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HSBJ Homepage Videos

August 30- Sept. 3, 2010

This week we welcome the 2010-11 School Year with some first news shows.

Students are still learning the basics.

Framing shots: Remember the rule of thirds – the imaginary “tic-tac-toe grid" in your viewfinder. Move your camera to put your subjects on the right or left third of the screen, and bring them out at least three or four feet from the background to give more depth. Adjust your tripod to get their eyes on the upper third line.

Add variety to your shots. Shoot wide, medium and tight shots. Those nice close-up shots add so much texture and interest to whatever piece your doing.  You should be able to find several cases this week where a good close-up would have added to the story.

Note to producers: Help your anchors by keeping the teleprompter at eye level. If you have two anchors, arrange the seating so that each can read from the prompter comfortably – looking into the camera.

On Monday Bishop Amat HS shows strong sports video. Almost all teams shoot video of their games, usually from the top of the press box. Bishop Amat’s video is higher quality field-level shooting. If your teams shoot video, ask your coach for copy then edit it as highlight B-roll.

Tuesday is a segment on Freshman Orientation from Shawnee Mission HS. This is done in chronological order with lots of B-roll with voice over. There are a few interviews with freshmen. Notice the shot choice. How would you shoot these interviews?

On Wednesday, South Mountain High School in Phoenix shows that you don’t need teleprompters if the anchors are well-trained to read from scripts. Strong sports segment. Is the music used copyright-free?

On Thursday, St. Thomas More Prep shows how to handle a glitch and keep going. The show is well done with some outstanding graphics. Suddenly just a few seconds from the close, a strange sound pops up. The anchor continues with just a raised eyebrow and a pause. That’s a well-trained anchor. This school is ready to add in-studio or out-of-studio interviews to its show.

On Friday, Carlsbad High School has a strong start. This is a program that grows its talent starting in middle school and it shows. This show is live. Solid writing adds energy. This week’s show builds interest by teasing to future shows and introducing a new staff member from Germany.

Archives of all Featured Videos -- including summer's Best of 2010 Videos and Commentary -- are on the HSBJ Blog.    

 carolk@rtdnf.org

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