I’ve traveled the world shooting and producing for Discovery Channel, shot broadcast news stories and a CNN doc in some of Africa’s roughest places, and shot thousands of interviews for clients ranging from some of the world’s top broadcasters, like the BBC, to its top companies, like Microsoft.

 

From movie stars to child soldiers to CEOs, I love every darn bit of it.

 

 

MY APPROACH

 

Many years ago when I was a TV reporter, I was assigned to do my first live hit for the national news network. Live hits were not something I was naturally skilled at and this was in an environment where a lot of people didn’t want us there. I was terrified.

 

The sat truck and shooter were sent in from another city, so I’d never worked with him before. 

 

I was literally shaking and knew I wasn’t ready for this. The shooter was calm and confident. His lighting setup was perfect. A few moments before we were scheduled to go live, he walked over to me and fixed the way my IFB (earpiece) hooked onto my collar. He adjusted my shirt and belt, stood back, looked me carefully up and down, and adjusted my tie the teensiest amount. 

 

To be honest, I probably didn’t look a hair different to anyone watching, but I felt confident. When I was in over my head, a shooter I’d never worked with made sure he had my back and that changed everything. 

 

Thanks to the shooter, my hit went off without a hitch and I was asked to do many more in the future.

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During the years I was a producer, I hired more than 100 freelance shooters around the world. It can be stressful. You never know what you’re going to get.

 

There are shooters who simply ask where to point the camera and press record. But when you have a shooter who can both get you great shots, and can pick up the entire team, that makes all the difference in a shoot, even if it’s something as seemingly simple as a sit-down interview. 

 

That’s my approach: it’s every single person’s role to do whatever they can to make sure the whole shoot goes smoothly. My job is both to make sure I get the shot and make sure you get your story.