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Multimedia Minutes: Great Mix of Soundbites and Narration
September 30th, 2010
Great storytelling example because of great mix of sound and VO.
Watch NPPA award winner Boyd Huppert’s visual storytelling.
Posted in broadcast journalism, Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists, TV news training | 8 Comments »
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Multimedia Minutes: Immersed in the Story
September 29th, 2010
This NPPA-award winner makes you feel you’re at the scene of the fire.
See how Darren Durlack does it in these two stories.
Posted in broadcast journalism, Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists, TV news training | 6 Comments »
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Multimedia Minutes: Beautiful Visual Storytelling
September 29th, 2010
Visual storytelling is a joy when the subject is rich with possibilities
See for yourself in this visual essay by NPPA award-winning Corky Scholl/KUSA Denver.
Posted in broadcast journalism, Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists, TV news training | 6 Comments »
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Multimedia Minutes: “Dramatic as Anything in the Movies”
September 27th, 2010
An MMJ recently asked for a story idea that could create a buzz — something dramatic.
Since the MMJ has alot of police sources, I suggested he revisit a story I did years ago. You may not get access to these confessions, but you don’t know unless you ask.
Posted in broadcast journalism, Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists, TV news training | 5 Comments »
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Multimedia Minutes: NPPA Says this MMJ is The Best
September 26th, 2010
He’s the best MMJ in the country, according to NPPA.
Dave Delozier of KUSA-TV/Denver is the first to win the “Solo Video Journalist” award. He called his story ” Being There for Betty.”
Read more about Dave in an informative article by Deborah Potter in her News Lab: http://www.newslab.org/2010/09/14/best-of-the-best-dave-delozier/
Posted in broadcast journalism, Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists, TV news training | 4 Comments »
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Multimedia Minutes: How to Punch Through
September 25th, 2010
Viewers are hard to engage, but if you give them reasons, they’re glued to the set.
Watch viewer interest rise for an anchor-reporter who promises to reveal crime trends. Our Real Time Response technology captured viewer interest second by second.
We pulled this video from our files because many anchors and reporters ask “What can I do to stand out?” Viewers liked the promo far more than the staff. The franchise went on to become one of the most successful we ever created.
Posted in broadcast journalism, Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists, TV news training | 6 Comments »
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Multimedia Minutes: Engaging Visual Storytelling
September 25th, 2010
This video can pull you in. It did me.
This is an excerpt of a video produced by Honda which has more than a half million hits on You Tube. Each of their videos makes a point at the end through the person they profile. This is about pushing the limits, but don’t take this literally. With the hundreds of thousands of hits we’ve received, nobody has been injured by reading this blog.
Seriously, the video goes by fast, and I limited my comments at the bottom of the screen so you can appreciate the experience and learn from it.
Take advantage of the largest on-demand 24/7 library of MMJ learning videos in the world by looking at Recent Posts to the right. Our goal is to deliver practical “you can do some of this today” ideas in an engaging way.
Posted in broadcast journalism, Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists, TV news training | 13 Comments »
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Multimedia Minutes: Strong Questions Promotion Can Use
September 23rd, 2010
You’re asking great questions when you hear them in a promo.
See what how KSNV/Las Vegas anchor-reporter Marie Mortera and director of promotions Mark Whitehead made great use of fifteen seconds to sell Marie’s story.
WHAT WORKED BEST
- Marie’s questions represented a strong sell with a minimum of copy.
- Her second question succinctly provides background info — a good approach that avoids the need for extra copy.
- Camera starts wide on Marie and tightens up after she gestures.
- The words supered on the screen reinforce the main question.
- Marie asks questions in an engaging, real, conversational, yet intense way.
- This promo gave Marie visibility in a meaningful way.
- It was light on claims, heavy on proof.
How do your questions and promos compare?
Posted in broadcast journalism, Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists, TV news training | 12 Comments »
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Multimedia Minutes: Get Tight with Your Subject
September 22nd, 2010
This interview close-up stands out from the pack. Many interview shots allow a lot of headroom. Often too much. Yes, a lot of headroom ensures the interview subject won’t move off frame, so it’s a safe bet.
But when my colleague Regent Ducas and I saw this shot in a KBAK/Bakersfield, CA story, it caught our attention.
Traditionally, MMJs zoom in when the subject of the interview gets emotional. But it’s also a good way to connect viewers with any person.
TAKEAWAYS
- Break the habit of leaving a lot of head room for interviews.
- You don’t have to do it just because you’ve always done it that way.
- Go tighter unless you have good reason not to. For example, the subject moves around a lot, going out of the frame.
- If you think you’re so tight it’s uncomfortable watching, ease back a bit.
- Zoom in a bit, putting the background out of focus, making your subject the center of attention.
- Go very wide if the background is important — like a fireman talking about the fire in the background.
See why www.kaplitzblog.com is getting hundreds of thousands of hits. Here are several of the requested videos:
Multimedia Minutes: From Ho Hum to Engaging Storytelling
Multimedia Minutes: How to Avoid a Big Mistake
Multimedia Minutes: Shooting Your Own Stand-ups
Multimedia Minutes: What Comes to Mind When People Hear Your Name?
Posted in broadcast journalism, Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists, TV news training | 15 Comments »
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Multimedia Minutes: Effective Use of Nat Sound + On-Camera Storytelling
September 19th, 2010
Natural sound effectively communicates the feel of the story.
Also, on-camera storytelling works well — shot in a moving car in a story about game day gridlock.
While viewers don’t believe a reporter or multimedia journalist needs to be visible in every story, they do appreciate show-and-tell on-camera storytelling to help them better understand the story. Also, they would much rather see the reporter on camera from the scene on tape than generic video, which puts them to sleep. In short, sometimes you can be your best video.
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From Professor Ken Kobre who teaches photojournalism at San Francisco State University and author of Photojournalism: The Professionals’ Approach.
Free Tips from Bob Kaplitz’s Multimedia Minutes
We found a terrific resource for videojournalism instruction — and it’s free!
Bob Kaplitz is a principal and senior strategist for Audience Research & Development (AR&D), a TV news marketing firm which he joined in 1980 after a distinguished career in broadcast journalism, which included reports on the CBS Evening News.
He’s created a slew of excellent short instructional videos that offer tips for improving your video. He offers these “Multimedia Minutes” on his blog.
What makes them especially valuable is that Kaplitz uses actual footage from pros, and has annotated it with superimposed text that crisply points out the attributes and deficits of various aspects of the video and audio, as you’re looking and listening to it.
It’s like having the teacher right there at your side, critiquing it as you watch.
Among his topics:
* How to Use a Hidden Camera
* Creatively Shooting Your Own Standups
* How to Take Control of a Story
* The Most Important Word in Storytelling
* So You Want to Save the Best for Last?
* How to Spice Up a Story
* How to Use Words Sparingly
* Shooting Your Own Standups
* How to Shoot a Story that’s Tough to Shoot
* Asking Better Questions with Facts
* How to Lure Viewers and Hold Them
* Action-Reaction Approach to Strong Storytelling
* From Ho-Hum to Engaging Storytelling
* A Lesson Thanks to Jay Leno & Kanye WestVisit Kaplitz’s blog for free videojournalism lessons from a pro.
Posted in broadcast journalism, Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists, TV news training | 6 Comments »
