GOOD STORIES TOLD WELL

I visited newsrooms across the United States to conduct research for the Video Now report, a study on the current state of video journalism. At every news organization, I asked my sources the same question: What is a good video story? Invariably, the answers I got were all some version of a good story told well.

Finding a good story requires thorough reporting, creative thinking, and dedication and passion on the part of the journalist. But what does it take for one to tell a story well? Video journalists must structure and present their stories in a way that gets the viewer to watch from the beginning to the very end. Understanding the protagonist-conflict-resolution structure will help you to produce stories that your viewers will want to watch in their entirety.

Producing a Feature Video Story 199

Figure 7.2 Newspaper photographers are increasingly tasked with producing compelling video content as well as photos.

At some point in your early childhood, you may have been told a version of this story:

Once upon a time, there was a princess. The princess was trapped in a castle by an evil witch. But, in this land, there was a brave knight. The knight loved the princess and wanted to rescue her from the witch.

One day, the knight set off for the witch’s castle to save the princess. But the witch sent a fiery dragon to kill the knight. The dragon attacked the knight, but the brave knight used his sword to slay the dragon.

When the knight reached the castle, he chained up the witch and freed the princess. The princess and the knight got married and they lived happily ever after.

This fairy tale, while simple, contains all the elements of a feature story: a protagonist, a conflict, and a resolution. In this story, the knight is the protagonist. The protagonist of a story has a goal, and, in this case, the knight’s goal was to rescue the princess. The conflict of this story is the knight’s battle with the witch and the dragon. The resolution is that the knight saves the princess and they live happily ever after. In this fairy tale, the reader must go to the very end to find out whether the knight has been successful in his quest.

If this fairy tale were written using the inverted pyramid method, it might read something like this:

Today, a brave knight rescued a princess from the castle of the wicked witch. During the rescue operation, the knight also killed a dragon

200 PA RT I I I : Feature and Narrative Storytelling

owned by the witch. The knight was able to imprison the witch, and the princess was unharmed during the raid on the castle. The knight and princess now plan to get married.

This version of the story has all the same factual elements as the first version of the fairy tale, but it lacks tension, suspense, and drama. After the first sen- tence, the reader does not have to read further to know the ending. Feature and narrative stories present important information, but in a way that teases the viewer to stay until the end for the resolution or reveal.

You will meet many characters during your reporting. Not all of your characters can be the protagonists of your stories. Some sources will have interesting backgrounds and goals, but you must select the best sources to tell your stories. Most sources will be secondary and tertiary characters, and they will play important roles in your story. But, for your feature story to be well told and interesting to your viewers, you must clearly identify the protagonist, the protagonist’s goal or quest, and the resolution to the story.

Exercise

Pick your 10 favorite books or films. These stories can be fiction or non- fiction. Identify the main character or protagonist in each story. What was the conflict? What was the resolution of the story? Did all of these stories have a clear protagonist, conflict, and resolution?

Big question. Producing feature stories can be complicated and overwhelming. Topics such as health, science, politics, and the economy are vast, confusing, and can be difficult for video storytellers to condense into a clear and focused story. Inexperienced reporters can easily get caught up in topics and ideas, and often fail to drill down to specific stories within those topics.

Figure 7.3 Kathie from deepsouth works on a speech to be given during an important HIV/AIDS conference.

Producing a Feature Video Story 201

Distilling a story from a topic requires focusing on a very specific aspect of that topic. It is difficult to produce a story about heath care, the economy, or conflict in the Middle East. These concepts are too broad. It is much easier to produce a story about the cost of Obamacare on local businesses, or what a family with unemployed parents is doing to put food on the table, or how social media aided revolutionary movements in Middle Eastern countries.

One way to organize and focus your reporting and storytelling is by answer- ing one big question in your project. There are many questions to be asked and answered on any topic, but what specific question are you trying to answer with your story? What facts will you focus on? What will you ask your sources? What action will you demonstrate in your videos?

GOOD STORIES TOLD WELL