Bring Mercy in Motion

Last week, I handed in a story idea to our Broadcast 2 adviser, Greeley Kyle. I was so glad to find such a good story in a magazine and expected to get a positive response. The story is about a volunteer group which actively sent relief supplies overseas to those in needs. The group has distributed more than 16,000 PETs (personal energy transportation) in 69 countries. I thought it was humanized and emotional. However, on the grade sheet I retrieved, the adviser left one remark, saying "Story's been done many times."

I was a tad frustrated just like my favorite food has been sold out. I then looked up the internet and found the series done by Sarah Hill from KOMU. I was fully impressed by the high quality of the masterpiece. The fabulous visual, the moving music, the elaborate narration and the pitiful people in Vietnam put the story to a record-high level.

I want to talk about one session of the series today, Bringing Mercy to Motion, which I think is really well done. It’s link is:
http://www.komu.com/satellite/SatelliteRender/KOMU.com/ba81393f-c0a8-2f11-0198-36158e12b6c6/efa2c114-ac18-6b6e-0215-b47040d94b01

1.In the anchor lead, Sarah used an analogy between the snow in Missouri and the typhoon in Vietnam. Smart writing!
2.Good graphic of map. Animation starts from Columbia, Missouri and goes to Vietnam on the other side of the world. It just emphasizes the distance and thus the sincerity from the volunteers.
3.Good transition shot of the cloud shot from a plane laid with some background music and soundbites.
4.Good sequence shot of an old man riding a PET in the street, but the last shot crosses the axis line.
5.Very experienced use of nat sound and close-up shot.
6.The photographer Scott is marvelous at shooting. His lens is close enough to the subjects and beautiful.
7.One flaw of it is the standup in which Sarah was standing against the sunshine, therefore her face was dark.
8.Sarah really wrote to the video, like “holding their hands”.
9.I guess Sarah was limited by the language to interview the Vietnamese.

Overall, it is a well done story which brings reporters awards and reputation. Also, the photographer is a big contributor to the cooperation, making the same story fruitier.