We think of it as "News", but what we're really in is the "Story" business. News is about the triumphs and tragedies of the lives surrounding our own. Learn how to tell a good story, and you'll be well on the way to shooting better photo and video footage.
Viewers are impressed by large crowds, but what they relate to is the individuals within those crowds... That's where the real stories are. Before you start capturing footage, think of the event unfolding in front of you like it's a movie. What's the plot? Who are the key characters? Focusing on individual personalities, rather than the nameless and faceless multitudes, helps bring our story down to a manageable cognitive level for our viewers. We relate to other human beings. They remind us of people we already know. People watch movies to see individual stars. Who's bringing the star power to your footage?
The best video you can capture will allow the viewer to experience the story taking place through the actions and words of the characters who are part of it. Events happen to people. People connect to other people. Figure out who's got an emotional investment to the outcome of this unfolding scenario -- and shoot footage of those individuals. The expressions on their faces. The things they are doing. The people who have been, or will be, directly affected by what's going on. Show activity, color, action and emotion. Show what is happening, not what's already happened. Reveal the setting through visual cues in the footage you take. A street sign in the backyard. A landmark. The name of a town on the door of an emergency vehicle. Try to get a nice cross-section of each of these elements into your one piece of captured footage, and you'll end up with the type of visually appealing and emotionally engaging video clips news stations love to buy and broadcast.
Aim for short and powerful... Not long and detailed. This is the era of the short attention span, too many pieces of information are competing for our finite moments of consciousness. Clear and concise wins the battle every time. The average length of a news story is one minute and thirty seconds. Here at OneNews, we absolutely encourage you to shoot as much footage of important events as you can... But remember, the people interested in buying that footage are generally looking for about one powerful minute. Make sure you get that minute.
You need to capture the viewer's attention in the first few seconds... Bore them for a moment and you'll lose them forever. Viewers don't wait around for quality to improve -- there are only so many minutes in one day and far too many other viewing options available. Plan your entrance and exit. Open your digital footage with a nicely composed power shot of action and emotion taking place. Let it play out. Then close the door on it at the high point. The final impression will, to a large extent, determine the success of the clip. Give them something to think about, talk to their friends about, and remember.
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