17 Part One: Recorded Coverage

the shooters could not have run to any higher ground before the waves hit, so they recorded from their van- tage points as the water roiled around them. One pho- tographer noticed a person clinging to a tree and was able to record one of the most memorable images of that historic disaster.

Keep the Lens Setting Wide The previous point—

record continuously—is one of the reasons to stay wide. Camera movement is less noticeable when the shot is wide, and you also have a smaller chance of missing some important action. These are events you will not be able to get later; once they are missed, they are gone forever. Use the camera as you use your eyes—let the viewer see as much as possible of what you see. Let it all take place before you. Use the zoom only to maintain the field of action. Go in only as tight as is necessary to eliminate areas of “dead” space.

Look as You Shoot It may seem silly to say this, but

you have to tell yourself to look up once in a while. With the lens wide, you can easily take your face away from the viewfinder and look around as you shoot. Watch your back. Look out for danger, and make sure you aren’t getting in the way of emergency personnel. Above all, look for any elements you might be missing because your eye is glued to the ones in the viewfinder. When covering an event such as a riot, this technique could save your life.

Hold the Shots You must learn to count in your head

while you shoot. In the middle of a breaking story, time will become very distorted. When you think you have a long enough shot of one particular element, you probably do not. Ten is a great number to use. Unless you must change shots to capture something that is leaving the scene or providing a more dramatic element, count to 10 before making any changes in your shot. This technique allows the viewer time to perceive the shot and gives the editor the ability to cut out pans and walking shots to condense the event for presentation.

Get Static Shots Don’t forget to get set shots orstat-

ics. If the action slows for a moment, look for a good composition that you can make near where you are positioned. Don’t stop recording, but slide to the next camera angle and hold the shot as if on a tripod. Try to find the most dramatic angle you can—one that shows the totality of the event either literally or symbolically. Use this moment to catch your breath and organize

your thoughts as to where you should be next. Just take in the scene, read it, and try to anticipate the next area of likely action. These statics will probably be some of your best shots.

Check Your Gear Often Don’t panic in the middle of

an action scene. Move to your first shot and count it out, go to the next shot and count it out, and keep re- cording. Check the camera often to make sure it is in- deed in the record mode, and check your audio often to make sure the sound is there and not too low or overmodulated. Stay wide, keep shooting, time your shots by counting in your head, and look for the most important elements to photograph. Stay with the ac- tion, and check all of your systems as often as possible.

Shooting in the Aftermath

The second example of a spot news situation is one in which the main action is over and all that remains is the aftermath. For example, you arrive at the scene of a gas explosion shortly after the firefighters have begun to aid the victims. This situation can also be very in- tense with quite a bit of pressure, but for the most part things are under control. While you should still follow many of the same principles as when shooting in the middle of the action, a situation like this usually gives a photographer more time to make shots. Shooting in the aftermath is the most common type of spot news. It still requires hustle to get all the elements, but noth- ing new is going to happen. All the fire equipment is in place, the medical personnel are attending the injured, or the police have subdued the gunman.

In this type of aftermath situation, you do not need to record the entire time, but the situation does de- mand fast decision-making nonetheless. You are still trying to present the story as the viewers would see and hear it if they were present. Because the events are un- der more control than in the first situation, your shooting can be more controlled.

Look for a Variety of Shots Look for a good opening

wide shot, and try to stay wide for most of the action shots. Because things are not moving as quickly, you have the time to look for medium shots and, above all, close-ups. With the zoom lens, you can pursue the tight shots of faces that really tell the stories of the in- dividuals involved, without fear of losing other ele- ments of the story.

18 Chapter 2: Part One: Recorded Coverage

Look for the Action With your knowledge of se-

quencing and storytelling elements, you should know what shots to get and be out there getting them while staying out of the way. The key is always to look for the action—shoot what moves, but keep with the story. Do not get sidetracked with unimportant things like shooting the crowd of onlookers. As when shooting in the middle of the action, this type of shooting is often off the shoulder, so use your feet as much as possible to get close to each element.

Focus on the Story Do not include extraneous shots

in what you shoot; you are merely wasting time and tape or file space. If the spectators are not part of the story, do not shoot them. If the police are having a hard time moving them back, then they are part of the story. If the story has enough action in it, there is no need for a cutaway, and you should look for transition shots instead. By varying angles and focal lengths, the piece should fit together without the useless shot of uninvolved people watching.

In many cases, it will be obvious that the main ele- ment of the story is happening when you arrive. It might be as simple as flames shooting from a building’s windows or as subtle as a single person lying on the ground surrounded by a few people. Generally, a quick look around at the people involved will give you a clue as to where the main action is. If firefighters are rush- ing to the back of a building, maybe you should, too, if you can.

The thing you must never forget is to focus on the people involved. If there is a rescue unit at the scene of the fire, then look for the injured. Stop by the ambu- lance first, as it will soon be leaving for the hospital; the building will be there for quite awhile. You might miss some of the best flames, but without the people the story would be lacking even more. A quick sound- bite from a victim on the way to the hospital, describ- ing a narrow escape, can sink the competition’s shot of the flames you missed. Do not spend too much time on any one element. Keep moving. Look for those small but potentially powerful human elements that can take your story above and beyond the rest. Look for the elements that will not last long, and get them as soon as you can. Decide which things will move and which will be there later when things are calmer or you have more time.

As the story is winding down, look for a good clos- ing shot. The typical one for a fire story is that of a lone firefighter sitting on the curb, with smoldering ashes in the background, removing an air mask and wiping away the sweat. Or, it might be a person quietly griev- ing at the site of the fire or the water to the hoses being turned off. It might be literal, such as the ambulance driving off. It might be symbolic, such as a tight shot of the police yellow or red tape blowing in the wind. You want to leave the viewer with a sense that the story is over. The closing shot should say “The End.”

If the story is only going to run as a 20-second voiceover, there will be no air time to use such shots. For this type of presentation, you simply need the best 20 seconds of the event with the most action possible and that all-important human element. (See Figure 2-2.)

Shooting on the Perimeter of the Action

In the third example of spot news, you are restricted from close access to the action. If you are held blocks away from a chemical leak or hostage situation, you must be prepared to use the tripod and shoot at the longest focal length possible. This situation is the rea- son most cameras have a lens with a 2× extender that doubles the focal length. It is impossible to shoot at those focal lengths from off your shoulder—they’re just too shaky. If the tripod is not available, rest the camera on the ground or on anything else that will steady the picture.

Look for Movement Because of your distance from

the location of the actual event, you need to keep a sharp eye peeled for any movement. The action might be simple, such as people moving around police cars or fire engines, but any movement is better than none at all. In this situation more than any other, you need to shoot anything that moves: additional equipment ar- riving at the scene, officials talking on two-way radios, or SWAT team members suiting up. Any movement can become symbolic action.

Remember the Edit Room You might encounter a sit-

uation in which you will not get a shot of the real story, but you must have pictures of some sort to show on the air. In this case, you must come as close as you can to depicting the story with your shots. Sometimes this means just a shot of the police tape used at a crime

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