If you ever plan to live-stream a dramatic event, best you don’t do it with a street between you and the subject.
A video producer at the Weather Channel learned this to his cost this week when he tried to broadcast the scheduled demolition of the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.
Jason Rudge began by filming the build-up for around 40 minutes, showing excited crowds turning up to watch what promised to be a spectacular ending for the former home of the Atlanta Falcons.
In the video, we see the destruction starting right on cue, but with only a small, single explosion — perhaps a teaser for everyone watching. Then, just as the 80,000-seat stadium is about to be blown to bits good and proper, a bus — a bus — pulls up right in front of the camera, completely blocking the view for everyone watching the stream.
You really have to feel for Rudge. “Get out of the way, bus!” he shouts as the sound of multiple explosions fills the air. As the construction crumbles into a pile of dust, the bus stays exactly where it is, with the driver and passengers no doubt enthralled with their lucky timing. An ad on the side of the bus reads, “Spot a stroke fast.” Under the circumstances, Rudge must’ve been close to having one himself.
At the end, it all goes quiet and the bus drives off.
At least the Weather Channel could see the funny side, later posting the amusing incident on its YouTube channel with the headline: “Bus Photobombs The Weather Channel’s Stream of Georgia Dome Implosion.” It bleeped out the expletives.
In case you’re interested, here’s a view of the demolition from a bus-free vantage point:
GOODBYE GEORGIA DOME: Here is NewsChopper2 video of the @GeorgiaDome demolition: https://t.co/oILFX7EZuT pic.twitter.com/C8rRtzddgt
— WSB-TV (@wsbtv) November 20, 2017
The Georgia Dome opened in 1992 and took just 15 seconds to be reduced to rubble on Monday, November 20. It’s been replaced by the $1.6 billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium located right next door. If Rudge is alive to see that one demolished, he’ll be sure to choose his spot more carefully.
The Weather Channel worker clearly never heard about a very similar incident that befell a vlogger in Scotland last year. Garry Cornes turned up with his camera hoping to record the destruction of a 40-year-old apartment block in Glasgow. But like Rudge, a bus rolled into view right at the crucial moment, completely ruining his shot.
