Class notes: Tuesday, March 19

Housekeeping notes:  Extra Credit, upcoming events

Story pitches DUE THURSDAY – review pitch guidelines

What Works: Recode story on Facebook’s search for local news

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INCORPORATING VISUALS into your reporting

The five-shot sequence: A tip sheet 

1. Medium (or establishing) Shot: This shot helps to establish the story you are telling your viewers. McLernon recommends keeping this shot sedentary; in other words, don’t move the camera around. It is neither a close-up nor a long-shot, but an angle which helps inform the reader about the topic you will be discussing without singling in on one particular person.
2. Close-Up Shot: After the initial introduction, it’s best to focus in on the person being interviewed/most important statement. This type of shot gives readers an intimate view and understanding of the person whose views are pertinent to the story.
3. Hands/Activity Shot: To keep viewers interested, it is always best to show an action sequence related to the story. McLernon gave the example of students doing homework for class, and how at this point a possible activity shot is their fingers typing on the keyboard. This footage often takes place while the audio is still from the individual being interviewed in the close-up shot — but it entails action, not just words.
4. Over-the-shoulder Shot: This type of footage can either be looking up or down. The idea is to give viewers the impression that they are actually in the story, not just watching it from afar like a bad documentary.
5. Long-range/Random Shot: Much like the Medium Shot explained above, this kind of footage gives an overall description of the setting to viewers and serves as the perfect transition to the next story.

>>>Just because you’re taking photos doesn’t mean you don’t also need to take careful notes! You will need to provide caption information for each photo.

In-class assignment:

Shoot a five-photo sequence of the Send Silence Packing event on the Grove.

We will be using Medium.com to post.

Email me the link to your photo story.