megan fisher
SUPERWINOL: RE-VISITED
WINOL 5th November
Presenting points
- relax into the links more – the camera is your best friend
- light and shade mix is good
- needs more rehearsal time
- keep the questions simple for in studio chats – make it more conversational
- good to listen and react
- links need to be in earlier and more refined
- happy with script
- for a first attempt was good
WINOL 5th November Wednesday Debrief with Claudia Murg
A good improvement on last year well done.
HEADS: Lively heads, good pics, good to go out and talk to people.
IN STUDIO: Keep it simple – questions, be more at ease.
Prepare yourself and enjoy the conversation more, what is beneficial to the news viewers? Put yourself in the victim’s shoes what would help you. Give them something tangible, justify public interest for showing this news story, say professor not first names, flatter the guests etc, have more control you are the journalist
Brooke: Put source on facts and graphics – credibility. V good for victim interview with Brooke, handled well and flow of piece
Production: Allow time to sort angle, inform guests more
Harvester: great public interest story, well to get mother, great intro, really professional in heads, some shots weren’t great but interview was filmed well, slow down in the PTC
Fire: Some info interested in not in the final cut, why not put protest at the beginning natsot etc? Believe in your shots and your story. Needed more interviews in piece, more facts, go to film with a plan of what people are going to say
Think about putting things into perspective, be honest about where you found your story and find the fresh aspect. See how you can make it news or in some form of exclusivity
Put yourself in the shoes of the viewer for what should be in your edit, filter what is important and what is not
If you’ve got something new to shout about – do it, don’t recycle news, find the new angles
Keep in contact with your sources
Remember your motivation for wanting to be a journalist. If you feel like giving up remember this, keep in your mind the motivation
Water meters: needed a range of answers with a range of interviewees, minor inconvenience doesn’t constitute place in bulletin – need to go for the money, southern water profits have gone down
Consumer choice as a factor
Highlight fact and emotion – what is most important?
Heart package – well voiced, good story, say Italy fact make it useful
OOV: museums, choice of pics looked like a selection of postcards felt so weird, show the museum, does this mean costs are up? Vox pops?
Good stories, good narrative something always at stake.
Always have the end result in mind – think of the viewers and self evaluate
Think about what you have in common with the interviewee
IAN:
Original stories, original interviews. Thinking about playing to strengths when you’ve got original stuff. Strongest SOT was Harvester mum and dad in heart package
Good mix, good grip of stories, balances of stories and depth – think about the whole picture ie the sport section.
Strategies of in studio chat getting in and out was good practice for production
Grammar of sequencing great but still need a variety of pics, not enough shots
Very good presenting for the first time and coped with interview well – relaxed into it by the end
Loved the walking football but needed more from the people involved – pensioners not the people advertising it. Sport overall was very good
My week as News Editor: General thoughts
The key theme this week was communication between news, production and Tate. It was a success and a necessary combination.
With the BJTC and Chris Coneybeer as guests in this week I wanted the bulletin to run smoothly and to to show off what we do here at WINOL because after all we are a course to be proud of.
News Conference
Be aware of the news always, by the time I had got to the newsroom I had already watched BBC Breakfast and the local news, listened to the Today programme and read several papers.
Must come with 2/3 story ideas – need back up plans. Journalism is about finding solutions to problems so don’t give up re route. The conference should be disciplined – editors should ask for your top line, your interviewee’s and your shots. Remember we are producing for TV – pictures are incredibly important. For dull stories, case studies are particularly important they will provide your pictures. All reporters should be fighting for a headline spot, this is your goal and should be specifically focussed on every week from now on. Think about these shots on location, just take some time. A good reporter should know exactly what they aim to achieve/ what the end package will look like – it is not a guessing game. Know what you want on your timeline and go get it *opening shot* The shots I said reporters must have they achieved, it just takes some thought. Take pride in your work, it’s your responsibility right through to it’s output in the gallery. You own it.
Gather a production team on Monday – be prepared. I arranged a practice session on the Tuesday with last week’s script and packages on the archive. Suggest this as possible rehearsal every week. We must go out on time, every time. Industry has technical problems but they push on through. Key to this is pushing for early deads and putting the pressure on reporters. Production was incredibly smooth this week – a triumph as first week out on time. Mimi as director was strong; she had confident communication and total control in the gallery despite the numbers observing. We did not re-record any links and there was one minor black hole issue but there was no rush to edit it all together to put onto the site.
When you have a story, brainstorm either mentally or jot down all possible angles for the story and all possible interviewee’s. Constantly bash the phone; emails don’t work. If a story falls through – this is common and can’t be helped – don’t leave pursue something else. You are a reporter. The news editor is there to help you but don’t rely on them to chase stories for you that is not their job – you bash the phones. Editors tell you what they want in their bulletin and may draw your attention to certain stories but you need to produce them and chase them. Scripting of PTCs and packages is for you to do – editors can guide you but remember it is your work.
Ask the questions while you can – be clear of what you’re doing. It’s much better to ask than to go out and do it wrong.
Make sure you stick to the deadlines – they are there for a reason and you will be spiked if not met. Everything needs to go through the News Editor. Don’t sit there, use your initiative if it needs checking and its finished let the editor know.
Links were all in on the Tuesday evening – which was a precedent set by me – so that Tate had plenty of time to work on the script and had rehearsal time too. We should try and do this every week. They take two minutes to write as you should know your story inside out.
We discussed potential legal problems and scripting issues to produce a very credible bulletin this week. I was very pleased overall.
megrosefisher 