We found a terrific resource for videojournalism instruction — and it’s free!-
Multimedia Minutes: Long Form Storytelling
September 10th, 2010
A package running five minutes needs an important topic, strong questions, strong soundbites, and a human angle.
That’s what KSNV’s (Las Vegas) Jim Snyder delivers on in this well-researched report.
Posted in broadcast journalism, Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists, TV news training | 3 Comments »
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Multimedia Minutes: Pressing a Viewer Hot Button
September 2nd, 2010
Many viewers are upset about government overspending and waste, but don’t think TV news devotes enough stories to the problem.
News director Jenny Kulgin’s station KVAL in Eugene, Oregon tries to. Watch Kelly Koopmans’ story. It came from a viewer who was upset when she saw a school throwing out furniture. Wasting tax money and government overspending represent viewer hot buttons, so this story scores high on the “Do I Leave My Favorite Station to Watch this Story?” list.
Notice how efficiently Kelly covered the story. KVAL invited viewers to call with issues and questions, so the viewer made learning about the problem easy. Then Kelly met the woman who witnessed what happened at the school, saving time.
Posted in broadcast journalism, Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists, TV news training | 6 Comments »
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Multimedia Minutes: Top Ten Tips from an MMJ Anchor
October 30th, 2009
Work on tomorrow’s story today is one of the top ten tips from multimedia anchor Marc Schollett of TV7-4/Traverse City, Michigan where he anchors three newscasts a day:
TOP FIVE DO’S
1.) Plan ahead. Be working on tomorrow’s story today if you can. Spend a few minutes each day making phone calls for stories that are not going to be turned today. It provides a depth to your coverage that would be almost impossible to get in a “day of” piece. This can be a great strategy in dealing with agencies or people that are notorious for being slow in answering media responses. It makes it almost impossible for them to duck your questions, if you don’t give them a deadline they can just let pass.
2.) Use your tripod. Legs make things stable. You have two, a tripod has three. It wins every time. Shooting is slower with a tripod, but editing is so much faster.
3.) Spend a few minutes talking to your interviewee before you start and as you are leaving about anything other than either of your jobs or the story you are working on. You might be surprised this is how some of the best sources are developed. Talk about their motorcycle in the driveway, the deer head hanging on their wall, the kid’s pictures in the family room….anything. They will see you as a person, and not just the person on TV, and be far more likely to call you in the future. I can’t tell you how many people call me and say “you interviewed me about this, but I wanted to let you know about something completely different.”
4.) When time is tight, keep it simple and clean….and get it done.
5.) Be excited about your stories. Most of us can watch a story and tell right away if the VJ was excited to do it. How? If they are excited, its well thought out, thorough, creative, and has certain energy. If you are not excited for your stories, find new stories. These days you may be able to have more say in what stories you are doing. It doesn’t mean you will get to do fluff, but enterprise some stories and turn them well, and your news director may give you a little more freedom when it comes to story selection.
If they know you are going to turn a thorough, energetic story that connects with viewers they are more likely to let you do it, even if it falls outside the “normal” stories your station runs.
TOP FIVE DON’TS
1.) Don’t think of you video as an afterthought. Good video might save a story, but poorly shot wallpaper video will certainly ruin one.
2.) Don’t complain about carrying gear. There are hundreds of darn good reporters out there who are carrying resumes right now who would kill to be carrying gear.
3.) Don’t forget what it’s like to be a viewer. See each day’s story as if you were watching it from home. Did you get the take home message across? Did you like video? Did it all make sense? Would you want to watch it again? Would you need too?
4.) Don’t rush the writing. That’s where real mistakes are made.
5.) Don’t use being a one man band as a crutch or an excuse. It’s the wave of the future and a great skill to have.
Posted in Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists | 197 Comments »
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Multimedia Minutes: Storytelling Under Tight Deadline
October 9th, 2009
When you only have 45 minutes to shoot a breaking news story, you can’t be fancy — but you need to manage the fundamentals of storytelling.
From Ken Kobre, photojournalism professor at San Francisco State University and author of Photojournalism: The Professional’s Approach:
http://kobrechannel.blogspot.com/2009/10/free-tips-from-bob-kaplitzs-multimedia.html
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 WestPosted in broadcast journalism, Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists, TV news training | 2 Comments »
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Multimedia Minutes: How to Shoot a Story that’s Tough to Shoot
September 28th, 2009
Here are tips for photojournalists and multimedia journalists on how to shoot a story that’s hard to shoot.
You may also learn from a series of recent videos you can access by clicking on the column to the right. For example, “How to Lure Viewers and Hold Them” and the “Action-Reaction Approach to Storytelling.” They contain information you can use whether you’re an experienced multimedia journalist or just learning.
Posted in broadcast journalism, Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists, TV news training | 70 Comments »
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Multimedia Minutes: Engaging Storytelling from Someone You Might Recognize
September 7th, 2009
Whether your part of a photographer-reporter team or a multimedia journalist, the Holy Grail is engaging storytelling. Watch this example that helped a network anchor make a name for himself as MMJ.
Note: After you click below, allow about fifteen seconds for the story to play.
Posted in broadcast journalism, TV news training | No Comments »
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Keys to Successful Morning Meetings
July 11th, 2009
Turbocharge your planning meetings. Here’s how to make them more valuable.
Posted in Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists | No Comments »
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Hand Over Your Camera For Great Video
May 3rd, 2009
That’s exactly what KFOR-TV/Oklahoma City multimedia journalist Galen Culver did to capture a story about bikes.
Galen, who created “Is This a Great State or What!” in 1991, points out: “This is a nice point of view story shot with a small hand held camera. The bikers took turns holding it in different positions and trading it back and forth. It made for a nice story element.”
Sometimes you need the help of the subject of your story to capture the most memorable angles.
Posted in Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists | 3 Comments »
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The Coolest Job + Job Security
April 30th, 2009
Darren Brown, multimedia journalist for KWTV/Oklahoma City, says he has the COOLEST job in the place.Sample his work through the links below, and you’ll see several effective storytelling techniques. They include effective use of the background in an interview, shown here, and encouraging the interview subject to show-and-tell. You might also appreciate Darren’s candor.
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED?
I got into the VJ/OMB thing about 4 years ago. I started in production way back in ’87. Started with studio camera, then tape room stuff, etc. But I always thought the photogs had the COOLEST job in the whole place. I started shooting in ’94 and, truth be known, I think that I have the COOLEST job in the place these days. I’ve been shooting/reporting for our website News9.com for almost 2 years now.
I get a kick out of reading message boards and blogs that decry the whole VJ/OMB movement as blasphemy. The guys who write that stuff are either ignorant or just plain scared, or both. It’s certainly not for everyone, but it’s called JOB SECURITY. I wanna be the guy who management says “Now wait a minute, if we lose him, we lose a photog, a reporter, an editor, a writer, and one of our helicopter shooters.”
BIGGEST CHALLENGE?
Often my biggest challenge working by myself is time management. Luckily, my deadlines are nothing like they used to be in news. However, working alone, it’s easy to get caught up in what I’m shooting and lose track of time etc. Sometimes, it would be a great help to have someone else there to occupy the subject while I’m getting my b-roll. I can’t tell you how many times I have gotten about 20-30 miles down the road and realized “Damn! I forgot to get an exterior.” (Or a CU, or any manner of great shots)
Since I work alone, there’s no one else to blame if my product sucks. Sometimes that can be very humbling. But I try to learn from it.
The biggest reward for me is knowing that I did the story “my way.” All those years I was shooting, I always thought “Well I would do it THIS way.” Of course, I wouldn’t be rude enough to tell that to a good reporter. Be careful what you ask for.
WHERE CAN OUR READERS ENJOY YOUR WORK?
Here’s a sampling:
http://www.news9.com/global/story.asp?s=10263667
http://www.news9.com/Global/story.asp?S=9939740
http://www.news9.com/Global/story.asp?S=9831751
Posted in Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists | 1 Comment »
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What’s Wrong with this Picture?
April 29th, 2009
The problem with this story comes with the lady behind the counter. Her glasses are reflecting so much daylight you can’t see her eyes.
Multimedia journalist Galen Culver of KFOR-TV/Oklahoma City says:
“I should have swung her around a little more. I might have kept the dark background and still been able to keep her in the shade without so much reflection. A little more work there would have counted.”
Posted in Multimedia Journalism, Power Tools for TV Journalists | 18 Comments »