Writing for a Visual Medium – Precisely Concise

As I read the different reading materials for class, I couldn’t help but journey back to that moment a couple of weeks ago when I was sitting in front of a computer in the Futures Lab, thinking over how I was going to edit my captured video clips. We weren’t supposed to have any words or captions, but probably as everyone else, I was sort of making ‘unseen’ scripts of my own just to get a glimpse of how my short piece of video would turn out.

The most important thing in visual media is obviously its asset to be able to tell a story. Thus, I believe that writing for a visual medium should be able to focus on the story, basically in the same principle as writing on paper as a reporter. However, unlike writing on paper and guiding people through a story with your mighty pen from the very beginning, I think writing for a visual medium has more to do with getting all the pieces of the puzzle together. By puzzle pieces I mean we as convergence reporters have more tools in our hands to actually “plan” the focus or attention emphasis of readers (viewers). To elaborate, think of a reporter who has a camera or a video camera. This reporter, after getting the footage or photo, has to decide how to use and match this media information with whatever he/she is going to write. Now, I guess that’s how we have been working so far as students of a fundamentals class. Get your media first, and then think about how to make it all work together by editing them. However, I think as skilled convergence reporters, I think we will have a better sense of how to tell the story, and with that blueprint be able to handle all our tools of storytelling to make fit the pieces we need. I believe that the writing part will act as one of the vital pieces of the story, the only catch being it must always be as concise as possible.

I have been writing some kind of piece all my life, whether it is a paper for classes, an essay for the school paper, diaries, letters, you name it. But I have always found myself writing a bit longer than I had hoped to (just like in this blog entry). I think my convergence training and experiences will definitely give me a good lesson in not rambling on and on about a story. I think conciseness and precisely getting to the point is very important in writing for a visual medium, since you are trying to ‘aid’ people who can already ‘see’ parts of your puzzle pieces, like I mentioned earlier. That I would definitely like to get better at.

Making words match your medium

       Writing is essential to great journalism; it's the foundation, the bigger picture, and the main thing that brings a story to life for a reader.  I've always known that writing is the most important thing for papers, but I believe my experience here at MU's J-School has really shown me that writing is important for all types of journalism, including the newest member to the J-family, convergence.

       My main reason for switching to convergence this summer was to gain some extra skills to make myself more marketable as a broadcast journalist upon graduation.  I thought there would be more Internet training and maybe some more use of more different types of equipment.  While we haven't focused heavily on the writing for these different mediums, the examples we've seen in class and our own stories have used more writing than I first assumed.  

       One of the main things I've taken away from this class thus far is that writing for these different journalism mediums is that writing includes so much more than actual words on a paper.  Writing for a story with pictures means taking a scene setter shot, a profile shot, and a close shot to paint a full story.  Writing for an audio story means incorporating natural sound, interesting sound bites, and your own observations to describe a story with only sounds.  As we focus more on our video stories, I am looking forward to the way our pictures, B-roll, and voice overs will help take our viewers to the story.  

     The bottom line is that writing is very important for visual mediums, but that the writing in this sense includes more than just printed words.  Writing for visual or even audio mediums calls for using pictures, sounds, and your imagination to bring a story to life in a creative and interactive way.

Harder than it looks - Kate Chizek

I am going to be honest; before entering journalism school and interning for a broadcast news medium this summer, I thought writing and reporting for a visual medium was relatively easy. I just assumed that reporters could sit down, pinpoint their story, and write the copy easily; the interviews would be easy to get, and most,if not all, would support the story being told. I have quickly found, especially in 4802, this is not the case. First of all, your sources shouldn't support your story; good reporters go in without pre-notions of what they are looking for. They have questions prepared to ask, but they don't only dig for what falls in the scope of their intended story. They ask questions and see the big picture, withholding all bias they may have had.

In the Poynter article, Al Tompkins states that journalists should, "Connect your eye, your heart and body to journalism." Journalists have to be passionate and willing to go the extra step. Finding the perfect words may be hard, but they have to dig to nail a story. I like how Poynter discusses focusing within a "story-in-a-sentence." I think this is wise - if you can't sum up your story in one sentence, your readers will be confused. If there is too much going on with the visual aspects and the copy, no one will be able to follow the story nor will they care.

In our use of natural sound, the reading from Chapter 9 says you must use it "liberally" because it helps establish the news environment. After the NPR radio story, I know I personally have to remember that the natural sound really must fit the story. If I use it just to have natural sound, it may confuse readers. In the visual medium, this natural sound can also be captured with images, making the viewer feel as if he or she is there. Obviously, more thought is necessary for the visual medium than I originally thought!

Thinking Critically

One of the things I had trouble with for the thirty second video assignment was time. I had so many good ideas and strong footage, but not enough time to include everything I wanted. I thought about it some more and it became a real conundrum. How does a multiplatform journalist respect the alotted time without sacrificing content? After reading the Poynter online article, I found the answer is pretty clear.

A multimedia journalist must critically analyze what needs to be in the story, and shorten it into a sentence. We must keep a very narrow focus to our stories, or else run the risk of having a forty minute video. It's easy for us a visual storytellers to get distracted with some of the visual schematics of our job. I think to solve my problem I will more closely scrutinize my stories and go in to a story having done more research.

It's important for us to know what angle we're going for. Again, and I've found this throughout my time in this class so far, journalism is very mental. Once we really know what the stories needs, we can better plan for what we will get. I think by reading these articles, I will know how to better manage my time in videos without abandoning sound videographic principles.

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

Nate Birt - Writing for Visual Mediums - for Oct. 21

After reading about writing for a visual medium, I am going to make a concerted effort to introduce and close the story I produce by myself without allowing a source to do it for me.
According to the piece titled "Writing the Package," it's important to carefully fuse voiceover content with the actually visual content of the video. If you're talking about people eating chili at a fundraising event, for example, you wouldn't want to show the outside of the building at that time. Instead, you'd want to show the people eating their chili and having a (fun/enjoyable/fill-in-your-choice-of-adjective) time.
I didn't know that so much advanced planning went into a TV news story, though I suppose it's only natural. Even for a breaking news story, this chapter notes, reporters can take the time to get to understand the story and frame it appropriately.
I plan to use the idea of building a script for my piece and writing out the script. It seems like it will be rather difficult to time things — for example, how long it takes to do a particular voiceover and then transition into interview footage, B-roll and so on, but I'm sure that after a few rounds of practice (something we discussed in class), it will go more naturally. I'm also wondering how we will insert a voiceover into our videos, but it's something we'll probably be learning about soon.

Sportscenter minute

ESPN.com is the leader in sports convergence journalism. The world wide leader in sports is also the world wide leader of sports on the web. The ESPN Sportscenter minute is a staple of the successful website. The Sportscenter minute gives a minute or two briefing of up to the minute sports news, complete with highlights and an anchor reading the news.
The Sportscenter minute has an advantage that a written story does not. While a written story only satisfies the visual sense, a video package satisfies both the visual and audio senses. By satisfying more of the basic human senses, the online video package provides a more enjoyable experience to the webpage’s visitors. It also relieves them of the strain of having to read a story.
By providing a brief synopsis of the occurrences in the world of sports, it allows them to know the important facts immediately, without having to spend 10 minutes reading a story. ESPN also provides a story online, if visitors want more information on a particular topic/issue.
I found out that Adam “Pac-man” Jones had once again been suspended indefinitely by the NFL and heard expert opinion on the issue, within one minute of visiting the site. These results are amazing. The internet is truly the best way to find information fast. That is the reason why I am in convergence because it provides information quicker than any other medium.
The Sportscenter minute is a top notch web video that provides information quickly and satisfies more of the five basic senses than a written story. This is the reason why the internet is the top destination for news, and sports highlights.

Chicago may get 'gay-friendly' high school

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/10/13/gay.friendly.school/index.html#cnnSTCVideo
I watched this story having no idea about whether or not there would be good visual representations, really. I figured that since it was an issue story, it could go either way and it could be difficult to capture appropriate B-roll since the school hadn't already been constructed. I wasn't really surprised to see that the visuals were limited to graphics and to some sporadic B-roll of school-age students and classroom activities, but I was a little disappointed at how visually uninteresting it was. They could have had more footage of students meeting or doing activities as part of a school's GSA, or something, really.
In this case, there was a text version of the story, and though I feel like video can do more to attract the senses and tell stories sometimes, this was not one of those times. The text and a few still photos really told the story better.
In both cases, though, the story was good— but it wasn't meant for a video.

Maher accused of trickery

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/showbiz

A story on Bill Maher's documentary "Religulous" caught my eye since it has a chance of being nominated for an Academy Award. The story reports on subjects of the film who are now complaining about being tricked by Maher into doing interviews that they did not know were connected to his comedic documentary about religion. The man who directed "Borat" also directed "Religulous" which adds credence to the claim that the subjects were tricked. The video's b-roll consists of clips from the movie, which gives viewers an idea of what Maher's documentary is about so that they can follow along with the news report.

The video quotes one subject, Rev. Jeremiah Cummings, but never shows an actual interview with him. I realize that he may not have wanted to be shown on camera, but since he is such a big source in this story, that interview would have been a good addition. I was also disappointed that the report used what looked like an old interview with Maher and the director where they admit to lying to people to get interviews. However, the report pulls only a soundbite from the pair and I think the piece should have at least included an explanation from them on why they lied to subjects. The piece is very one-sided since we don't directly hear from Maher.

I don't think this story would be that hampered by being "text only." The only benefit of video in this case is that the report can show clips from Maher's documentary. Those clips do give us a better idea about the content of the film, but a few sentences in a print story could also clear that up for us.

Asian Stocks Rally

Zach Wade

http://www.cnn.com/video/?iref=videoglobal

In this video, a CNN correspondent in Hong Kong outlines the unprecedented nature of a global economic bailout. The coverage however mainly focused on the market reaction to the economic stimulus plans proposed by G7 governments. The visuals were relevant to the story, but were mundane, cliche and boring. Most of the shots were simply of stock tickers which tell us very little in scope and only repeat the information that the stock market was doing better on the news. There was also some footgae of the NYSE floor, but it was so generic that it might as well have been stock footage.

A little bit of ticker is fine, but I owuld prefer to see something that reveals a little more information. I would have included clips on government meetings and federal reserve shots. Also, the transitions in video were a little odd. The story was about the Asian stocks rallying last night, but occassionally they would include a shot of the NYSE without a clear enough segway. CNN needs to assume the viewer knows nothing about the markets and should explain or imply what they are seeing on the screen.

If the story were written in plain text, it would read fairly choppy. The reporter used a lot of "Well, And, So" transitions that makes sense in speech, but not on paper. The pauses that exist in the audi/video format are necessary, but those who read it straight through in print may find thatwithout the necessary pause, the story is choppy. Obviously written stories and audio stories are two different animals.

It always seems better to be able to ‘watch’ sports news

For the sake of trying something different, I tried searching Korean websites for journalistic videos. One thing I kept in mind in my search was that the journalistic piece should have some merit for being a video-type one. That is why I chose a sports news piece.

Website URL : http://news.naver.com/vod/vod.nhn?office_id=214&article_id=0000082974&section_id=107

This video (a clip from the nine o’clock NewsDesk, an evening news program by one of Korea’s largest nationwide networks MBC (Munhwa Broadcasting Company), is titled “The Olympic Heroes Do it Again.” The news story (1:43) is about Korea’s National Athletic Games which is going on right now and Korean olympians who won medals in the Beijing games participating in it. The medalists, including Park Taehwan (swimming) and Jang Miran (weightlifting) were victorious in the domestic games, overcoming their rivals by huge margins.

I think one thing this video story lacks is coverage on some other Olympians who faced strong opponents that struggled. It looked almost as if it was a PR video, one that advertises the two Olympic medalists. There are such athletes who triumphed in the Beijing games but were on the wrong end of an upset from other talented domestic competition. Perhaps this could be whole another story, but for some people who are only able to catch this news video, it might have been more diverse to add about 20 seconds and add that aspect to the story.

If this story was a “text-only story,” I think it might not even have caught the attention of may news spectators, especially because it’s about sports. One great thing about visual coverage of sports is that it is always more exciting and gives you a sense of actually being there. Also, through video and familiar scenes (for example, Park swimming past the leader to finish first) reminiscence of these figures and their accomplishments could be duplicated, thus making it a story with more impact. I think that’s why we have more analysis and projections in the text version of a sports story.

Video Example Critique

I watched a news video on CNN.com entitled "Healthy fast food."  It presented Atlanta Area Fresh 'n Fit Cuisine, a healthy fast food-to-go option, focusing on Tiffany Hoffine's experience with the business.  The reporter interviewed Hoffine and showed clips of her walking out of the a discount nutrition store with the food, getting in her car, bringing it home to her husband, and eating it at the table as a nice meal.  She also interviewed the chef at the company, showing the kitchen and the food being made, along with an interview with a registered dietician.  It was a pretty good video.  I would have liked to see interviews withe more Fresh 'n Fit Cuisine customers.  Does this company just benefit a couple with no kids?  Could a family use this?  Hoffine mentioned that she had already lost ten pounds and the chef said that the company caters to 1,200 and 2,000 calorie diets.  Is this for people who want to lose weight or is that just a side benefit?

As for the B-roll, I feel like it was a little unnecessary to show Hoffine physically walking out of the store with her food, opening her car door, getting into her car, etc.  I think it would have been a better visual to show all of the different food options in the store and show her deciding which to buy.  They also could have included in the story different places were the food is available.

It was a little corny also when Hoffine used lines such as "Honey, I'm home!" when she brought home the food to her husband and "Bon appetit!" when they sat down to eat it.  It seemed unnatural, like she was clearly acting for the camera.  The camera didn't seem to be merely a fly on the wall. 

This story would not have been as strong as a text only story.  People need a visual of food; something they are going to be eating needs to look appealing.  It was also important to get a look into the kitchen.  The food appeared to be high-quality and the fact that the couple sat down in the dining room with the food on their nice plates, drinking wine added an element that would have been harder to pick up on with just words.  If the story was only told in words it would have to rely much more heavily on sensory words and descriptions.  

"The Milkman"

As I went to search for multimedia videos, I found many Associated Press examples or actual clips from a local broadcast news station. I did not want to critique these because they were not solely meant for the web. You could find them on TV, just by turning on the nightly news. Instead, I turned to the St. Louis Post Dispatch and found a video of a story by Elie Gardner - titled "The Milkman."
http://videos.stltoday.com/p/video?id=2279691

This story discusses a male "lactation" counselor at a children's store in St. Louis. While a text narrative could have given us more information about the store and Eric Nemens, the counselor, it would have lost the visual effect of babies being fed by their mothers; with bright eyes and happy faces, it's easier to understand what Nemens is discussing about the bond with a baby. The reporter timed Nemens' questions perfectly about being a father - she added ambience noise of babies cooing and crying, as well as excerpts from Howie Day's song, Collide. It gives a strong visual about the bond between a parent and a newborn.

I wish the reporter would have covered more about the irony of having a male as a "lactation" counselor; this appears to be unique, so how do the mothers feel asking him for advice? Where is their voice within this story? It becomes very one-sided. While we learn about why Nemens enjoys working with children, we completely lose the aspect of the unique situation. I think more interviews would be needed. While these interviews may be in a text form of the story, at least some short clip would have been beneficial.

Additionally, it would be nice to see some interactions between Nemens and the new mothers. As viewers, we can see the mothers conversing with one another, but that isn't what the story is about. We need to see a better visual of Nemens, and I think that would lead to a better overall understanding.

I like the way newspaper websites are trying to stay up-to-date with our modern age. With opportunities for readers to visually see their stories, newspaper corporations can stay alive in our fast paced world!!

Pay It Forward

I found a video article on CNN.com entitled "Man fills strangers gas tanks".  The title is interesting in itself because it leaves the consumer asking questions and therefore increases the probability that they'll click the link.  One may wonder why would a man do such a deed for someone he barely knows in today's self-centered society but questions such as this are immediately answered as "Dave" of Portland, Oregon is revealed in the two-and-a-half-minute clip.

The video tells the tale of a man who fills strangers' tanks randomly on his own time, only asking the recipients to "pay it forward" or "do what they can within their budget for someone else".  What makes this clip work is the fact that the man's actions are so genuine and rare they produce opposite positive emotions.  And hopefully positive actions by the recipients in the future.

I enjoyed this story because it was an easily digestible at 2:37 and offered a complete picture of the situation.  Missing information included David's last name, names of interviewees, among other small things.  But overall, the story is very satisfying and complete.

http://www.cnn.com/video/?JSONLINK=/video/us/2008/10/11/natpkg.or.gas.pay.forward.kgw

Kevin Ornduff

Video Example Critique - Tomeka Weatherspoon

The New York Times has a video story called, "The Women of Parkour," which is on their Web site. Parkour is defined as the art of moving efficiently. The story focuses on a select group of women who have been invading the sport. The men and women practice in a park-like atmosphere, performing various stunts and acrobatic moves.

It is a very visually appealing, while still offering a solid explanation of the sport.

There were weak spots in the interviews and lack of basic information about the story's setting. Though men and women were featured doing stunts, only women were interviewed. Of those only one name was credited. Specifics such as location and date were simply left out. These could have quickly been explained using narration.

The story would not have translated well through text. The most interesting aspect is in how unique their techniques look. It may be impossible to explain those kinds of images using words.

You can find the story here: http://video.on.nytimes.com 

Journalistic Video

To analyze a piece of journalistic video, I chose to view something a little less hard-hitting and impactuful. I chose to watch a short interest story from MSNBC. The story was about a 14-year-old eagle that was captured and raised in captivity. But the owners decided to release the bird into the wild, even though the bird had never flown. The owners trained for a year on hang-gliders and finally released the eagle from the top of a French mountain while gliding alongside it.

The visuals in the story are absolutely stunning. Helicopter shots set the scene around the mountain and a videographer clearly rode in a hang-glider as well to capture some amazing footage. None of the shots lasted for longer than 5 seconds, which kept the audience interested and engage.

The narrator was simple and clearly and concisely told the story in an effective way. I would, however, liked to hear some more original voices in the story. This was meant to be a quick and painless story, and I understand that, but why couldn't the network interviewed at least one person. They had video of the person, so I think a sound bite should have been included. Original voices bring an authenticity to the story I feel is lacking thus far. I would have liked to know the outcome of the flight also. The scene was wonderfully set, but then not really explored through to completion.

I quite enjoyed this brief story, but clearly there is room for improvement.

The link to the video story: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/27163150#%2327163150

New York Times Video

http://video.on.nytimes.com/

I watched a video on the New York Times website ("Financial Crisis Hits Teens") about a New York City high school. There were interviews with the students and teachers about the economy and how it is starting to affect the younger generations. I thought the story was done well, the interviews with students who had specific examples of seeing their parents try to save money, or discussing things that they always taken for granted but now are not sure about (getting a mortgage on a house like their parents did) helped drive the point of the story home. The principle talked about the students finding money for college, something else I thought was a very real problem that many students are facing. However, this was one private high school, and I think it may have been interesting to also get a look at this from a public school's perspective since it would have been a good opportunity to get even more varied backgrounds.
Had this story been done text only it would have been an interesting story. It would have gotten the point across and given some good quotes from students and teachers experiencing the changing economy. But by doing the story as a video, it made the students people who you could see and relate to. It made them real. You could see how attentive they were in their economy class, knowing how important the lessons would be, and see the worry on their faces as they discussed their options and the changes in their lives.

Video Storytelling

I chose to watch a video on the Detroit Free Press's website about a couple who is losing home due to foreclosure. It's one of three families that the Free Press is focusing on in its short series about the national economic crisis.

The link is: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=VideoNetwork

I really liked the way this short video was done, and the timing was great. It was just long enough so that I felt like I got a true glimpse into this couple's life, but it wasn't so long as to bore me in the process. The Dearborn Heights couple bought the house about three years ago, and they realize now they probably got a better loan than they were afforded. The video features the couple packing up their things, sharing a meal, looking off into the distance, and talking with friends on the front porch. For the most part I really liked it but there were a couple of things I would have done differently.
The pictures and video must have been taken during the evening because at times you can't see the actions very well. This setting works well for some of the photos like when Alona is looking off into the distance or there's a shot of the sunset, but at one point Ernie is working on his car and you can't even see his hands because of the shadow. I would have changed this. Another aspect I might have done differently is the dinner scene. The couple is sitting down at what looks like their living room table to eat KFC for dinner and the following shots show close ups of the coleslaw, cups, forks, etc. while Ernie talks about the appraisal of his house. I thought that these shots and the conversation didn't match, and that I would have shown other shots of the house while he was talking about its appraisal value.
On the other hand, right before that scene was a shot of the couple saying a prayer before they ate. I thought that this was well done and gave an insight into their lives and their mindsets during this difficult process. At one point they prayed for the house and thanked God for their love for one another and the gas in their car. I thought this was very humanistic, and showed an insight to this couple that had nothing to do with the economy. I also liked the close of the piece with Alona talking about not being discouraged being matched with the shot of the sunset. It fit well to tie the story together and end the story on a nice note.
This video story is definitely different than a written one because it gave a lot of great natural sound and video of regular people doing regular things that might not be conveyed in a print story. There's one shot of Alona putting on her shoes and it shows her feet are a little raggedy (no offense) and something like that never would have fit within a print story, but gives some more detail about the life she leads. Again the prayer before they ate was a poignant touch, but in a print story would have probably been edited out. More than anything, this story is more appealing than a text only story because it really personalizes the economic issues that we're having in this country right now. It shows a day in the life of a single family that people can relate to. I think it was a job well done!

Web video blog for Oct. 14

After watching a cooking video at NYTimes.com, I decided to pursue a more news-based post for this particular blog.

I visited the Detroit Free Press' Web site, Freep.com, and watched a video from its "Michigan's Band of Brothers" series.

What struck me most about this particular video, "Remembering a Michigan soldier" (presumably that's what it's called — the site formatting makes it hard to read the whole title), was that many sources, and not once the reporter, told the story:



It's particularly powerful because these videographers had interviewed this Marine, Pfc. Tarryl Hill, on the job, before his death, and used that footage paired with footage from his funeral. Instead of focusing on a memorial video for Hill, the videographers chose to focus on the reactions of people in the audience to the video, which was particularly powerful. Relatives laugh and cry in response to the words they're hearing.

I would recommend just brushing up some of the text at the end of the story so that the viewer can read all of it. Additionally, one might stretch a headline across the top of the video so that it's easier to read. The gunshot near the beginning of the video I thought might have been a bit too loud in comparison with the surrounding audio.

If this were a print story, the reporter likely would have focused on some key thing someone said in a speech at the funeral, and then interview family members and friends in attendance, provide background on Hill and then end it. Video enables the reporter to let the viewer see and hear the person before and after death, as opposed to recounting what this person was like through sources other than the soldier. The video allows us to see what the people in attendance at the funeral saw, as opposed to giving us a summary that's bound by length restrictions.

Avoiding Frauds

It should be obvious to anyone thinking of becoming a journalist that the job entails several important qualities: patience, curiosity, dedication and above all, integrity.  We are employed to go out and capture the truth, whether it be with a pen, camera, video-camera, or a mic.  This requires a certain integrity so that the instinct to "stage" never crosses the journalist's mind.

Staging was described in detail in Dave Wertheimer's article, "Stage, Staging, Stages".  He leads off the article describing a situation in which a journalist was shooting an NFL draft party and a videographer from a local news station showed up and started setting up fraudulent shots of party-goers celebrations.  This is clearly a journalist in the wrong.  Setting up shots for the sake of creating a quasi-authentic situations is unethical. 

The line gets hazier when one considers the fact that most stories are warped when the pressure of the interviewer's presence or camera coerces people into not opening up and giving status-quo answers.  But how does one create authentic shots with advanced photography and video equipment that tends to scare subjects into not acting like their true selves?  Dave offers some good advice that I will take to heart when conducting future interviews.  Look interviewees in the eye, smile, make them feel comfortable, use wireless mics, leave the room if you have to.

Because a story lacking authenticity is a dead story.

Kevin Ornduff

Make the Person Forget the Camera is There

I read the “Staged, Staging, Stages” article by Dave Wertheimer. I had done some video shooting last weekend, so this article acted as a stinging reflection to look back on my experiences with the camera.

By a stinging reflection I mean what is stated in the title of this blog. The trick of the trade, as I have heard many times, was to “make the person forget the camera is there.” However, when I was shooting video at a parking lot where John Crokatt was working, he was so conscious of the camera that he kept looking back and forth to find out whether I thought he was doing a good job. He was willing to do things over and over again, if I told him to.
Although he had agreed to being interviewed, he seemed a bit uncomfortable with the camera at first. I felt very helpless, because there was not much I could do to make him feel more comfortable, more like himself. It could have been because he was an old man (74 years old), but still I wanted to make him feel better, which would obviously make my video story much better, too.

However, after about 20-30 minutes, as we began talking about his family and his job off the record, he really seemed to forget that the wireless microphone was there, and I was able to start shooting with a question to which he gave a smooth answer to. I was really glad that I had developed into such a phase with my interview subject.

Now, here is the question: In that first part of the interview where he was mumbling and pausing, and also was willing to pretend over and over again that it was the first time he heard the question or did something, should I have allowed that for a better quality? I think not, and I am proud of not pulling off such a “stage video” of my own; to work with what I have to make a story will definitely help me more to be a better journalist in the future.

The Psychology of Motion Pictures

Zach Wade

Both the visual and editing chapters were enlightening to me, not just because they demonstrated the correct methods and techniques of capturing and producing visuals, but also because the articles outlined how these practices affect the psychology of the viewer. For instance, the angle of the camera on the subject can either prop up their image or diminish them in the eyes of the audience.

It is apparent that video editing and shooting is much more involved than still camera photography. When you add the dimensions of sound sand movement, there are a million more requirements that must be taken into consideration. I will most likely be overwhelmed with the machine at first when trying to keep all of these tips in mind.

After reading the articles I was left with the impression that the editing process is even more crucial than the initial filming. It states that all people edit reality in their mind, so cutting and pasting a new reality is relatively easy in the editing room and can have incredible impact on the attitudes of the viewership toward the object of interest.

Video Ethics

Editing video for news comes with a different set of video ethics than does editing video for filmmaking. My own background is in editing film which is why I've been finding myself having to be very careful in what we're editing for class so far. In film editing, you have a great deal of freedom to manipulate the images and audio to tell your story and get your desired end result. In editing news, you have to be careful not to manipulate the words or meanings of your subjects even if that would get you a more effective end result.

Even though some ethics differ between news and film, the techniques of film editing can still be employed for news stories. Video Editing: The Invisible Art (Chapter 3) talks about the use of parallel cutting.  Even though this is a device regularly used in film to show simultaneous actions and to add suspense, it can also be used in news such as in hostage situations where many things are happening at the same time. It enhances continuity.

Sean Pooley on video editing

When editing video it is imperative to maintain journalistic integrity. Editing statements to fit the context of the story is acceptable as long as it does not transform the overall message of the person’s statement. A prime example of this would be if someone were to say, “ It’s not like I support the war.” Hypothetically, if a reporter’s story was about people supporting the war, they could edit this statement to say, “I support the war.” However, this would be irresponsible. This reporter could be sued for slander by the interview subject.
Proper journalism is reporting the truth. This is extremely important to remember when editing video. With the editing software available, it is easy to manipulate quotes to fit a story better. When a reporter manipulates or changes quotes they open themselves up to a potential lawsuit. It also hurts their chances of working in the news reporting industry ever again. If they continue to work as a journalist, their reputation is completely damaged. A prime example of this is the New York Times reporter who was faking his stories. It is impossible for people to believe him now. If I were his editor, I would scrutinize everyone of his stories and fact check rigorously to ensure the truth.
In conclusion, it is crucial to ensure journalistic integrity is being upheld when editing video. People need to be able to trust the news they see on television and video editing is a key part of making stories believable.

Staging

The "Staged, Staging, Stages" article was a really good thing to read before we shoot our video clips. Wertheimer gave some really good examples of staging in TV news. I was shocked when he said that even setting up lights in someone's office is considered staging, since it isn't the natural/everyday lighting. It's easy to let yourself do things like that, but the article pointed out the more subtle ones and really explained a lot about how important it is to film events as they happen. 

He also talked about the benefit of using wireless mics. I wasn't sure which mic I would use for my story, but now I'm definitely using the wireless ones because of the natural sound and thoughts you can capture with them. His technique of actually leaving the room and coming back in was really clever, because it gets people to forget they're even wearing the microphone, which produces more natural and truthful thoughts. The more natural the person feels, the more honest they'll be, and the stronger the story will be as well.