Video Storytelling

I chose to watch a video on the Detroit Free Press's website about a couple who is losing home due to foreclosure. It's one of three families that the Free Press is focusing on in its short series about the national economic crisis.

The link is: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=VideoNetwork

I really liked the way this short video was done, and the timing was great. It was just long enough so that I felt like I got a true glimpse into this couple's life, but it wasn't so long as to bore me in the process. The Dearborn Heights couple bought the house about three years ago, and they realize now they probably got a better loan than they were afforded. The video features the couple packing up their things, sharing a meal, looking off into the distance, and talking with friends on the front porch. For the most part I really liked it but there were a couple of things I would have done differently.
The pictures and video must have been taken during the evening because at times you can't see the actions very well. This setting works well for some of the photos like when Alona is looking off into the distance or there's a shot of the sunset, but at one point Ernie is working on his car and you can't even see his hands because of the shadow. I would have changed this. Another aspect I might have done differently is the dinner scene. The couple is sitting down at what looks like their living room table to eat KFC for dinner and the following shots show close ups of the coleslaw, cups, forks, etc. while Ernie talks about the appraisal of his house. I thought that these shots and the conversation didn't match, and that I would have shown other shots of the house while he was talking about its appraisal value.
On the other hand, right before that scene was a shot of the couple saying a prayer before they ate. I thought that this was well done and gave an insight into their lives and their mindsets during this difficult process. At one point they prayed for the house and thanked God for their love for one another and the gas in their car. I thought this was very humanistic, and showed an insight to this couple that had nothing to do with the economy. I also liked the close of the piece with Alona talking about not being discouraged being matched with the shot of the sunset. It fit well to tie the story together and end the story on a nice note.
This video story is definitely different than a written one because it gave a lot of great natural sound and video of regular people doing regular things that might not be conveyed in a print story. There's one shot of Alona putting on her shoes and it shows her feet are a little raggedy (no offense) and something like that never would have fit within a print story, but gives some more detail about the life she leads. Again the prayer before they ate was a poignant touch, but in a print story would have probably been edited out. More than anything, this story is more appealing than a text only story because it really personalizes the economic issues that we're having in this country right now. It shows a day in the life of a single family that people can relate to. I think it was a job well done!