Pre-Video Assignment, Bell

Vox + Propublica: When the only way to go free is to plead guilty

I liked this video when I watched it mainly because it takes a complex topic, the Alfred Plea, and explains it effortlessly. The project holds the viewers attention pretty well with it's narration and interviews. The video also does a good job of contextualizing the murder by interplacing the media footage from the initial conviction. This helps us understand the gravity of their situation while they were living it. The narrative of the video also flowed well, I feel that questions weren't popping up (other than the fact the title of the video is only mentioned in the lede of the video until the middle). I liked the compare and contrast of the two subjects. The conclusion of the video used B-rolls to show that the one who took the Plea is glued to his phone waiting for jobs he gets through a temp agency while the other is taking care of a baby and flipping through a newspaper of his case.

Some issues I found:
We've discussed the B-rolls in class and I feel this project largely lacks adequate footage for B-rolls until the conclusion. Their footage instead used older media, but nothing that appears shot by their crew. A part of the video seemed to imply Alfred Pleas are a bad thing for the defense while only really touching on the idea that they exist because the court system is overworked. I think the subjects of the video also took away from this point. An Alfred Plea from a person fully innocent would be more compelling than someone who tampered with the investigation (despite their innocence).