Going Solo: Doing Videojournalism in the 21st Century

Chapter 3: Preparing to Shoot the VJ Story

32 Chapter 3 Preparing to Shoot the VJ Story As critics already have pointed out in this book, solo videojournalism requires multiple skills that not everyone can master. Yet hundreds of VJs have performed the multiple tasks of reporting, interviewing, shooting, editing and, yes, time management that it takes to do the job well. “When I was covering hurricanes, I was working both as a backpack journalist and as a photographer for a reporter,” says KUSA-TV’s Dan Weaver. “So I would usually edit their stories, edit my stories, shoot their live shot, switch and get in front of the camera and do my live shot and then we’ve got an hour to redo it all: redo their package, redo my thing and us both get out there for the next show. And it was crazy.”1 Most texts separate the skills required to be a videojournalist into tasks of either reporting or videography. This book, however, looks at the combination of skills that it takes to work successfully as a VJ. This chapter tackles the preliminary phases of the news-gathering process: coming up with a good story, tips on finding good characters for a story and making sure video equipment is working properly before arriving on the scene to discover a crucial malfunction that will delay or ruin the story. The VJ’s Clock Never Stops Later chapters will have more tips on doing the story on the scene as both the reporter and photographer as well as tips on writing or organizing the story. Each will have some time-management tips specific to the task, since deadlines are always looming and the clock never stops at any point in the process. Preparing to Shoot the VJ Story 33 “That was probably one of the first lessons that I had to learn, was good time management,”says Heidi McGuire, a backpack journalist at KUSA-TV in Denver .“If I’m going to take an hour and a half to write this package, then I’m only going to leave myself forty-five minutes to edit it. You end up screwing yourself ,” she laughs.2 “It’s true that one person can do the work of four, but no matter how you dice it,” says St. Petersburg’s WTSP-TV anchor and backpack journalist Janie Porter,“it’s going to take one person longer. That’s why time management is so important.”3 So, the first time-management tip is always keep an eye on the clock. Set interim deadlines to help you meet the final deadline for the story. If you have a story to air on the six o’clock news, get back to the office by four p.m. to log the video, write the story, and do an error-free edit. That means you may have to scrap an interview with a subject who can’t meet until five p.m. Instead, get the information over the phone and utilize that in your copy or standup. “I think setting deadlines for yourself is good,” says Brian Clark, a VJ at the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot. “It’s all too easy to sit in front of this computer until midnight because I don’t like something and I want to change it. Or I can narrow the focus; I want the thing to be a minute thirty and get it in on time.”4 Dan Weaver works part of his time as a VJ at KUSA and says meeting deadlines can be hectic. 34 Going Solo If you have a longer-term assignment that is not due for a few weeks or months, set your own deadlines for writing and editing much earlier than the final due date. The extra time will give you flexibility in meeting any unforeseen challenges. As you get faster at using your camera, more adept at writing a well-focused story in a hurry, and know all the bells and whistles on your nonlinear editor, then you might feel comfortable trying to squeeze in that five p.m. interview and just insert the video on your timeline. Until then, give yourself plenty of time to beat the clock. Find a Story That Lends Itself to Being Told on Video Before a VJ can shoot a thing, the reporter side of the equation must come up with a story idea and information that makes it all relevant to the...