no story lives unless someone wants to listen – J.K. Rowling
start with best pictures
impact at beginning – substance in middle to tell story – tell us where story is going next/round off story. sometimes go back to where you started/potentially PTC to round things off.
magic ingredients to make packages industry standard:
natural sound
sequences
voiceover – write to pictures
have an opening 12-15 seconds set sequence to lead people into the story.
walking PTCs give story momentum and push story on.
people should enter and leave a shot. don’t cut halfway through walking
don’t cut similar shots i.e. a mid shot followed by a mid shot.
set up shots allow voiceovers and allow us to tell the story.
bring sound in before pictures for interviews
wide two shot – close up – then can go anywhere
voice overs don’t describe pictures, they help viewers understand it
face whats behind you and then turn to face camera
So this is a quick run-through of the key aspects of television reporting.
Do your research – you’ll have a far better understanding of what’s going on and what you need to ask if you know the ins and outs of your story before you arrive at your destination.
Know your library – make sure you know what images/videos/sound you already have in your library so you know what you need to get when you’re out and about.
Know where you’re going – sounds very obvious (and it is) but you’ll more then likely be working to a tight deadline so you’ll need to know where you’re going, how long the journey will take, how bad the traffic will be, where you’re going to park etc.
Forward Planning
Check you’re equipment beforehand – you don’t want to arrive at an interview only to discover the camera battery is head, or get back to edit only to discover the microphone was faulty and you have no sound. You can’t assume that the people who used to equipment before you left it in perfect working order!
Get permission – make sure you’re allowed to be doing what you’re doing; for example you can’t just go and record at a school without getting permission from the right people. Also be careful when around courts.
Get Shooting – don’t hang around waiting for something to happen. Everything you shoot that you don’t use can just be edited out; its better to have too much. Some of the footage you shoot may be useful for cutaways.
Filming
Take control – remember that people you are shooting, an interviewee for example, may not be familiar with what you are doing and how it works. Don’t be afraid to ask them to do certain things or to repeat something if you want to shoot it from another angle.
Shoot in sequences – you should shoot in sequences of shots, much like in films, to ensure the view knows what is going on and it makes sense.
Different size shots – different distances and techniques will add variety to your package.
Shoot long – it’s important to let the camera settle and let the viewers ‘take in’ where they are. Also shoot for more than three seconds to give yourself options. If each shot is only 1-2 seconds then the whole sequence is going to look rushed and untidy.
Maintain continuity – as you would in a film, for example if one minute it is light, then dark, then back to light it won’t look right.
Shoot cutaways – adding to clips of together can work fine in radio, but in television it looks messy and clumsy. Make sure you give yourself a good set of cutaways in order to make editing easier.
Shoot in thirds – this concept works around 4 imaginary lines that you should draw across your frame; two horizontal and two vertical. By placing the objects of your shot on the lines, particularly where they cross, you will create a more pleasing shot. Watch this video for a better explanation
Terminology
PTC – piece to camera/report in vision
SOT – sound on tape
Grab/clip – interview sound on tape
OOV – out of vision. Presenter out of vision, speaking over pictures
ULAY – underlay. Pictures under voice
NATSOT – natural sound on tape
VO – voiceover. Reporters voice
GV – general view
Cutaway – covering shot
Talking head – interview
SOQ – standard cue/signing off queue
PTC
Never start with a PTC – always start with what’s most important.
It must add something to the piece – never put anything in for the sake of it.
place yourself in the action.
Use movement – make sure you start walking before you talk! If you start walking after it will look clumsey and unplanned
Interviews
Intro shot for interviewee – you need to introduce them and get a 10 second shot of them first; for example when speaking to a grieving mother you will often see them looking through photo albums before we hear from them
see them in action
Writing intro
Write the link first – the link should never be the same as the opening line.
Use the the five W’s – who, what, where, when, why, (and also how)
never repeat what is said in the links!
Writing your story
As in news writing, one idea per sentence.
Use present tense if possible – provides a fresher feel and feels as if it is happening now.
Speak plain English.
Simplify numbers – 65% is nearly two thirds, 20% is one in five etc.
use graphics to explain number
Packaging
Tell a story and use sequences.
Start with your best pictures – grabs viewers attention.
Don’t name interviewee – use a caption.
Limit grabs to 20 seconds/ limit vox pops to three.
End with something that means something – avoid using cliches such as “What happens next remains to be seen,” and “This story will run and run.”
Never end on an interview.
Don’t end SOT then SOQ – looks rushed and unprofessional.
We have started looking at television news and production with Angus Scott. To begin with we watched a showreel of famous news clips from the last 20 years and discussed how and why they had all become iconic; for example the footage of the twin towers collapsing and Princess Diana’s funeral. We then started to deconstruct individual news packages, particularly one by Bill Neely who is the international news editor for ITV news. The package was aired in June 2010 and follows the 82nd Airbourne as they move through the Arghandab Valley in Afghanistan. We looked especially at the techniques Neely used to relate the story to the people watching at home.
The package starts with two seconds of a soldiers boots as he walks across the wasteland, but it is the sound that is the most significant aspect of the beginning. The sound of the men’s boots hitting the floor has been turned up so the audience watching at home can really feel how much effort each step is as they trek through the valley. This is followed a few seconds later by the sound of an out-of-breath soldier panting; demonstrating how tiring it must be for the soldiers in such heat and at the same time carrying all their equipment. Because a lot of people watching ITV news may not have much interest in the politics of the war, it was important that Neely focussed not on the war itself, but on the people in it.
Neely’s opening line is epic, and almost movie-like: “The war like the heat is relentless.” This line, along with the images and sounds I’ve just mentioned, paints a vivid picture in the minds of the audience. The majority of people watching will not know what it’s like to be at war, but they can try to imagine what it’s like to be a soldier working in such difficult conditions.
Instead of just describing what he sees, Neely accompanies the footage with clever lines that help add a another dimension to what we’re watching, for example at the point where a soldier slides into the river he says: “They’re in this war up to their necks.” Small techniques like this help the audience relate to the soldiers and add a real human interest to the story.
Neely cleverly uses the images to link back to controversy that was surrounding the war at the time without letting politics completely takeover the package. When describing the environment in which the soldiers work he says: “Ditches, deserts, quagmire and questions about where this war is going, even what it’s for. For these men, its about bombs.” This is a gentle nod towards political unrest but it still keeps the soldiers as the focus of the piece. This is shown again with the line: “they’re listening to the metal detectors, not the rows in Washington,” which is almost mocking politicians for not paying attention to what’s really important about this war; the people in it.
The danger of the soldiers’ task is well portrayed when Neely is just a few hundred metres away from three bombs as the soldiers are carrying out controlled explosions. Neely says the soldiers “blow up the three bombs and move on,” as if it’s an every day thing. To us watching that would be a massive ordeal, but to them its just day-to-day work.
The package ends with a picturesque shot of solder-silhouettes against the sun setting. Whilst being a beautiful and calming way to end a heavy-going story, it also shows that although one day is ending, the soldiers will be waking up tomorrow and going through it all again.
You can watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXQ76-HU51A
TomAtWinchester 