Rebel by default

MY greatest motivation is to to be told - don't. So, when in class I am told don't pan or zoom I looked for examples on the web that countered the no pan, no zoom rule. Well I found it - and contrary to my desire it was not effective as I had willed it to be.

CNN's online video about stolen body parts (morgue employees allegedly stole organs and bones from dead people and replaced them with metal plumbing pipe) used all kinds of video effects that would have been better left out. It did't have a lot of fading from one shot to another but it did have several video overlays - one piece of video playing over another. I also noticed several of the shots seemed to be scripted. A shot of a lawyer walking down the hall, a shot of a remorseful sister at the location were her loved one's ashes were spread or a funeral home employee preening the flowers on a casket. It seemed obvious that the videographer said to the lawyer, "why don't you go into that room - then come out,close the door and walk down the hall." It seemed forced.

I know the point is to critique professional video but I can't help thinking easier said than done. I'm not sure I wouldn't shoot the same scenes if I were filming the this story. I really want to shoot pan and zoom shots, or a cliche shot of a funeral director fidgeting with the casket pillow. Like a damn kid, I may know the rules but I want to break them to see how far I can push the line --Alex