23 Part One: Recorded Coverage

A 20-second soundbite of the builder of a new housing project could have the last 15 seconds or so covered by related video (plans of the building, con- struction underway, etc.). Try also to make this video lead into the next audio, whether it is another talking head or a reporter voiceover. The sequence you started over the interview continues, if ever so slightly, over the beginning of the next section of script.

The same can be done in reverse. If the reporter’s track is about housing construction, and it leads into a soundbite from the builder, let the video of con- struction overlap the first 5 to 10 seconds of the builder’s 20-second bite. The builder’s face then ap- pears and connects with the voice, but the length of the talking head has been reduced in favor of more interesting video.

If the builder is to appear twice fairly close together in a piece—two bites separated by a brief reporter’s comment—the second bite need not have the builder on camera at all; that entire bite can be covered by B- roll. This assumes that you have enough video to cover all the soundbites and that your video is appropriate to go over the audio.

Keep the Story Moving

Often you will not have enough video (or any appro- priate video) to use in or around talking heads. Say the construction project story is done on a day where the workers are off. In these situations, you need to pro- vide a large variety of two-shots, cutaways, and setup shots to help fill the time. Remember, any story looks better when people are in the shots. Instead of using only unpopulated shots of the site, try to find a variety of ways of working in the subject and the reporter— the only people you have. An example of a setup shot getting into a soundbite might be a zoom-out from the plans on the wall to a wide two-shot of the builder and reporter talking, or shots of them walking around the site. Taken from many angles and distances to them, you can use these shots to cover both the script and long soundbites. Shots like these fill the time and keep the video moving.

Illustrate the Topic

The hardest thing to do in general news stories is to find pictures that go with the topic. If the story is about illegal campaign funds, the challenge will be to find pictures. By working closely with the reporter or producer, a videographer should begin early in the shooting process to visualize the unfolding story. There might be nothing to shoot but leaked memos that are nothing more than pieces of paper. If that’s the case, make them into a piece of art. Place them on a desktop, light them up nicely (perhaps use a gobo pat- tern), and try some slow pans or tilts. (See Figure 2-5.) Whatever the topic of the story, you must start thinking of ways to cover the future script with video. Be creative. Think symbolism. A story on the hay fever season might make use of tight shots of pollen- producing weeds blowing in the breeze. Better yet, use tight shots of them in the foreground with people in the background. Or, try just a tight shot of a tissue box with a hand pulling out a tissue. The shot is symbolic of the sneezing that’s associated with the pollen with- out finding someone doing it or staging the shot (a big no-no). The bottom line is that every story has pic- tures. The earlier you start thinking about which ones to get, the better.

General news stories are serious and businesslike in subject matter and approach. Your photography should reflect the same characteristics. There is no staging of events or the subject’s actions. Your job is to represent the subject or event as accurately, simply, and clearly as possible, while at the same time making it interesting or at least pleasing to watch. This type of story can be the greatest challenge to the news shooter. It is the place where names are made in this industry. If you can make a city council story come alive and be visually interesting as a feature without staging the shots, then the rest of what you do in this business will be easy.

Feature News

This category is perhaps the most freeform of all. Fea- ture stories are usually lighthearted looks at people and events, or involved pieces about lighter or more per- sonal, intimate subjects. They are not hard news by

24 Chapter 2: Part One: Recorded Coverage

any means; rather, they are referred to as soft news. That doesn’t mean they are comedies, but simply sto- ries told more like essays than news reports. The stories in this category should entertain, touch, or somehow connect with the viewer on a personal level. Approach

feature news with an emphasis on creativity; this type of story is a rare chance for both reporter and news photographer to be as wild and imaginative, or as in- spiring and engaging, as possible.

Music usually adds lightness or emotion to feature stories and allows the editor to do some creative cut- ting. While there might be only one such story in a newscast, the feature piece can be the most memorable in the show. In what can be a very depressing news day, people like to feel good about something or feel touched by another human being’s experience. The feature gives viewers the chance to end the news time on a spiritual high note.

The story might be a picture essay on a skydiving contest with no reporter, or a simple story about chil- dren picking out pumpkins for Halloween. Almost any positive or good-news subject can be made into a good feature if a creative approach is used. Do not treat the feature as a nonstory and therefore a throw- away, even if it seems like an ad for some company. The audience feels this type of story is important. It is your job to make it work creatively. The feature can also be a profile of the town’s oldest volunteer, strug- gling to teach poor kids how to read, or the personal story of one mother’s fight to change the laws after los- ing her only child to a drunk driver. Whether you are showing a two-year-old rolling a pumpkin home or the tears of one person’s crusade for a better society, the feature aims at the heart of the viewer.

It can take a whole day, a week, or even a month to do a good feature story. Or it can take an hour. The idea can be mapped out well in advance and shot a lit- tle at a time until the piece comes together. Features need not be timely, so they can air at any time. They have a longer “shelf life” than general or hard news. Soft news stories allow more work to be put into them. However, you will not always be given that time.

Try Different Techniques

Feature news provides a chance to use all the tricks of shooting and editing: odd angles, dramatic camera moves, unusual lighting, quick edits, wipes, and other special effects. (See Figures 2-6 and 2-7.) Features are the perfect place to use dissolves. No approach or tech- nique is too unusual for the feature story as long as it

fitsthe story. Try whatever you can to make your piece

Figure 2-5 Two alternatives to shooting this document square and flat: (1) the paper is at an angle and highlighted with a shaft of light; (2) the light is shining through a water glass to create a pattern across the paper.

25