Boxes: Tricks of the Trade

I decided to do another "behind the scenes" blog today. There are so many little tricks and quick fixes that have to happen for everything to go over the airwaves "flawlessly". I always get a kick out of things people come up with to compensate for imperfections. It's no secret that we have some very tall guys on the news team and some…well…not so tall meteorologists. ƒº How do we make up for that so everyone looks to be the same height? Well, under every short meteorologist you'll find a fancy wooden box with carpet on top for traction. We wouldn't want anyone sliding off during a newscast, although that would make for great TV! We have a very unique name for these contraptions; they are referred to as, "a box."

Now at some news stations, anchors or meteorologists stand on phonebooks. We however, have some handy people on staff who have built different boxes for different anchors for different locations in the studio. Of course on the weather wall, none of us use boxes. They just adjust the camera to make us look average height. However, weather pod shots and any shots with other anchors require a bit of a height boost for some of us. High heels also make a difference. The higher the heel the shorter the box needs to be, and sometimes a stiletto can eliminate a box all together. While at the news desk, the chairs are always adjusted according to height. If you look closely in some of the wide shots during the newscasts you'll notice Amanda Taylor standing on a box next to Kelly Ogle. You will never see Christina Eckert on the set when she's not standing on a box. That girl is a whopping 5' 2"! Also, anyone who stands next to Carl Torp ends up on a box. So next time you watch a newscast see if you can tell who's tall and who's slightly vertically challenged. Do you think I stand on a box? What about Gary?