INDIANAPOLIS (April 25, 2012) – Indiana State Treasurer Richard Mourdock, conservative U.S. Senate Candidate in the Republican Primary on May 8th against 36 year incumbent Dick Lugar, announced the airing of “Too Long” a TV ad recapping how the Senator has lost touch with his conservative Hoosier roots.
“After 36 years in Washington, D.C., Dick Lugar has truly lost touch with his conservative Hoosier values by voting for Obama’s liberal Supreme Court judges, amnesty for illegal immigrants, supporting higher taxes and even appearing in President Obama’s campaign commercials in 2008,” stated Mourdock spokesman Christopher Conner.
Last Wednesday, the Mourdock campaign released a poll showing Mourdock leading Lugar in this race 42% to 41%.
SCRIPT
SOURCINGS
VO: When Dick Lugar moved to Washington, he left behind more than his house. He left behind his conservative Hoosier values.
Voting for more earmarks,
Vote #8, S. Amdt. 1472 to S. Amdt. 1470 to S. 2038, 02/02/2012.
Just days before I traveled down to Joplin to shoot video of Rush Limbaugh, I learned about the Missouri Film Office. What I learned was that, in an unusual pique of fiscal restraint, it was cut from the budget at the end of June. In the 2+ years that I've been doing video online, it never occurred to me that I should be pestering the Missouri Film Office for some of that crony capitalism they dole out. Even without the help of the Film Office the video above of Rush Limbaugh passed the 100,000 views mark this past Sunday. Yeah, a million would be more impressive, but the only way to get that many views is to incorporate cats.
Of the 500+ videos I've put on YouTube, only two have passed the 100,000 mark. Both were mentioned on-air by the Maha Rushie. Here's my Saving Healthcare video he mentioned back in 2009 and thanks Rush!
On October 25th, an audience of financial managers and CEOs, politicians, central bankers and Nobel Prize-winning economists at The Economist’s Buttonwood Gathering were treated to an unusual experience: a live rap battle between John Maynard Keynes and F. A. Hayek.
Citizens United held a screening of their new movie Battle for America (preview above). The movie was quite good, but I have to confess that I spent at least 30-minutes of it talking with the directors (David Bossie and Stephen Bannon), the Citizens United staff, and other Tea Partiers. It was much more of a networking event for me, so I'm sorry that I can't provide a better review.
That said, I did get several good pictures as did the other Tea Party photographers at the event. There were a number of familiar Tea Party faces. The picture to the right was taken by jd wilson. I tweeted a picture of Michelle Moore, one of Dana Loesch and Michelle, and one of David Bossie. I also saw Lt. Gov Peter Kinder and the Gateway Pundit, Jim Hoft.
Bill Whittle of PJTV is in the process of remaking Hollywood with his new venture: Declaration Entertainment. In the video above Bill provides a short introduction. His longer PJTV piece goes into more detail about why we need Declaration Entertainment and what the Declaration Entertainment vision is.
The operative, who has been responsible for numerous undercover ('black ops') political projects, compared the two students to a military 'hunter-killer team' -- the tandem of a sniper and a spotter. The operative did not want to disclose the tactics and strategy of such projects, but said that we can expect to see more video confrontations during what Mike Flynn of BigGovernment.com predicts will be a 'long hot summer.'
Yes. It's always best to use the buddy system, but there are some videographers that fly solo.... or want you to believe they do.
I've uploaded several segments from my interview with Chuck Purgason (R-MO) on Friday. Purgason is running against Roy Blunt (R-MO) in the Republican primary for the US Senate seat that is will be vacant after Kit Bond's (R-MO) retirement. Once all of the video from my interview is posted, I'll put all the segments in a YouTube playlist. Above, I've posted Purgason's response to my question about what he's doing to build his campaign for the August 3rd primary. You can find more of my interview at my YouTube channel.
Here's complete video coverage of last Saturday's Faces of Freedom Rally in Macon, MO, organized by the Macon County Patriots. Organizers hope to make this an annual event honoring our fallen heroes, veterans, and those currently serving in the United States military. There were speeches from David Doctorian, Cathy Cochran, and Vern Bastian. Doctorian spoke about the sacrifices that the founders made to fight the Revolutionary War. Cochran spoke about the importance of re-reading the Declaration and US Constitution in the context of the sacrifices of the Greatest Generation. And Bastian talked about the motor cyclists that escort our fallen heroes: The Patriot Guard Riders. Live music was provided by the Nelson children, Keota, and Dale Wilson.
WARNING: the video above is GRAPHIC in parts (blood, dead people, and bloody dead people from 4:35 to 5:25). ReporterInExile.com produced the video above and has more background.
Al Jazeera's English language channel posted the above panel discussion on the unrest in Thailand. It's 24 minutes and there's some "inside baseball" about the Thai system of government, but I think the moderator does a good job of getting the panelists back on topic. That inside baseball also provides some insight into the subtleties and history of the problems in Thailand.
Here's complete video coverage from last Saturday's Jefferson County Tea Party in Arnold, MO. The first of the twenty-two videos in the playlist above is of the North Carolina Militia presenting the colors. Ken Horton, the man behind the Jeff Co Tea Party, really wanted to have a militia there to tweak the establishment.
Ed Martin (www.EdMartinForCongress.com), GOP candidate for Missouri's Third Congressional District—the seat currently held by Russ Carnahan (D-MO) (part 1)
Ed Martin (www.EdMartinForCongress.com), GOP candidate for Missouri's Third Congressional District—the seat currently held by Russ Carnahan (D-MO) (part 2)
Last week, the BBC sent Washington, DC-based reporter Katty Kay and her team to Washington, MO. They were working on a report that contrasts the two Washingtons and marks President Obama's first year in office. Their report aired this evening. You can view "Obama faces a new movement" on the BBC website. It runs seven and a half minutes.
In addition to the Franklin County Patriots, I Heard the People Say and Paul Curtman participated in the interview session. They did well and I'd like to thank Katty Kay and her team for producing a good report that highlights the often overlooked small town Tea Parties!
A friend pointed me to this video. I saw it posted at at HillBuzz with the caption: "This video is great because it feels like a movie trailer." It's good! It's a little long, but, hey, there are a lot of screwups to cover.
Tea Party: The Documentary Film follows the stories of several Tea Partiers as their lives are transformed to activism. It would make a great Christmas gift for Tea Party friends and family. The producer is offering a three for two sale through Monday 3PM EST. Here's some background from their website on the people featured in the movie:
Nate, a young black man from Detroit, Michigan, voted for Barack Obama in 2008 from an upbringing that taught him to mistrust America because of the color of his skin. As a Libertarian with a paradigm shift and a newfound understanding of the nation he loves, he is risking the anger of family and friends by joining the march against a President’s policies that would victimize the very people he loves the most.
Jack is a father of two young children, a little league baseball coach and a health insurance agent. He risks losing his job under current healthcare reform. He is a Democrat turned Constitutionalist and the younger brother of a Vietnam veteran who is marching for his children and the future of the America he believes in.
In 2008, Jenny Beth and her husband lost a multi-million dollar business, were forced into bankruptcy and home foreclosure. Nine months later, she is working as a national leader in the grassroots tea party movement, organizing events and taking her message to the steps of the National Mall with the company of millions behind her.
William is a patriot renaissance man, a pastor, colonial re-enactor, painter, poet, Vietnam veteran, former Pentagon and Secret Service employee and a man of the march. He can be outrageous and funny or somber and reflective, full of antics and unpredictability. He marched for the Vietnam Memorial during the Reagan Era and this time, his journey back to Washington, DC leads him to the front lines of the march down Pennsylvania Avenue on September 12.
Dr Fred Shessel is a doctor moved to action against a government threatening to undermine the doctor-patient relationship with suffocating beaucracy and increased taxpayer spending. After years practicing as a highly respected urologist, he is stepping out of the hospital corridors to lead an army of fellow physicians into the halls of power and corruption and fight for his patients on Capitol Hill.
Dave is a 20-something young professional studying to become a doctor. He spent time as a fashion model in Milan and beyond and is sick of big government and the apathy within his own generation. He is now moved to action in the tea party movement by a government gone too far.
Here are some examples of how the St Louis Tea Party Coalition has used different kinds of audio and video equipment. We're building a nation of cameramen and you are the new Minuteman. So gear up!
Basic Audio
The red USB stick above is the simplest and least expensive way to get into the media gathering game. The Centon 2GB MP3 Player is also an MP3 recorder. It's powered by a AAA battery. While 2GB might not sound like a lot of memory, it's probably more than you need for recording. My experience with an older device like this, is that the battery dies before you fill the memory. I recorded five hours of the Quincy 9-12 Project in about 300M.
There's another reason for using an MP3 recorder: it turns you into a microphone for video cameras. It's pretty easy to use an MP3 recorder to conduct interviews. You'll need to coordinate with the videographer afterwards since they'll need a copy of your audio for post production. You may have already thought about wearing a concealed MP3 recorder, but, before you do that, check the laws in your state. Most states have one-party consent, but some require all parties to consent.
Basic Video
The Kodak Zi8 has gotten rave reviews. If you get one, you might want a spare battery. Heck, if you get any video camera, you should consider a spare battery. The Flip UltraHD also looks great, but.... One more before we get to the "but"... Sharp and Rob Brenner both use purple Sony Webbies. Why purple? I think Sharp's a trend setter. You'll want to know that he also uses a "Gorillapod" tripod.
Now the "but"... why spend that much for a small, fixed-focal length, video camera? Big Lots had a flip-like camera on sale last week for $28—pack a lunch for a week and you can by one of those with the money you save. You should consider a bargain store video camera. In fact, you might consider two.
The last reason for getting two flip-like cameras is because they allow you to "live cut" for YouTube. If you're planning to post full coverage from an event, then you have to figure out how to shoe-horn it all into YouTube's ten minute time limit for videos. I've done that by shooting eight to ten minutes on camera #1 and the next eight to ten minutes on camera #2. You start recording on camera #2 before stopping camera #1. If you keep everything under ten minutes, then you can skip post production and just start uploading.
I also covered the visit to County Counselor Patricia Redington's office. The difference is easy to see: Michelle gets the scoop and the story out the door first; I get higher resolution video (1080i) and stereo sound. As of today, you really have to choose one or the other.
I'm not sure what kind of phone Michelle used, but I do know that Dana Loesch loves her Palm Pre and that it works with qik.com. On the other hand, The Editor would encourage you to get an iPhone 3GS. My Treo 650 is not up to the task.
Expensive Video
I shoot my best video in 1080i with a Sony HDR-HC1. It's past it's prime, but still a good camera. If I had to replace it, I'd get a Sony HDR-CX500V. I've got a spare battery and the gun mic for my camera. The second battery proved critical at the Quincy 9-12 Project, since the batteries in my two flip-like cameras died.
For video of any significant length, you need a tripod. You want the tallest one you can afford, so you can get your camera up high enough to avoid any obstacles in your shot. The tripod above is six feet fully extended. I have been known to mount two cameras on one tripod; however, I only do that with flip-like cameras.
Advanced Audio
The MP3 recorder that I use is an older model of the Cowon iAUDIO 7 pictured above. The advantage that it has over the inexpensive model at the top of this post is a 1/8" line-in port. Most tea party events have some sort of sound setup which is routed through a mixing board. You just ask the guys running the board: "can I record off your master?" They've always said yes to me; however, I've sometimes needed to supply my own cables and adapters (pictured to the right of the iAUDIO 7). You shouldn't need all of those and, if you've got a drawer that you shove spare cables into, you should look through it before buying any of those.
There is an important downside to using audio off the master. It doesn't include the crowd reaction. The applause lines fall flat and the punch lines go by without notice. Still, it's nice to have if a camera battery dies earlier than you expected.
I got an email Wednesday afternoon saying that Joe Biden was comin' to town. I knew the weather had been unseasonably cool, but I wasn't expecting such an early Christmas. Like most videographers, I know that if Biden is in the house, the tape is rolling—you don't want to miss those twelve seconds of comedy gold that will bring you a million views on YouTube. Glenn Reynolds clearly understands this principal:
"AM I THAT DANGEROUS?" Blogger booted by Biden. When Biden’s talking, anyone with a camera and YouTube access is a threat . . . .
Biden's booted blogger was, none other than St Louis Tea Partier: SharpElbowsStL.blogspot.com, but we'll get back to him later.... It was Wednesday afternoon and I had until 3PM to pickup tickets to the event Thursday. I called and emailed some Tea Party friends, but no one was able to get over to Wellston to pickup tickets.
Thursday rolls around. Run some errands and swing by the venue in Wellston: the Police and Fire Training Center. Before finding a place to park, I notice that there's a junk yard right next to the Training Center. That kinda makes sense. They probably burn and shoot stuff at the Police and Fire Training Center, so you wouldn't expect it to be located next to the Chase.
At this point, I'm not expecting to get in, but I need a story. All I know is what KTVI reported (emphasis added):
Vice President Joe Biden will be in St. Louis to discuss how federal money is being used to help create jobs and aid law enforcement. Biden and Gov. Jay Nixon will travel to St. Louis on Thursday. Biden is scheduled to give remarks at the St. Louis County Police and Fire Training Center, beginning at 11:00am
The White House says a limited number of general admission tickets for the public will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
The story that never got reported started to form in my head. I didn't have a lot to work with: federal money and flattened cars stacked five high. That equals cash for clunkers in my mind, so I was planning to do a video report in front some destroyed cars. I'd talk about the fallacy of the broken window and explain how accelerating the purchases of cars with cash for clunkers, shifted money away from durable goods, but had no positive effect on the economy as a whole. There will be another time for that economics lesson...
Getting back on topic... the Police and Fire Training Center... I decided to walk in the front door and ask about tickets. They had a whole stack of 'em. I got one, went in, and immediately sent a message to Dana: "I'm in!!!" I then called Sharp and Rambo to tell them that there were still tickets available.
While I waited for them to arrive, I struck up a conversation with a wire service reporter. I can't find her report from the event online. I also met PD reporter Jake Wagman. He described the size of the crowd as "modest" in his report.
Much of that crowd is seen in the picture above. That photo was taken at 10:26AM. Biden did not arrive until 12:16PM. The late arrival meant that I would have to duck out before Biden finished his remarks.
By the time Biden got there, Sharp had been asked to leave. Rambo and I were camped out towards the front, but we were not in seats. As the VP walked in and took to the stage, someone kept asking us to get in our seats. I headed to the back where I got a little video while ATraditionalLifeLived.com shot some video from close to the front:
The playlist above contains all of the speeches from the St Charles Tea Party. I used a mix of cameras, so the image and audio quality varies in places. If you only watch one clip, watch the last one, #19.
This is the first event that I had a camera dedicated to crowd coverage. In some of the clips above, I cut to the crowd for their reaction. Unfortunately, it was dark by the time Paul Curtman took the stage, so I don't have any crowd cuts in his clips. FWIW, I had all three video cameras running while Paul was speaking: one on the crowd, a tripod mounted one on Paul, and a third hand-held video camera also on Paul. The tape (yeah, I hate tape) in the tripod mounted camera ran out before Paul finished, but that's why I had the hand-held. So, if you were wondering how many cameras one person can operate at once, my record is three for just over thirty minutes.
A local teen talks about getting involved in the Tea Party movement and the 912 Project
Andrew Breitbart speaks about American exceptionalism and the end of legacy media in his first speech at the Quincy 912 Project. He continues with observations about the Army of Davids that has risen to challenge media bias.
Rep. Aaron Schock (R-IL) speaks about truthfulness and delivering on campaign promises in the context of cap & tax, the healthcare debate, and good governance
Local businessman Mike Nobis speaks against cap & tax
Michael Patrick Leahy speaks about Saul Alinsky's influence on the left and Barack Obama
Quincy city council woman Jennifer Lepper speaks on the importance of limitted government and self-reliance
Ed Martin who is exploring a Congressional bid against Russ Carnahan (D-MO), tells the crowd that "freedom is making a comeback"
Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO) speaks about freedom and individual liberty. He continues by emphasizing the importance of each person getting involved in the political process.
John Loudon speaks at the Quincy 912 Project about "when" and "we" and the historical significance of the 912 Project and the tea party movements.
Bill Hennessy, co-leader of the St Louis Tea Party, speaks out against the coastal elites and the importance of capitalism to innovation and freedom.
Gina Loudon talks about the historic perseverance of the Tea Party movement and 912 Project
Andrew Breitbart declared war on the media elites: "You want a war... a war it is that you are going to get."
Citizen Report The Quincy 912 Project was a lot of fun. I got some good pictures, met some big name bloggers (including the Instapundit, Glenn Reynolds), and enjoyed hanging out with friends from protests past. I think my favorite picture from the event is this one of Dana. Since she spends a lot of time in front of the camera, you may not realize that Dana Loesch is quite a good photographer, too.
Dana Loesch Reporting from Quincy 912 Project
While two of the St Louis Tea Party videographers headed off to DC, we still had a strong presence in Quincy. Sharp Elbows, Paulette Revere, and Michelle Moore (pictured below) were all rolling film. There were others as well and our still camera contingent was well represented.
Michelle Moore live streaming the Quincy 912 Project
Glenn Reynolds interviewed me for PJTV. He asked me where I thought the Tea Party movement was headed and I said shareholder meetings of publicly traded companies. I have no idea if they'll use that video, but it was awesome to finally meet the Instapundit! I also saw Jim Hoft, the Gateway Pundit. The first time I met Hoft he went off on how he doesn't know how Glenn Reynolds can be so prolific. He was truly exasperated. Yeah, me too. I've had like three posts this week and Glenn's probably closing in on three hundred. Hoft's probably taken down another czar. Here's a shot of them:
Glenn Reynolds and Jim Hoft
I provided some live coverage of the Quincy 912 Project via twitter. My twitter coverage consisted mostly of single quotes from the speeches accompanied by a picture sent to twitpic.com. Here are my tweets from Quincy:
On my way to the Quincy, IL, #912project. I'll get lots of video! #tcot
Slow down 30MPH thru Marblehead on way to Quincy #912project. Thanks Mr Policeman!
Citizen Journalism: Technology and Techniques I took my usual camera equipment:
Canon A520 point-n-shoot
Two Traveler DV-5000 flip-like video cameras
Sony HDR-HC1 video camera
Cowon iAudio U2 MP3 player/recorder
Treo 650 cellphone
Camera Tripod
The one innovation for this event was a little hardware hack on my tripod. First, let me explain why I needed the hack. At McCaskill's Inadvertent Tea Party, I used a new technique for recording video. Since I post everything, I decided to shoot it all in 10 minute (or less) segments using two cameras so I could skip post production. As the first camera is reaching it's time limit, I start recording on the second camera. There's a few seconds of overlap to make sure I get everything. Among the St Louis Tea Party video team, this technique is called live cutting. To do this, I need two tripods. I only have one and Patch is tired of me asking to borrow his, so necessity being the mother of invention... I decided to bolt a camera mount onto my tripod using a plastic shim as an extension arm (pictured below).
Hacked Tripod with Two Camera Mounts
The shim could never hold my HDR-HC1 especially with the extended battery. My flip-like cameras are light enough that the shim can bear their weight easily. Yeah, a second tripod isn't that expensive, but where's the fun in that?
I haven't paid much attention to audio over the past several months. The flip-like video cameras have sub-par mics and only record mono. I'm usually setup close enough to an amp/speaker that clipping (exceeding the top end of the mic's range) can be a problem. My audio issues really came home at the Labor Day Tea Party in Union, MO. The audio from one song was brutal, so I decided to try something at the Quincy 912 Project to improve my audio quality.
I found the guys running the sound board for the PA system and asked if I could record off their master to my MP3 recorder. They said ok, but I needed a cable. They handed me a bag of spare cables. After looking through the bag I was able to assemble something that would get me the left channel. Not perfect, but useful.
That recording worked as a kind of safety net. I was late starting my video of Gina Loudon; however, I was able to reassemble her speech using still photos to fill in the visual hole and my MP3 audio track from the main mixing board. During the second part of Kevin Jackson's speech, the batteries on both of my flip-like cameras quit. I switched to my Sony, but there was a gap that had to be filled with the audio from the MP3 recording (and the disturbing spackle of still photos).
While the recording off the board was helpful, it wasn't as good as I had hoped. There's almost no crowd noise on that recording. The podium mic is gathering the sound, and it doesn't pick up the crowd. My recorder captures MP3s at a maximum of 128kbps which may also result in some quality issues. I'm sure I'll do this again at other events. In fact, I've loaded my bag with the audio cables I'll need to get stereo sound next time!
What's Next There are several memorable lines from Quincy. Two of those lines capture the revolutionary idea of a journalistic army of Davids:
Breitbart: "The American people ARE the Fourth Estate."
Dana: "We have a new kind of revolution."
Dana elaborated on her "new kind of revolution" by explaining that dollars, tweets, pictures, video, and blogs are the weapons of this revolution. Going Galt is one strategy. Posting the evidence of past radicalism (Van Jones) is another. Undercover video reporting of corrupt organizations like the work of O'Keefe, Giles, and BigGovernment.com is a third.
One failure of old media has been to distort truth with their video editing decisions. I recognize that a five hour event has to be boiled down to 90 seconds for the evening news; however, I would like to see hyperlinked video. When you're watching those 90 seconds, you should be able to click-through to the source video and watch it all. I applaud Breitbart and BigGovernment.com for posting the full audio of their undercover investigation. I hope they're working on the technology that would enable what I've just described.
Video collaboration has to improve (and it is, slowly) I suspected that I was the only person recording audio off the mixing board. I mentioned this to David Vickers who was working with Glenn Reynolds/PJTV and he asked for a copy knowing that he had a hole in his coverage from earlier in the day.
The next step for video collaboration is "scalability." Something is scalable, if, when you add one more unit, it takes less time or efficiency improves in some other way. Shooting video is scalable—add a camera and you can shoot more video. Uploading video is scalable—each person uploads their video using their own Internet connection so it's all uploaded simultaneously. Annotating (adding a title, comments, and keywords to) each video is scalable, but assembling a YouTube playlist is NOT scalable (it's also not that much work).
I'd like to see conservative groups become hobbyist videographers. They are the Fourth Estate. I know of a couple groups in the St Louis area that would be great for this. I'd recommend the group agree to get one kind of camera, but this is not a strict requirement. If you're price conscious (like me), look at the store circulars in your area. As a point of reference, I bought my first Traveler DV-5000 at Aldi (yes, Aldi) in November 2008 for $100. In January or February, Aldi put them on clearance and I got my second one for $70. About a month ago, I noticed that BigLots had a flip-like camera on sale for $35.
The downside of the flip-like cameras is that they have a fixed focal plane which means that they can't zoom (never use digital zoom). That is why I always setup as close to the stage as possible. You may also want to buy memory cards and tripods. In theory, I can record over two hours of 720p video on an 8GB card. My experience has been that the camera battery dies after an hour and a half, long before the card is filled. (FWIW, 720p is the best resolution that YouTube supports at the moment, so don't shoot in a better resolution like 1080i or 1080p because it will just be more data for you to upload and YouTube to down sample.)
Coordinate with one another to live cut an event. Label your cameras (I use masking tape and a sharpie). You may want to take notes on the speakers so it's easier to annotate your videos once they're uploaded. Agree on a file naming scheme and who's responsible for organizing the YouTube playlist. If your group has regular meetings, you may want to setup the playlist at one of them. And leave a note in the comments below about your work!
Tea Party Conservative who began blogging at http://RebootCongress.NET when TARP passed. Email me: contact@RebootCongress.net. Help support my work: Donate Bitcoins
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