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Martin Luther King Memorial: B-roll to achieve your goal!

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October 16, 2011 was a memorable day in the lives of many Americans: the Martin Luther King Memorial was finally revealed to the public. Due to hurricane Irene, the dedication was postponed for two months. But it was also a memorable day for the Double R intern team as we took the camera to shoot a video. We assumed it would be a short dedication, but we were in for a huge surprise. Obama, accompanied by his family and dozens of American stars and politicians, took part in the memorial dedication ceremony . We spotted Stevie Wonder, Joe Biden, Jesse Jackson and Aretha Franklin. For us foreigners, this was the chance of a lifetime!

 

After filming the action we found ourselves trapped in a crowd of people. I talked to the lady next to me. Out of the blue she told me her life story: she marched with Doctor King in the 1963 Civil Rights Movement. Pictures of her are displayed in the National Archives. This was absolutely the best interview we could ever get!

 

However, as we are still learning every day, we made a huge mistake. We shot interviews and speeches but not enough B-roll of our interview subjects. That became a problem when we needed footage to cover parts of their interview bites. Normally you would add some B-roll but if you don’t have any that’s a bit tricky. So we definitely learned a huge lesson: always shoot B-roll. You can never have too much footage!

— Ilse Schooneknaep

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