A few words with Josiel Smith

For years, Josiel Smith has lived in a house that on the best of days would be described as dilapidated. She recently learned her situation will change for the better. I went to interview her with reporter Ben Wright and found myself juggling a still camera and a small video camera. I learned a few valuable lessons. First,whenever possible, let the subject's voice move the viewer through the story. Secondly, shoot off of a tripod whenever possible. I didn't have one and it's apparent in some of the resulting video. Third, when your planning to extract the audio and use it for the spine of the story, make sure you have plenty of "B roll" so the viewer doesn't have to watch a talking head the entire time.