JRN 423 - Online Visual Storytelling
Thought Pieces, How to Shoot a Video that Doesn't Suck
Thought Piece #1
One of the things from this reading that I found especially helpful was the quick list of twelve things to avoid whilst shooting a video. I’m not very familiar with shooting video outside of filming football games for the players and coaches. When looking at the list, I noticed that the approach I took to that cannot be the same as what I do for this class. Much of what I did, the author advises us not to do. I think the biggest thing I took away from that section was to think in terms of shots, and to not shoot anything longer than 10 seconds. Taking a step-by-step approach will be helpful for me, because I can think in smaller pieces and not get overwhelmed.
The next thing this reading taught me was the value of entertainment and intention. First, if you want the audience to watch your whole video, which is the goal, you don’t want it to be boring. For me, I envision accomplishing this goal with a variety of points of view incorporated into one video. Not only does the subject need to be entertaining, but the way I present it has to be too. I’m going to try to approach it in the same way I approach photography. Just doing everything that comes to mind in case it ends up being really cool. Second, I want to incorporate intentionality into my videos. From storyboarding, to going into a shoot with some sort of plan (ish), to knowing what I want the end product to convey. I think using these strategies will help me assignments be less intimidating and ultimately make for better videos.
Similar to the way I think about writing a story, it’s very important to think about the audience first. In terms of news, that often looks like saying as much as you can about something without taking to long or making it too complicated. One of the things the reading emphasizes is how difficult it is to make short videos. It’s hard to consolidate everything into a set amount of time. I think it will be one of my biggest challenges in this class because I am a chronic over-preparer. Hopefully, the preparation before shooting will help with this. Especially the storyboarding idea. The narrative has to make sense while also being entertaining and informative (to a reasonable extent).
Overall, this first section has already given me a better idea about the kind of work I want to do throughout the semester and how I want to go about achieving those goals. Before, I was essentially flying blind when it came to video. Even after this one section, I feel more confident about how to shoot a video that won’t tank my grade at the very least. Going forward, my primary focus will be intentional storytelling and prioritizing preparation before a shoot. I think using the tactics from the reading will help me navigate unfamiliar experiences.
Thought Piece #2
This section was really helpful for me because it gave more in-depth insight into how to make videos better. One particular piece of advice that stuck out to me was the notion of not saying anything more than you need to. This is something i experience all the time at WCMU. Working in radio, you have heavy restrictions on the amount of time you have to say what you need to say. Typically, I work within a range of 30-65 seconds. It’s really hard to hammer out the most effective way to convey information. However, it is something I’ve gotten better at over time. I think being able to directly translate those skills into video, especially when writing scripts, will end up being very helpful. I also think my background in photography will help me visually when it comes to knowing that visuals to present and when. A lot of the tips presented from the visual side in the readings I already apply when taking photos, like location scouting and thinking about the shots you’re looking for beforehand.
Stockman really places an emphasis on preparing before you shoot. He essentially says if you go in with no semblance of a plan, your video will be terrible. Instead, he offers different techniques to ensure you’re not flying blind. One thing I have to keep in mind though is I don’t want to trap myself into sticking to the shot list I come up with. I think it will be helpful to brainstorm a bunch of different possibilities and things to try but I have to keep in mind that I can also improvise when the scene calls for it.
Another way to prep, which to be honest never occurred to me before, is to walk through the shoot with your camera. Stockman said this can either be through shooting stills or having people stand in and recreate the shots you’ve planned out. Going forward, I think I will try and shoot stills before every shoot. If i have an overly elaborate idea, then I’ll recruit some classmates or maybe my roommates to stand in while I try things out. This way, I am not wasting valuable time with my subjects.
One of the last things Stockman touches on is the importance of choosing your actors well, or casting. Obviously as journalists, we don’t have total creative liberty over our subjects as someone making an artistic video would. But I would say that choosing a story and a subject go hand in hand. I think my biggest worry when it comes to this class is choosing the wrong subject. By that, I mean choosing a story that I think is really cool, but it turns out to be boring. In the future, I want to be really thorough in deciding what I want to shoot. It can’t just be on a whim; it has to be intentional. You can’t shoot a good video of someone who is really uncomfortable around your video camera.
Thought Piece #3
In this section of “How to Shoot a Video That Doesn’t Suck,” Stockman begins with detailing different strategies we can implement as we shoot that helps us think more deeply and more clearly about our goals. He emphasized the importance of shooting intentionally. Part of that is thinking ahead about the action a scene is offering to you and figuring out how you can use it to advance the story. A specific technique he offered that I know I want to use during shoots is finding the “hero” and driving the story from it. Selecting the hero is important because it changes the narrative that you are portraying. Making a point to keep this tactic in mind and put it into practice will help make my storytelling more effective.
Something I am excited about for this class is learning the capabilities (and by extension, incapabilities) of my equipment, the equipment available to me, and the software we use to produce and edit videos. With my camera right now, I have hardly ever shot video with it. Frankly, it’s so old that I am not even sure it will do what I want it to do/what it’s supposed to be able to do. I am pretty familiar with editing audio from working and producing radio spot packages at WCMU. So I know the difference between good and bad audio, and how to use it intentionally to move the story along.
Another important concept Stockman emphasized is just how much the placement of the camera and the cameras movement matter and how much they can convey. Still cameras draw attention to action, and moving cameras keep viewers' attention moving. Goign forward, I think it will be important for me to keep this in mind because I’m so used to keeping the camera in one place. Most of my video experience has not called for movement, and still photography doesn’t convey movement in the same way video does. Moving should be purposeful and focus on the hero that drives the story. It has to make sense or the audience won’t give a rip and they will stop watching your video.
I think a lot of the advice Stockman offers to the audience within this section is not all that dissimilar to advice/best practices I use daily when I shoot still photography. He describes strategies like zooming with your feet, getting scene setting shots, and not shying away from things that bring up conflict or emotion. These are all things that I have to consider when shooting a gallery for CM Life, or a photo story. I think my experience with that will help me think more intentionally about the shots I’m using to drive my story forward.
Overall, I think this section gave me more confidence in a way when it comes to shooting video. While it’s a big area of growth for me, I can take what I already know how to do and use it to get better.
Thought Piece #4
Stockman offered a unique perspective in this section that I, in all honesty, did not think of at all when it comes to shooting video. Especially in terms of visual journalism. He opens up the section with talking about shooting personal videos, specifically ones of kids and vacations. His over-arching message here is to shoot the things you feel will matter the most to you in the future. I thought that idea is really applicable to what we are doing for this class. You don’t just want to shoot what is important in the moment, or what you think people want to see. You have to think of what people value—whether that be emotionally, intellectually, or whatever the video calls for. Digital journalism serves as a historical archive, so the things we capture matter.
Another thing Stockman touched on is the importance of quality interviews, which he said are oftentimes underutilized in videos. For me, interviews are the part of shooting video I feel most confident about. I interview people for the radio and print stories all the time. I know how to make a subject comfortable and really engage with them in an actual conversation. I know how to both prepare for an interview, and adapt during the interview, asking new questions and exploring new tangents as I go along. I also feel good about staging interviews. By that, I mean finding (or making) decent lighting schemes so that people don’t look too shadowed or washed out. I actually shot my first interview this past weekend, and I was nervous because it was my first time using mics and dealing with actual ambient noise. I think my apprehensiveness definitely rubbed off on my subjects a bit, but I think they got more comfortable as time went on.
One thing Stockman addresses in the section is how to shoot scripted videos, which I don’t really see myself doing much in this class. Obviously, you can’t script the news. However, one of the ways we’ve shot video for CM Life is scripting a video where our reporters or editors are walking the audience through a story. We did this a lost in the fall with football season. I do think the suggestions he gives have value for that scenario. In the future, I’d probably experiment with shooting a journalist with a few cameras/angles on them just to make their summaries more visually interesting.
Getting into the world of video, it’s going to be hard to balance my own interest in a story, what audiences care about, and how to mesh those two things together. In my view, when making videos for news, virality is not inherently the goal (it’s not a bad thing to aim for in terms of views, but not something you compromise story or quality for). Going forward, I’m going to focus more on the story I am trying to tell, and what purpose that serves to the intended audience. A lot of what I’ll be doing this summer with my internship will be service journalism, not entertainment. So I think it will be good practice.
Thought Piece #5
One of the first things Stockman touches on in this section is something I had not even considered when shooting my first video last week: transitions. I’d say that I’m familiar with them from social media so I know how they work, but I have not once ever tried to execute one. So my guess is this first video is going to be very... rough around the edges. Going forward, I want to be more transition conscious when thinking about my shots, so that my future videos can be more seamless.
Maybe I am jinxing myself here, but I feel like I won’t have an overly difficult time cutting my videos. Part of that is like photos, I know immediately when a shot is terrible or just not good enough to be considered for the final even if its not a bad photo. Those just get ruled ouy by default. But what I’m thinking with I’ll struggle with most is how I want to advance the story and use shots in the order I want. I think that will also help me rule things out. Once I know the structure, I feel like I will be able to use that as a guide to what makes the cut. But again I could be full of it and when I get to editing I’ll hate my life. Following that, Stockman also emphasizes the importance of “getting in late, and getting out early,” which essentially means take the meat of your shot a leave anything else. This is something I do all of the time for WCMU. When I’m producing a spot package. I have to say everything I need to say in less than 60, 50, and 35 seconds (depending on what I am working on). What that translates to is having to decide which information and details are the most important, and which I should throw in the web copy where there’s no time limit. I think those instincts and skills will help me a lot in the editing process.
One of the techniques I want to use that Stockman mentions, but I’m really taking from examples our guest speaker shared last week, is using a combination of ambient music and interviews over it. My first video would be a good opportunity to do this because the event was a performance. Lots of dance and music, very little talking. I feel like I could potentially pull this off because of my experience with editing audio, so we shall see.
I would also say that I am very excited for getting feedback on my videos. I say this because I have literally no idea what I am doing. So while it’s definitely intimidating, I really want to take feedback and use it to get better so I can develop this skill. I know my first video will be really rough, but I’m looking forward to seeing the growth when I make my last video.