Best of Television Photojournalism 2005
TV News Editing: Editor of the Year
- EDITOR OF THE YEAR
- Brian Weister, KMGH-TV Denver
- Runner-up
- Stephanie Ottjepka, WTVT-TV Tampa
Judges' Comments
Brandi Paulson
My overall impression was that there was not a lot of personality in the tapes. What I mean by that is many tapes did not stand out. I felt like I could have been watching anyone. I kept asking myself what is the viewer getting out of this story. The EOY that we ended up choosing embodied all the aspects that we were looking for. Every story added something, whether it was one more nat sound pop or one more appropriate effect, it all came together cohesively.
I also noticed a lack of attention to audio. There were many, many occasions where all the editor needed to do was fade the audio. Visuals & audio should be seamless & not take away from the story. Jarring audio stands out and focuses your attention on that, rather that the story.
Overall the effects in the EOY tapes we were seeing were inappropriate. I felt as though the editor was relying on effects and not using them wisely to tell the story.
The EOY must have it all and bring something different to the table without feeling like your watching an MTV video. There was a level of editing maturity that really flowed through the winning tape.
Paul Pytlowany
What I liked about this year's winner was that they produced a tape of entries that displayed an entire package. Each category entered was done with style. Natural sound was edited nicely with cross dissolves. When effects were used, they were appropriate and added "visual value" to the piece. Some entrants simply used effects because they "looked cool"...making the package distracting.
The NPPA will be proud to have this editor represent them for the upcoming year.