Break In Video

Answer the following questions on your blog:
1.  What is the lead in this story?  Does it intrigue you to keep watching?
Something happening in a quiet neighborhood, It intrigues me to keep watching because I want to know what happened in the neighborhood for them to make a story on it.

 2.  What are the 5W's of this story:  Who, What, Where, When, Why
Heather, Someone robs her house, In a quiet neighborhood, 2 weeks ago, They wanted her belongings

 3.   Give an example of the reporters Voice over or seque (Write it down word for word)
"Its hard to imagine something like this could happen in a quiet neighborhood"

 4.  When do we see the reporter's stand-up?  Beginning, Middle, or End?
Middle

 5.  What is the purpose of this reporter's stand-up?
Taking us to another spot where another break-in happened


Write in your blog the purposes of stand-ups from the following video:
1. Move Story Forward
2. Reporter becomes B-Roll
3. Take me to the scene
4. Use Props
5. Be creative and surprise us

Bob Dotson

- What do you notice about the way he writes? Use specific examples, please. (75 words)
 
Bob Dotson writes for his audience.  He doesn't talk about himself and how great he is, he's giving advice to help the reader become better.  He also explains himself in everything he says so that he isn’t just telling them what to do, he’s explaining it and going into detail so they can go out and do it on their own.  For example, Bob says, “That story was scripted in an hour.  Under deadline.  How do you write a longer story at the speed of spot news?  This is how I do it.”  Not only does he show what happened and tells you what you should do, he goes onto to explain himself and guides you through the process.

- What did you learn from reading pages 9 to 27? (75 words)

I learned from reading pages 9 to 27 that you need to capture information that people will be interested in but also what other news anchors look past.  People don’t like sound bites of the same exact thing over and over after natural disasters or accidents, they like things that they haven’t heard before and stories that are unique within the big things that happened.  Another thing I learned was that you need to ask the “Non-Question/Question.”  Instead of asking about the tragedy or the accident that happened, get to know them and make them feel comfortable with you first.  Such as asking how their day was or something their currently doing or focused on.  Somehow tie in the non-question with the real question you want to get too.

- With the scripts: What do you suppose is described in each column? Why would it be split like that? What else is interesting about the scripts? (50 words)

In each column of the scripts, Bob Dotson describes and helps the audience better understand what he was teaching and going over in the pages before.  It is split like that so the reader isn’t thrown a bunch of different things to learn and understand.  Its much easier to go over something you are supposed to do and then get an example and explanation of it from the person teaching it to you in his own work.   An interesting thing about the scripts is that they are all unique in some way.  They each have something sad about it that makes you think about it but then it ties in with a heroic story or a happy ending to it.

- On Page 34 (and to the end of the section), Dotson writes about a long-form feature. Find one of these (a story at least 4 minutes long) on a TV news magazine such as Rock Center, 20/20 or 60 Minutes. Then, give and explain examples of how the storyteller uses the five bulleted traits Dotson gives on Page 34. (200 words)

I watched a 5 minute clip on 60 Minutes called the anatomy of an interview with a serial killer.  A little background about the story was a serial killer Charles Cullen murdered twenty-nine people by pretending to be a nurse and lethally injected medicine into them and killing them.  A reporter, Steve Kroft, interviewed Charles Cullen after nine years of being in prison to see if he had come to grips with what he had done.  The first thing Bob Dotson talked about was scene setting.  The scene was set at the prison where Kroft was sitting behind one glass on the phone interviewing Cullen who was on the other side.  Another scene was at the courthouse with Cullen sitting down and the victims’ families talking at the podium.  The natural sound was the background noise of the cell doors shutting in the prison and also the muffled cries of the families when they were talking.  The foreshadowing was Charles Cullen walking in with handcuffs and then the guards unlocking them and Cullen coming to sit down and begin his interview.  The conflict of the story is a man killing innocent people by pretending to be a nurse and inserting medicine into them and the world trying to figure out why.  The character growth was when the interviewer was making simple conversation with Cullen and then went into more serious questions as to why he did it and how he felt about the crime he committed.  The resolution is in the courtroom and having Charles Cullen sitting there while the families say how they feel and gaining some progress to closure with what happened. 

Changing Idenitity

We will begin by watching a High School broadcast story titled Changing Identity

Answer the following questions on a blog post about the story:

1.  Identify and explain as many WALLDO shots as you can.
Wide shot of the parents on the coach
Angled shot of Noah outside
Low shot of Noah when the toast is popping up,
Depth shot with the wind chimes in the foreground and the porch and woods in the background, toaster in the foreground and Noah in the background
Opposite shot when the get all sides of the toast


 2.  What is Natural Sound?
The background sound of what you're shooting.  The sounds you hear naturally such as people typing on computers, all the voices in the hallways during passing time, and the squeaky shoes at a basketball game.

 3.  Identify several examples of Natural Sound in this story?
When he was outside, the background noise of the cars going by, the dog playing and barking in the background, scraping of the knife, the toaster popping up, leaves crunching,

 4.  How does Natural Sound enhance the story?
It adds to how natural it is, gives the story a more homely feel rather than very serious and strict because its set up.

Walldo

Wide:  Sets the scene for the whole story.  It can be the first or the last scene, it doesn't matter as long as you have it.

Angled: Angle shot makes them run their eyes across the whole screen.  It can add a 3-D effect to your shot. 

Low: Get down. Gives people a different perspective then they see everyday.

Linking: Follow something and then have it lead to the focus statement.  Example:  Pan a car and follow it all the way until you get to Which Wich showing that the place has a lot of traffic.

Depth:  Used to show creativity.  Object in foreground and background.  Depth gives the feel of a 3-D feel.

Opposite: Action/Reaction.  Get the action but also get the reaction.  Example:  Get football player scoring a touchdown but also get the fans cheering afterwards. 

Fran's Story

The camera work had all the essentials.  When it had a close up shot of her face, her eyes were on third and she had talking room.  It was also like that for each person they interviewed.  They had a couple close up shots of her writing and of her arm.  Whatever way the person they were interviewing was facing, they made sure to have talking space that way so it did not feel awkward.  I also think the camera was held still and wasn't that shaky.  I also liked the settings and backgrounds they picked when they interviewed each person. 

I really liked the story.  They did a good job of getting enough details to understand what its like and playing on the team but not to many that they didn't fit in with the focus.  I liked how they interviewed more than just her family so they got more perspectives.  I also liked how they got her in the classroom and not only on the court even though it was a sports clip because it showed a different side of her and how well she deals with her disability outside of the sport she plays.  I also liked how she had a positive attitude and wasn't downing herself because of it, she was showing people how you can do anything you put your heart into and nothing stopped her.


A-Roll: Anything you hear in the story; interviews, reporter voice overs, natural sound

B-Roll: Video footage that compliments the story

A Publishers Dream

Opening Assignment: 

Watch the latest Land of 10,000 stories:  A Publishers Dream

Answer the following questions about the story:

1.  What is the focus statement of this story?
Solar panels, staying green

 2.  Give examples of W-M-T sequences
Wide: when he is outside and he shows the whole car, and outside of office
Medium: just showing the outside electric and showing how much he is saving
Tight: close up of his face in the side mirror of his car

 3.  Give examples of The Rule of Thirds
When he's showing the roof, he's on third and you can see the solar panels in room space

 4.  Give examples of Eyes on Third
When he's showing his cabin, its a medium shot and his eyes are on third

 5.  Give examples of Talking Space
When he's first talking in his office, they have his eyes on third and his body lined up and hes facing towards the right and they give him a lot of talking space

 6.  What did you like about story?
I liked how he was very happy about what he was doing and I also liked how he was helping the earth and saving energy.

Rule of third is when you have 9 squares in a shot, and you put the subject on one of the 4 corners.

Eyes on third is when  you put the focus' eyes on one of the 2 lines vertically and horizontally.

Talking space is when you focus your subject on the left or right vertical of the rule of third and you give them enough space to breathe.