Advanced broadcast journalism techniques videography & sound design

Advanced Broadcast - videography & sound

Don GobleLadue Horton Watkins High SchoolSt. Louis, [email protected]@dgoble2001#JEAai

Goals for the SessionGoals for the SessionBuild some common language

Teach you new methods or validate what you are already doing

I’m not a “techie” - know enough to talk the talk

Presentation will be uploaded to my SlideShare account for review

http://www.slideshare.net/dgoble

What is advanced What is advanced broadcast?broadcast?Prefer the word video over

broadcast

Mastery of basics & take on new techniques

Confident troubleshooters

True storytellers

Mentors & leaders

Storytelling - Same subject

QuickTime™ and aMotion JPEG A decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

BMX biking– basic video producer

Storytelling - different story

Inspired Bicycles – Danny MacAskill April 2009

Ten FingerTen Finger

actionaction

reactionreaction

widewideshotshotmediummedium

shotshot

closclosee

shotshot

eyeeyess

nosenose

soundsound

lightinglighting

backgrounbackgroundd

CompositionComposition• Rule of Thirds

• Eye Level

• High Angle

• Low Angle

• Oblique/Canted Angle

• Zoom In & Zoom Out

• Pan Left & Pan Right

• Hand Held Shots

• The Bird’s Eye View

Framing Framing • Rule of Thirds

• Eyes on Third

• No Head room

• Nose Room

• Shoot to edit protocol - give extra time

• Always shoot in sequences• Wide• Medium• Tight

Eye LevelEye Level• A fairly neutral shot

• The camera is positioned as though it is a human actually observing a scene, so that actors' heads are on a level with the focus.

• The camera will be placed approximately five to six feet from the ground.

High AngleHigh Angle• Not so extreme as a bird's eye

view. The camera is elevated above the action using a crane to give a general overview.

• High angles make the object photographed seem smaller, and less significant (or scary).

• The object or character often gets swallowed up by their setting - they become part of a wider picture.

Low AngleLow Angle• These increase height (useful for short

actors like Tom Cruise) and give a sense of speeded motion.

• Low angles help give a sense of confusion to a viewer, of powerlessness within the action of a scene.

• The background of a low angle shot will tend to be just sky or ceiling, the lack of detail about the setting adding to the disorientation of the viewer.

• The added height of the object may make it inspire fear and insecurity in the viewer, who is psychologically dominated by the figure on the screen.

Oblique/Canted Oblique/Canted AngleAngle

• Sometimes the camera is tilted (i.e. is not placed horizontal to floor level), to suggest imbalance, transition and instability (any Michael Bay movie).

• This technique is used to suggest POV=Point-of-View shots (i.e. when the camera becomes the 'eyes' of one particular character, seeing what they see - a hand held camera is often used for this).

Zoom In & Zoom Zoom In & Zoom OutOut• Slowly include a WS slow zoom to

CU and hold the shot.

• And then slowly begin a shot at a CU and zoom to a WS and hold the shot.

• Avoid if at all possible! Set your shot & take your hands off the camera.

Pan Left & Pan Pan Left & Pan RightRight

• Moving the camera to the left or right side is called a Pan.

• Can help follow action or show the landscape of your shot.

• Must be used sparingly and slowly.

• Avoid if at all possible! Set your shot & take your hands off the camera.

Hand Held ShotsHand Held Shots• The hand-held camera was invented in the

1950s to allow the camera operator to move in and out of scenes with greater speed.

• It gives a jerky, ragged effect, totally at odds with the organized smoothness of a dolly shot, and is favored by filmmakers looking for a gritty realism (i.e. Scorsese), which involves the viewer very closely with a scene. Much favored by the makers of NYPD Blue.

• If possible, ALWAYS use a Tripod when filming. Shaky shots can be VERY distracting.

The Bird’s Eye The Bird’s Eye ViewView

• This shows a scene from directly overhead, a very unnatural and strange angle.

• Familiar objects viewed from this angle might seem totally unrecognizable at first (umbrellas in a crowd, dancers' legs). This shot does, however, put the audience in a godlike position, looking down on the action.

• People can be made to look insignificant, ant-like, part of a wider scheme of things.

• Hitchcock (and his admirers, like Brian de Palma) is fond of this style of shot.

Light Light • White Balance - use a sheet

of white paper to help set

• Natural Light

• Florescent Lights

• Light kits

Camera PlacementCamera Placement•180 degree rule

Crossing the AxisCrossing the Axis•180 degree rule

Shooting Tips !Shooting Tips !• Use a tripod

• Use Manual focus on the camera

• Be mindful of your light

• Shoot more footage than you need from as many angles as possible

• Zoom your feet, not only the lens

Always:

Shooting Tips !Shooting Tips !• Remove hats and glasses (eyes are

windows to the soul)

• Avoid bright backgrounds (windows, whiteboards, etc.)

• Get a variety of angles (not just eye level)

• Avoid movement (pan & zoom while recording)

• Shoot for sound

Always:

The Cell Phone - short film

More 7 cam angle examples

Example videosExample videos

6 shot video - PSA6 shot video - PSA

Told One Lie, Trust Was Broken

Example news package Example news package

Former student Danny Spewak: Fishing story

Sound DesignSound Designand Recording for Broadcast Journalism

courtesy of:

Michael Hernandez Manhattan Beach, CAMira Costa High [email protected]@cinehead

•Microphones & Recording

•Soundbites

•NATS

•VO

•Sound Editing

•Music

Heads UpHeads Up

•On camera mic

•Handheld mic

•Shotgun mic

•Lavalier

•Over-modulation

Basic Audio MistakesBasic Audio Mistakes

•Colorful

•Clear

•Concise

Soundbites and Soundbites and InterviewsInterviewsthe three C’s

• “tell me about...”

• subjective opinions

• expert opinions

• only this person could say it

• don’t use facts

• “...anything else you would like to add?”

The three C’sThe three C’swhat you want

• rephrase soundbite

• “in a nutshell”

• “rephrase in one sentence...”

• “what are the two most important...”

The three C’sThe three C’show to get them

NATSNATSNatural Sound

•show, don’t tell

•say it, show it

•what is it like to be there?

•what does it feel like?

•Doug Legore - all NAT sound storytelling

•punctuation

•split sentences into phrases

•good levels

•ducking and keyframing

•split edits

Editing SoundEditing Sound

WAVY 2012

Gun Law video example – use of NAT sound for punctuation

•add emotion

•didn’t record NATS

•fix audio problems

•“It’s what the pros do.”

MusicMusicWhy ?

•manipulative

•subjective

•hyperbole

•violates copyright law

MusicMusicWhy Not?

•be a better sound editor

•use music from NATS

•creative commons license

MusicMusicHow to do it right

Microphones & Microphones & RecordingRecording

Classifications

Power Source

Pickup Pattern

Mic Use

Microphones & Microphones & RecordingRecordingClassifications

Power Source

Dynamic: does not need batteries. Tends to be rugged.

Condenser: uses battery to amplify signal. Higher quality signal.

Microphones & Microphones & RecordingRecordingClassifications

Pickup PatternOmni-directional: sensitive to sounds from all directions.

Picks up sound evenly from all directions (omni means "all" or "every")

Microphones & Microphones & RecordingRecordingClassificationsPickup

PatternUni-directional: sensitive to sounds from one direction.

“Cardioid”“Super-cardioid”

Picks up sound predominantly from one direction.

“Super” very directional and eliminates most sound from the sides and rear


ClassificationsMic Use

Hand-heldLavalierShotgun



Hand-held: usually dynamic, cardioid



Lavalier: condenser, usually omni-directional



Shotgun: condenser, super-cardioid



Shotgun: dynamic, super-cardioid

windsock

Uses of SoundUses of Sound

Noise: Unwanted or unintentional sound elements

Noise vs. Sound

Examples: phone ringing, car alarms, planes flying overhead, hum from a bad cable, etc.

Uses of SoundUses of Sound

Sound: sound elements intentionally recorded or included in soundtrack

Noise vs. Sound

Examples: VO, soundbites, NATS, etc.

Sound RecordingSound Recording

Volume: Loudness.What you hear through speakers and headphones. Adjustable.

Volume vs. Level

Level: Signal strength. Permanent once recorded.

Sound RecordingSound RecordingVU Meter

Measures the level.

Peak levels should not go above 0dB

Shown in decibles (dB) or percentage of modulation (0-100%)

Sound RecordingSound RecordingOvermodulation

Level is too strong to be recorded accuratelyResults in distortion of the

signal

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News Feature from HEC-TV & other Goble videos with professionals:

While on the site, also visit the Video Production Tips page!

Q & ADon GobleLadue Horton Watkins High SchoolSt. Louis, [email protected]@dgoble2001#JEAai13

Advanced broadcast journalism techniques videography & sound design

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