Things get hairy

Most of the videos we take for the Observer are planned out ahead of time in conjunction with a story or profile. A reporter, photographer and videographer will travel the location of our subject and together, they all create a multimedia story like what you see in the paper and on our website.

However, some stories don't wait to be scheduled. On the 22nd, the Humane Society with the help of a police warrant entered a residence and took custody of several animals. There were many dogs, some cats, a few birds, and a single lizard. Multiple vehicles were required to transport the animals, some of which were in poor states of health and cleanliness.

The normal procedure for a video involves a long editing process. This sometimes includes adjusting audio for voice overs and possibly adding some ambient music. But a breaking news story relies on quick turnarounds, so this type of video receives little editing. In this case, the audio from an interview was laid over most of the video of the animals being removed from the house.

The advantage that comes from this is that the viewer feels the urgency of the situation. Cuts between clips are not transitioned smoothly, camera work may be shaky, and interviews aren't necessarily as smooth. This is because a breaking news situation is full of people moving in all directions with better things to do than talk about what's happening. Video captures this particular mood quite well. Watch the video and you'll see what I'm talking about. And read the story too.