Oilers Fans Draw their Feelings about the Season

Last week the idea floated around of doing a “streeters” video asking OIlers fans how they felt about the season so far. We’ve done that before and it is typically boring. Also there is no still photo component to go in the paper.
So I got the idea to buy small white boards and ask fans to draw how they feel about the season and then do Vortraits (video portraits) of all of them explaining what they drew. Turned out much more interesting and then we had art for the newspaper.

Journal Photographers Ryan Jackson and Shaughn Butts setup a camera outside Rexall Place before the Oilers game on Thursday and asked fans to illustrate how they felt about the season on small dry erase boards. Video by Ryan Jackson and Shaughn Butts / Edmonton Journal

I used a 7-inch LCD4VIDEO HDMI monitor to help focusing with my Canon 5D Mark-II and 24-105mm IS lens.

I had a Rode VideoMic on a Magic Arm for the audio so that my hands could be free for focusing

I had two 160LED video lights I got off of eBay for the fill lighting. I put orange gels on them to balance the blue LED light with the sodium vapor ambient lights.

Here is my sketch of the portraits I wanted. It is always good to draw your idea out and email it to your editors so that they know what you are talking about.

And here is how it ran on the front page of the Journal. When someone comes to you with an idea that you don't think is good - don't just roll your eyes and complain - take that idea and make it into something better. Nothing good comes from cynicism. Great things come from people who take okay ideas and make them great ideas.

Tags: 5D Mark-II, LCD4VIDEO, oilers, Vortraits