The Bluffers guide to Video Journalism

By Alx Klive

Second edition published April 1998

Introduction

This tutorial is intended for amateur video enthusiasts wishing to further their knowledge and abilities to a more professional level. Perhaps you want to use your camcorder to work as a stringer for a local news station? Maybe you're looking for a full-time career as a camera operator? Perhaps you want to set up your own TV station on the internet? Specifically it focusses on the art of Video Journalism and thus makes important reading for anyone seeking a career in this rapidly expanding area of broadcasting.

What is Video Journalism?

The traditional means of shooting news and current affairs involves a reporter, cameraman, audio operator and field producer all working as a team to create a story. This system is fast becoming extinct. Around the globe, news organisations are beginning to employ Video Journalists who work SINGLE-HANDEDLY to cover the same story - thus embodying all four roles into one. The advantages to a broadcaster are obvious. If one person can do the job of four, why pay four people to do it?

It is true that quality can suffer as a result. It is always preferable to have more people, dedicated people, working on a shoot. But the harsh realities of the gazillion channel universe are forcing broadcasters to find cheaper and cheaper ways of producing television product. The ramifications of this for students coming into the industry are huge. Multi-skillers are replacing specialists in more and more areas. Video Journalism in particular is an art that few aspiring broadcasters can afford to ignore.

Camcorder Basics

Shake

Nobody likes to watch a shaky picture!

1. The trick is to develop the ability to spot shakiness in the first place, and identify the problem as it's happening. The only way this can be done is by paying a lot more attention to the viewfinder as you're shooting. Many people simply switch on the camera, aim it in a rough direction and expect the camera to do all the work. Anti-shake features are one thing but there's only so much they can do.

2. When you're filming, your arms should feel like they're in fluid suspending the camera and cradling it from the jolts of the world around it.

If you're shooting and walking at the same time, try this - Bend your knees slightly, point your toes outward like Charlie Chaplin and then creep forward on tip-toes in a fluid almost 'ape-like' stance.

It takes practice (you don't even need a camera) and once you get good at it, you can have a go at doing it backwards as well. (N.B. The tip-toes thing is not for everyone and nor is it essential. It can work well for people with good balance and strong feet! It does, however, help getting the hang of the movement in the beginning.)

Once you've mastered that, you can try going sideways. This means doing essentially the same thing with your legs but this time crossing them behind or in front of one another in a 'crab-like' fashion. Try shooting someone (or something?) by walking around them in a semi-circular arc keeping the same distance between you and the subject.

Keeping the same distance between you and the subject has the added benefit of keeping the subject in focus since focus is purely dependent on the distance between you and whatever it is that you're shooting.

3. Keeping it wide keeps the shakes away. Home camcorders these days come with zoom capabilities of 20x magnification or more. Several models have so called digital zooms that boost the zoom to 100x magnification and higher. (Make mental - digital zooms are baaad. Avoid like the plague.)

The problem with zooming is that it magnifies any shakes of your hand in proportion to how much you zoom. A shake at 10x magnification will look ten times as worse and obvious as it would if you were in wide angle. It's a telling fact that the world's top professional videographers rarely shoot at more than x12 without a tripod and that's using perfectly-balanced shoulder-mounted equipment.

If you do want to zoom in tight on something, zoom all the way in first and then back off the zoom a little to give yourself that margin of safety (otherwise known as the anti-shake advantage.) Which bring us neatly to...

Zoom

Zoom unfortunately gets a bit of a bum rap in the professional world. When used creatively and with purpose (normally to reveal something or simply out of physical necessity - it's hard to get in there with an avalanche) ... it can be and indeed is a great tool.

Zooming in and out for the sake of it, however, looks amateurish, and makes for unnecessary focusing headaches which you can easily do without.

So the trick is to "Keep it wide, move the body instead."

N.B. It's important to note the distinction between a wide shot and a wide angle. You can be at a wide angle and have a tight shot. Sticking a camera three inches from someone's face would be an example.

Similarly you can be at a tight (zoomed in) angle but still have a wide shot. (Shooting grandma at the summit of a small mountain from the comfort of your car below...)

So I'm not saying don't do tight close-ups (ask the person first perhaps) just avoid using zoom to get that close-up.

Roll

One of the most common and least documented mistakes made with video (and for that matter, still) cameras is the "Titanic" affair. Professionally known as 'watching your horizon' this problem is the scourge of cameraman worldwide and can ruin an otherwise perfect shot.

The shape of televisions, for the time-being at least, remains rectangular. Combine this with our natural desire to keep our heads relatively level (most of the time) and you're left with a viewer who has the perfect guide by which to judge your 'framing' skills.

The edges of buildings for instance, are generally vertical. A side-on view of a car will generally yield a horizontal kind of look. So many times this seems to go out the window once someone points a camera at it! So in theory, if you can see the actual horizon of the landscape in the distance, then the horizon should be parallel with the bottom or top of your viewfinder.

It's not as easy as it sounds because you can easily confuse yourself when you shoot something from an angle. And what for instance do you do if you're standing on an incline and shooting along the incline?

Aaagggghhh!

The trick is to imagine where the camera would sit in your hand if you were suspending a weight from the bottom of the camera on a length of string. It would want to stay upright in relation to gravity, right?

In practice, however, you develop this in combination with an appreciation for the edges of your viewfinder. With your mind, you then superimpose an artificial horizon across the scene that you are shooting. You can also try to clue in on objects that are obviously off balance. Buildings, again, are a good example to look out for, the edges of a picture frame and so on.

So remember - there's a difference between what cameramen call a 'Dutch tilt' and instead simply 'having your horizons off'. A 20 degree tilt can be very interesting in an interview for example, but a 2 degree tilt looks like a mistake.

Focus

Auto-Focus is found on nearly every camcorder these days but even the best systems don't cut it when it comes to shooting for broadcast. If your camera allows for manual focusing then use it wherever you get the chance. Professional videographers never use auto-focus!

The first rule of focusing is to zoom all the way in on what you want to shoot, set the focus and then pull back out again before making your shot. If something is in focus when you're zoomed all the way in, it will stay in focus throughout the whole zoom range, providing the distance between you and the subject doesn't change.

So remember that focus depends on your distance from the subject and not the amount of zoom. It is just easier to spot a focus error in telephoto than it is in wide-angle.

If you decide to practice and improve your focus skills, the first thing to etch into your conscience is the direction you turn the focusing ring for an object that's closer than what you're currently shooting. (Turning it in the opposite direction will focus the camera on something further away.) Once you know this instinctively, you will be able to focus on things much faster.

It's easy to practice focusing at home. Turn the camera on and zoom in and out on different objects at different distances away from you. Try to get the object in focus before you're zoomed all the way in. It's not easy but the practice will make a big difference in how your shooting looks.

Depth of Field

Not the easiest subject to get your head around, depth of field is, however, a key element of camerawork and worth figuring out.

Say you're shooting an object that's ten feet away from you. Chances are that if the subject moves a couple of feet closer to you it will still be in focus. Similarly, if it moves a couple of feet further away, it will also remain in focus. This four feet of leeway is known as the depth of field.

How much leeway you have in any given situation depends on a number of factors. These include the quality of the lens (more expensive lenses generally have higher depth of field), the amount of zoom you are using (high amounts of zoom yield virtually no depth of field) and the amount of available light.

In bright light using a wide angle, you will have a very high depth of field, meaning you can worry a lot less about the accuracy of your focusing.

In dark conditions using a lot of zoom, you will have very little depth of field and it will be difficult to keep the subject in focus if you or it moves.

So if you want to avoid complicated focusing details, keep it wide, use as much light as possible and try to keep the same distance between you and the subject.

Iris

Iris is not something you have to worry too much about. All camcorders have auto-iris by default, many don't even have a manual iris control.

The iris controls how bright the picture is (specifically how much light enters into the camera) and works just like our own iris in our eyes. If it's bright, it closes up. If it's dark, it opens up wide to let in all the light.

You can see it working if you aim the camera at something dark, like a building in shadow and then pan up slowly to reveal the sky. The building you were shooting suddenly gets darker as the sky comes into view.

For most people auto iris is a godsend. But it can be really annoying sometimes. If you're shooting someone outside at close quarters you naturally want to keep their face at more or less the same brightness. If as you move around, bright objects such as the sky appear intermittently in the background, the auto-iris will adjust itself making the person's face suddenly get darker and brighter. Tres annoying indeed.

In these circumstances you should set the iris manually if your camcorder allows.

White Balance

White Balance is a mystery to the majority of casual camcorder users. If you work out how to set the white-balance yourself (it varies from model to model) it is quite possibly the simplest thing you can do to improve the overall quality of the picture that you record.

Whatever model you have, the principle involves aiming the camera at something white (filling the viewfinder as much as possible) and then basically telling the camera "Hey, this is white and don't you forget it!". Typically you aim the camera at a white card and hold down a button for a few seconds while the camera re-calibrates itself.

White Balance is related to...

Colour Temperature

Colour temperature is a term used to describe how truly WHITE a particular light source is. Since this can vary tremendously from one type of light to another and video cameras are particularly sensitive to this difference (our own eyes naturally compensate without us realising), we have to set the white balance on video cameras to make sure that the picture looks realistic.

For this reason, every time the lighting conditions change significantly (inside, outside, sunlight, shade, dusk, dawn, fluorescent lights, regular bulbs) you should re-calibrate the white balance.

More Technical Explanation of White Balance and Colour Temperature

Light

Have you ever noticed how much better the picture looks on a camcorder when you shoot outside in bright light? If the White Balance is set correctly, the picture can look almost 'broadcast quality'. The trick therefore when shooting indoors is to use as much light as you can lay your hands on. The simplest solution is to attach one of the many video lights sold specifically for mounting on camcorders. Try to get one that uses it's own battery power rather than one that takes power directly from the camera battery.

A 20-30w bulb is preferable (5-10w bulbs just don't cut it) and a good tip is to add a diffusion filter to the front of the light. These spread the beam and make it softer, cutting down on undesirable hard shadows. They also make it more tolerable for the people you're blasting. Theatrical Lighting supply stores are a good source for this material and it usually comes as a large sheet of translucent material that you can cut to size and tape over the front of the light using gaffa tape (this is sometimes referred to as duct tape and uses very strong temperature resistant adhesive. You can also buy this at a theatrical supply store.)

*STAR TIP* Companies that make diffusion filters give away small books containing samples of all their filters. Lee and Rosco are the two major players in this field. Call them up and have them send you a swatch book, or pick one up at the theatrical supply store. The swatches are normally matchbox sized but are often big enough to fit over a small camera light or even a lens. You can then experiment 'til you find the effect you like without ever buying the large sheet itself.

Since the colour temperature of a video light is normally similar to that of regular household bulbs, it makes it relatively worry-free to set the white balance for an indoor shoot and then leave it set, even if you don't use the video light for every shot. (This does not follow for fleurescent type bulbs which have a nasty green hue to them. Avoid shooting under fleurescent lights if you can. If it's unavoidable, always do a white balance.)

*TIP* Beware of when the battery starts running out on the light. The light will of course get dimmer, but as it does so, the colour temperature of the light will change and become more orange. This will make your pictures look orange as well. The simple solution is to change the battery whenever the light starts losing it's juice, or do another white balance.

Lighting for film and television is a highly skilled art, but fortunately for news and current affairs purposes, the skills required are relatively simple. Use as much light as you can, remember to set your white balance whenever the lighting conditions change and don't have bright light behind your subject if you can avoid it.

Framing & Composition

This is something that is not easily taught. Good composition or framing is the key to professional camerawork and is best learned by experience and watching other people's work. The first step is to start watching television in a whole new way. Record your local news show one evening and play it back looking carefully at one story that grabs your interest. How is each and every shot framed? What techniques did the cameraperson use to shoot each element? Which shots were good, which shots were bad? What order did they shoot them in?

There are a couple of rules of thumb to get you going:

1. Keep the eyes of a person about two-thirds of the way up the screen. If you must cut someone's head off, make sure it's intentional and do it with conviction. 'Just' cutting someone's head off at the top of the screen looks like a mistake.

2. Leave more space in the direction a person is looking or moving towards. If someone is walking left to right, put them on the left side of the screen so you can see where they're walking to, even if you are following their movement. If they are static and talking to someone who's off-camera to the right, put them on the left side of the screen also.

3. Try to include objects in the foreground. Shooting through a chain link fence, having a few leaves dangling in one corner of the screen or getting down behind the wheel of a parked bicycle as you shoot a street scene are all examples. This is sometimes mistakenly referred to as 'depth of field' but it is in fact basic 'composition'. Always try to add depth to your pictures wherever possible. Television is a two-dimensional medium but you can add that third dimension with creativity and an eye for a good shot.

Audio

Audio is the bane of a video journalist's life. As if there isn't enough to worry about, what with focusing, white balance, composition and so on, we also have to think about sound?!

Think of it this way. It's generally a lot easier to fix a video mistake than it is to fix an audio one. If someone bumps into you while you're shooting an interview, an editor can always lay a brief shot of something the person is talking about over the glitch. If, on the other hand, you can't hear a word of what the interviewee is saying, it doesn't matter how great the pictures look - you can't use it!

More shoots are ruined because of audio problems than ANY OTHER REASON.

But audio is the one area where the average person can give the pro's a run for their money...

Audio Equipment

To get good sound from a camcorder, you really need to use some kind of external microphone. The simplest is to plug a handheld mike into the camera and either hold it with your left hand as you interview someone or give it to them to hold. If you hold it yourself you can record both your questions and their answers with one mike. You can even add a 'mike flash' (logo box) for that professional TV News look.

For less than $200 you can buy the same handheld mike that professional TV crews use. (Workhorses of the industry are the Electro Voice RE50 and the Shure SM63L.) The difference between one of these and a $20 mike from Radio Shack will amaze you. Practically no handling noise and amazing warm, clear sound.

[A great company to check out for this and other gear is Markertek video supply based in the U.S (www.markertek.com). They have a huge and fascinating catalogue of professional video equipment that they will mail to you on request.]

The problem with plugging mikes into a camcorder, is the connector that is generally used. The 3.5mm 'headphone style' jack is prone to crackling noises if it jiggles or twists. You can do a lot to avoid this problem by 'taping off' the microphone cord on the camera somewhere, leaving a little slack for the bit that goes to the connector itself. This way no matter how much you swing or tug the microphone cord, it won't pull on the connector itself.

It's worth investing a few extra dollars in a windshield. Even the best mikes suffer from noise in windy conditions.

As you expand your range of accessories, look into getting a good quality lavalier (neck-tie) microphone. The best that money can buy is the widely used Sony ECM-77. It retails around $300 but you can get mikes of comparable quality, if a little bigger in size, for around $100. Shure, Beyerdynamic, Tram and Audio Technica are all names to look for. A good general rule of thumb is to never spend less than $100 on a microphone.

It's also possible to buy replacement on-camera mikes. They can be fitted onto the accessory shoe that is found on top of most camcorders. If you don't have such a 'shoe', you can buy L-shaped handles that screw in to the bottom of the camcorder (the tripod connection to be precise) and thus provide one or two accessory shoes at the top of the handle for attaching a mike and a light. They retail for around $20.

If you do buy a replacement on-camera mike, choose one with a super-cardioid (highly directional) pickup pattern. Most mikes designed for mounting on camcorders are of this type. Without doubt the market leader for this type of microphone is Sennheiser. They are also the makers of the infamous top-of-the-line 'woolly blimp mike' used by TV and film crews around the world. It's among the most directional and versatile microphones that money can buy. It costs around $700 though! A decent on-camera mike will set you back around $150.

One other area of interest is wireless microphones. Lots of systems are available from company's like Samson, Azden and Nady. High-end systems can be had from Shure and Lectrosonics. Your best bet is to get a system that doesn't tie you into using their microphones. UHF is better than VHF, diversity is better than non-diversity. New consumer systems using 900MHZ are on the market and these can work surprisingly well if you're on a tight budget. Just remember that if a transmitter/receiver system complete with microphone retails for $200, you can imagine how much of that they spent on the mike.

So the bottom line on audio is to spend as much money as you can afford. As I said before, professional gear is not completely out of the range of the average person. You can buy the same mikes as the pro's for a couple of hundred bucks. A professional camera on the other hand such as a Betacam will set you back $30,000.

Audio Techniques

I cannot stress this enough! Wear headphones WHENEVER possible and AS you're shooting. This is the only way to hear crackles or other unwanted noises during recording. Equally important is to play back the tape when you've finished, listening to the sound that's been PUT DOWN ONTO TAPE. Believe it or not, this could differ from what you heard when you were recording.

Professional cameras have the benefit of so called 'confidence heads'. These are special playback heads that allow you to hear in the headphones what's actually been recorded, live as you're recording it. Consumer and Prosumer camcorders don't have this feature, so you should always play back the tape to check it has recorded okay.

Users of certain Sony camcorders (particularly the VX-1000) should be particularly careful to do a playback test, since through personal experience, it's possible to hear sound on your headphones as you're recording and then discover it hasn't actually recorded. A cameraman's worst nightmare!!!

VX-1000 users technical explanation

Even if you don't use an external microphone, it's worth doing the playback test just the same. It's embarrassing to ask someone to do an interview again, but a lot worse to go home and find you have no sound on your tape.

The beauty of news and current affairs is that there is no need to hide the equipment you're using. So invest in a good quality 'handheld' and buy the cord you need to run it into your camcorder.

Most professional microphones use so-called XLR connectors. Most camcorders use 3.5mm walkman-style jacks. You will therefore need an XLR to 3.5mm mike cord. Simple eh?

Rule of thumb when buying a mike cord. Take both the camera and your microphone with you to check the cord actually works in the store. If you're buying mail order, make sure the cord is designed for microphone use and that the XLR connector is 'female'. (Many connectors are described in terms of male and female. It doesn't take a genius to figure out which is which.)

It's good to have a couple of mike cords on hand. A short one (5 feet or less) for close-in interview work and a longer one (10-30 feet) for 'standups' and 'walk & talks'.

*STAR TIP* If you're handy with a soldering iron, buy the connectors yourself and make up a mike cord using curly cable. I've never seen a curly mike cord available 'off the shelf' but if you do make yourself one, you'll be the envy of other video journalists wherever you go. It's neat, tidy and may just save you the embarrassment of falling A over T.

All camcorders use some method of automatic gain control (AGC) to smooth out recorded audio levels. This makes quiet passages louder and loud sounds quieter. For the most part this system works well and is one automatic feature you can use without too much concern.

However, if your camcorder has the option of manual level controls, you should familiarize yourself with them since they can come in handy in certain situations. A good example is when doing an interview on a noisy street. Everytime a truck drives by, the volume of the person you're interviewing will drop substantially if you're camera is using AGC. In this situation it's far better to set the mike level manually at the beginning of the interview and leave it at the same setting throughout.

Self-Filming

CityTV is a television station in Canada that popularised the concept of combining the traditionally distinct roles of reporter and cameraperson into one. Without doubt, their so-called Videographers are among the most talented and creative in the world when it comes to the art of self-filming.

The idea has spread and while the terminology differs (Channel One in the UK for example call them Video Journalists, the BBC plan to call them Broadcasters) the concept of one person video gathering crews is the same.

Self-Filming Techniques

The simplest way to shoot yourself is to set the camera up on a tripod, aim and focus the camera at the point where you want to stand, begin recording and then move back to the spot to deliver your piece to camera.

The most important thing to do is to review what you've just shot by playing it back and watching it in the viewfinder when you're finished. This is because it's hard to judge the correct framing for the shot since obviously you can't look through the viewfinder and stand in front of the camera at the same time.

Variations on this method can include using whatever is at hand to stabilize the camera instead of a tripod. You can place the camera on a car roof, a wall, or anything else that's handy. You can then prop up the front of the camera with a tape case or spare battery.

*STAR TIP* A neat accessory to make is a small canvas sack partially filled with polystyrene chips, granules or some other filler material. This can then be used to support the camera and gives you the flexibility needed to ensure the camera is perfectly level.

Remember that you don't have to be standing to deliver your piece to camera. You can crouch, sit, kneel or even walk towards the camera as you're shooting. If you are moving, however, think carefully about focus. Under good lighting conditions and with your lens set to a wide angle, you can often walk a few feet towards the camera without it going noticeably out of focus. Just set your focus to a point halfway between where you start and where you end up.

*TIP* How do you focus on something when it's not there? (namely yourself) Use a spot on the ground as a focusing guide. Choose a mark, piece of chewing gum, or whatever, at the point where you want to stand and then focus on that. When you stand at that point, you know you will be in focus.

The Handheld

By using a wide-angle lens (or a lens with a wide-angle adaptor), it's possible with practice to hold a camcorder in one hand and aim it back at yourself while recording. The results can be extremely effective. Using this method you can walk and talk at the same time and even spin around for added effect. Try a few test recordings and then play them back. A steady flowing hand is a must.

The Mirror

Shooting yourself in a mirror isn't exactly rocket science but think of what you can use as a mirror. Shop windows, car side-view mirrors, or any other reflective surface can be used to shoot yourself in. It often makes a good way to begin or end a shot. If for instance you are introducing a story on a local car boot sale, start off by shooting the beginning of your 'intro' in a car window and then pan off to reveal the hustle and bustle.

The Impromptu Assistant

Kids make great helpers if you need someone to hold a camera. If you're at an event and there's a bunch of curious types asking what you're doing, get one of them to help! Perhaps mention this fact within your commentary. "My new friend Jamie here is helping me with the camera today..." etc.

Shooting for Television

There's a big difference between shooting home videos and shooting for television broadcast. With home videos it's perfectly acceptable to keep the camera rolling and shoot an event in a continuous, as it happens, style. When you sit down to watch it, you won't mind sitting through ten or twenty minutes of video. Or maybe you will. Either way, television broadcast is a different story. The end product is rarely more than a couple of minutes and viewers expect to see lots of different shots and angles within those couple of minutes. Editors are experts at spicing up footage and making it look highly professional, but there's certain key requirements they need from you as a cameraperson.

So if you plan to shoot anything that will be edited professionally, be sure to heed the following...

Pad

This cannot be stressed strongly enough. The word Pad describes an extra three or four seconds of footage at the beginning and end of every shot. Remember that your tape is going to be edited by a professional editor, so there is no need to do any 'in-camera' editing.

It is (unbelievably) hard to get into the habit of doing this but it is essential for the editing process. Technical Explanation. Try to force yourself into the habit of hitting the record button and then waiting a few seconds before making your shot. When you've finished the shot, wait a few seconds before turning off the record button.

Exterior/Establishing Shot

Here's one convention that won't be going away any time soon. The establishing shot is the cornerstone of movies, television news, comedy, drama - you name it. Every time you move to a new location, you should shoot at least one Exterior or Establishing shot of the location for the benefit of the editor and ultimately your story. Preferably shoot two or three variations:

1. Shoot one static, wide-angle shot of the building or location in question. Try to pick the most flattering angle and make it as interesting as you can. Including things in the foreground such as a tree, or people walking in front of you adds to the look. (People have a tendency to stop walking when they see a camera and wait for you to 'finish' your shot. The best thing to do is set the camera up on a tripod, start recording and then stand a few feet away. If you're going handheld, just wave the people on!)

2. From the same position do a camera movement that ENDS with the building framed as above. This can be a pan, dip-pan, zoom-out-and-pan, or simple zoom in. There are many possibilities. When you're at the location, practice a few variations without recording, see what looks best and then record one good take of each of the variations that you like.

Remember why an Establishing Shot is called just that. It is the first shot that viewers see of the location and establishes where the action is taking place. It doesn't have to be shot first, (if you're short on time and the action is already happening), but it should always be on your tape somewhere.

The Interior Establishing Shot

Complementary to an Exterior, the Interior Establishing Shot will always make an Editor happy. Normally the Interior Establishing shot is the second thing that a viewer sees following the Exterior and helps draw the viewer into a story.

If you're shooting something inside a large building, try to get up high if you can (on a balcony for example) and shoot at least one static-wide, along with a wide-pan of the people or event in progress.

Alternatively (or additionally!) start on an object like a Chandelier and zoom out to reveal the room.

Event and Interviews

Once you have your Exterior and Interior Establishing shots, you can get down to the business of shooting the main activity that makes up your story. This will usually be a combination of event footage and interviews.

The 'event' may be a theatrical performance, a political rally, a press conference, a sporting activity, or even just some kids trying out a new computer system at their school.

Event shooting is where you can be forgiven for just keeping the camera rolling. You don't want to miss anything, but just remember that what you're shooting will be edited into seperate shots for broadcast. For this reason, shoot from different angles and vary between static shots, moving shots, wide-angles and close-ups.

After shooting the 'event', it's time to get your interviews. Find a spokesperson, organiser, participant, member of the public etc.

When you do find someone, don't do a lengthy interview unless the interview is the whole story! You raise people's expectations (after all they're only going to be on screen for a few seconds) and you waste your own time that you could be using to get an alternate point of view from someone else.

For an average news story, it's commonplace to try for around three or four different people to interview.

Cutaways

This a broad ranging term used to describe the shots that an editor will 'cut-a-way-to' in the middle of an interview, speech or other continuous item. It's tedious to watch one shot from one angle of someone going on about something for more than a few seconds, so instead an editor lays over video of relevent items while the sound of the interviewee continues underneath.

The key to a cutaway is relevency! In the case of an interview you should get at least half a dozen shots of things that the person refers to in the interview. You WERE listening carefully to what the interviewee was saying, weren't you?

In the case of a speech or performance of some kind, you should wait till you have enough footage of the performance itself and then shoot a selection of various ten second shots of the audience and key performers various positions. Be careful of shooting from opposite sides. This can result in 'Crossing the Axis'. As an example, how often is a football match shown from opposite sides of the field? It would confuse the viewer.

The trick to cutaways is to take a look at the event or story and figure out all the various elements that make up the story. Then get (steady) 5-10 second shots of all these elements.

The Long Audio 'Bite'

If you're shooting an entertainment related event such as a music concert, it's imperative that you get at least two minutes of continuous (audio) performance without moving the camera very much. This will be what the editor uses as a backing track to the story. For this reason you may want to choose the most popular song (yours or the public's - it's your choice!).

The reason you shouldn't move the camera very much is because it affects the tonal quality of the sound, (assuming you're using the on-camera microphone). You can zoom in and out, but moving more than a few degrees sideways in either direction will cause problems for the editor. This is especially the case with more directional microphones. Once you have this long audio section 'in the can' you can then shoot the rest of the performance as creatively as you like.

Standups

This is a term that describe all your reporting elements and other pieces 'to-camera'. This is nearly always the last thing you shoot, since it's very difficult to know what you're going to say until you've reviewed what you've shot.

So once you have your establishing shots, event footage, interviews and cutaways, it's time to sit down somewhere quiet, maybe grab a bite to eat, review your interviews (especially) and figure out roughly how the story is going to come together. A good trick is to try and picture the story in your mind from beginning to end with the shots you've actually done. This is why editors make good shooters.

Figure out the bits that you have to fill in, pull out a notepad and write out an introduction and an ending. You may also want to write what's known as a 'bridge'. A bridge is a piece to camera that is sometimes used to link together parts of a story that are otherwise difficult to connect in editing.

When you're happy with what you've written, it's time to go somewhere (relevent) to do your standups. Do them as many times as are neccessary to get them right. Play them back, listen carefully on headphones and when you're satisfied you've got what you need, head home and relax!

Remember that if all else fails, you can always do a voice-over later on if it turns out during editing that you've missed making a crucial point or bridge.

Basic Techniques of Journalism

Journalism is about telling a story. Like all good stories, it should have a beginning, a middle and an end. The beginning is the most important. You should capture a viewer's interest in the first thirty seconds. This is best done by giving the viewer a good idea as to what to expect from the story in those first thirty seconds. A big turnoff is confusion. If the viewer is confused as to what the story is about, then the story is not being told properly. So when you approach a story it is important to have a game plan. Ask yourself the following questions:

What is my objective?

For most journalists, the objective is to tell a GOOD story in an entertaining, emotional, sensitive, informative and accurate fashion. There are of course other kinds of journalism. The tabloid media has made a huge business out of sensationalism, for instance. Gossip, scandal and people's misfortunes are normally the kind of subject matter involved. However, it should be noted that sensationalism does not refer to the subject matter itself , but the manner in which the story is told. It's always possible to tell any story with integrity. Whether it should go to air is another matter and that is the responsibility of the producer!

Am I covering the basic five W's of journalism?

Who are the people involved? (Who are the people I'm going to talk to)

What is the story about? (How will I present this story)

Why has this issue come about? (What questions am I going to ask!)

When did this all start happening? Is it ongoing? When might it reach it's logical conclusion? (More questions to ask)

Where is the action taking place? (Where will I go to shoot)

Do I understand the story?

It's an ideal world when you can go into a story fully prepared with all the facts. More often than not, you're flying by the seat of your pants! Arm yourself with as much information as you can, have basic questions figured out and don't worry too much about not knowing all the answers yourself.

Asking questions in an interview is an accepted part of your job. In most cases you're not expected to know all the answers. (The exception to this rule is if you are known for specialising in a certain field or if you've covered similar stories before.)

So, notwithstanding, you can freely take on the role of the ignorant but interested third party, asking the questions that the viewers at home are asking in their mind.

The trick to effective interviewing is to avoid soliciting one word "yes" "no" answers. Most of the time, an edited story will NOT include your spoken questions so get the subject talking freely by using phrases like "Describe to me", "Explain", "What are your feelings about" etc.

A good trick is to explain to the interviewee at the outset to incorporate the question in whatever answers they give you. (The exception to this would of course be when your questions ARE going to be included as part of the story.)

Bad Interview technique:
Q - How many people were at today's demo?
A - Three thousand.

Example asking the person to incorporate the question into the answer:
Q - How many people were at today's demo?
A - At today's demo we had about three thousand people.

Example using a 'leading question':
Q - How pleased were you with the turnout?
A - Very pleased. The numbers were much better than we expected. I think in the end we had about three thousand people.

It's obvious that the first example is totally useless to an editor! The second is better and the third one is the most useful of all.

Will the story be balanced?

All stories have different interpretations or viewpoints. Your job as a journalist is to present those interpretations in a balanced way or at least it should be.

Normally it is sufficient to show the two main sides of an argument by offering the people involved, on both sides, the chance to have their say. If they don't take up your offer, then that can become part of the story. How many times have you seen the classic "No comment" comment? While it's sometimes true that this is included merely for sensationalistic effect, it is more often than not the example of balance that I'm referring to.

It is possible to take the balance thing too far. It's hard to find a negative side to a community picnic, but some journalists will try! Similarly a kids birthday is a wonderful thing, so in this case 'balance' could simply be getting a shot of mum exasperating in the kitchen at the forty kids running amok in her house!

Remeber therefore that balance is not neccessarily negative/positive. It can be just the presentation of alternate viewpoints. There's always more than one side to a story. It's not always easy to figure out but if you can find the less obvious and document it, you will have achieved something.

Reaction, Reaction, Reaction

People are key to any story. Ask yourself the following questions at every shoot. Who are the people affected or involved with this? In what way are they affected? Is the average person on the street affected or at least, do they have an opinion?

If any of this is valid to your shoot, you should include it within the story. Ask a couple of people to tell you their views on camera.

Last thought

Remember that as a Video Journalist, it is important to let the story tell itself as much as possible. The less introductions and explanations that you do on camera, the better.

Happy shooting!

Tips from the Pros

Equipment Lists

Lightweight Video Journalist Kit

Standard Video Journalist Kit

Extended Video Journalist Kit

Other optional items to consider

Technical Explanations

The necessity for PAD at the beginning and end of every shot

Professional tape and computer-based editing systems rely on time-coding information to perform an edit. They need a few seconds of 'pre-roll' time-code to get 'up to speed' before they make that edit. For this reason it's important to run the camera for a few seconds at the beginning and end of a shot. This is known as 'PAD'. While it's true that it's more important to have a pad at the beginning of a shot than it is at the end, doing it 'front and back' is good camera technique and makes editors happy people. Another reason is that an editor may want to do a dissolve. This cannot be done if your shot begins or ends abruptly. Go back

White Balance/Colour Temperature

Different lighting conditions yield different so-called 'colour temperatures'. The easiest way to think of it, is as the difference between a warm kind of light (orangey) and a cold kind of light (bluish). Think of how your face looks in different light. In artificial light using regular bulbs, our faces look warmer and more healthy than in daylight or fluorescent lighting.

It's because our brain subconsciously is constantly evaluating the lighting conditions around us and adapting the colours of what we see, that we really aren't aware of colour temperature. With video cameras, however, the problem is far greater because they don't have intelligence to help them out. Our eyes can look at something and our brain can then use intelligence to determine what colour it should be. Cameras don't have this advantage. That is why we point them at something white and say 'Hey this is white my friend!'.

The most extreme way of demonstrating white balance is to set the camera's white balance for indoor light and then go outside to shoot something. When you play it back, the outside shots will look far too blue. If instead you set the white balance for outdoors and then go inside, the picture will be far too red. The trick is to set the white balance each time the lighting conditions change. Go back

VX-1000 Audio Problem

This problem happened to me when I used a custom-made XLR adaptor cord plugged into the mini mic socket. It turns out that there is a DC voltage present on one of the two channels which Sony calls 'plug-in-power'. The net result is that you hear sound in your headphones as you're recording but the digital conversion circuitry gets confused. For what it's worth, it's only the digital playback circuitry that is confused. The sound IS actually on the tape, but you need to use a professional DV playback deck to get at it. A weird anomaly but true. The answer is to use adaptor cords made specifically for that camera or if you're handy with a soldering iron, put a capacitor in line with the relevent channel. (I'm sorry but I can't remember which channel it is or which capacitor to use. Perhaps someone out there can remind me. Go back

Glossary of Terms

Index
Mr Klive is a Videographer for Bravo! - Canada's New Style Arts Channel. He is also Canadian Correspondent for TV World and Broadcast Magazine in England.
This material is protected by copyright. It may not be reproduced in any form in any media except in the case of short extracts for review purposes without the express written consent of it's author Alx Klive.
Copyright January 1997.