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...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

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

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

09/04/2026

ENCO to Showcase New aiTrack Capabilities at 2026 NAB Show

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/04/2026

LTN Unveils Network Enhancements in Advance of C-Band Changes

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/04/2026

FOR-A Buys Tamura Corp. Information Equipment Business

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/04/2026

Imagine Showcases Expanded Multiviewer Portfolio at 2026...

Purpose Built Monitoring From Live Production to Master Control to OTT, Across On Prem and Cloud Environments At the 2026 NAB Show (April 19-22, Las Vegas Con...

09/04/2026

Harmonic Extends Hybrid Streaming Leadership with AI and...

Purpose Built Monitoring From Live Production to Master Control to OTT, Across On Prem and Cloud Environments At the 2026 NAB Show (April 19-22, Las Vegas Con...

09/04/2026

LTN unveils network enhancements as broadcaster satellite...

New advances meet surge in demand for broadcast-grade IP migration as C-band spectrum auctions approach LTN announces major enhancements to its purpose-built g...

09/04/2026

Hitomi Broadcast Expands Sales Team with Nicola Milburn

Hitomi Broadcast has expanded its sales team with the addition of Nicola Milburn as Technical Sales Manager. In this role, Nicola will work with customers and p...

09/04/2026

Layercake and Ceeblue Announce Strategic Integration to D...

Revolutionary combined solution brings sub-second latency, resilient delivery, and workflow orchestration to global broadcasters and digital platforms Layercak...

09/04/2026

BIA Increases 2026 Local Ad Forecast to $184.5 Billion

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/04/2026

Yospace surpasses 10 billion ads stitched in a single mon...

Yospace exceeded 10 billion dynamically stitched ads in a single month, reaching 11.6 billion as ad-supported streaming surged. Driven by a packed global sports...

09/04/2026

Bitmovin Expands Live Encoding and Observability Solution...

Bitmovin has expanded its Live Encoding and Observability solutions to provide true end to end, real time insights across live streaming workflows, from encodin...

09/04/2026

Leyra Powers the Launch of Icelandic Broadcaster RUVs Str...

Leyra has announced the launch of Icelandic public broadcaster R V's streaming service on Samsung and LG Smart TVs. R V is the first public broadcaster to d...

09/04/2026

3Play Media Launches AI Dubbing Solution for YouTube Crea...

3Play Media, a global leader in video accessibility and localization, today announced an AI Dubbing solution purpose-built for YouTube creators. The company, wh...

09/04/2026

Big Blue Marble Recognized as AWS Managed Services Provid...

Big Blue Marble, a provider of broadcast-grade, cloud-native video solutions, has been recognized as an Amazon Web Services (AWS) Managed Services Provider (MSP...

09/04/2026

PDC Cleeng and Urban Zoo partner to launch new global str...

The Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) has officially launched its revamped global streaming service, PDC TV, in collaboration with Cleeng and sports technolo...

09/04/2026

Cleeng launches industry first cross-platform AI agents t...

Cleeng, the Subscriber Retention Management (SRM ) pioneer, today announced a raft of new AI agents for its AI Assistant to accelerate decision-making and autom...

09/04/2026

Hearst Taps Merzigo to Expand Presence on YouTube, Facebook

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/04/2026

Fox Jumps Into Prediction Markets with Kalshi Integration

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/04/2026

NAB Show: Kokusai Denki To Feature New, Affordable 4K Broadcast Camera

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/04/2026

Corus Taps Appear for IP-First Operations

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/04/2026

2026 NAB Show Exhibitor Insights: Big Blue Marble

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/04/2026

FCC Extends Audible Crawl Rule Waiver for 18 Months

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/04/2026

Pliant Technologies Showcases Expanded Accessories at NAB...

New Charging, Connectivity, and Mounting Solutions Now Available LAS VEGAS, APRIL 8, 2026 Pliant Technologies will highlight a range of new accessories at th...

09/04/2026

Media Links Brings Ultra Resilient IP Transport Proven at...

As live production continues its shift to IP, the challenge is no longer adoption it's reliability. At NAB Show 2026 (Booth W2033), Media Links will demon...

09/04/2026

QuickLink Launches StudioPro Town Hall at 2026 NAB Show

QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest contribution solutions, launches its new AI-powered add-on for its StudioPro p...

09/04/2026

The Hive Group Releases White Paper on the FCC Upper C-Ba...

The Hive Group has published a new white paper, No Safe Harbor: Why the FCC's Upper C-Band Auction Demands Early Action from Broadcasters ahead of NAB Sho...

09/04/2026

Saranyu Technologies Renews VisualOn Optimizer VoD Subscr...

Saranyu Technologies today announced the renewal of its Optimizer VoD subscription with VisualOn. The announcement coincides with NAB Show 2026, taking place Ap...

09/04/2026

Brian Fenton Joins RT Sunday Game GAA Panel for 2026 Championship

RT Sport has announced Brian Fenton will join its Sunday Game GAA punditry panel for the 2026 Championship, featuring across video, audio, online including the...

09/04/2026

Time for some fresh air: Tracks & Trails is back

Doireann N Ghlac in returns as presenter, with the first episode airing this Friday at 8.30pm on RT One and RT Player The beloved walking series Tracks & T...

09/04/2026

Strength and Destiny Collide: Samson: A Tyndalston Story' Arrives in the Cloud

A timeless story of grit, faith and rebellion takes center stage as Samson: A Ty...

09/04/2026

April 08, 2026

New technique for synthesizing branched molecules could accelerate the development of future medicines Scripps Research chemists solve a longstanding problem in...

08/04/2026

SVG College Sports Media Awards 2026: Entry Deadline is Monday, April 13

The deadline to enter the 18th Annual SVG College Sports Media Awards in association with NACDA is rapidly approaching! Submit your entries to this year's c...

08/04/2026

SVG Campus Shot Callers: Trever Sheets, Senior Director, ACC Network, Virginia Tech

The Pittsburgh product helps lead more than 100 annual ESPN broadcasts as part o...

08/04/2026

SVG Sit-Down: Harmonic's Jean Macher on Turning Live Sports Content Into a Smarter Monetization Engine

Dynamic ad insertion, AI-based technologies, programmatic advertising are some o...

08/04/2026

Announcing the 2026 Fellows for the Sundance Institute Cultural Impact Residency on Sundance Collab

Seven Fellows Selected for Second Year of Residency in Honor of Social Justice L...

08/04/2026

From Tokyo to the World: Watch Bad Bunny's Billions Club Live Concert on Spotify

On March 7, Bad Bunny made history with his first-ever performance in Asia, taki...

08/04/2026

De Tokio para el mundo: Mira el concierto Billions Club Live de Bad Bunny en Spotify

El 7 de marzo, Bad Bunny hizo historia con su primera presentaci n en Asia, subi...

08/04/2026

Tube Lab from Fuse Audio Labs

New channel strip plug-in revealed The latest plug-in to be added to the Fuse Audio Labs line-up emulates a selection of vintage hardware units, combining c...

08/04/2026

Blue Cat Audio release Axiom 2.3

Guitar & bass multi-effects software overhauled Blue Cat Audio's flagship guitar and bass multi-effects software has recently received a significant upd...

08/04/2026

Merging Technologies launch Pyramix 16

PanNoir mixer integration, Dolby Atmos Renderer & more Merging Technologies have just launched Pyramix 16, the latest major update to their renowned DAW sof...

08/04/2026

Updating QUARTZ Router Module Firmware Over-The-Air

Applicable Products Part number Description QUARTZ-22-LTE (EU) Dual Port Dual SIM LTE Router (EU) QUARTZ-COMPACT-11-LTE (EU) Single Port Compact LTE ...

08/04/2026

YEP September 2025 Newsletter (2)

The September 19, 2025 YEP Newsletter highlights a group visit to the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, where participants explored exhibits showcasing the art...

08/04/2026

Proven On Orbit: L3Harris Congratulates Missile Defense Agency for Receiving Top Defense Honor for HBTSS

The L3Harris HBTSS satellite is proven on orbit, successfully demonstrating trac...

08/04/2026

From Earth to Mars: Resilient Communications Powering the Space Economy

Image Credit: NASA. Artist rendering of a space communications satellite in orbit, representative of the resilient, multiband infrastructure supporting mission ...