Storytelling is an ancient practice. It is probably one of the first ways humans developed socially, sharing knowledge with emotion and perspective. It is also one of the basic tenets of a newscast. The self-contained story (one that doesn't need any explanation or setting up before you see it) is called a "package" in the news business. I want to share with you a little about how a package is put together.
First of all, remember that news is about PEOPLE, not things. If you have a story about a new 10K road race that will be happening in Atlanta in the fall, tell me about it through the eyes and experience of a young man who was told he could never walk and is now training for this race. If you want to do a story on the potential loss of accreditation by the Atlanta Public Schools, have a student tell the story of how his family came to Atlanta to get a better education than he would've gotten in the third-world country he came from and how this would be devastating to him. Do you see how this works?
Once you come up with your idea, there are a few questions that you should ask yourself before you dive headlong into production. First, is there a PERSON I know that I could tell the story through; someone who is involved in this story or who has an investment in the outcome? If the answer is "yes" then start interviewing! If the answer is IDK, then see if you can find such a person. If you're doing the road race story, call the organizers of the road race or a related organization such as the Atlanta Track Club. Organizations are GREAT resources to find people involved in the story that you want to do. They are more than willing to help because they want publicity for their "cause". Just about EVERY story you do will have a related organization that could help you, you just have to take the time to do research and don't be afraid to call these people.
Second question: can you tell both sides of the story? Every story has two sides. In the case of the road race you have the determined runner who has beaten all odds and then, perhaps you have the doctor's who said that he's never walk and they are blown away by his progress, or you have, maybe, the young man's mom who is supportive, but feels like he's bitten off more than he can chew.
Then, ask yourself, what are my visuals? What elements do I need to shoot aside from the basic interviews? Can I shoot the race itself? What about the race route as it's being marked off? What about b-roll of the race organization office as they process applications? Volunteers? The young man at home, putting on shoes to go out for a conditioning run? Him playing with his dog? (unrelated to the race, but good cover footage to show his regular life) Low angle shot of his tennis shoes as they pound the pavement past the camera? What about pictures of him as a boy and his injury? Crowds cheering the runners? ETC. Hopefully, you get the idea. Shoot more than you need. Did you hear me???? SHOOT MORE THAN YOU NEED.
Fourth question....do I have NAT SOUND that I can get related to my story? In this case, YES! Why not mic the young man as he's running and get him slightly out of breath as he works out? Sounds of his shoes hitting the pavement, crowd noises during the race, etc.
Fifth question....can I visualize how I want to open this story, develop it, incorporate the race organizers, how I want to lead the viewer along in my story (in other words, do I hold information about the young man's challenges until later in the story when the viewers have gotten to know him and then surprise the viewers with this?) Or maybe I want to introduce the race first and then say that there is a very special participant this year.
Sixth question...who are my "experts" that I will interview to give my story credibility? Race organizers, orthopedic doctors, occupational therapists, etc. You must have these to give your story credibility. If your entire story is all about opinion...you haven't produced a package, you've produced an opinion poll. There is very little substance to this. You haven't taught me anything new or showed me something that I didn't know already.
Next, do I have statistics, facts, history or other information on the story? How many races are in the Atlanta area? Why is this one new and what do race organizers hope to make this one different from all the others? How many people in Atlanta are members of the Atlanta Track Club OR what is the estimate of Atlantans who are serious runners? What is the prognosis of walking, let alone RUNNING, for someone who has an injury like your guy? Can you take me through the part of his life when he didn't think he'd ever be able to walk? What has he gone through in the last few years to get where he is now. (for this one, don't just tell me, show me.) See what I'm getting at? Your news packages are little research projects - you have to do your homework.
Finally, what happens now? What is the future for the news issue? In your case, what is the future for the young man? Can you show me that he's developed a relationship with the race organizers and now, maybe, he's been asked by them to be one of the race spokesmen? What is his next goal? What does his mom and his doctor's think now?
See...simple. (yeah, right!) But really it is. You're just telling us a story....an amazing story, but a story nonetheless. You just have to do a lot of legwork before you're finished. I bet your runner did a lot of legwork to get where he is today, right? Bad joke. Sorry.
Develop your story here: tell me the answers to all of these questions I've posed to you and show me in your comment that you've thought about how your pkg will be developed. This may take a little thought. You may want to write down your blog response on paper before you write it here so you are thorough. Tell me about this amazing project you're working on and tell me how it's going to blow everything else away on Eagle TV by telling me how you've thought about all these questions. Tell me your story!
I think an Interesting package would be about growing up, and kids gain responsibility as they get older. Then, like find a student at south cobb who has over-came the odds. Explain, how this student came from Pain to Gain. Tell how they carry out their daily life to get the listener and viewers response emotionally how this individual struggles daily... -Jeremy Weaver
ReplyDeleteThe package we are doing is on the OrangeBand Initiative. We are telling it through the eyes of the creators and founders to help explain its purpose. The two sides of this story might be the view of the initiative by the founders, and then the view by someone who was helped by the OrangeBand organization. For visuals, I believe we could get B-roll of someone with an OrangeBand talking to a student who looks stressed, or put out somewhat. There could be B-roll of students walking, or someone crying. Maybe even someone walking by the camera with an OrangeBand attached to their bag. I think good NAT sound would be someone asking what the orange band means, and then the other person replying, "It means I'm available to listen to you." I can already visualize the entire story in my head and how it will blend in together. The experts that I will interview might be Kai, the founder of OrangeBand, or anyone else he gives us information on. He's currently looking for someone in the Atlanta area to let us interview. Good statistics include how many teens face depression, how many teens feel lonely and do not talk to someone even when they need to, and a third statistic would be how many people are available to talk to you in one day. I hope that after this package is finished, the OrangeBand will be known and more people will be willing to talk to other people. This will help fight depression and possible suicide attempts.
ReplyDeleteOur package this week is about the OrangeBand Organization. We have emailed the organization with some questions and have set up interviews with Mrs. Garcia, Mr. Lackey and an outside source. We will also interview a student. By doing this, we can tell both sides of the story. I believe that we should try to get some b-roll about a student talking to an OrangeBand participant and my NAT sound will be the two conversing. We will include, in our VO/SOT style set-up some brief history about the organization and why South Cobb might be interested in participating. I believe that at the end of this package, there will be several students (and teachers!) willing to participate in the OrangeBand fad! Everyone's doing it!
ReplyDeleteThe story that me and my group is about prom rules and do people actually know what's going on at prom. But instead of doing just a regular package this package will actually be a music video with a new popular teen song that will hopefully make more people listen and want to follow the prom rules.
ReplyDeleteThe first question was is there anyone we could tell the story through and the answer is yes. We could tell the story through many seniors and juniors going to prom this year. The second side is, are there two sides of the story and the answer is yes. The two sides of the story would be people who know the rules of prom and the people who don't. The third question is what shots would we shoot. The answer would be be of video of the kids answering the question, b-roll of kids dancing at other proms, shots of what to wear and not to wear and maybe the hotel that we would be having the prom in. The NAT sound in this story would be maybe hearing the principles voice telling students they aren't in dress code. Me and my group have an exact way that we want our story to open. We want it to be outside with kids talking about prom but they don't know any of the rules or where it is at and then thats when we step in with our song to help them. Once again, people we would interview would be teachers, junior and senior students, and the principle. After that I feel like after we edit it our story will be a perfect way to show prom rules; how to dance, what to wear and what not to wear and where it is. I hope everyone enjoys it!
The answer to the first question is yes, eery student that is attending prom can relate to my package. The second question is a hard one, because we're not really telling a story. For the third question, we can shoot interviews and shoot extra broll of people dancing. For the fourth question, yes I do have NAT sound that I could do for this prioject. For the fifth question, yes I can visualize how I want to open this package. I want it to have Diamond and Shonda asking questions and people not knowing the answer so we can then do our video and show them. For the sixth question, I will interview the principal for questions and the inside scoop on prom. For the seventh question, yes I do have facts about what you can and cant do at prom and how you can and cant dress and what you can and can't do. For the last question, what happens now is that we show everybody what prom should be like.
ReplyDeleteSasha Simon
1.the people are the ones who attending the prom 2.there really isnt two sides of the story. its more of an informative package . what people dont know about prom we are telling them 3.our visuals are too inform about prom in a very creative way like make dances and get it out in a way teens can understand 4. yes, we have people talking about prom in the background and getting all excited 5. we inform in a rap/hip-hop style so most people can relate to it 6. the admistrators are our important sources and credibility 7. yes we have facts about we can and cannot do at prom 8. hopefully alot of people attend prom and follow the rules and have a good time!
ReplyDeletekierra rubin
Our package is about the sports signing day.
ReplyDelete-Do I know someone that this is happening to?
Yes, Garrison/Chu Chu/and William Smalls
-Can I tell both sides?
Hmmm, maybe. that would be very tricky to do with this story since it is such a happy one but the case of sadness is very possible, because of our interviews.
-What are my visuals?
The players signing the papers, the players hugung each other in celebration and many more.
-Do I have NAT Sound?
Yes, we a good amount the only thing is that I wish we had more because we technically didn't over shoot.
-Can I visualize how I want my pkg to open, develop and end?
Yes, but that is still more in the works. I guess I can say that I am behind on that part.
-Who are my experts?
Experts on this story of course would be the colleges that the players signed to and college career professionals (counselors).
-Do I have statistics?
We could if we could find the names of previous students that may have went or are going to the schools that the subjects signed to.
-What happens now? What is the future?
The future for the story is the players and their success in college and what legacy they left at south cobb.
My group is definitely delivering the package! We are creating a package about prom rules. I know a whole senior class who could help me with this package. The two sides of the package could be those who know prom rules and those who don't. Visuals I could capture would be an actual music video , it would bring comedy to the package and keep the audience entertained. The NAT sound I could obtain would be students getting hyped about prom or students sounding really confused about prom and include it in the music video. Yes, I can visualize how to open, develop, and end my package. My group would be consider the experts because we are the people informing the school about the rules and Hosey also. I also have facts about prom rules because a sheet was handed out in homeroom which would be considered as statistics. The future of this package will be pure success because it will get the school excited and ready about prom!
ReplyDeleteDIAMOND CORNELIOUS
our package is about senioritist: most of the seniors that we interviewed said it was happening to them. i cant play a side in this because i am not a senior.. but from my piont of view i can see how someone can be so stressed out from 12 years of school that they lack off their last year. we do have a good amount of NAT sound. i can visualize how i want my package set up. we have statistics from websites..
ReplyDeleteFor the first question my main person would be Mr.Hosey I would definitely get most of my prom information for him. The answer to the second question would be, on one side of our story we have the people that know nothing about prom rules, then we have us (the eagle tv , edit a crew) that is delivering the information to the student body about prom rules 101. Our visuals and main elements is the prom rule music video itself! we are so excited to do this video and I am the editor and producer! Of course we have NAT sound and great visuals to end and open the story and music video! The experts are us "the edit a crew" we are telling the student 101 the prom rules including how your suppose to dance on that night! I know everyone around the school is going to be talking about this prom rule video!
ReplyDelete