Feeback

[dlsaini]

Hey Guys,

I'm a morning anchor for an NBC affiliate in Wyoming. Looking for my next move. I would appreciate any feedback on my resume tape. Always looking to make it better. Thank you so much!

http://www.medialine.com/talentshop_demo.htm?page=10&resumeid=4391

Deepak

[Sir Dropham Pants]

First - congrats on having the stones to put your tape up for critique here. I think you're off to a good start.
My observations:
The montage was a bit too long. I think you'd be OK with about half of what's on there. Show us what you look like, how you speak and move on cam, then show us the goods.
Being loose and fun is great, but be careful about being perceived as too goofy. I'll paraphrase advice given to me once by a well respected reporter - can you picture someone in a major market or network hanging from the monkey bars? It's a fine line between being "that fun reporter who'll do whatever for a story" and being "that goof ball whom no one can take seriously." I don't know where that line is, and it's different for every ND. Someone may love it, but it also may be what gets your tape ejected.
Voice - make sure you're enunciating clearly. Again, don't over do it. You seem very capable on the anchor desk to ad lib with ease, carry that manner of speaking into your tracks and anchor reads. We speak as much with our eyes and the rest of our faces as we do with our mouths.
Writing - the dog sled story. Lots of potential. But it ended up being a story only about the race, not about the racers. You can get all the facts about the race into one track or the anchor tag. I'd be more interested in what it takes to be a racer. What sort of bond do they have with the dogs. A story like that begs to be focused around one racer and his dogs. On the soldier story - don't forget the nat sound. A soldier's funeral is a somber and moving event. Slow the story down for that, take the viewer there. Do that and you've set yourself above everyone else who's covering the same kind of stories in their markets.
I hope you take this as positive input. Despite the long post, I think you're doing a lot very well and you are well on your way.

[Sir Dropham Pants]

No one else with feedback for D?

[FrontierMan]

Your physical appearance looks good, and you look like you have fun with a great passion for your work. You might be more marketable if you change your name...to a latino one.

I agree about the montage. Shorten those standups to just little snippets. It would make your tape flo better. I only saw the first part of the first package. It was clear to me your voice track isn't as lively as your standups/live shots.

I think you have a shot at a second job. Best of luck.

[southwesternguy]

I agree with most of what's said here. Not the part about changing your name, that's just plain stupid. I can look at you and tell your not hispanic, so it would be foolish and dishonest to change your name. I love how we pretend we're doing journalism on tv, and we always talk about facts, but it's o.k. to change your name just to try and land a job. What about "just the facts, please." Changing your name is lying to the viewer right away. Just be honest and be YOU!

Sorry about the rant, it's a pet peeve of mine.

I would probably take the monkey bar thing out. I'd probably do a different story than the lost soldier. ND's probably see that one too much. Nothing wrong with the story, just the same stuff we've been seeing for years now. It's starting to become the President comes to town story.

The other post was right about the dog sled story. It's something unique to a market like yours, so it's a good choice to put it on the tape. You just need to focus on the relationship between the men and the dogs more. What kind of bond do the riders build with the animals? Is a good bond essential to success? What kinds of hardships do the men and dogs experience together? Those should be the first things you talk about in the story.

I know you're saying that you were thrown on this at the last minute, and the video and sound you were able to get was kind of limited. That's the impression I got from watching the story. If that's the case, don't put it on the tape.

I think you have potential. You will land a second job, and once you get there concentrate on getting better. You're on your way, as they say.

[Run's House]

Deepak - good stuff. A couple of suggestions:

Montage
--One tip I always give people about montages is to stay away from "goal-oriented" standups. Some people will put stuff in because they want to show their serious side, their fun side, their enterprising side, etc. etc. Don't get caught up in that...where do you look and sound the best...period. To echo some previous posts, shorten the clips, use more, and don't use the same shot back-to-back (as you did with two desk one-shots in a row). As a side note, I do not like using the word "I" in standups, partly because I'm against interjecting yourself into stories unless ABSOLUTELY necessary. I'm not saying you shouldn't, but that could be a "put-off" risk factor for ND's. One more thing on the montage, unless you are specifically applying for a morning show gig, I would lose the dance moves, but I really liked the video effect. If you have some other desk interaction in that same vein, I would try to keep that effect in the tape.

Stories: Don't be afraid to cut stuff out of the stories to make them shorter for your tape (keep them to about 1:00 to 1:15). Remember, the goal is to show ND's as much as you can in the shortest amount of time. Feel free to cut down both of those bites from "organizer"

One more: I'm not too sure if you were responsible for editing the dog piece, but that screamed for more b-roll. If you are working with a lazy photog who may not want to do it, remember that YOUR name is going on it, not his (and I used to be a photog), so if you have to be pushy from time to time, don't be afraid to step up.

[TVNewsSpy]

You just need to focus on the relationship between the men and the dogs more. What kind of bond do the riders build with the animals? Is a good bond essential to success? What kinds of hardships do the men and dogs experience together? Those should be the first things you talk about in the story.


I agree with what everyone's said BUT don't obsess over the "bond" between man and dog. Instead when you do these stories just find the human/personal angle. That angle COULD be about the canine/human relationship... or maybe it's a story of a racer who is doing it all for his wife who died in the snow 10 year ago.

To make feature pieces like that sing, just chat everyone up and look for a way to make the story personal. Do this on ALL stories.

MY OTHER ADVICE:
Make two tapes. An anchor tape and a reporter tape. On the reporter tape lead with stand ups and stories. Tag the anchor stuff on the end. Vice versa for the anchor tape.

[southwesternguy]

I agree with what everyone's said BUT don't obsess over the "bond" between man and dog. Instead when you do these stories just find the human/personal angle. That angle COULD be about the canine/human relationship... or maybe it's a story of a racer who is doing it all for his wife who died in the snow 10 year ago.



TVNewsSpy is right. That's what I was trying to say, he just said it better.

[ZuZu's Petals]

You look good. You sound good. You have a great attitude - that's easy to see.

Your delivery (live) is very good in terms of inflection but I think you need to slow down just a tad. Let each word have it's own moment. You're exactly running them together, so I'm being a little nitpicky, you're just talking a little too fast.

I agree with the monkey bar observation. You don't need to work that hard. You could have imparted the same feeling by maybe lifting a little kid up to bar as you started your standup. Maybe other people would disagree.
I once did a monkey bar standup 6 years ago and I still regret it.

I thought the dance moves bit was light and funny. OK for a morning show if you kept it short... may not belong in your montage -- maybe specific to the type of show you are applying for.

Take the advice that is coming to you regarding story construction. You have great potential. You just need a little polish.
Oh - and ignore the name change advice. Puh leeze. You speak many languages - that should get you deserved attention along with your talent.

I know an ND who would hire you in a heartbeat but I'd have to know your pay range expectation.