2014 Atlantic Journalism Awards Finalists
Attachments
| Slug/Label | Jeremy Eaton TELEVISION, Video Journalist |
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| Date Aired or Published | March and May of 2014 |
| Media outlet where first aired or published: | CBC |
| Name of Program: | Here & Now |
| If co-produced, list partner: | |
| Location: | Woody Point, Cape Ray, Port aux Choix, NL |
| List awards, grants: | |
| Running time (TV/Radio): | 4:51 |
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Short explanation of the story and how it developed: Whale Flensing: In the winter of 2014, nine whales died after getting stuck in sea ice. By May of that year one of those whales made international headlines: a dead, bloated whale stranded along the shores of Trout River. Saturday Night Life included it in a sketch and websites were created wondering if the whale would explode. The Royal Ontario Museum also took notice. They wanted the bones of the blue whale for their museum's display. Crews came from Ontario to drag the massive mammal by boat to Woody Point and begin the process of de-boning the massive creature. For three days I stood ankle deep in whale guts. Fighting the smell, and subsequent nausea from the stench, of the dead and decaying animal, I held my camera as close as I could to the workers removing flesh and bones to get the best shots. I drove to and from Woody Point (approximately 90 minutes each way, each day) for those three days to follow the flensing process and report for CBCNL's Here & Now. Footage I took ended up on CBC News Network ("The National" felt the images were too graphic for its audience). Tweets I sent out ended up on news websites as far away as New Zealand. Following my work with the whale I had to throw away the hoodie, jeans and rubber boots I wore as the smell caused great distress to those around me. Dead Dolphins: The same sea ice that killed the blue whales also took out about 40 dolphins. On a winter day in February I drove about 200 kilometres west from Corner Brook, over snow covered roads and through white out conditions. Viewer video showed the dying dolphins not far from shore near a community called Cape Ray. Surviving the drive I arrived near the scene. However, it would have been a long walk with camera gear and a tripod over the snow covered terrain. A kindly stranger offered me a ride on his skidoo. Travelling over the wind swept land, inadequately dressed for a snowmobile ride, I arrived at the water's edge in about 30 minutes and came face to face with the freezing cold wind coming off the ice covered ocean. With watering eyes and freezing fingers I filmed the last few breaths of the dying dolphins, laying helpless in the ice. I interviewed the viewer who had shot the submitted video, I filmed a stand up in the freezing cold and then hitched a ride on skidoo back to the CBC truck. In rural Newfoundland it is often difficult to get a cell service. Without a cell signal I am unable to feed in tape from the Avid laptop. I then had to drive further west to Port aux Basques as I knew there was a cell tower there. From the passenger seat of the CBC truck I quickly sent in some footage for promos and started writing the script. Vetting via cell phone I then edited the piece on the Avid laptop and waited patiently for the large HD files to feed into St. John's. The piece arrived in time and aired in the slot it was assigned. An exclusive look at the dying dolphins no other media outlet had captured. Pictures from the scene ran on The National that night. Snowed In: Two days after driving west to film the dying dolphins I headed north to Port au Choix (about a three hour drive). A home-owner returned from Alberta to discover her entire home covered in snow. Work had already started to clear the snow and the CBC wanted to get there to see the clean up. Arriving mid-morning I quickly started filming a front end loader digging out the mountain of snow covering the house. Climbing 12 - 15 feet snow drifts with a mic in my pocket, the camera in one hand and tripod in the other, I shot the scene from the top and was able to show just how high the snow banks had gotten. For a few hours I watched the clean up, tweeting photos throughout my time there. With my deadline approaching I shot a moving stand-up, using the tripod arm, to help show how much snow there was and then headed out to find a good cell signal to send in my tape. Again, I sat under a cell tower and started writing and editing. With less cell phone bars than in Port aux Basques, I waited patiently for 90 minutes for the two minute piece to send. It arrived and aired on time. Any talented VJ can put together amazing pieces when given an extended period of time. With these three items I wanted to showcase what I can do in one day. A day which involves a lot of driving, sometimes terrible weather and voicing/editing from the front seat of a Ford Explorer. Thanks for your time, JE |
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Resources of the newsroom (money and time) available to complete the story: A little overtime to cover the return trip back to Corner Brook. No additional resources were needed. |
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