Coherency

A successful journalist will heed the advice of the Visual Edge in Doug White's piece and "focus" on the topic at hand.  The "Focus" itself is covered in both readings, and is defined as a sentence summary, containing the entire story.  If one cannot summarize his or her story like this, it is said to be too long.  It's this nutshell premise that keeps the story easily digestible for viewers.  For instance, it's key to think about the subject and be sure that all possible nooks and crannies are concisely covered.  Interview subjects in ways that challenge them to be creative and open with responses.   Visuals should match the topic of the speaker whether it's the narrator or the interviewee.  Shoot each shot from different angles and make the information as easy to digest as is humanly possible.

"Writing the Package" by Fred Shook is a guided resource for those looking to take the advice above and apply it in easy ways.  Shook's skeleton proceeds as follows; each journalist should lead with a Focus statement/Studio lead-in that highlights the point of the story and captures the viewer's attention, then he or she should proceed to the package lead in a main idea to communicate and a visual to prove it, from there we move to a body or middle segment which should highlight four ideas that compose the topic, finally we have a final visual, closing sound and voice over to cap the story off.

After reading the articles, I've concluded that the most important thing for a story in a visual medium is cohesion, or the perfect union of words, sound and visuals.  Without context, or visual confirmation, words and ideas puzzle an audience.  Or worse, do not register.  Stories need to be coherent to communicate their topic, as do any other type of non-abstract medium.

Kevin Ornduff