Treatment Workshop
First, we’ll go over your documentary treatments that are due today.
Upcoming Dates
Thursday, March 10 (next week) will be an editing/production day. Please bring in whatever you have so far and I will be happy to look over it, offer coaching in Premiere, etc.
VISUAL POEM DUE DATES
The rough cut for visual poems will be due Tuesday, March 15. Final cuts will be due Tuesday, March 22.
10-15 MINUTE DOCUMENTARY DUE DATES
An initial five-minute cut of your docs will be due on Tuesday, March 22.
Breaking News in Video
Most of the work we’ll be doing this semester is slower-paced video where you’ll have the ability to take your time to put together a thoughtful, carefully edited final product. But you might one day find yourself in a spot news or breaking news situation where you’re filing material throughout the day as you get it.
If you are working or stringing for a wire service, they will have a system for filing footage. You’ll need to file something called a dopesheet along with your video material. The dopesheet is basically a summary of what you’re sending them so they can see it all at a glance.
Information Document for AFP TV
Here is an actual dopesheet I filed on a breaking news assignment; feel free to use it as a template. The trick with dopesheets is not only to transcribe your sound bites accurately; it’s to distill the main takeaway of the story, because the news outlets that subscribe to your wire need to know at a glance what the point of it is, why they should care, and why it’s worth them deciding to run it. So it does come back down to good writing. Think about what your nut graph would be.
The actual video file you’ll send them (I usually use WeTransfer, although some places may have another system in place, often via FTP) will be minimally edited, but the trick is that you have to work fast. You pull out soundbites, transcribe them, and cut together a sequence of your best B-roll. Then you put it all in one video project (sound bites first, then B-roll), export, and send. It will look something like this:
Assignment:
At any point between now and the end of March, you will cover a spot/breaking news story. You will file a video with at least three sound bites (from at least two different interviews) and 45 seconds of sequenced B-roll (3-5 seconds per shot) with accompanying dopesheet. The trick is that you must file it within 12 hours of wrapping your filming.
It’s up to you what you want to cover: one option is this Queens St. Patrick’s Day Parade. (I highly recommend this one over the big official parade in Manhattan; I covered that parade once and it was possibly my least favorite assignment of all time. I don’t want to be responsible for any of you quitting journalism).
In addition to the material you film with the school cameras, you will cover the story on social media. I’ve set up an Instagram account for our class where you will post at least one photo to the grid and three Stories updates before you leave the scene. Password: studioh160
What makes a good (or fun) journalistic Instagram post and an informative series of Story updates?
Brainstorm: Breaking news stories/events in the next few weeks.