Final Thoughts: McCain and Me

It's been a week since the start of the convention and we all had the weekend to digest what happened at the RNC. Having some time to reflect and hear the analysis, it seems like last week was good for both John McCain and me.

I will leave the analysis of the convention's impact on the horse race to others and certainly other blogs but on a personal note, it was a great experience. During the past week, I couldn't help but notice so many top journalists and seasoned politicos saying "this is my first convention." Therefore, as a kid just out of college, to have already attended a national political convention as a member of the media is quite an honor. I know I will look back at this assignment for the rest of my career.

The experience has also energized my interest in covering politics. I have always been a political junkie but the RNC reminded me how much I love following the process and hope to cover it in depth in the future. In closing, I hope you have enjoyed this blog as much as I have putting it together. A special thanks to my reporter for asking me to be his producer and dealing with me for five long days.

Here's to many more conventions in my future and many more blogs charting my experiences at them.

Cheers,

Shawn

The Party's Over

We went back to shoot our final on-camera reports for Friday's morning show a couple hours later.  In no time, the Xcel Energy Center had begun the process of returning to it's normal form. The clean up crew was working on getting all of the (popped) balloons into the trash.  Chairs were being folded and the red carpet started to disappear.  We incorporated the new look of the X into our work as it was unavoidable to pretend that the convention was still happening.  

I also shot some on-camera reports and we had to search all over the arena to find the right angle and background for a story from earlier in the week that I wanted to "front" as they say in the industry.  It has been quite a week.  I will have some "final thoughts" and post my reel showcasing some of the stories we did this week soon.

After the Speech

Planning for the worst, we headed down early but to our surprise got onto the floor with no problem.  We were able to get our shots and have a decent view of Sen. John McCain's acceptance speech.  The entire time, I was constantly looking up at the balloons hung above the arena.  I had seen the balloons drop on TV before and was anticipating the moment when they would start to fall on top of us.

The first set of balloons pleased the entire crowd including my reporter and myself.  We knew this was the official sign of a convention celebrating the nomination of it's candidate and we were glad to experience it first hand.  But the balloons kept coming and there was a second and third drop.  By now we were in a sea of balloons up to our chest.  There were even moments when we we could barely see because they were all around us.  I even had trouble breathing at one point.  But certain members of the crowd as well as Xcel staff waisted no time in starting to pop the balloons.  Below is a balloon drop slideshow.

It took quite some time for the floor to clear up and for us to shoot our final on-camera reports but we did one final interview with a delegate and got all of our elements for the 11 p.m. newscast.  We even shot a promo for the station featuring Nightline's Terry Moran.  His advice to aspiring journalists, "love what you do" and "know your stuff" if you want to be in this business.  By the time we left the floor, the party was dying down and clean up began.

Convention Extra: Thursday Edition

In the final edition of "Convention Extra" a look at the before and after of one of the most important parts of the week, the balloon drop.  Here is a look at the balloons ready to be dropped from high above the arena.  

They were put in place before the RNC even started and will be released after Sen. John McCain's speech tonight.  Here's the "before" picture, stay tuned for several "after" shots.

The Science of a Speech

Many people say there is an art to giving a speech but there is also a science.  All of the speeches given in the past two weeks have used the same technology to make their speakers look good.  Directly below the cameras the person on stage

 

looks into is a plasma TV that acts as a TelePrompTer.  In addition to that, there are two pieces of tinted glass that have projectors below them.  These allow the man or woman at the podium to turn and move as they speak but not give up the use of a prompter.  Many wonder how the process works so I thought it would be worth shedding some light before the most important speech of this convention takes place tonight.

Wrapping Up the RNC

We had trouble finding a new story today.  The Oregon delegation had a breakfast with Dick Army, former Texas Congressman and former House Majority Leader.  But we had a similar event yesterday so we thought it would be better to look back at what the delegates did this week and have them preview what Sen. John McCain needs to say tonight when he accepts his party's nomination for president.

Right now we are finishing up our piece for the 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. newscasts.  We have fresh sound from two delegates and will use our video from the past three days to recap the week. We were also on the floor when McCain came out to check out the setup for tonight's speech, featuring a new stage.  It will give the hall a more intimate feel and offer many delegates an up close view of the senator. Normally we don't get to the Xcel Energy Center this early but we had to wait in line yesterday and today's schedule has been moved up so we are glad to have the extra time inside.

Tonight we will go to floor and try to catch most of McCain's speech, the balloons falling, and of course reaction from Oregon delegates.

Convention Extra: Wednesday Edition

I didn't want to limit the scope of this segment but once again I have picked a food item.  It is fitting though that on the day Gov. Sarah Palin accepted her party's nomination for vice president, everyone wanted to get their hands on one of these.  A McCain-Palin water bottle, today's Convention Extra.