Creating an effective news story
Three principal themes to News stories:
· Give viewers a reason to remember the story
· When interviewing try not to ask questions
o Make observations
§ Puts people at ease to reveal the emotional and human side
· Get a closing shot
§ Viewers more likely to remember
Video shooting tips
§ Create a strong close
o Something build toward throughout the store
o Should be visual
§ Build your report around sequences:
o Two or three shots of the same story vs. one full shot playing for 30 seconds
§ Use strong natural sound to heighten realism, authenticity, and believability
o Make it possible to experience what happened
§ Short sound bites prove the story you are showing
o They are not substitutes for storytelling
o Present the face- let your interviewees present the feelings
Writing the script
§ Always remember: the reporter/narrator is not the story
§ Do you know what you want the audience to take away from the story?
§ Write to the pictures first. A strong lead will instantly telegraph the story to come
§ Keep the Main body of the script to three to five main points
§ Say nothing your viewers would already know, or that visuals could “say” better
§ Allow for moments of silence
§ Build in surprises to sustain viewer involvement
§ Visuals, wild sounds, short bites, poetic script
Address the larger issue
§ Make sure it meets the “so what” test
o “A trailer home burned down” fails to meet
o “A trailer home burned down because the walls are full of flammable insulation” meets
§ Make your story memorable
o Can your viewers feel something about the story and its subjects?
o With felling, the story will stick in the viewers’ minds
Practice
Stolen painting found behind tree
95 year old grandma, makes a hole in one
Powdered milk is the new got milk
Nude beach ruled out by NJ judge
Shooting Defendant trialed in Juvenile Court
Head of Iraqi seeks illegal arms
Death brings feelings of loneliness and isolation to loved ones
Queen mary has scraped bottom
Police begin campaign to stop jay walkers
