I wasn’t aware of this annual event just outside the city limits of Cupertino at the Hanson Quarry off Stevens Canyon Road until I had the task to shoot some b-roll of a Cupertino community volunteer who is a Lions Club member. The Lions Club annual Fish-A-Thon, held at the Stevens Creek Quarry (also known as the former Hanson Quarry), is open to anyone with special needs. More than 100 volunteers took part in this year’s event. They helped those fishing to bait their hooks, cast their lines, unhook, clean and pack the fish, plus supervise traffic and parking.

Although I was at the event to shoot a Cupertino Recognizes Extra Steps Taken (CREST) recipient (b-roll), I took the time to shoot the event he was at which was the Fish-A-Thon. When I shoot an event, I start shooting almost as soon as I setup the camera. Similar to writing, you get the who, what, when, where and why…but, I wasn’t going to have any interviews of the Lions Club and why they hold this event. The footage was going to be put into our archives in the case we would need it for a future reason. And, there was a lot to shoot (great for the visuals and the audio!)What we are doing with that footage that sits and is not destined for a program, we edit it as a “Sights and Sounds” piece. This is an easy edit where we just tell the story with just the video and audio captured during the event. The editing was only a couple hours because I’ll edit it, convert (fuse) it into one continuous video stream, and resize the video for placing it into the limited space available after the Sights and Sounds graphics are added. The graphics ensures that people watching realize this is not a 30 or 60 minute program and expect more from it.

About the Cupertino Lions Host Club
Cupertino Host Lions Club was chartered in 1951 and established the Santa Clara Valley Blind Center in 1953. It hosted the De Anza Lions Club in 1969 and, over the years, the club has contributed services to Cupertino residents, the Silicon Valley as a whole, and globally through the Lions Club International.

Our equipment: Sony dsr-500s, sachtler tripods, Pinnacle Liquid Silver NLE editor