Travels with Jim Compton: Ethiopia

Link

We lost a friend last week – Jim Compton.

I worked with Jim at KING TV for many years. In 1999 Jim traveled with Janda Black and myself to Ethiopia to shoot a piece for the Packard Foundation.  Our task was to show the challenges the country was facing with family planning programs.  It was my first trip to Africa – Jim had been there before during his years as a correspondent for NBC. It was a long trip, three weeks as I recall. We covered a lot of ground, talked to a lot of people and got pretty sunburned, especially Jim.  I will admit that your first trip to a place like that is a pretty eye opening experience. I probably kept my eye on the ball only because of Jim’s gentle nature.  In the worst of moments, he just made it all seem like it would work out. I also totally trusted his ability to tell the story even if I could only pay attention to the pictures.

He saved me on our last night there. We were the Minister of Health’s guests at this lavish dinner, along with the “special dancers”. The Deputy Minister asked me to dance – all of the guys in Ethiopia dance together. We were the first ones on the floor. That poor little guy had never seen such bad moves. I must have looked like a frog in a blender; I just could not get into the groove of that funky Ethiopian tune. Jim cut in and ended what could have been an international incident. The best part is he never mentioned it again.

This is the story we made for the Lehrer News Hour on PBS. It’s a classic example of Jim’s writing and delivery. We’re going to miss him.

Will the real red jet please stand up?

Just recently, red jet films had the pleasure of visiting our friends at the Seattle Museum of Flight!

We got to do a little 4K filming with our new Sony F-55. We had an “up close and personal” with some of the most beautifully restored planes we have ever seen, including a couple of REAL red jets!  A big round of applause to the curators and volunteer staff for the new exhibits. Everything was stunning.

Keep your eyes peeled here for a sneak preview of our short film for the Museum of Flight. Coming soon to a blog near you …

F-55 in action at the Museum of Flight

F-55 in action at the Museum of Flight

mr. red jet films hard at play

mr. red jet – hard at play