Creating A Reporter Video & The Broadcast Show Line-Up

Materials:
1. Keynote of Reporter Video
2. Examples from past students
3. Keynote of A-roll vs. B-roll & Matched Action
4. Example Videos. & Instructional video.


Beginning of class:
One of the driving forces of our broadcast show, and any news show, is its featured reporter stories. Here the outside world enters the studio and brings life and entertainment for viewers to see.


First, we need to know what constitutes a good reporter video. The thing you must first consider is the quality of newsworthiness. We will touch on seven types of newsworthy news stories. So when trying to decide on a reporter video, keep these in mind in order to captivate your audience and to do well on your assignment.

*** Follow slideshow
Prerecorded News Package
(2 mins)

1.) Natural Sound (NAT) - natural or ambient sound that will provide background.

2.) B-Roll - varies
video footage that illustrates the story, edited into sequences. This is the camera man’s opportunity to have fun, find different compositions and angles.

3.) Soundbite - (10 seconds)

4.) A-Roll - varies
Interview footage, or video footage of the reporter addressing the camera.

5.) Reporter Track -
reporter voice over, narrating or talking over the b-roll

6.) Soundbite - (10 seconds)

7.) Graphics - other videos, still pictures, titles, lower thirds etc..

8.) Background Music - very rarely used

8) Conclusion - Reporter Sign-Off

***watch video examples



B-roll Sequences & Matched Action.

Slide 2: A news package is a self-contained video we play during SNN. A news package features a story that is only between one minute to a minute and thirty seconds long. Sounds short, right? In reality, it can seem pretty long. Two minutes can really drag when watched, especially if it’s not a really interesting video.

Slide 3: Before we get into the nitty-gritty, the fine detail of what is in a News Package, it really just boils down to two important things: A-roll and B-roll. A-roll is a person on camera talking. This can be alone reporter or a reporter conducting an interview. B-roll is visual storytelling, here you show the story revealing the action going on. Together these two things are the building blocks of a reporter video, get these right and you will have the foundation for an excellent video.

Slide 4: Here is a quick clip to show you the differences between A-roll and B-roll.

Slide 6: Whether you are filming A-roll or B-roll you have to have a basic understanding of how to compose a shot. The basics of composition could be a class in itself, but for now, there are three things you need to know: First the rule of thirds.
Slide: 7 Creating Looking space in a shot
Slide 8: Creating Motion Space.

Slide: 9 Now that we know how to frame a shot let’s talk about the different kinds of shots. In film school, they will give you tons of different kinds of shots, but for our purposes, we are going to break it down into three shots: Wide shot, Medium shot, and Tight shot, combining these three will allow you to create sequences, which is the art of visual storytelling or b-roll.

Slide: 10 Here is a video clip that will help to show you what I mean by sequences…
B-roll video.

So let’s break down what we just watched using a simple sequence example.
Slides 11 - 13: (read text on slides)

Read in between slides 13&14: It is important to know that with B-roll sequences much of the time it will be used in conjunction with a voice-over, meaning the reporter is narrating action or telling the story, and B-roll is used to illustrate what is happening. Other times it is illustrating what an interviewee is saying to a reporter. Either way, lots of B-roll will inevitably be used. So the rule for B-roll is ALWAYS filming more than you think you need, and I mean WAY MORE.


Slide 14: Matched-action sequence: in that sequence of the man typing. He is doing a relatively easy thing that doesn’t require a lot of effort to edit together. All of his movements will basically match if I edit with large gaps. But what happens when there are major actions, you will need to edit for continuity, so that actions light up and match. This is what is called a matched action sequence. Let’s take a look.

Slides 15-17 read text on slides
Read Slide 18
Slide 19: watch the clip,---: For matched action shots the rule of Tight Medium and Wide sequencing is incredibly important. You need to keep the variety and avoid using the same two types of shots back to back. This will make it look like a jumpcut--a sign of an error or a person who doesn’t know how to properly edit.

Slide 20: Sequence Assignment:




How does this fit within the overall show? Before any new video, we have anchors who help to introduce the video. It is your responsibility to work with the anchors, add to the script, and ensure the video connects with the show.

Example Show Run-down
Example Show Run-down:
Intro (style yet to be determined)
Anchor(s) -- morning announcements Part 1
Sports / Clubs announcements
Special Segment 1 (short)
--------> or one longer Special Segment(totalling 5-10 diff. segments a week)
Special Segment 2 (short) or Reporter Video
Anchor(s) -- morning announcements Part 2
End Show



Now Connecting Your video to the script
For example:
1.) Anchor Introduction - (20 - 40 seconds)
Anchor is on screen (Reader RDR) or is a voice-over ( Anchor Voice over AVO) to describe the news package.

2.) Connecting Visual -
A photo, video still, or playing video in the background as the anchor describes the story coming up.

3.) Soundbite - (10 seconds)

4.) Anchor Banter - sometimes