Meet Some People

Here are a couple of short ABC profiles to watch. The first is a profile of Birdsville’s only cop, Senior Constable Neale McShane, a man who polices an area the size of the United Kingdom single-handedly. As you watch it, note how much — or little — the reporter actually says. This piece is all in the pictures, which are most effectively done, especially the first sequence. My only criticism this piece, which I thought conveyed a sense of place extremely well, is that an outside location might have worked better for the interview, given that almost all the footage is shot outside.

The second profile is Meet the Bonds: What does it mean to be Aboriginal middle class? The style of this profile is more suited to the web, since it is non-narrated with graphics and captions. This piece has a strong emotional trajectory, so do note the structure.

The final piece is clearly an on-the-day shoot Meeting the Bronies. If you don’t know what a brony is, this is your chance to find out. How would you have shot this differently?

In case you’d like to see more about the Romanian Bruce Lee, here’s the whole Channel 4 piece. Here’s some more recent news about their eviction from the sewers. And here’s some background by the Romanian journalist who made the story happen, by spending two months in the sewers.

Also, before next week’s class: imagine you have been sent to cover a story in Malawi for a science programme — here’s the briefing you were sent. And here’s the organisation you are filming. How would you go about telling this story?