Video Editing Ethics Response

The article "Sliding Sound, Altered Images" reminded me of the picture that was altered during the Hezbollah and Israeli 7 Day war. I don't exactly remember what TV Station it was that did it, but I remember that the destruction that was photographed in Lebanon with a night camera was exaggerated and photo-shopped. I remember the TV Station later apologized for the editing and the real photograph was shown.

In certain circumstances I can understand why journalists or news stations may think that editing of original sound bites or film is acceptable. For example, the Las Vegas television station KLAS that was mentioned in the article thought it was appropriate to add in sound to the security camera film. I can understand their ideology in this decision; I think they just wanted the public to understand what happened in more detail so they added sound. I'm sure they didn't mean to indoctrinate the film but they simply just wanted their viewers to be able to feel the intensity of the event with sound.

I never realized how big of an impact special effects or music could make on a story. I just thought that adding music to a story would simply add flavor and make it more interesting to the audience. However, I never realized that it could make it seem as if some things were added into the story that were not in it to begin with. I learned that sounds could make it seem as if things were invented into the story or invoke a feeling that is irrelevant to the goal of the story.

Another thing I learned is that altering photographs can be very dangerous only because you may alter your subject in a way that might be offensive to your audience. I think that minimal editing is the best way to go unless you must edit in order for the picture to be clear.