So I know my review was so gripping that everyone went out and streamed the first episode as I suggested. But in case anyone is interested, Loudlabs and On Scene TV have video going out to the networks and to be shared to local markets of the catastrophic Los Angeles-area fires. So it's not all shootings and car crashes.
On Sat, Dec 2, 2017 at 11:13 AM, Steve Timko <[email protected]> wrote: > I have mixed feelings about the new Netflix “Shot in the Dark” series > about television stringers in the Los Angeles market. It’s slickly produced > and expertly shot (for the most part) but it also seems a tad manufactured > at times. Like maybe the subjects are in bed with the show’s producers to > heighten drama. > > The best way to explain it is that it is a reality TV example of the > “Nightcrawler” movie starring Jake Gyllenhaal. Basically the three camps > are three competing television freelance operations. One is RMG News run by > British-born twin brothers. Another is Loudlabs run by Scott Lane. He is > the most paparazzi of the trio. They capture him passing traffic on the > right trying to get to a story quicker. Another time he runs a red light. > When one of his employees commits a journalistic felony and gets called out > on the news, Lane laughs it off. If he had been my employee and done that I > would have bitch slapped him to Barstow. The last is OnScene TV, the > largest, run by Zak Holman. Lane hates Holman, in part because Holman calls > him out on his recklessness. But Lane criticizes Holman as someone who is a > journalist because he’s a failed first responder and that criticism is a > direct hit. Holman has flashing lights in his car that he uses one time as > a civilian to slow down Los Angeles freeway traffic because one of his > drivers is photographing an incident on the road. And he’s currying favor > with cops and firefighters. > > They use all kinds of tricks to get great shots of the photographers. They > have some talented photographers getting some compelling video, often > expertly framing the freelancers. They also have cameras mounted on the > cars the freelancers drive. They use either drones or helicopters to get > video from above. And for me the coolest thing they do graphically is a map > that shows the locations of the freelancers and their destination so you > can see their routes. It’s clear it’s a race to get there first. > > I don’t want to give away too much, but definitely watch at least the > first episode for the world class, epic cliffhanger. Maybe one of the best > ever in episodic reality TV. Part of the reason the show resonates with me > is because it reflects my personal life. I’ve been a journalist for more > than 30 years and I’ve spent the last 18 months as an assignment editor at > a smaller market television station. One problem we’ve always faced in > journalism, and especially at the TV station, is picking which breaking > news things to cover. Scanner traffic is often wrong and major stories go > silent when the police go to tactical channels. Guessing which thing to > cover and getting there quickly is a constant theme in “Shot in the Dark.” > > This is a Guardian review of the show. > > https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/nov/30/shot- > in-the-dark-review-pure-undiluted-rubbernecking-feeding-on-human-misery > > This reviewer calls it voyeurism. I don’t feel like it’s voyeurism at all. > It feels like a job. I get no emotional satisfaction or pleasurable > reaction from watching the pain people suffer. The one time that felt most > voyeuristic was in 1990. I accompanied police on a prostitution sting. They > had a female police officer wearing a radio wire. I sat with two officers > about 200 feet away in an unmarked car and listened to men solicit her. I > felt so embarrassed for the men I let out involuntary groans and gasps. I > could not keep myself quiet. > > “Shot in the Dark” also has an energetic soundtrack to keep the showing. > But the soundtrack and quick cuts of cars zooming into the night started to > wear on me by about episode four. It became more of a gimmick and a > liability. I give the series a thumbs up because the story line picks up by > the last couple of episodes. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
