Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

WRAL-TV Reporter and Designer Come Together for Impactful Storytelling about Opioid Overdose

18/07/2024

A recent WRAL-TV story brought together the best of virtual design and reporting to explain an important concept surrounding the opioid epidemic. WRAL-TV Health Reporter Grace Hayba and WRAL-TV Visual Design Director Shan Zhong worked together to create a compelling and informative piece about how Naloxone - or Narcan - works to combat an overdose of fentanyl.

It was a great collaboration between Grace Hayba, our health reporter, and Shan Zhong, our AR/VR artist with creative services, said WRAL-TV Enterprise Executive Producer Ashley Talley. It was definitely a different way to tell a whole story. We use the animations lovingly called Shanimations' in various stories, but this was unique in that nearly the whole thing was done in that form.

Augmented Storytelling, Enhanced Understanding

Passionate about the work she has been given, Hayba considered how to tackle a key topic.

From the time I started here, it quickly became evident opioid coverage would be a big part of my beat as the health reporter, explained Hayba. I began brainstorming ideas with Ashley Talley about how to talk about overdoses in a new way, going beyond just the statistics. We decided to hone in on fentanyl due to its deadly grasp on the state.

Hayba continued, Ashley first suggested finding a way to visualize what happens inside the human body during an overdose. When researching the science behind it all, I realized I wanted to also include the life-saving medication naloxone in the piece. We have repeatedly told viewers that it helps save lives, but we haven't truly explained how.

Then Zhong entered the picture. He has used his expertise in design on countless stories over the years.

Since 2019, I started working with news and weather to create immersive mixed reality (newsroom calls it AR augmented reality), explained Zhong. I do AR standups, packages, and weather explainers for stories that need enhanced graphics to better explain the topics. Grace's story was one of them.

Opioid use, especially those which are illegally manufactured, is an epidemic the entire country is battling. The state reports from 2000-2022 alone, over 36,000 North Carolinians died from overdoses. When I read that statistic, I don't just see numbers, but rather the thousands of mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and friends lost. I thought it was important to remind people how an amount so small you can't even see can kill you. We have recently reported on more harm reduction efforts aimed at increasing the supply of naloxone, including in Wake County Schools, so I wanted to ensure we incorporated a solution to the problem as well.

WRAL-TV Health Reporter Grace Hayba Zhong's augmented reality design and Hayba's narration came together to show as well as tell viewers.

The beauty of having Shan on our team is that it gives WRAL the ability to tell stories in ways others can't, Hayba told CapCom. In writing the script, I felt the natural story arc was to begin with someone who first takes fentanyl, begins to overdose, and is then revived using naloxone.

After talking through the concept with Hayba, Zhong got to work.

In general, after going over the script with producers, I'll create visual storyboards to plan out how anchors, reporters, and meteorologists interact with virtual graphics elements, he said. Then we do video shoots based on the storyboards, and finally complete the postproduction process.

WRAL-TV Health Reporter Grace Hayba (left) in the AR/VR studio with WRAL-TV Visual Design Director Shan Zhong, working together to produce a story about naxolone.

He spent many hours creating the AR, and then the duo went into the studio to bring it to life.

Shan made it really easy! Hayba told CapCom. This was my first time working on a VR project, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect but he directed me through every shot and motion.

The team shot Hayba in the AR studio over a green screen. Then the package was completed in post by compositing video and graphics.

The reason I think Shan was able to knock this out of the park was entirely in his approach, said Hayba. He first met with me to go over my script and hear what my ideas were so that he could understand what the science was that I wanted to visualize. He then created a storyboard with sketches to walk me through how he planned to shrink my body inside the brain and move throughout the vital organs as they shut down. We did a few takes with varying arm motions to make sure nothing would be cut off when I was pointing at the naloxone or organs.

WRAL-TV Visual Design Director Shan Zhong created graphics in augmented reality to help tell a story by WRAL-TV Health Reporter Grace Hayba about naloxone and how it fights a fentanyl overdose.

Hayba greatly appreciated the others on the WRAL crew who helped make the story happen.

I also want to give a huge thank you to WRAL-TV News Production Manager James Ford and WRAL-TV Streaming Editor/Producer Khadejah Durant for helping coordinate the camera, lighting, audio and prompter! she said. It was really a team effort.

And Hayba is grateful to have Zhong on the team to further the important story she wanted to share.

I truly admire how he can take an idea in someone's head and turn it into an engaging visualization that is even better than you imagined, Hayba told CapCom. Storytelling nowadays relies so much on keeping viewers connected and engaged with the piece. When you have a world of content at your fingertips, showcasing your story in new ways has become more important than ever. Shan's work absolutely accomplishes that and then some! His creativity is incredible, and I can't wait to work with him further in the future!

WRAL-TV s Grace Hayba (center) in the AR/VR studio with WRAL-TV's Shan Zhong (right) and WRAL-T
LINK: https://capitolbroadcasting.com/2024/07/18/wral-tv-reporter-and-design...
See more stories from cbc

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

22/05/2026

Germanys Magenta TV Selects DMC to Provide FIFA World Cup Technical Support for Studios in Munich, New York City

Germany's Magenta TV, which will have 44 exclusive FIFA World Cup match broa...

22/05/2026

DAZN Grabs IFAF Flag Football Global Rights

DAZN, the world's leading sports entertainment platform, has acquired global broadcast rights to the International Federation of American Football's ( I...

22/05/2026

ATHLOS 2026 Season Set for October Debut in London; Aurora Media Worldwide Named Host Broadcast Partner

ATHLOS, the all-women's professional track and field league, has announced i...

22/05/2026

NATAS to Stream Sports, News, and Documentary Emmy Awards Live on YouTube

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) today announced that the 47th Annual Sports Emmy Awards and the 47th Annual News & Documentary Emmy A...

22/05/2026

Wooden Camera Rolls Out New Blackmagic URSA Accessories

Wooden Camera today announced the release of new accessories for the Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersive. The new lineup includes a redesigned Top Plate and Side Rai...

22/05/2026

YES Network, OTT Advisors Extend Streaming Partnership for Sixth Season

YES Network and OTT Advisors have announced a sixth consecutive season of their streaming partnership, continuing their collaboration on the Gotham app. OTT Adv...

22/05/2026

NESN Monster Week' Returns With Full Red Sox Broadcast From Atop Green Monster

NESN, New England's premier sports network, will again turn its camera to Fe...

22/05/2026

Dale Pro Audio RF Over Fiber Webinar Set for May 28

Dale Pro Audio is hosting an RF over Fiber Livestream Webinar on May 28 from 1-2:30 pm EST. With major sporting events and large-scale productions putting incre...

22/05/2026

Audio-Technica Appoints Humrichouser, Schanz to New Roles

Audio-Technica has announced key leadership appointments designed to further strengthen its sales organization and drive continued growth across the Americas. M...

22/05/2026

Scott Coker Launches Global MMA League With $60 Million in Backing

After nearly four decades shaping the global combat sports landscape, Scott Coker has announced a powerful return as he looks to build a new international mixed...

22/05/2026

Skyline Launches xOps Vanguard Runway for Autonomous Era

Skyline Communications, the company behind the globally deployed DataMiner xOps platform, today announced the launch of xOps Vanguard Runway, a strategic accele...

22/05/2026

The American Rodeo Takes Over Globe Life Field for Championship Weekend

For the fully onsite production, 30 cameras - including a SkyCam and Megalodon - will capture the action in Texas One of the world's biggest rodeo producti...

22/05/2026

Argentinas Torneos Taps Imagine Versio for Playout Operations Upgrade

Leading Argentina-based sports media company Torneos y Competencias S.A. has modernized its playout operations, implementing a fully redundant, multichannel env...

22/05/2026

Owl AI and Major League Pickleball Go Live with First-Ever AI Officiating System Powered by Broadcast Cameras and the Cloud

As the 2026 Major League Pickleball season kicks off this weekend in Dallas, it ...

22/05/2026

Shure, Edge Sound Research Look to Innovate via Partnership

Shure has become a minority investor in Edge Sound Research, a start-up company that is developing new experiential audio technologies that redefine how many au...

22/05/2026

SVG Rewind: MLBs UmpCam AR System Puts Fans Inside the Strike Zone Like Never Before

In advance of this year's Sports Emmy Awards, SVG is taking a deep dive into...

22/05/2026

Jelly Roll Offers Up 2026 Stanley Cup Playoff Theme Song for NHL, Amazon Music

The National Hockey League (NHL) and Amazon Music announced that GRAMMY Award-winning superstar Jelly Roll will provide the official theme song of the 2026 Stan...

22/05/2026

David Pogue, Andy Beach Keynotes Highlight Silicon Valley Video Summer Camp, July 14 at De Anza College

David Pogue will keynote SVV Summer Camp and discuss Apple at 50: How the World...

22/05/2026

FOX Sports, IMS Productions Scale Up Indy 500 Production in Year Two With New In-Car Cameras, AR Graphics, and Cinematic Sets

In its second year as rightsholder, FOX Sports goes bigger across the board for ...

22/05/2026

FOX Sports' Indy 500 Director Mitch Riggin on the Tech and Storytelling for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing

Heading into FOX Sports' second Indianapolis 500, Lead Director Mitch Riggin...

22/05/2026

How Spotify's Rebuilt Ad Platform Is Delivering New Value for Brands

At our 2026 Investor Day, we shared an inside look at the rebuild of our advertising business. This pivot to our own purpose-built platform is already driving s...

22/05/2026

Spotify Levels Up Our Podcast Experience With New Features for Fans and Creators

Podcasting on Spotify continues to grow, and so do the ways listeners engage with it. At Investor Day 2026, we shared how we're building the next chapter of...

22/05/2026

CEDAR Audio introduce Icons Bundles

Limited-time collections now available Restoration experts CEDAR Audio have recently launched a new line of Icons plug-ins that make their powerful processo...

22/05/2026

Boss expand PS-1 Plugout Pedal

Three new classics join Model Pass line-up Boss' PX-1 Plugout Pedal offers an innovative approach to guitar pedals, providing users with a hardware stom...

22/05/2026

SGL Carbon commissions photovoltaic system and lays the foundation for a new nitrogen plant at its Meitingen site

At its Meitingen site, SGL Carbon has implemented two key projects to further de...

22/05/2026

Statement regarding 2026 National NAIDOC Lifetime Achievement Award for the late Rhoda Roberts AO

Statement regarding 2026 National NAIDOC Lifetime Achievement Award for the late...

22/05/2026

Polsat Reclaims Second Place and ByteDance Enters Top 10 as Polish Viewing Moves Beyond the Living Room in April

Latest data reveals steady distributor rankings, a seasonal shift toward digital...

22/05/2026

FCC Votes to Update Disaster Information Reporting System

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/05/2026

Amagi delivers 30 per cent revenue growth in FY26 Adjuste...

Amagi Media Labs Limited (NSE: AMAGI, BSE: 544679), a cloud-native SaaS platform providing AI-enabled solutions to global media and entertainment companies, tod...

22/05/2026

Annima Post Relies on Cintel to Revive Classic Mexican Films

An nima Post Relies on Cintel to Revive Classic Mexican Films Brie Clayton May 22, 2026 0 Comments Film scanner and DaVinci Resolve Studio help manage...

22/05/2026

Boris FX Sapphire Adds Optical Beauty and Hypnotic Textures

Boris FX Sapphire Adds Optical Beauty and Hypnotic Textures Jessie Electa Petrov May 22, 2026 0 Comments The 2026.5 release introduces advanced defocu...

22/05/2026

Deployment Preserves Trusted Workflows While Enabling a P...

Deployment Preserves Trusted Workflows While Enabling a Path to UHD and SMPTE ST 2110 Leading Argentina-based sports media company Torneos y Competencias S.A....

22/05/2026

Study: AI Labeling Does Not Hurt Video Ad Performance

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/05/2026

NAB Show Makes 200+ Sessions Available on Demand

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/05/2026

Torneos Upgrades Multichannel Playout with Imagine's Versio

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/05/2026

Ex-Husband, Current Husband, One Wild Rescue: Korean Action Comedy Husbands in Action' Premieres June 19

Back to All News Ex-Husband, Current Husband, One Wild Rescue: Korean Action Co...

22/05/2026

Beta Da Silva hosts live performances from 20 new Irish artists in Sessions from Oblivion on 2FM's New Music Show

Catch the latest in Irish music live from venues such as Whelan's, R is n Du...

21/05/2026

CBS Sports Expands WNBA Tip-Off Show To Cover Half of 20-Game, Regular-Season Package

Game Creek Video Columbia and Celtic, NEP Supershooter 8 will house onsite produ...

21/05/2026

SVG Students To Watch: Christina Zelin, Rowan University

Freshly graduated, this upstart producer, director, and camera operator is already working as an AP on videoboard shows for the Philadelphia Phillies In the li...

21/05/2026

Media Links Announces Channel Partnership with Clearcast Asia Ahead of BroadcastAsia 2026

Media Links has announced a channel partnership with Clearcast Asia, a broadcast...

21/05/2026

SiriusXM and NASCAR Announce Multi-Year Broadcasting Agreement Renewal

SiriusXM and NASCAR have announced a multi-year renewal of their broadcasting agreement. SiriusXM will continue to carry live broadcasts of every NASCAR Cup Ser...

21/05/2026

Audio-Technica Hosts High-Density Wireless Microphone Demo at Technica House in New York City

Audio-Technica held a demonstration event at its Technica House location in New ...

21/05/2026

RTL Deutschland Selects Ateme Frame-Rate Conversion Technology for Live Event Workflows

Ateme has announced that RTL Deutschland has selected Ateme's software-based...

21/05/2026

BCC Live Deploys LiveU LU900Q for Record-Breaking IRONMAN Texas Broadcast

LiveU has announced that BCC Live deployed the LU900Q intelligent production unit for the first time during the 2026 Memorial Hermann IRONMAN Texas North Americ...

21/05/2026

Mark Aitken to Receive 2026 ATSC Mark Richer Industry Leadership Medal

ATSC has announced that Mark Aitken, President of ONE Media and Senior VP of Advanced Technology at Sinclair Broadcast Group, will receive the 2026 Mark Richer ...

21/05/2026

BBright Outlines MXL Integration Strategy for Software-Defined Broadcast Workflows

BBright has published a technical analysis of the Media eXchange Layer (MXL), de...