Not to fret, Ma and Pa. I’ve created an archival place of the videos I’ve done for the NYPost so far, Just click on this link: www.mcatsandoval.com/NYPOST.html

Now you have a one stop shop to view my pieces. I will try to update it as often as I can, or update this blog…

While this blog post is dedicated to my parents, for all the journos/job seekers out there it is still important to get your works out so perspective employees and hiring companies can see what you are doing. Post your stuff online, link to it and make it easy for the general public to find you. I mean, if you’re like me and your parents can’t find you, then no one can find you.

A couple of days ago I was sent by the New York Post to shoot Robert De Niro walking out of the Manhattan Supreme Court. The tough actor De Niro was the star witness and a larceny victim.

I waited for hours, with two other videographers from another news organization and a handful of photographers. It was the calm before the storm, all of us itching to get just one shot, one pan of De Niro’s face.

I overheard this from one of the photogs.

“You know we’re still journalists, right? We’re a far cry from the Paparazzi”

I had to chuckle. We’re we any different from the infamous paparazzi? I mean here we were waiting for a superstar to show up, just so we can get a clip for our news that day.

Let me describe the scene. There were less than 10 of us all from news medium, no TMZ or Inside Edition. We were barricaded from the entrance by blue wooden frames. It was a visual stopper in case someone got over excited and wanted a real life close up shot and smell of De Niro.

Being the shortest and smallest, I thought I had to muscle my way through, or get stuck shooting feet shots of De Niro. Surprisingly, the other journalists were nice and one even saved me spot. It felt like a community, everyone needed a shot, and everyone made sure they were out of each other’s way. It wasn’t cutthroat.

De Niro had to eventually walk out the door. Did I get the shot? We’ll you’ll have to check it out…

The experience in this shoot was completely different from the Kelsey Grammer wedding news piece I shot last month. Faced with a lot more photographers and the real deal paparazzi–it was an adrenaline rush experience. Think 100 sharks and one body to feast on moment. And yes we the media were the sharks, and unfortunately, I was one of the baby sharks. I wish I could show you the raw footage with a full shot of the photogs rushing towards the actor, almost attacking the newly weds. You can hear me say on tape “this is crazy, just crazy” as I walk away from the madness. It wasn’t necessary for me to bum rush the newlyweds, but I had to move, otherwise the photogs behind me would have flattened me. I should just label this news piece “When the Paparazzi Attack.”

The paparazzi field is a different beast: competitive, cutthroat, and no regard for privacy. But in hanging out with them, even just briefly, I can understand why they do what they do. The thrill and the high you get after capturing a shot is amazing. While you can barely see Grammer in my video, I’m kinda proud that I was there and kept my distance. I am still a journalist, NOT a paparazzo, but sometimes the lines can be blurred.

Still need more motivation? Revisit your past. Sometimes when you’ve seen how far you’ve gone it will only inspire you to keep on moving.

Here’s an old fashion piece I’ve created for Brooklyn Independent TV (BCAT) December 2008. It was right when the recession hit and people wanted to look fashionable without breaking the bank, so I thought I would do a story on consignment stores.

STATS
created: December 2008
role: research, reported, and edited
time edited: a week and a half

I remember being so nervous for this piece. This was one of my earlier on air pieces and I was interviewing a former model and store owner, Alison Houtte. Alison was so comfortable on camera and I was very jittery. Although you couldn’t see it, my insides were bubbling, but I loved the thrill and excitement of it all. It took a week and a half to edit this piece on final cut. And now, even after watching the video I can hear and see things I could fix. The audio is a bit off in some places, louder in some parts and really soft in others. The cuts move very slow, somewhat dragging.

Compare that to my more recent video from the New York Post.

 
STATS

created: October 2010
role: reported, shot, and edited
time edited: a day

After a couple of years, I improved. This piece moves with great pacing–I finally got a chance to test my shooting skills and even edit faster. It took me a day to do this piece. Although the piece is not without its errors (Unfocused shot of me at the very end), I’m still really happy with it, because I had gotten a chance to shoot the whole piece by myself The piece is funny and entertaining and to top it all off, it was a blast to produce! The Huffington Post even picked it up and called me an intrepid journalist! (Nothing like a solid shoot out!) Click on the article below and you’ll see

Comparing my old piece with a new one just showed me how much I’ve improved and how much further I need to go. Where the future lies who knows, but at least for me, I know I’m getting better. So get off that lazy chair and sweat, baby! Whatever your passion, practice.

There are days like today where I feel like banging my head against the wall in my quest to find the next freelance gig or full time opportunity. I feel trap, stuck between the crevices. After applying to maybe thousands of online job applications, I honestly wish someone would get back to me. Maybe I’m just having a bad day, but I am tired, just tired of looking for the next opportunity. As a freelancer, it gets hard surfing through the troves of online ads applying for jobs and then constantly pitching yourself. There are times when even I’ve felt like a used car saleswoman complete with the toupee and cheese. Especially when no one gets back, it can be a damaging blow to the already fragile ego. So I thought I’d take the opportunity to vent. Whip out the Kit Kat Bar and give me a break. This journalist is frustrated.

With cheap still cameras thrown into the mixed, it is so hard to pick and choose which dslr camera is right for you…

Here are my top 2 picks

Canon 7D

Pros:  Price ($1600) for body, Image Quality is excellent. It has the  film “feel” of the 24fps movie recording to full HD recording. I’ve worked  with several production companies who have incorporated this camera for  short films and commercials and high end film lenses.  Many have coined this camera the independent filmmaker’s Red camera. Body is sturdy.

Cons: Sound must be recorded separately to get a better quality. Video recording time is limited to 10-12 minutes.

Canon Rebel T2i

Pros: This is the 7D’s little brother. It costs a lot cheaper than the 7D ($800) and the images are almost identical. Sometimes its hard to tell the difference.

Cons: Just like the 7D sound must be recorded separately. Video recording time is limited to 10-12 minutes. The T2i has a different groove for the lenses than the standard. Because lenses are more expensive than the body, that means  when you upgrade your T2i body in the future, you might  have to get an adaptor for your lenses. The buttons are not as easy as the 7D to work with but you can live with it base on the price. The body is also made out of cheaper plastic so its not as durable as the 7d. However, if you are on a budget, the T2i is the better bang for your buck.

Although, I love the idea of shooting high quality video on cheaper still cameras. I still have to say it is better in my opinion to stick to a regular video camera. Here’s why.

1) Dslrs have limited shooting time. If you are shooting interviews and want your sources to be comfortable, interrupting them every 12 minutes to continue will definitely ruin the interview.

2) Bad sound quality. Recording sound separately to make up for the poor sound isn’t worth the purchase.

3) Overall shooting quality. Even though the image quality is amazing.. I personally would rather get a camera that works with all the bells and whistles than getting a camera body, getting a separate sound, a stabilizer etc…Also– the camera doesn’t have a flippable lcd screen which is tough to use when you are one person crew.

If you want dslr I recommend watching Zacuto’s shoot-out.

As for what video cameras I recommend, tune in to my next, upcoming blog.

In my quest to become a perfect journalist or an honest one in this blog, I have failed. I wanted to capture both the ups and downs of my journey, but instead I had filtered everything else out that in the end there was no story to tell… A young wise man gave an analogy just the other day. He said I had both a hammer and a nail in my possession and the goal was to hang a picture on the wall. Because I was obsessed with hanging the picture perfectly straight, I  was consumed with another tool, a leveler maybe, or getting an even better nail and a drill. I wrapped myself around the new tools and obsessed in obtaining them that I loss track of the goal: hanging up a photograph. I wasted all that time and energy on one picture frame, that  it was better to just go for it, hammer away as best as I could and then adjust as necessary. In the end, I was obsessed with one photograph and getting it right, that I forgot there were more images to hang. What’s even worse is that I wasted all that time obsessing about the dang pictures I forgot to enjoy the afternoon outdoors. Perhaps I took that analogy too far, but I feel it is fitting to address. He told me that life is more than hanging picture frames, and I failed to enjoy everything else.

So how did I turn into this perfectionist? I didn’t grow up as one. My family  knows me as an odd ball who loves imperfections–different. Growing up, I would select a lobster with a missing arm to eat. I would find a morbid, rough looking stone and think it beats out all the smoother rocks. In grade school,  I was in love with the Disney cartoon character Aladdin, while all my classmates drooled over Backstreet Boys and Brad Pitt. Yes, I was a nut, but a lovable one! Now that I’ve grown up, I still love imperfections in others things,  but for some odd reason, I can’t seem to accept my imperfections and failures.

I confess it is that fear of failure , that aim to be perfect, that has been my stumbling block. I want to put this out there because I wanted to clear the air and maybe move on. Yes, it is a struggle. I have no solution for it, yet. Maybe you do? If so, let me know… The best solution for myself is to try. Try and fail or try and succeed. Either way, I am doing something and not wasting my life away. This is my fierce attempt to hang a picture on the wall and take a chance. I might as well choose the largest hammer and pound it on the wall…

He then begs for change from the few late night commuters on the subway train. Some look at him, others continue to do their own thing: knitting, reading, sleeping. They hear his thick Staten Island accent or maybe it’s just the tired drawl of his voice. Some shake their heads in disbelief. The young man is well dressed, a good pair of sneakers, jeans and a coat. Not a hole in sight. His eyes looks sleepy, moving ever so slowly from one passenger to the other with an open palm. The young man moves as if he were fighting against the ocean currents, graceful and slow. No one gives, not a penny.

His eyes widens and then remains half open. It’s his sleepy look. Is he on drugs? Is he drunk? The fresh face boy has so much potential, but he doesn’t see. He becomes an empty shell. To the passengers he becomes another nameless, forgotten New Yorker. The train door opens and he walks off.

Its hard to justify the continuing struggle in New York. For me it keeps me alive, fresh and on my tippy-toes, kinda like the flame on my (dare I say it?) bottom. I know a lot of freelancers, writers, journalists, doc filmmakers working double shifts, sometimes at odd jobs, to help finance their bills while they pursue their dreams. I too dabble in that. Maybe its the realization that I’m living the life I like regardless—that at the end of this journey I will be a renowned video journalist and it will be well worth it. Or maybe its because out here in the city, there are so many dreamers that you can’t help but be inspired by the struggling artists, the renegade singers, and the tap dancers who wait tables during their off days. Maybe its because its the recession, and the city despite its grittiness has some sort of comforting air. No one says it best, quite like Alicia Keys “New York”. It’s an old song, but still very inspiring.

Thank you again for all your support and love. This frustrated journalist would not have done it without you. It’s a great start and there is more to come…

I usually do funny entertaining pieces, but I was assigned this serious story. It is a sad tale of a mean joke that went too far. By the way, I edited this piece, someone else shot the video: Hudson Body Found.

I am a regular girl, who plopped herself in the heart of New York City, freelancing. While NYC is the city of dreams, for many it can be the city of failure. The best of the best come here to compete, live the dream, but half of them don’t make it. How will my journey end? Who knows. Now that print news is dying, lay-offs and the recession become a continuing nightmare, now seems like the best time to leave journalism. But not me. I am committed to be on this rollercoaster journey. After all, I had a sign!

I was walking on the Upper East Side today and a pile of garbage stopped me in the middle of the street. I had to take a picture and share with you:

When garbage inspires...

This is my life documented and hope it inspires other dreamers…