Yaron Deskalo Liberia Journal: Nas

So part of the excitement about returning from a shoot - as you may recall - is looking through the footage.
The not-so exciting part? Transcribing interviews. It's not any easier when the interview subjects are a bit tough to understand: listen, scroll back, type, scroll back, listen again.  It's a process that takes about three times as long as it should.  That being said, nothing prepares you for the right soundbytes by actually hearing them say it, listening to their inflection, and watching their body language.
Still, after two full days, I've only gotten through four tapes.  It's going to be a long week.
So that discussion is exactly why I've neglected to update you on the meeting last Friday.
If you've had any chance to watch the trailer that Brian Liburd (our webmaster) posted on the blog last week, you likely heard a familiar voice. Or at least a familiar voice, if you like my type of music.
The song - over a section we cut on the brutality of the Liberian civil wars - was called 'Shoot 'em up'. The artist: Nas.
When I thought about somebody who could lend his voice to this piece, Nas was one of the first that came to mind.  Beyond the fact that he cut a remix with Statik Selektah called "Blood Diamonds are Forever" about the civil wars in West Africa that created a need for an amputee soccer league, Nas has the voice that bolsters the piece's credibility.  For those of you who listen to his music, it carries a rich blend of rhyme, storytelling, and flow, with more than just a hint of grittiness. Not that you need his credentials, but it's why he's regularly considered one of the best MCs and his first album, Illmatic, is often cited as one of the greatest hip hop albums.
So after discussions with Nas' manager a couple conference calls and emails, I put together the four-minute trailer and asked if those guys wanted to see it.  They would be in New York Friday. Good. I'll be there.
At the Standard Hotel, in New York's Meatpacking District, I pulled my laptop out, and in my 'makeshift office' in the hotel's restaurant, Nas joined me as we watched the trailer.  He knew what he was getting into (we'd spoken on the phone before I went to Liberia).  But this was a way for him to see what I'd shot, and most importantly, how I'd use his music in the piece.
From all indications, it seemed like he loved the direction.  He was particularly struck by the images we used from the civil war to his music. He told me 'Shoot 'em up' was the right music cut for that part of the piece, which was music to my ears since I couldn't agree more.
So the next step? Transcribe. But after that, I'll write the script and start putting together the piece.  Nas' manager suggests the best way for Nas to not only lend his music to this piece, but also voice the piece would be to have him up in Bristol, CT at ESPN and spend a day working on the piece.  More music to my ears.
I've told people time and again that my vision for this piece - more than anything - is to transport people to Liberia for the 12 or so minutes of this piece.  It's likely that no more than a handful of people who watch my piece in this country have ever visited Liberia, and another handful who ever will.  So my task, in telling you the story of the amputee soccer team through the eyes of one of its players is to have you experience what Liberia is like.  How desperate is it?  How much does this team mean to the country and represent change?  And most importantly, how does Liberia's past influence its present and plant seeds for what they say is a hopeful future?
Nas will help take us there. If there's one thing about his music - even though I grew up on Dre and Snoop - it's his ability for him to sound honest through his music.  He's more poet than rapper. And that's a compliment. That's why I hope his voice can help translate that message and answer those questions.
Oh yeah, and it doesn't hurt to have a multi-platinum selling artist lending his music.

-YD

Sneak Peek: Liberian Amputee Soccer Team

                                             Click here to view

Editing Mariano Rivera

On Thursday of Holy Week producer Frank Saraceno and editor Marlon Hidalgo began to edit a Mariano Rivera feature.   Facing an Avid DS, they studied footage Saraceno shot of the ageless Yankee closer in his native Panama in the second week of February.

This was a labor of love for Saraceno, who grew up in Rochester and Syracuse, and for Hidalgo, who grew up in the Bronx.

  

This was the start of two-week process, for a piece that might run 10 minutes and have as many as 1000 edits.  

“To me, this is the most rewarding part until the piece hits the air,” Saraceno said. “You feel like an artist and this is your canvas.”

Frame after frame moved across the Avid screens, at Hidalgo’s deft command.  Saraceno scanned his index of logged shots and called out requests.

He chose shots of Rivera inside the partial construction of a new church, which Rivera financed, for the impoverished fishing village he came from.  Saraceno liked one in which Rivera shook the hand of a worker in a hard hat.

He chose shots of Rivera, with his wife and son, as they handed out backpacks and school supplies to the local children. 

 Saraceno and Hidalgo especially liked shots of Rivera, as he drove slowly on the main street, and chatted and laughed through his open window with locals.  The camera, in the passenger seat, saw the same adoring and admiring faces that Rivera saw.

A theme emerged. 

Rivera is a good man.  Saintly, you might say.  Especially for allowing E:60 a rare glimpse inside his off-the-field life.

With the Yankees and Red Sox set to open the season on Easter Sunday, even a Sox fan – such as myself - couldn’t blame Saraceno and Hidalgo for a reverent take.  

Posted by Steve Marantz, April 2, 2010

Yaron Deskalo Liberia Journal. April 1, Wash, D.C.

I'm on the train headed north. Just left DC. On my way to New York.

This afternoon, we will finally able to nail down an interview with the U.S. Ambassador to Liberia, Linda Thomas-Greenfield.  Amidst all the controlled chaos that was Monrovia the past couple weeks, I actually neglected to give her (or her PR person) a call for the first couple days I was there.  I had, however, left a message at the U.S. Embassy shortly before I left to Liberia to let them know that an American TV crew was there.  I'm not sure that message ever made it across.

It was simply fortuitous that I happen to get in touch with the Embassy.  The Embassy spokeswoman just happened to be taking a walk when we were emerging from our hotel, moments away from our second shoot with the Liberian Crusaders of Peace.  You see our hotel, the Cape, sits in the shadow of the Embassy -- a mere 500 feet away.  She heard English and knew something was going on.  I told her what we were there for and apologized that I had not been in touch.  Attempting to seize the opportunity, I then requested an interview with the Ambassador.  We exchanged cards.  My instructions were to email.  She'd see if the Ambassador could fit us in.

Turns out she couldn't.  Understandably, we weren't as important as the visiting AFRICOM General or the opening of the National Elections Commission in Monrovia.  We were assured, however, that the Ambassador was travelling back to the states, and it was in DC that we'd have our best chance.

So here we are.

And it was worth the wait.

Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield first visited Liberia in 1978.  Seeing the destruction and devastation now in in 2010 has always led me to wonder what Monrovia was like pre-civil war.  My only image came at the top of the Ducor Hotel, a once-five star spot that overlooks the city.  We shot scenics from the roof and even an interview, as you may recall.  One of the 'tour guides' of this abandoned building showed us a brochure of the place from the seventies.  Monrovia looked peaceful.  The hotel looked glamorous.  As the Ambassador explained, it was all that.

"Like a small American southern city."

"Savannah?" I asked.

"Yeah, but not that nice."

She told me that even though it was very provincial, Monrovia was sowing seeds of conflict. The divide between the haves and have nots was widening. It was becoming increasingly tense.  Soon, she said, there would be murders on the beach.  The situation sprialled out of control.  It would be less than a decade later before the country was fully engulfed in civil war.  One that make Monrovia hell on earth.  One that would go nearly uninterrupted for 14 years.

The Ambassador, like the Minister of Youth and Sport who we interviewed on our last day in Monrovia, was certainly critical of the amputees.  The Ambassador has had contact with amputees.  She works very closely with them, in fact.  She told me how she implores the amputees to not think of themselves as ex-combatants.  They need to move on. In meeting with students at a Liberian university, she met a young man who said that he was an ex-combatant, to which she replied, "What are you doing here at the university?"

He said, "I'm a student."

-YD

Clint Dempsey Shoot April 1

After spending a day shooting at iconic locations throughout London, our crew headed to Fulham's stadium - Craven Cottage - for a Europa League tournament game against Wolfsburg FC (a German club).  The atmosphere was electric. One thing that stands out at European football matches is the singing and chanting by passionate fans urging on their sides.  Clint Dempsey showed of his skill and pace, at one point in the second half starting a movement that led to Fulham's second goal. The Cottagers (as the Fulham side are called) won the match 2-1, moving one step closer to a semifinal berth in the Europa League tourney.

Submitted by Dave Salerno

Clint Dempsey Shoot March 31

We started a cold and blustery day at the Fulham training grounds shooting Clint Dempsey and his teammates running through some drills.  After practice, Clint took us in his SUV for a short ride through London - a quick jaunt from the training grounds to an Italian restaurant where he met teammates for lunch.  Finished the day shooting scenics at the team's historic stadium - Craven Cottage. Till tomorrow and the Europa League game between Fulham and Wolfsburg!!


-Submitted by Dave Salerno

Clint Dempsey Shoot March 30

Despite the wretched weather, E:60 had spirited interviews with Fulham captain Danny Murphy and our main subject Clint Dempsey.  Murphy broke down Clint's burgeoning skills on the pitch, while Clint talked about everything from what he misses about Texas to the upcoming World Cup to his recent injury and the wonder goal he scored against Juventus earlier this month.  After the interview, we shot a few cool pieces of video with Clint - some at their indoor practice facility - you can see him getting ready for his close up in the attached picture!

Submitted by Dave Salerno