Today We All Grieve

“This is the most devastating day in the history of Virginia Beach.”

Watch the full story.

May 31, 2019

I was 3,000 miles away from home. I went to California to celebrate one of the most significant team accomplishments in my career at an NPPA awards event. Shortly after settling into our hotel, I saw email notifications about an active shooter situation in Virginia Beach. We receive many of these emails and press releases daily, so I assumed this would be another situation ending in a quick resolution or false alarm. It felt surreal as I watched the increasing news coverage and the death total climb, resulting in 12 lives taken.?

I can’t imagine the grief of those who lost beloved family members instantly. At that moment, I also thought of my 13News Now team back home, burdened with the challenging responsibility of somehow working through the traumatic events and serving a heartbroken, confused, and devastated community. I hated not being there with my coworkers and community.?

Local broadcast news is one of the few mediums that can serve to unite us by allowing people 3,000 miles apart to immediately and collectively share the same real-time experiences.?

The Process

May, 2020

A year later, my news director tasked me with producing a story on the anniversary of the tragic shooting to remember the 12 lives lost. I wasn’t given a framework, but I knew my responsibility was to retell, frame, and memorialize the grief-filled moments that hovered over us like a dark cloud a year later. This story process was complex because I wasn’t locally present to witness, feel, or describe the moments.?

How do you tell a story you never wanted to tell?

I’ve learned that the best human storytelling occurs when the writers, producers, or reporters step back and allow the people most present and impacted to tell their stories.?

Words and frames are the most powerful tools of the storyteller.?

“These are more than words; this is more than rap”- Jeezy

In this breakdown, I will focus on the story “script” and words that formed a foundation for the visuals. This breakdown is important because it will practically highlight how human storytelling centers real voices, visuals, and emotions with human dignity, empathy, and goodness.?

Good comes from the German root for gathering. It means that something fits well.?

Without a voice track or traditional script, I went through hours of footage to fit the pieces of raw sound bites into a structure or frame that authentically represented the victims’ stories a year later.?

Script Breakdown

I’ve experienced the trauma of grief. I shed tears during this edit. I will share personal insights on grief to reveal my human emotion and connection behind the editorial process.?

Unexpected Life-Altering Events

Grief can often come from the unexpected and abrupt introduction to a life-altering event. It can be a phone call, text, or news report that painfully disrupts the course of your life.?

The opening sound bite from the Mayor of Virginia Beach introduces the viewer to the crushing weight and gravity of the moment. It provided the viewer with an emotional context.?

0:01: This is the most devastating day in the history of Virginia Beach.

Grief Doesn’t Discriminate

Grief is very personal, but it also connects us deeply with empathy and has the power to bring us together as humans, created in the same image. Grief doesn’t discriminate.?

0:06: apparently happened by a long-time employee who went into the building about 4:15 and just indiscriminately started shooting.

I intended to focus most of the story on the lives and memories of the victims. I used the original live reporting of the anchors in the studio as they reported on the unfolding events.?

A Loss For Words?

The story is told without a reporter track, titles, or narration. Grief often comes in the broken pieces of reflections, reactions, and emotions all strung together. The sound bites reflect this reality.?I used the original reporting from our 13News Now (WVEC) team covering the tragedy ( Steven Graves and Chenue Her ).

0:15: Emotionally it has…you know, like I say… I feel like you should tell somebody you love them every day.

The pain is beyond any words I could ever pray to you, Father.?

0:25: I can't even imagine what her family is going through.

Saying Their Names: Dignifying Victims of Tragedy?

We must take the time to learn about the people we cover and what they mean to those who love them the most. Every line highlighted something personal and meaningful to each beloved individual. The flow and progression of each person’s short story are intentional to advance the themes of family, love, joy, and community. The sorrow of grief is contrasted with memories of joy and love.

0:29: We want you to know who they were, so in the days and weeks to come, you will learn what they meant to all of us.

This line sets up the purpose behind the calling out of each person's name. Saying someone’s name in a story is empowering and the beginning of humanizing them.

Without the dignity of identity, our stories can easily dissolve the humanity of people into the background of headlines and information.

Black communities suffering injustice have historically recognized the importance of saying the victim’s name to remember them as fellow human beings and not numbers or statistics to be forgotten.?

1:53: I sympathize for everyone, I feel their pain, I feel everyone's pain 2:01.?

Entering Into Empathy

When you watch the raw interviews, you enter into the moment of someone’s heart and deep reflection. I wanted to be sensitive to the story but gradually escort the viewer into the authentic pain of those most impacted.?

The candid interview about Ryan Keith Cox and his heroic sacrifice was the climactic point of the piece. Her care and concern for Keith and his selfless sacrifice and concern for others delivered an emotional moment.?

2:06: and I don't know what he saw, but he said to get in (coworkers) office right now, and we all went in there….I turned, and I said “Keith”... and he said “I gotta check on everybody else.”

We are so proud of the way he lived (2:22); we are proud of the way he died.

2:45: I just can't get his face out of our minds.?

The story culminates with powerful images of a heartbroken community coming together and ends by summarizing the main themes in one powerful closing line.

“Today, we all grieve.”?

2:52: We come together as one community.?

If he was here today (2:56), I'd tell him I adore you, I love you, and I'm going to miss you so much.

More Than Words

Non-verbal expressions or inarticulate emotions are essential to human storytelling. There are some things a reporter track or sound bite can’t put into words. The pauses, sighs, deep breaths, and tears are all essential parts of the story.

Grief can’t be put into words alone but can be seen and felt through the power of visual storytelling.

So today……(3:02)

(emotional reaction)...I'm sorry

We all grieve.?

In loving memory of Richard Nettleton, Ryan Keith Cox, Christopher Kelly Rapp, Katherine Nixon, Tara Welch Gallagher, Laquita Brown, Mary Louise Gayle, Alexander Gusev, Herbert "Bert" Snelling, Joshua Hardy, Michelle "Missy" Langer, and Robert "Bobby" Williams.

In Part II, I’ll break down my shooting process and insights behind the story symbols, shots, and motifs.?

What is the most challenging story you’ve had to tell? What was your approach, emotion, and process??