009. This has
been a source of confusion for both the consumer and the retailer. Actually, retailers
might not be so confused as they are driven to sell more HD TVs. It’s left consumers
thinking that they MUST have HD by February 2009 or they won’t be able to watch TV.

Wrong!

You have to have DTV in order to get HD pictures but not the other way around. If you
currently have a TV that’s hooked up to either a satellite or a cable provider, you don’t
have to do a thing. Broadcasters will continue to simulcast both standard definition (SD)
and HD programming, so you’re golden.

Now if you are one of the 13% of US households who still use an antenna for your TV
reception,
(http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2008/07/17/mixed_reception/), you
will have to get a conversion box to get the digital broadcast over your old analog TV set.
Those boxes cost from $60-$100 and are in short supply because of the high demand.

The US government is offering $40 vouchers for those boxes
(http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/01/dtv_vouchers.html) but the vouchers
are slow in coming and the demand for boxes is so high, they’re hard to get.

As far as I’m concerned, you’re better off just buying a new digital TV which can be had
for under $200, and call it a day. Then you will still be able to use your old antenna.
Now if you spend say $400, you can get an HD set and receive stunning HD imagery
from your local TV stations and again, your old antenna will work just fine. Don’t fall
for the “You need a special HD antenna” line because it just ain’t true.

And a side benefit is you will be getting the best possible HD picture available. Better
than cable OR satellite because there is much less compression over the airwaves than
through cables and dishes.

Another added benefit to using an antenna is you will be able to get digital signals not
available on cable or satellite.

Most TV stations are broadcasting as many as two and three other signals in addition to
their normal line up. So you may pickup a station’s all local weather channel or maybe
an all financial info channel… or even programming like movies, sports and old TV
shows.

There was a case in Chicago where a huge fire forced broadcasters to cover the story live,
thus causing one station having to interrupt a Chicago Cubs baseball game. Well, in the
interest of news, they did the prudent thing and broke way from the game to cover the
story but kept the live game on their digital carrier for those more interested in the
Cubbies.

So don’t panic with the February 2009 digital deadline. Embrace it and take advantage of
what the DTV age has to offer.

Next installment will be on the Digital Dark Ages!