Any media feature will be fundamentally different than a long term documentary project. In essence, a media feature asks the subject to represent his or her life and compress it to fit a scripted story of a few minutes duration. After the NYT published my work on Olmedini, there was an immediate response from media outlets requesting features.

I've tagged along on a few of those shooting BTS and paying close attention to how the media chooses to represent him. Without exception, visiting crews have tried to recreate my photographs as if they were the script to follow. So that instead of looking at Olmedini directly they look at him twice removed. Furthermore, none of them have acknowledged their debt to my images and have instead treated the story as if they were breaking it for the first time.

But I will say that Victor Javier Solano of Noticiero Univision 41 was an exception to this rule. He did his homework in terms of research and drafted probing and sensitive questions for the magician. At Olmedini's request, he also interviewed me on camera. My favorite moment in their feature is when a homeless guy approaches in the subway and kisses Olmedini's hands, telling the story of how the magician had more than once fed him when he was in need.