CBS Evening News... With Grandma
The folks from CBS Evening News flew out to Cleveland yesterday to do a story on our favorite video game grandma. She had already cut her teeth with MTV, so she wasn't nervous at all. She knew what to do when the sound technician hooks up a wireless mic to her shirt. She knew what "cheat the shot" meant. She's getting to know the complexities of white balance and depth of field. Most impressive in Grandma's growing broadcast repertoire, however, she isn't taking shit from anybody.
This isn't to say Grandma is getting rude to folks, not at all. She isn't screaming for her coffee to be prepared a certain way, she's not yelling at producers with the classic "no, I'll tell YOU where my fucking MARK is, BITCH!" The producer and host from CBS in New York as well as the camera and sound technician who freelance for our area, were all very polite and cool to her, and she returned the kindness. The only worry I have for their piece is the sort of questions they would repeat to Grandma to get a specific answer.
When it airs, you'll see what I mean.
This is what I mean. Grandma is getting better at interviews, so she has a little more information to give and a lot less pause before her answers. BusinessWeek and MTV both provided facts towards the trends of elderly gaming, or at least the consumer electronic buying habits of those over 50. In both of those articles, Grandma doesn't stand alone as entirely unique; the MTV article also mentions Doris Self for instance. This is fantastic for everyone. It's great for Grandma and those like her because the stigma of being an elderly gamer is slowly dissolving. It's great for the games industry, for the accelerated expansion of the market means more business. That's great for fans when a higher variety of games may result, the previous risks of a single demographic market negated.
I hope CBS will embellish a little on this sort of pattern. Imagine how dated their story will appear, even in two or three years, if they do not provide some evidence of a catalyst for a broadening acceptance of interactive electronic entertainment; for what used to be a stark section on the spectrum of age and gender demographics is rapidly becoming a thick swath on a desaturated gradient; the only barriers left being the means to acquire the games.
Perhaps I fear a fluff piece on Grandma, but I'll give CBS more credit than that. I'm not certain on the purposes of local news interests, but I would like to think a nationally syndicated news program will avoid traveling down that road. I don't think they will.
I'll post the air date as soon as I find out!
This isn't to say Grandma is getting rude to folks, not at all. She isn't screaming for her coffee to be prepared a certain way, she's not yelling at producers with the classic "no, I'll tell YOU where my fucking MARK is, BITCH!" The producer and host from CBS in New York as well as the camera and sound technician who freelance for our area, were all very polite and cool to her, and she returned the kindness. The only worry I have for their piece is the sort of questions they would repeat to Grandma to get a specific answer.
When it airs, you'll see what I mean.
This is what I mean. Grandma is getting better at interviews, so she has a little more information to give and a lot less pause before her answers. BusinessWeek and MTV both provided facts towards the trends of elderly gaming, or at least the consumer electronic buying habits of those over 50. In both of those articles, Grandma doesn't stand alone as entirely unique; the MTV article also mentions Doris Self for instance. This is fantastic for everyone. It's great for Grandma and those like her because the stigma of being an elderly gamer is slowly dissolving. It's great for the games industry, for the accelerated expansion of the market means more business. That's great for fans when a higher variety of games may result, the previous risks of a single demographic market negated.
I hope CBS will embellish a little on this sort of pattern. Imagine how dated their story will appear, even in two or three years, if they do not provide some evidence of a catalyst for a broadening acceptance of interactive electronic entertainment; for what used to be a stark section on the spectrum of age and gender demographics is rapidly becoming a thick swath on a desaturated gradient; the only barriers left being the means to acquire the games.
Perhaps I fear a fluff piece on Grandma, but I'll give CBS more credit than that. I'm not certain on the purposes of local news interests, but I would like to think a nationally syndicated news program will avoid traveling down that road. I don't think they will.
I'll post the air date as soon as I find out!
posted by CtrlAltDelete @ 2:15 PM
8 Comments:
At 2:22 PM,
Anonymous said…
That's fantastic. I'ma TiVo that the second you give me the air date - and share it with everyone I know! ::cheer:: Congradulations to you both! CBS better do you two justice, or there will be LOTS of irate mail coming their way... ::laugh:: ::hug::
Take care, be well, and as always - GAME ON!
-A!
At 6:01 PM,
Anonymous said…
Way to go, Grandma! You`re getting famous!!!! So---would you do a centerfold?---I mean like a gaming mag.
At 6:38 PM,
Anonymous said…
Lmao Zelda18 if she did any centerfold work, it would have to be hardcore to fit her profile.
At 9:59 PM,
Mike Abundo said…
Post the video for us readers outside the US, dude. I use ZippyVideos.com for mine. :)
At 10:08 AM,
foufymaus said…
Whooo hoo!! go grandma!! and tim you totally helped get grandma on the news with the blog *applauds*
Dude, just let us know the date and i'll be watchin
mausie
At 1:37 PM,
DY357LX said…
Quick question for Tim and OGHC.... what DOES "Cheat The Shot" mean?
At 3:42 AM,
Anonymous said…
"cheat the shot" means exactly what it says. You are getting a shot you would otherwise not be able to get, by using some kind of trickery or cheating.
For example, suppose you need a shot of one actor firing a gun at another actor. One approach would be to give the 'target' actor protective clothing, use 'blank' ammunition, and have the 'firing' actor aim to one side of the 'target' actor. Depth-of-field tricks (put the camera farther away and zoom in) can make it look like one actor is firing directly at the other actor. That is 'cheating the shot'.
The non-cheating approach involves having one actor shoot and kill the other actor, and is not used unless deemed necessary by the producer. :-)
At 9:33 AM,
Anonymous said…
Rarely will you hear someone in the biz say cheat "the shot".
Usually just "cheat" alone. Basicly means moving something so the camera can see it better.
IE: grandma playing videogames, the camera is behind her shooting the back of her head and the TV in the same shot. The camera guy might tell grandma to look to the left of the TV a little bit so he can see some of her face.
Another example, in an interview with grandma, perhaps there is a skylight closeby in her livinging room. Perhaps the cameraguy might suggest cheating the interviewer and interviewie over a couple feet from the original location so he can use the light from the skylight.
Another ex, during the same interview perhaps there is a gaming console in the background but barely. The cameraguy might ask someone to cheat the console into the shot a little more so he can see it better.
I think you get the idea.
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