Building anticipation

This video about a new apartment complex for homeless people in Collin County was my second attempt at a before-and-after approach. I interviewed each subject one month before they got the keys to their new apartments, then returned for move-in day. While editing, I tried to reflect a sense of anticipation in the first half while building toward the climatic conclusion in the second half. I took the same approach last summer with this video, when I shadowed a fourth-grade teacher as she prepared her classroom for a new school year. Does it work?

Willie Nelson and the Dallas Symphony

It doesn't get much more Texan than this: Willie Nelson, decked out in his cowboy hat and boots, soulfully singing one of his classics backed by a full orchestra. I can't believe I got paid for this, serving as camera #3 alongside DMN videographers extraordinaire Randy Eli Grothe and Richard Michael Pruitt. Enjoy "Funny How Time Slips Away."

Drumroll please ...

Looking for some inspiration? Here are the NPPA Best of PhotoJournalism video winners for 2008. The Poynter Institute has put together this site to view the winners. DMN alum Rick Gershon, now with Getty Images, brought home some serious hardware. Makes me a little wistful to think of the airplane story and video that he and I worked on together when he was just starting to learn this video stuff.

Texas primaries: More like a three- or four-step

The Texas Democratic Party's quirky "two-step" primary and caucus process created long lines on election night as Obama and Clinton supporters turned out en masse for caucuses. Earlier in the day, I hung out with Mark Davis at his talk radio studio and heard the conservative commentator conduct a rare phone interview with nemesis Bill Clinton. Even earlier, I posted this video blog where DMN political writer Gromer Jeffers Jr. offered his astute preview of the election.

Cowtown hearts Hillary

In my latest installment of Texas primary videos, I trekked to the historic Fort Worth Stockyards today to catch up with Hillary Clinton and her supporters at a campaign rally.