Shot in the Dark

It's about video journalists that race to emergencies to be the first to get the footage and sell it to TV stations. Very interesting with lots of intense footage. I never knew these guys existed, guess I always assumed it was the TV stations getting the footage.

I hope they add more episodes soon, I'm addicted to this show.

It is interesting to see this media subculture that provides film to the networks. The real Nightcrawlers or the modern day WeeGees but with video cameras. But the whole series could be condensed down to about an hour. Every episode has far too many shots of the main three characters (all real I presume) driving fast in LA. Same three cars flying around the city shown too many times in each episode. All filler instead of showing them at different places working. Also too much of the same scenes - the guys get to a car accident or shooting, run with your tripod and camera, get yelled at by the police, edit and upload your video and send it to some local news station. Over and over and over again. The three characters are somewhat interesting except the Englishman is a serious complainer. Whines about something every episode. Enough of that. Not bad, but way to long.

Netflix, yet again, has provided the public a look into a profession many never knew existed, a "Stringer". Ask me yesterday what a "stringer" was, and I'd probably tell you that it was something polar opposite from what it actually is. The members of this profession are on site and are determined to document crime, heartbreak and accidents like nothing else matters, often before law enforcement even arrives. Despite the inside fighting of figures as seen on this show, these stringers are on the front lines to provide the media with the coverage every news watcher relies, all around the world. Their footage is captured in a way to give proof, long before well established media teams and even, in many cases, emergency crews arrive. It is raw footage that helps the public realize how susceptible and vulnerable we all are to crime, violence and heartbreak as humans. This has provided a whole new perspective of what could be perceived as an underground network of professions we might have never given heed to without the documentary professionals of Netflix. I finished the series today, the day it was released. It is enticing. I can't wait for the next series. I wish for all members involved to be safe and to continue doing the brave work of which is helping society realize the truth of our surroundings.

The premise of shot in the dark is following LA stringers as they attempt to get newsworthy footage of car accidents/police chases/shootings to sell to news agencies. The show follows three different groups of stringers as they respond to these police scanner calls and race against each other to sell the news. The cinematography is really impeccable on this show, with map visuals of locations, first hand from the stringers and from their following cameraman, and even news footage if the story was used. I really enjoyed getting to see this as I've never been exposed to it before. My only fault is that they interactions between the different groups felt very staged. After 8 episodes the show does become very repetitive (car on fire, building on fire, etc.).

Disgusting. There is one scene, a black suv stalls on the freeway, lights still on. All of a sudden, the suv goes completely dark. You know someone is going to smash. One of the cameramen is sitting on the side of the road waiting for the crash. He could have used a flashlight or camera light to illuminate the darkened vehicle. Instead, he just sits there and waits for the crash, which happens. .