I used to work at a local TV news station, where I made graphics on the weekends. Sometimes a producer would request something odd, and I would make a "funny" graphic just for laughs. I think it's safe now, since I am no longer employed there, and all these graphics are from 2 looks ago and not in HD, I think it's safe to share them with the public. With a few exceptions, none of these ever wound up on the air.

Still More TV Graphics

Request was for a "Marathon Death" horizontal plasma. How can you show a marathon death in a picture without being horrible? What we eventually ended up doing is just using our normal marathon graphic with the title "Marathon Death," but see if you can guess why this one was not used...

The graphics request was for a "Mysterious Booms" OTS. Loud explosions had been heard (and felt) several times over a period of about a month on the North side of town. Nobody was able to figure out where the booms were coming from, or what was causing them. My problem: How do you show a SOUND in a graphic? (This was another request from the producer who did not understand how pictures work.) After my best attempt - which I think is pretty clever - the graphic was killed, meaning they decided to use no picture for it at all. Too bad, since this may have been my only chance to get my face on TV.

The request was for a "Rabies Scare" plasma. A tough subject to depict tactfully. This graphic makes me laugh every time I see it, because I did everything you're not supposed to do: The font is wrong. The "medical" background is an overused cliche (and the stethoscope is inappropriate to the context.) The giant dog head at the bottom is goofy & unsettling. The composition is awful, and the graphic looks extremely stupid. I was delighted when we wound up actually using it on the air. Not just once, but SEVERAL times. It was still in the system two years later, when rabies made the news again. The senior staff artist saw it during the show and said "Where did THAT come from??" I quietly smiled a secret smile...

Request was for a "Robots" OTS. I made this immediately and then called the producer to see what the story was about. A group of High School robotics clubs were having their Robo-Battle competition at the convention center. I showed this to the producer and we agreed that, while it depicted the wrong kind of robots for the story, it was too cool not to use .. so it went on the air. YIPPEE!!!