{"id":882,"date":"2015-02-23T12:11:51","date_gmt":"2015-02-23T11:11:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vision.wettintv.de\/?page_id=882"},"modified":"2022-04-12T13:19:00","modified_gmt":"2022-04-12T12:19:00","slug":"making-of-tv-news-and-reportage","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/vision-videoschool.eu\/?page_id=882","title":{"rendered":"Producing TV news items and reports"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Introduction<\/b><\/h2>\n

News items\u00a0and reports\u00a0are video formats used in\u00a0TV. They vary between\u00a0TV stations and are still evolving. The style depends on the owner of the station\u00a0(national or private), the editorial policy, budget, and many other factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
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Vision in action<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n<\/td>\n

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  1. Select a\u00a0topic or story that would be interesting to\u00a0a broad audience and research it.<\/li>\n
  2. Contact the person in charge of the\u00a0event or the location\u00a0and let them know you’re\u00a0coming. Get permission to\u00a0record interviews and other image material.<\/li>\n
  3. Prepare the questions. Think about the kind of\u00a0interview you want to conduct\u00a0and with how many people.<\/li>\n
  4. Think about the\u00a0image material and any\u00a0additional information\u00a0you’ll need to\u00a0build a story.<\/li>\n
  5. Come on time and be polite. If you’re just starting out, two or three of you\u00a0working together should be able\u00a0to get good material without\u00a0disturbing\u00a0the event too much. When you have more experience, you could work alone, filming and\u00a0asking questions at the same time. You can\u00a0put the camera on a tripod and ask questions from the side, or hold the camera and interview from behind it.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/td>\n
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Equipment and tools<\/h2>\n

To record an interview you’ll need\u00a0a camera with an external microphone input\/separate sound recording device, and a tripod. You’ll also need headphones to check the sound on location.<\/p>\n

Additional lights can help to improve your picture. You’ll also\u00a0need a computer with internet access for research, writing and editing.<\/p>\n

Main section<\/b><\/h2>\n

What is the difference between a news item\u00a0<\/span>and a report?<\/h3>\n

A TV news item\u00a0lasts between\u00a030 seconds and\u00a0three minutes. A report can be up to an\u00a0hour long, and explores\u00a0the topic in more detail and\u00a0from several\u00a0different angles. It\u00a0can include longer\u00a0statements from a number of people\u00a0people, more video footage and complex graphics.<\/p>\n

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News bulletins consist of several\u00a0news items and last between 15 minutes and\u00a0an hour.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

TV news can\u00a0react quickly to a developing situation quickly.\u00a0A [feature]\u00a0takes more time to investigate and prepare,\u00a0shoot and edit.<\/p>\n

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The difference between a TV report\u00a0and documentary films is in the method of obtaining and\u00a0presenting\u00a0information. The information for reports is obtained and presented objectively while\u00a0producers of\u00a0documentary films may promote\u00a0their point of view and\u00a0use\u00a0creative ways\u00a0of getting a message across,\u00a0for example through\u00a0animation.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Producing TV news<\/span>
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Daily TV news is produced frequently\u00a0\u2013 old news is no news. That’s why it’s important\u00a0to be\u00a0up to date on developing stories, or even ‚break‘ the story first. This is especially that case for people\u00a0working for a TV\u00a0station or news website.<\/p>\n

A journalist\u00a0would\u00a0usually get the task\u00a0or permission to cover a\u00a0story from an\u00a0editor at the beginning of\u00a0the day. Editors are\u00a0invited to many events and press conferences. They also monitor developing events and areas they have a particular interest in, and\u00a0develop ideas for news items that may be interesting for viewers. Editors\u00a0are often open to\u00a0proposals from their journalists and sometimes\u00a0ask them to research stories themselves.<\/p>\n

Once a\u00a0journalist\u00a0has a story to cover, a crew needs to form \u2013\u00a0usually made up of the journalist, a camera operator, and sometimes a sound and\/or lights technician too. The journalist does the\u00a0research, contacts the relevant\u00a0people\u00a0and develops a concrete idea of what has to be filmed.<\/p>\n

The crew then goes out to gather\u00a0the necessary material. This normally\u00a0happens early in the day to give the journalist enough time to write the voice-over lines and select the interview answers he or she wants to\u00a0include.<\/p>\n

The voice-over will then be\u00a0recorded in a\u00a0studio, usually by the journalist or a\u00a0news presenter. When everything is ready, the editor edits everything together.<\/p>\n

This is quite a lot of effort for one day, and there can’t\u00a0be any delays in delivering the news! With time every member of the team learns to work efficiently and to find\u00a0solutions to\u00a0problems quickly. Preparing news items is a huge team effort; a lot of people\u00a0depend on each other\u00a0and everyone has a specific\u00a0responsibility. Sometimes trying to do everything on time can be stressful.<\/p>\n

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As a newcomer to the world of video you will most probably produce TV news that will not be so urgent to show to a\u00a0wider public and you will not compete with others who will do it first.<\/p>\n

You might produce a\u00a0TV news item\u00a0to show\u00a0what you have been up to, the activities of your school or an\u00a0organization you are involved in, or another topic that interests you. You can produce\u00a0\u2018fake\u2019 TV news items\u00a0about a\u00a0topic you want to focus on,\u00a0or do one as\u00a0a parody.<\/p>\n

This will give you the chance to\u00a0learn and practise. Or you could focus on a report<\/span>, which allows more time for research, shooting and editing.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

How to choose a topic<\/b><\/h3>\n

One of the most important questions is: what do you\u00a0want to cover in a TV news item or report?<\/p>\n

Here are some tips on finding a\u00a0topic:<\/p>\n

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  1. A novelty, an innovation, a new feature in an already established\u00a0topic or event, for example a new book, person, building, app, accident.<\/li>\n
  2. The event has an impact\/influence\u00a0on a lot of people.<\/li>\n
  3. The event helps a lot of people \u2013\u00a0for example a new medicine.<\/li>\n
  4. The event is\u00a0important.<\/li>\n
  5. The event\u00a0is interesting.<\/li>\n
  6. You can offer new insights\u00a0into an already well-known\u00a0topic.<\/li>\n
  7. It’s possible to make a story out of it.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Daily TV news bulletins\u00a0usually include topics such as\u00a0political developments\u00a0(for example new laws), the\u00a0economy (unemployment, taxes, new investments), social and environmental topics (floods, earthquakes, environmental protection), sport, technological innovation, cultural, youth and\u00a0leisure activities.<\/p>\n

    Many TV stations and news websites\u00a0cover news from just one\u00a0area \u2013\u00a0for example sport, the environment, sustainable life, art.<\/p>\n

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    Feel free to\u00a0choose what you want to present to a wider audience. You could even establish a news site\u00a0on\u00a0your own or with the help of friends and colleagues.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    Elements of TV news\u00a0items\u00a0and\u00a0reports<\/b><\/h3>\n

    TV news items\u00a0and reports\u00a0usually consist of several\u00a0elements combined together for interest\u00a0and authenticity. You can use all or some of the following:<\/p>\n

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    1. Announcement:\u00a0<\/strong>usually made\u00a0in the studio by the news presenter but written by the journalist. The announcement explains what the news item is about in\u00a0one or two short sentences.<\/li>\n
    2. Report:\u00a0<\/strong>the reporter stands\u00a0in front of the camera and describes\u00a0the situation into a microphone; this element\u00a0comes\u00a0either at the beginning or the end of the item. It’s often\u00a0used in reports about unusual or catastrophic situations (floods, earthquakes) and political events to stress the impact of the situation,\u00a0show its authenticity and convey the\u00a0feelings of the reporter and others involved. The reporter stands\u00a0in front of the scene so the audience can see what is going on in the background. Alternatively the reporter stands\u00a0in front of a\u00a0well-known building in the area where the event has happened, to prove they are abroad\/at the scene.<\/li>\n
    3. Image material:<\/strong>\u00a0shots of the scene or other\u00a0pictures relating to the topic. This gives the audience important\u00a0visual information and confirms the description in the journalist’s voice-over (see below).\u00a0The camera\u00a0operator\u00a0has to be quick, flexible and familiar with the\u00a0basic concepts of editing, and shoot the material so\u00a0it can be edited. Ideally the scene should\u00a0be easy to understand even without a\u00a0voice-over. To get the result you want, there needs to be good communication between journalist and camera operator.
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      A good TV-news\u00a0camera operator will get to the heart of the action quickly, shoot what they need to, and quickly get out again. Less experienced camera operators try to film everything, which means huge amounts of material to edit. It takes a bit of practice, but you could be a great TV-news operator too!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n

    4. Voice-over:<\/strong>\u00a0the voice of a journalist not present in the actual scene, explaining the situation while the audience watches visual material. A voice-over is recorded in a\u00a0studio and includes information that makes the full story clearer for the viewer. A\u00a0voice-over can\u00a0also include details\u00a0that you’re\u00a0not able to show visually\u00a0or\u00a0aren’t\u00a0covered in\u00a0the interviewees‘\u00a0answers.<\/li>\n
    5. Statements:<\/strong>\u00a0opinions on\u00a0the situation\u00a0from 1\u20134\u00a0people who are involved. Statements can be for or against a particular development, or just\u00a0descriptive. Try to\u00a0talk to\u00a0people that have different views. Where there is\u00a0more than one statement, the journalist varies the position of the people in front of the camera (left or right), so that the images are more varied.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n