Trying some new approaches with video

New video editor Nick Kinoshita and his staff are conducting some interesting experiments with The Orion's video coverage. The daily webcast today, for example, gets anchor Lacey Vaughn out from behind her desk and puts her in front of the Museum of Anthropology. After she opens the webcast from there, she immediately transitions into a story about a new exhibit. The Orion's camera takes viewers inside while Lacey describes the exhibition.

That by itself is a nice change of pace, but what happens next is even more interesting. Lacey pitches to weather forecaster Allison Weeks, saying she'll be back with more about the new space exploration exhibit in a minute. When Allison's done, the camera returns to the museum for an interview with Dr. Stacey Schaefer, who teaches a class on museum design and installation.

Two other efforts worth noting this week are Alex Archuleta's cooking segment and Pedro Quintana's report from the Chico PD with footage from a press conference announcing the arrest of a suspected rapist.

Alex and her producer choose to show the step-by-step preparation of sriracha fries by focusing on Alex's hands, which fill the frame to show exactly how the cooking should be done. The bright yellow-orange butternut squash makes great video.

Pedro's report combined a traditional TV standup with, by TV standards, a very long video segment of a police spokesman describing the suspect's arrest. The details are so compelling that the length of the video isn't a problem. And the camera person has the good sense to find a photo of the suspect that was displayed at the press conference and zoom in.

Every experiment has its glitches, of course, but it's nice to see the video team taking chances and learning from their mistakes and successes.