Texas Director of Photography Has Heartfelt Experience

Not every shoot we work on has a positive story.  It always seems like working for news means covering a shooting spree or tornado that wiped out an entire neighborhood.  This is why I love working for “Hidden Heroes.”  The Saturday morning program focuses on real-life people who are making a difference in their community.  It’s a powerful show that seems more and more relevant in the current political and social climate.

I shot on the trusty Canon C300 Mark 1 with a variety of L-Series glass at my disposal.  I spent five days working on various segments for “Hidden Heroes.”  The first two days were spent at Rice University.  Most notably we covered a student event called “Sermon Slam.”  This year’s theme was “What is Love?”  Eight students from all walks of life gave speeches on what they think love is.  It was a very powerful event to cover.  Every speech was brilliant and emotional touching.

Hidden Heroes in Houston

The next two days were spent at Jane Long Academy and Las Americas; both schools have a large number of refugee and immigrant students.  Both of these schools have excellent programs that aim to welcome and assimilate students into the culture of this country.  We shot interviews with teachers, program leaders, and students.  It was really eye-opening to hear about the some of the student’s backgrounds.  Most of these students have seen violence and tragedy that we will never witness or experience in our lifetime.  Needless to say, these students are the “Hidden Heroes.”

Our last day brought us back to Rice University.  We filmed students making sandwiches for the homeless.  After the food was loaded up we followed them downtown to the city library.  The student volunteers then passed out hundreds of sandwiches to the less fortunate.

Once we wrapped I made the final footage transfer to the producer’s hard drive and we went our separate ways.

Watch the full episode here!

Other Hidden Heroes Found

We love working with Hidden Heroes and every shoot has something special to offer. We recently also got to see the work Luis Mendez has done to help animals and kids with disabilities at Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo. Check out that story. For a better idea of all the great things Hidden Heroes has captured, be sure to read what our Charleston crew got to shoot with them .