The Courtroom Sketch Artist - (2014)

Sound Design, Mixer, Boom Operator

Director: Ramtin Nikzad

Producers: Ramtin Nikzad, Tina Kaviani

Music: Mark degli Antoni

The dying art of courtroom sketches. One unforeseen consequence of the ongoing battle for cameras in courtrooms is the phasing out of courtroom sketch artists, a breed who will be more appreciated in their passing.

The New York Times has this must-see Op-Doc about one such artist, Gary Myrick (shown above with some of his sketches), who covered Texas court proceedings for four decades.

As Ramtin Nikzad wrote about Myrick:

Starting with the Dallas school desegregation trial in 1976, he sketched courtrooms that featured famous politicians, serial killers, professional athletes, international arms merchants, housewives-turned-killers, victims’ families, rapt juries and napping judges — all rendered with an empathetic gaze and understated wit. His work conveyed the tragedy and folly of the courtroom experience, while avoiding sentimentality and snap judgments about his subjects. His human touch captured what cameras never could. - NCPolicyWatch (2014)

Film Reviews:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/13/opinion/courtroom-sketch-artist.html

http://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org/tag/gary-myrick/

http://www.juxtapoz.com/current/watch-the-rise-and-fall-of-a-courtroom-sketch-artist

http://laughingsquid.com/the-new-york-times-profiles-texas-courtroom-sketch-artist-gary-myrick/

http://www.woostercollective.com/post/shit-were-diggin-courtroom-sketch-artist

http://glasstire.com/2014/05/14/a-texas-courtroom-sketch-artists-rise-and-fall/