The Hurricane Katrina home video is being called one of the best DVDs about what happened in New Orleans and what it was like to be in New Orleans before, during and after Hurricane Katrina.

Since I have been asked by several people, yes, this is the DVD that has a lot of the Hurricane Katrina stock footage that is in other documentaries by The Weather Channel, National Geographic "Inside Katrina", Discovery Channel, Associated Press, NHK Japan, Tokyo Broadcasting (TBS) Japan, Spiegel TV Germany, RTL Television, BBC, HBO, Comedy Central, PBS, Spike Lee's "When The Levees Broke" and many other broadcast documentary productions.

When Hurricane Katrina made landfall in New Orleans, Louisiana on August 29th, 2005, I was the one Weather Paparazzi or Hurricane Chaser that stayed behind to document the before, during, and aftermath of Hurricane Katrina on the streets of New Orleans.

While there was a few people that stayed behind to document Katrina, I was the only one out of the streets getting hit by debris and risking my life to get the shot. Everyone else took shelter except for a few brave New Orleans police officers that I documented on Canal Street.

The video in this documentary is the play-by-play of events from August 27th, 2005 through August 30th, 2005, that I was able to capture as Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Downtown New Orleans and the greater New Orleans area.

Now to answer a lot of the frequently asked questions that I have been asked about the footage.

Question: How long is the DVD?

Answer: The Hurricane Katrina video section is one hour and seventeen minutes long. It was edited down from over ten hours of raw footage shot before, during and after Hurricane Katrina in the New Orleans metro area. The DVD is a video diary of what I saw during Katrina and bring's the viewer along for the ride.

Question: Are there any special feature's on the DVD?

Answer: Yes, in the special feature's section I included the raw news feed footage that was shot for The Associated Press London and The Weather Channel during Hurricane Rita. The footage was shot in Key West Florida and Port Arthur Texas. The length of the Hurricane Rita footage is over Twenty One minutes long. Also included is the radar data from Hurricane Katrina up until the radar site failed in the storm.

Question: When and where was the footage on the DVD Filmed?

Answer: The footage was filmed in New Orleans, Kenner, and Metairie. Please preview the demo video and photographs to get an idea of what was filmed and where around the New Orleans metro area it was filmed. The bonus footage was filmed in Key West Florida and Port Arthur Texas during Hurricane Rita.

Question: Who shot the footage and why?

Answer: The footage was shot by myself while on assignment for The Weather Channel to document the Hurricane hitting the gulf coast. Due to the proximity of New Orleans to the eye of the storm and the strength of the storm, I decided to stay in the metro area to cover the storm when every other hurricane chaser avoided the city. Although I was on assignment for The Weather Channel, I am a freelance photojournalist (Weather Paparazzi) and I own the rights to all of the footage that I shot before during and after the storm.

Question: Is the Hurricane Katrina DVD suitable for viewing by all ages?

Answer: Yes, while on location I try to keep the talking to a minimum so there is no foul language in the DVD. But the Hurricane Charley DVD that comes with the Hurricane Katrina DVD may not be due to some language. But that is on a different DVD.

Question: I have seen some of this footage in other specials on TV, what is the difference between your DVD and the other DVD's on the market?

Answer: Well for example, I was featured in the National Geographic special Inside Katrina, but their special is a focus of what happened with the storm and the politics of the breakdown of what happened after the storm. In their 2 hour documentary, they use just under 10 minutes of my footage. My documentary is a video diary of what I saw before, during and after in the New Orleans metro area from August 27th through August 30th from a first hand account.

As far as I know, nobody else was shooting on the streets in the New Orleans area during Katrina. The news crews that stayed behind, stayed inside or just outside their sheltered areas and or hotels. I was the only one who was mobile during the storm in downtown. Most of the footage that was shot during the eye wall was on Canal Street.

Question: How did you get out of the area during the flooding?

Answer: That's the edge of your seat ride while watching the DVD seeing me get out of the city. You have to watch the video for the answer.

Question: Did you stay for the looting and the breakdown of the city after the storm?

Answer: No I did not stay after August 30th in the New Orleans metro area. I could have stayed but due to the social breakdown after Katrina, I felt it was too dangerous for me to stay in the area.

Question: If I purchase the DVD, can I use the footage for my video project?

Answer: No, the footage is copyrighted material and the DVD is only for home usage. If caught using the footage for a production without a license, you will be breaking the law.

Question: I want to use your footage in a project that were producing, how can I obtain a license to use the footage?

Answer: To obtain a license to use the footage on the DVD, you must purchase the footage from my company BNVN at www.bnvn.com

Question: Can we just tell you the shots we want from your DVD for our project?

Answer: No, you MUST purchase the footage from BNVN.com using the BNVN stock video catalog id and time codes. The stock video ID and time codes are what is used in the actual footage license agreement paperwork.

Question: We are picking up your footage for our project but are you available for interviews for our project?

Answer: Yes, I will be more then happy to talk on camera or off camera regarding what I went through to get the footage in Hurricane Katrina.

Question: I have a store in the New Orleans metro area and would like to carry the DVD in our store, do you have wholesale rates?

Answer: Yes, please contact me for wholesale rates.

Question: Ok, I watched your DVD, what the hell where you driving.

Answer: It was a SUV but I will say which SUV since I am not a paid spokes person for that company.

Question: I'm still not sure about your DVD since there are a lot of DVD's out there about the hurricanes. Do you have any reviews of your DVD?

Answer: Below are reviews by other customer's who have purchased the DVD and emailed me with their thoughts about the Hurricane Katrina video.

My name is Melinda and I live in Jefferson Parish with my husband and 5 year old daughter. We did not leave for Katrina and had no damage to our home and no water to even speak of. After the levee's broke then we left and went to Memphis. I have lived in New Orleans all my life and road out Besty and Camille both times we were lucky.

Thank's to your video I now have something to hold on to and feel for all the people that lost everything. As with Besty and Camille we do not have anything but what we remember. I bought several copies for my family members that line in Tn. and Ga.

You put yourself in grave danger and shared it with the world and I thank you for that.
Your work is the best I have ever seen and I have seen alot due to the storm and I am proud to have a copy of your DVD.
God Bless you.

P.S. What the heck kind of truck were you driving? I would have been underwater with my 4 runner. You need to share this video with the car maker I bet I will see you on a commercial.

Thank you again
Melinda B

I got the DVD in the mail on Monday and my husband and I watched it. It was incredible. I think it really gave him a sense of what happened. All I can say is thank you. To be perfectly honest I'm terrified of hurricane season, rain storms, anything like that. but it's getting better, i can go swimming now and can drive in the rain. I used to sit and watch the weather channel, watch the flood waters move houses and everything but I never thought it would happen to me.

Cherie W - New Orleans

I received my DVD yesterday and watched it immediately. It is excellent! The
best quality video I have seen yet. It was very interesting seeing you
trying to escape the city before getting caught in the flood. You even drove
near my office and also near my neighborhood, so that made it extra special
to see those areas under water. I live not far from Veterans Blvd and
Causeway and didn't get water in my house. My neighbors did but it just came
up to my door. I had about 4 - 5 feet of water in my office. That was a
mess!

Anyway, I just wanted to say how pleased I am with the DVD. Thanks for
sharing it.
Greg L
Metairie, LA