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Video Horror Stories

Ever have one of those "Murphy's Law" days when something that can go wrong will go wrong? Every video producer has been there, and so we bring you our Annual Videomaker Horror Stories from a few brave souls willing to bare all.

As a news shooter in the 1980s, I had some pretty hefty equipment to lug around - the camera, detached recorder deck, portable light and battery belt - so every chance I had to take the camera off my shoulder and rest was welcome. On one such occasion, unable to set up a tripod because I arrived late, I stood in a corner and had to handhold-shoot a long drawn-out school board meeting, complete with arguments and long-winded combatants. After more than an hour, the board announced a 15-minute break, and I stepped into the hall for a breather. I set the camera on a table and the recorder deck on the floor near my feet and leaned against a wall, when an argument between two very vocal opponents commenced in the hallway. Jumping to my feet to shoot the fracas, I forgot the camera light was still attached to the light-belt around my waist, and as I stooped down to grab the recorder deck, the short light cable yanked the camera to the floor, breaking the eyepiece beyond repair. The argument was still going on, so I hit Record on the camera, set the lens setting as wide as possible and, shooting blind, hoped for the best. Luckily for me, from years of shooting, I managed to gauge it correctly, most of the fight was in focus and in frame, and I had a good exclusive story for the lead story that night.

Who says school board meetings are dull?
Jennifer O'Rourke, Videomaker Managing Editor

Several years ago, our local university assembled a community choir and orchestra to perform Handel's Messiah. The performance was taped by a local television station and aired on Christmas Eve. Being friends with the TV station and the theater manager, I was drafted to handle audio duties. Due to schedules, I was only able to attend the final dress rehearsal, where some of the key orchestra players were not available. The 200-voice choir was set up with the sopranos on the left, men in the center and the notoriously quiet altos on the right. The small orchestra sat in front of the choir. I used a microphone for each vocal section plus a few for the orchestra and solos. Rehearsal went fine and the performance went just as well until the Hallelujah Chorus. I had the alto microphone boosted to the max to balance them in the mix when the piccolo trumpet player (not present at rehearsal and seated directly below the alto mic) began his triple-forte run. Every meter on every output went into the red and the distortion at the recording deck was frightening. I made a quick correction, but the damage was done. It aired with the nasty distortion intact.
Hal Robertson, Videomaker Contributing Editor, Sound Advice

Back in 2005, I started work on my first feature-length film. We decided to shoot in HD and ordered a new camera, along with some audio and other support equipment. Unfortunately the gear was back-ordered and didn't come in until the day before our first shoot day, so I had about 12 hours to charge batteries, set up wireless mics and learn a new camera from scratch. Our first location was a rural setting by a creek, which we'd booked weeks in advance. Upon arrival, we discovered a Boy Scout troop was camped out in the field by the creek. We worked around that, but then it started to rain. As we broke for lunch, it cleared up, and rained again after lunch. After about 6 hours of total frustration, 12 canoes showed up for a float trip beginning at our bridge location - complete with whooping, hollering and beer. Ultimately, we gave up, scrapped all the footage from the day and started again the next morning.
Hal Robertson, Videomaker Contributing Editor, Sound Advice