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©Drew Berry & Associates 2013

 

How To Visualize Stories That Are Difficult To Visualize

(v.2 Dec. 2013)

These techniques are applicable to most stories, even if they’re under a heading that doesn’t match a specific beat. 

 

Each unit should build an archive video library so that people can pull from it when they don’t have time to shoot new video.  Newspaper’s archives of past stories are another great source of pictures, banner headlines etc. that can be used as visuals in stories.  Watch television news to see the ideas below in action and to get ideas about other techniques to visualize stories.

 

These are common best practices used by journalism organizations.  Company policy regarding collection of video may vary.

 

Meetings and Budgets

 

When determining how to visualize what are usually "boring" meetings,  always determine who or what will be impacted by what happens or what you expect to happen at the meeting.  For example, if the meeting is about sales taxes going up,   people and  businesses will be impacted by a tax increase. 

 

To visualize, for example, a sales tax story, shoot the following to improve the visual quality of the story:

 

• people buying things; clothes, groceries, furniture etc.

• people looking at price tags

• people checking out at the cash register

• people exchanging money

• people using credit/debit cards

• cash register receipts

• cashier scanning items

• brief interviews with consumers who are against or for the tax increases

• brief interview with officials explaining why it's necessary or is not necessary

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Most of the main shots can be shot as stock  or library video weeks or even months ahead of time and stored on your computer, or phone.  Shoot enough so that you can change many of the shots in future stories.  This is important so that you can save time in a crunch when you need permission to get inside a store or other business.  Stay with the mom and pop stores for easier camera access.  The major stores will generally say no to shooting video.

 

If the meeting is about budgets,  ask yourself what will the money pay for?  What services will be cut or added? 

 

If it’s transportation funding, visualize your story by getting video of the following:

• get video of the roads and traffic

• potholes

• traffic lights

• toll booths etc. 

 

If it’s police or  firefighter cuts, visualize your story by getting video of the following:

• officers patrolling

• roll call

• officers at crime scenes

• firefighters at the firehouse or on the scene of a fire

• flashing emergency lights

• officers going in and out of the police station

 

If it's school board meetings, visualize your story by getting video of the following:

• Get exterior video of the specific school(s) they’re talking about.

• Use the architect’s rendering if they’re talking about building a new school.

• There are legal barriers to shooting identifiable video of children. You can get around that by shooting video without using their faces.

  • Get video of children’s feet as they walk down the hallway or outside.

  • Shoot feet passing by

  • Shoot kids reading books from behind their head

  • Shoot wideshots so you can't identify anyone.

  • Use shots of kids’ backpacks as they walk to school.

  • Get permission to shoot a classroom with a teacher instructing students.

  • Shoot hands using pencils.

  • Shoot gym class, sports, band, choir etc.

 

Again, get video ahead of time to beat your deadline crunch.  Schedule a "stock footage day"  to just go and shoot stock video like the shots outlined above.  Store it and use it when you need it.  It will allow not only improve the quality of your video offerings but it will save you lots of time going forward; you won't have to chase video every time you do a story.  It's typical to put together a story with an interview or two and stock video.

 

If it's planning meetings:

•  

  • If you’re talking about a new development, get video of what the site looks like right now. ("Right now, the site is full of old tires and trash...")

  • Use the architect’s renderings of what the development will look like in the future.

  • Shoot video of adjacent community. ("People in the adjacent middle income community of X will have other options than  20-year old Mall Z  for their shopping...")

  • Shoot video of a community that the new community will resemble. ("When finished, the new development will look similar to the X development in small town USA.")

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• Any Type of Meeting

  • Try to write down specific quotes and turn them into graphics. (You can read the quotes in your narration.)

  • Use the charts your graphics department is making for the print version of the newspaper or plan ahead and ask for a special graphic customized for your story.

 

Crime, Court/ Places Where Cameras Aren’t Allowed

• Ask the police department to provide a headshot of the suspect.

• Stand outside the courthouse before and after the proceedings to see if you can get video of the suspect and key witnesses walking in and out. Sometimes lawyers will talk outside as well.

• Get quotes from the proceedings and turn them into graphics. You can read the quote in your narration.

• You can use sketches from a courtroom artist if your company will pay for it.

• Shoot the actual documents. If the suspect has a lengthy criminal history, you can print it out and show just how many pages long it is.  Shoot the indictment. Highlight key phrases in the documents and shoot a close-up of them.

• Shoot video of headlines from previous newspaper  and online articles.

• Go back and shoot the crime scene ("It's all quiet now at 1313 Mockingbird Lane, but 4 months ago, it was the scene of a horrific crime...")

• Schedule an appointment to shoot inside an empty courtroom; gavel, jury box, defendant's and prosecutor's  tables etc.  These come in handy when using quotes from court proceedings.

• Shoot exteriors and interiors of court buildings and jails for present and future use.

• Establishing a rapport with victims or the accused family gets you access to old pictures etc.

 

If the crime already happened and you missed the scene:

• Get “locator” video of the place where the crime happened.

  • Shoot street signs to illustrate the intersection where it happened.

  • Get video of the building that was the scene of the crime.

  • Look for things like chalk outlines, broken glass and crime scene tape that might be left over.

  • Get creative with your camera shots. (Adding a lower-third reading “dramatization” may be appropriate, depending on your company’s policy.) This is normal for news organizations.

    • You can jog or walk slowly while shooting video to simulate the vantage point of a victim who ran for help.

    • Shoot video while coming out of the bushes to simulate the vantage point of an attacker.

• Talk to neighbors who might have witnessed the crime or the police response.

• Interview them about what they saw.

• Ask them if they took pictures or videos you can use.

• Search social media to find pictures or video of the scene, victims or assailants.

 

If police are searching for a suspect:

• Ask if they have a sketch

• Reqeust a graphic with the suspect description or license plate

 

Learning about suspects and victims:

• Shoot video of their Facebook and Twitter pages.

• Ask neighbors and relatives for pictures and video.

• Check school yearbooks and newspaper archives.

 

Entertainment and Events

• You might have stock video or pictures of entertainers.

• If you’re previewing a specific show, the PR person should be able to provide a press kit or link to video clips and pictures. (Your IT department or videojournalists may help you download the video to your device.) This could include rehearsal  or performance footage. Make sure you add a courtesy to the video so that it’s clear the footage didn’t come from your organization.

• You can shoot video at the venue where the performance will happen.

• If organizers are setting up, you can show the tables, stage, sound system, lights, etc. (It’s also a good place to frame your interview with organizers.)

  You might see  marquee displays or other signs advertising the event before it happens.

• If you have a telephone interview with the celebrity days or weeks before the event, shoot yourself on the phone talking to the person and inform the person you are recording the interview.  Your technical staff can provide recording instructions.

• For a telephone interview, you can also shoot the conversation happening on speakerphone and then cover it with subtitles or other graphics.

• Ask an artist to provide high-resolution pictures of specific artwork that figures in your story.

• Shoot the artist’s website pages from the computer screen

• If you’re previewing an event, what’s the story behind it? For a breast cancer walk, for instance, an interview

 

Getting Reluctant People to Talk

Many times, you can get a reluctant person to talk to you if you agree to shoot him creatively. Some people don’t want to be shown on video, but they don’t mind their voices being used. For legal reasons, you should not promise that the subject will be anonymous, but you can promise to use specific techniques such as:

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• Only shooting the interviewee’s hands, feet or clothing. (This makes the interviewee hard to identify, and hands can be surprisingly expressive.)

• Only shooting the interviewee’s shadow. (During an outdoor interview, it’s simple to shoot a shadow on the ground. For an indoor interview, you can get creative with your lighting to make sure the interviewee’s face is shadowed.  This is when backlighting comes in handy.)

• Only using the interviewee’s voice. You can cover it with other video or graphics.

• For a telephone interview, you can shoot the conversation happening on speakerphone and then cover it with subtitles or other graphics.

 

Breaking News

Use social media

• Ask witnesses for their pictures and video of the scene. It’s great content for you to use, and you might be able to interview these witnesses.

• Take a picture of a victim or suspect’s Facebook or Twitter page.​

 

Shoot a "look-live"

•  A look-live” simulates a television reporter’s live report. Quickly tape yourself telling your audience what you know about the story. They should be able to see that you are truly on the scene. A 30-second report can summarize the story and provide a sense of immediacy when you post it.  (You can always go back later to update your report.)

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Shoot standups

• Reporter standups show the audience that you are truly on the scene.

• Standups are a good way to convey information that doesn’t have a good visual element.  (See "Using Standups" in the resource section of this website.)

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Accident Scenes even if it's a day later.)

• Broken glass, bent metal, skid marks, old flares, dented guardrails are possibilities.

• Interview neighbors who may have heard of seen some of the accident or post- accident activity.

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Stories That Happened In The Past

• Look for old newspapers , photos or internet stories . If the interviewee is telling you a story, shoot video of them looking through the pictures. (Just ask them to show you the pictures.)

• Check with  libraries  that have video archives and shoot what they have.

• Walk with the person recounting an incident as you interview them for yet another visual element.

• Shoot cutaways of the interview subject.  For instance, get video of their hands while they’re casually speaking to you before and after the interview.

• Shoot video of them walking in, sitting down or going about their daily business.