Friday, Feb. 13, 2009

Early morning defeat on TV

KENNEWICK -- When is too early really too early? When you have to be perky on camera for thousands of viewers and by the time your show is over, the sun STILL isn't up.

Julie Stevens is an anchor for Good Morning Northwest at KVEW. She co-hosts with Kevin Uretsky and brings cheery sunshine to the Northwest while most people are still trying to get rest.

My third time on their set, I should have been more prepared. Going to bed at 11 p.m. and waking up at 2:30 a.m. was not the best idea.

I had scheduled with Julie to have soulful singer Jessie Beverly on as a performer and came along to take candid pictures of Beverly's experience. When I agreed to tag along, the ungodly wake-up time seemed to have slipped my mind.

Armed with a bottle of water and some Dannon Activia yogurt in my stomach, I groggily sat in the corner, taking pictures of the morning news show, which was, as always, quite entertaining. Jessie eagerly followed Julie for some much-needed coffee. I secretly wished for a Dew to magically appear...

I had always wondered what it'd be like to be a news anchor. You wonder how big those studios are, how many cameramen are on set, and whether they really get their haircuts comp'd.

When I first met Julie, she was a ball of energy. She reminded me of Faith Hill - very down to earth, but definitely had that spark. As a former model/dancer, her KVEW photo doesn't do her justice. In fact, it makes her look like a man. She is way prettier in person.

Personally, I think she looks more like Victoria's Secret model Marisa Miller. They're probably the same height and weight. Julie just needs some hair extensions.

Uretsky didn't talk to me, except to say hello and ask how I was doing, but walked past me before I could even answer. He was often in the backroom and only behind the desk about 30 seconds before he went live. He, on the other hand, looks exactly the same in person as on TV.

While Jessie feverishly texted away to her friends in Washington and Cali who were watching her sing on TV, we joked back 'n forth and talked about how weird the behind-the-scenes stuff was at the station.

For instance, the meteorologist stands in front of a green screen, then walks off (still talking) into a separate room. We stood there, listening to her still talking about the weather, but off in the distance. I think she goes to a computer to share specific details that she can't remember off the top of her head -- but local viewers don't see her walk off -- they just see the lonely weather map.

As for the number of cameramen, there was only one this time. He maneuvered around the unseen concrete slab, doing an uncoordinated ballet, tripping over wires in order to adjust different cameras for the next shot. It was quite impressive, considering there were about four or five cameras in there.

The magic that happens behind the camera is pretty neat. People always say that sets are smaller than expected and are usually colder, too. There are always people walking around and tons of cords to step over. It's a weird kind of controlled chaos.