FINDING GREAT VIDEO STORIES

As we discussed at the beginning of this book, not all stories should be video stories. Unlike TV, the Internet provides us with the ability to tell stories in various media: quick tweets or updates, long text stories, single photos, slide- shows, interactive multimedia projects, and, of course, videos. Journalists must be able to identify which medium and form is the best one for their story. For example, rising interest rates or changing voting patterns across the United States may be best told as interactive graphs or maps. A traffic jam on the local highway may be best told as a tweet. Not all stories command the attention and effort that video requires.

Online, it can be difficult to get viewers to commit to watching a video. From the audience’s perspective, it is much easier to read a text story or to look at photos at their own pace. Watching video requires relinquishing control of

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the viewer. Also, in an office or other public setting, video stories require the use of headphones to avoid disturbing co-workers. This is a significant con- sideration: online news audiences want to consume information with the least amount of time, effort, and resistance.

Motion and emotion. As discussed earlier, motion and emotion are what make

a story video-worthy. Motion is genuine action. Local TV news often produces what is called wallpaper, or footage that provides no new information or fails to advance the story. For example, in a package about rising inflation, local TV news might show footage of shoppers walking through the checkout aisles at nameless grocery stores. The viewer already knows what shopping looks like, and there is nothing in this footage that provides new information.

Emotion is another great value of video. Video allows the viewer to hear directly from the victim of a natural disaster, or the winner of a major sport- ing event, or the mother looking for her lost child. Video allows viewers to see devastation, joy, and frustration. You must keep motion and emotion in mind when you are determining whether a story is video-worthy or whether it can be better told in another medium.

Reporting. As a professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, I read many admissions applications. Nearly all of these applications feature essays that declare how much the would-be student wants to “tell stories.” Rarely do I come across essays in which the applicant wants to “find stories.”

Finding stories is at the heart of journalism. This is the reason why video journalists report, sift through data, visit homes and businesses, and conduct

Figure 5.2 A teacher is working with students in her classroom. This is a good example of active, rather than “wallpaper,” footage.

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countless interviews, well before they pick up their cameras. I assume that the readers of this book have some reporting knowledge and experience. But it is important to revisit some reporting concepts and discuss how they relate to video storytelling. Too often, new video producers get caught up in the tech- nical challenges of production, and they fail to remember the fundamentals of reporting and storytelling.

Reporting—the gathering of facts, data, ideas, quotes, and other information— is done the same way for a written piece as it is for a video story. The tell- ing of a story is where media formats require different considerations and approaches. Reporting does not require a video camera. In most cases, video reporters and producers initially gather facts with just a notebook, pen, or an audio recorder. In video production, this is often called pre-reporting. But in actuality, it is just traditional, solid reporting. Reporting is the part of the video production process when a reporter begins to build an idea for a story. It is also the time when video producers must find elements and opportuni- ties to shoot to illustrate their ideas.

Beat reporting. The first step of reporting is to identify your beat. Beat reporting is a term that refers to journalism focused on a specific idea or subject. Geographic beats are a common structure for beat reporting. A reporter may cover a community, a district, a town, or a region. Beats can also be topic- based, such as the technology beat or the sports beat. Staying on a beat allows reporters to deeply familiarize themselves with their topic and to build a

Figure 5.3 Traditional pad-and-pen reporting is at the heart of video production.

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list of trusted and willing sources. Even general assignment reporters tend to focus on a particular geographic region so they can become highly knowl- edgeable about that area. It is critical for video producers to establish a beat, and to find sources who are willing to appear on camera.

Sources. Sources are every reporter’s lifeline. Sources provide journalists with exclusive information, they help reporters find stories, and they will often introduce journalists to other sources. Sources also help reporters to tell their stories by appearing in on-camera interviews and by giving producers access to their lives. Cultivating a reliable and valuable source list may take months or years. It requires the reporter to genuinely and patiently engage with the individuals and communities in their beats.

Not all sources are humans. Sources can be reports, databases, and other dig- ital information. Learning where to access and find relevant information for your stories requires substantial time and effort.

FINDING GREAT VIDEO STORIES