Tv Journalism Birdveiw

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    Introduction Television Journalism

    The course introduces Television Journalism: 1)Talks about organisationalstructureof television news channels. 2) Discusses the various news formats of astory. ) !ives ti"s on #esearch and $ommunication skills for a television

    %ournalist &)Trains students to look for story ideas.

    'lanning a (ews tory

    This course teaches you to have clarity on your story before you get on locationto shoot. *hat is it that you should look for+ *hat are the things that you shouldensure is ca"tured on your camera+

    Interviews

    The course gives basics of conducting interviews. This would have to be followed

    u" with the further courses which will need logging in for full knowledge ofconducting interviews

    Interviews for tories

    The course teaches how to conduct interviews for stories

    'iece to $ameras

    The course teaches the student the skills re,uired to do "iece to cameras

    hooting -isuals for (ews

    Teaches the student how to be the director on location

    ace to ace Interviews

    The course teaches the student about the various as"ects of conducting a faceto face interview

    /nchoring 0asics

    Teaches the student about the various ,ualities re,uired to be an anchor

    ogging

    The course teaches the student the skill of enumerating what has been shot.

    cri"ting (ews tories

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    Teaches the skills re,uired for writing a news story

    -oicing 0asics

    !ives basic skills re,uired for giving commentary for a story

    -ideo diting 0asics

    Teaches how to direct video editors to cut your story

    The introductory course has three lessons. The lessons are aimed to introducethe reader to the basic functioning of a television news $hannel. The channelsare not very standardi3ed in the way they function or the %ob roles they have.The system mentioned here is something which has been found to be logical bythe author. This is based on his stints at various television channels.

    News and Current Affairs Programs

    / news or current affairs "rogram could be one of the following:

    1) (ews 4 (ot much e5"lanation needed about what kind of "rogram this is. The

    stories are of short duration and could range from as little as thirty seconds totwo and a half minutes on an average. / news "rogram has different styles ofre"orting news which would also be mentioned later in the lesson.

    2) (ews maga3ine 4 These are "rograms whose aim is to take it beyond wherethe news left. uch "rograms not only re"ort but also analy3e the events.

    ) Debates 4 Debates are also used to discuss a current event. !enerally6 thema%or events are debated by im"ortant "eo"le. Indian $hannel (DT- has a"rogram by the name of Big Fightthe "rogram is a debate

    &) Talk how: *e the 'eo"le6 7"rah etc.

    8) ace to ace interviews

    9) Documentaries

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    ach of these "rogrammes germinate from a story idea. In a later lesson storyideaswould be discussed. tory ideasare must for all the kind of televisionstories.

    !iven below are the various formats in which news is re"orted today in channels.

    1) /nchor #eads: 4 The story is sim"ly read out by the anchor without visuals.This is also called the dry anchor. ince television is a audio visual medium6even an anchor read cannot be allowed to go without looking visually interesting.ence channels nowadays add gra"hics to enrich the anchor read.

    2) 77- ;or 7ut of -ision): 7nce again6 the anchor reads these stories but now

    moving visuals are "asted over it. This is also called the wet anchor. ince theeffort is to get moving visuals as ,uickly as "ossible6channels may resort to usingfile footage to make the out of vision interesting. Instead of %ust writing filefootage6 it might be better to say on which date this "articular footage wasrecorded or an im"ortant event during which these visuals were ca"tured.

    ) ace to ace Interview: In studio and out of studio it

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    *hat is the organi3ational structure of a (ews $hannel how to find and treatstory ideasare given in the lessons that follow.

    ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTUREOF A TELEVISION NEWS CANNEL

    The organi3ational structure of television channel can broadly be divided into thefollowing three main areas.

    >ditorial

    >'roduction

    >Technical

    0esides these areas there are the other de"artments which like any otherorgani3ation e5ists vi3. accounts6 administration6 marketing6 sales6 # etc.owever6 the above are the three main o"erational de"artments.

    The "osition nomenclatures in news channels are not standardi3ed. or instance

    the %ob role "layed by a 'roducer in one organi3ation may be undertaken by aDirector in another and vice4versa.

    E!ITORIAL

    The editorial de"artment consists of #e"orters6 #esearchers6 'eo"le on thedesk6 $oordinators6 (ews ditors6 (ews 'roducers and /nchors.

    >Resear"#ers: This is the starting %ob in the editorial de"artment. (owadays notmany organi3ations have (ews #esearchers as they e5"ect the #e"orter to dohis own research. The %ob involves researching a "articular sub%ect so that the#e"orter has the background information available when he goes for thecoverage.

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    >Re$orters: This is the most "o"ular role in the editorial de"artment. The#e"orter covers stories on location. e does the interviews and is the onlocation director. 7nce back he scri"ts the story and gets it edited.

    >!es%: The "eo"le on the desk have a varied set of roles. 7ne is to kee"

    themselves abreast about what is ha""ening all over the world the other is tocheck scri"ts of #e"orters for grammatical and factual errors. /lso they ensurethat no im"ortant story is left out.

    >News Coordinator: /nother crucial area in a newsroom is that of the (ews$oordinator. e not only kee"s himself abreast of what is ha""ening all over thecountry but is also in touch with all his corres"ondents and stringers on the field.

    /t any "oint of time he knows what his corres"ondents are doing.

    >Editors: There are mainly two kinds of ditors? In"ut and 7ut"ut editors. Thein"ut ones decide what news items or stories are to be followed whereas the

    out"ut ones decide which stories are to be carried in the bulletin ; amongst thestories being covered). In some organi3ations the desk consists of %ust in"uteditors6 out"ut editors and "roducers.

    >News Produ"ers: These "eo"le hel" the out"ut editor in e5ecuting hisdecisions. ometimes the out"ut editor and "roducer is the same "erson. Themain role of the editorial "roducer is to command the bulletin

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    >Gra$#i"s: The gra"hics de"artment makes all the gra"hics and fires them atthe right time under the guidance of the director.

    >Lig#ting !ire"tors: They light the studio based on the DirectorAssistant Produ"ers: These "eo"le assist the director in his work. The workcould range from com"iling the story sent by a stringer6 news agency or kee"stories ready for telecast or run the /utocue machine. /utocue machines arecom"uters with a see through screen at one side. The camera can see throughand focus on the anchor whereas the anchor can see a com"uter screen andread the news.

    >Produ"tion Assistants: Junior assistant "roducers are called 'roduction/ssistants.

    TECNICAL

    >Cameramen: They o"erate the camera both on location and in studios.

    >Sound Re"ordists: They record and control sound levels on location and instudios.

    >Video Editors: These "eo"le edit the footage available as "er a scri"t.

    >Lig#tmen: They are %unior level staff who actually light u" a "lace.

    >Vision (i)ers: They are online editors who cut from one camera to another 7rfrom a camera to a -ideo #ecorder based on the Director(aintenan"e Engineers: They maintain all the e,ui"ment

    >(CR & VSAT o$erators: @aster $ontrol #oom or @$# sends the com"leted"rogramme signals to the earth station from which they are sent to the satellite.

    They also control the signals coming from other studios and 70 -ans ;7utside0roadcast -ans)

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    >Com$uter Engineers: (owadays the entire o"erations in a newsroom areautomated hence com"uter engineers are a "art and "arcel of any news team

    Knowing news- story ideas

    This is the first and most basic thing to know and conquer before going to the next step.

    All news organisations hold an editorial meeting everyday, wherein it is decided what to

    cover for the day. Most organisations work on a policy in which Reporters come up with

    ideas and the ditors decide what to cover.

    !hile presenting the idea a Reporter should first answer one question, what is the story"

    The answer has to be very specific. xample# The answer cannot be that $A story on the

    %ongress party$, or $About senior citi&ens$, etc. 'nstead it will have to be specific like

    (The leadership crisis in the %ongress party$, or $)ow the *enior %iti&ens are prone tocrime etc.+

    A TV news or current affairs story should have the following aspects#

    Interest't should be of interest to the viewers of the region where the programme is

    being aired. -epending on the audience your channel caters to the story has to be

    selected. A story that is of interest to the regional audience may not be of interest to anational or international audience. )owever the reverse may not be true. An international

    story may be of interest to everybody. At the same time one has to remember that a big

    market fire in the neighbourhood is of more importance than a suicide bomber in west

    bank. *o this report in a regional programme would take priority over the other one inwest bank.

    Visuals ou should be able to get visuals that could tell the story.

    Why" There should be a peg to the story, i.e. why you are doing the story now"

    Statistics xperts and statistics should be available to make the programme rich.

    Focus The idea should be focussed

    Conflicting viewpoints 'deally an idea should have conflicting view points to make itrich.

    /nce you are clear on the idea, the next step would be to research and get the full

    information.

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    Where to look for ideas

    0 !esterday"s news for today"s develop#ents

    1 $ewspapers % Internet# 't is surprising to note that though television isthe first to break news2 many channels even now depend on 3ewspapers

    for their story ideas. *ome of the story ideas are picked from the items the

    channels missed in the previous day whereas others look at the news

    stories that are bound to develop on the particular day.

    1 &adio % Television# very channel has a monitoring unit to look at what

    the other channel is doing. At times stories come out of this. ven

    though in Radio at this point of time 3ews is open only to the officialmedia a Reporter will have to regularly listen to the news developments

    there to keep himself up to date.

    1 Agencies and their reports# very news agency 453', 6T', Reuters,

    A3'7 sends a list of stories they would be covering in the day. Many ofthese stories will be taken from the agency reports while the channel may

    decide to send their correspondents to cover some of them.

    0 Scheduled events and 'lanner"s diary A court appearance, a football match orelections are events that are known in advance. )ence coverage of such stories

    can be planned in time and executed accordingly. very channel also has a

    6lanning -esk which keeps a record of all the events that are scheduled for afuture date. The planner8s diary comes very handy while looking for ideas.

    0 Correspondents on (eats 'n television everybody is expected to cover

    everything. )owever, some of the correspondents end up specialising in aspecific area. They are fully immersed with the specific area. They would knowinside stories which others don8t. 3ot surprisingly many breaking stories come

    out of these ideas.

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    0 'ress &eleases and 'ress Conferences *ome stories develop out of press

    releases sent by different organisations. 6ress conferences on important issues

    themselves become stories to be covered. *ome may even be covered live if theyare either very important, conducted by somebody very important or if they are

    sensational in nature.

    0 $ews Falls These are unplanned events which develop into a fullfledged story.%alamities, sudden death of somebody important all develop into stories.

    %hannels keep profiles of important people ready all the time. These are shown

    as obituaries in the unfortunate event of a sudden death.

    0 )ateral Thinking 'deas also come out of thinking creatively on a sub9ect.

    These are neither stories that are scheduled nor are they ones that develop from anews fall. These are issues that concern all of us, but nobody really takes them

    up. *ometimes they 9ust need to wait for a peg to be developed.

    Journalists have often been accused of being B!eneralistsB6 thatCs because manydonCt do their homework. #esearch is what makes a %ournalist the master of thesub%ect he is covering.

    -arious sources such as news"a"er cli""ings6 talking to e5"erts6 reading

    s"ecialist books and now the internet hel"s in getting the basic information. /s"er the story the #esearch also has to be focussed.

    tories should follow the "rinci"al of BI@'I /(D E/!!#/TB. *hat itmeans is6 first get the focus of your story clear and then cover its variouselements.

    'ro"er research hel"s in getting below the skin of the story and in cornering yourinterviewee with "oints and counter "oints. / well researched story drives homethe "oint one wishes to make through statistics and "roofs.

    A few ste$s:

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    0ased on the story idea think of the various ,uestions that needs to beanswered and the information you need to gather.

    ind out the different "laces from where you could get the answer.

    ibraries6 Information bureaus6 !ovt. de"artments etc.

    Talk to e5"erts on the sub%ect. These "eo"le could also be used forinterviews later. They will also be able to give you other sources ande5"erts.

    !et research material6 statistics6 names etc. Instead of writing e5tensivenotes6 "hotoco"ying and highlighting hel"s.

    *hile researching not only should you concentrate on the story line and

    ,uestions that get raised but also find out about the "laces and things tofilm.

    / com"rehensive research would hel" in having clarity in your mind about thestory. *ith good research the story can even be blocked into varioussegments.

    ome organisations have researchers working for the #e"orter6 but I believe thatthe %ournalist should do his own research.

    ince the credit for a story goes to the #e"orter6 #esearchers generally are notvery motivated.

    Communi"ation S%i**

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    / ma%or "art of Journalist

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    T#ree -ita* .uestions'

    Just before you go out to shoot6 give some time to yourself to "lan for it.

    There are three vital ,uestionswhich when answered will hel" you in "lanning

    your story. vi3.

    i/ W#at is t#e stor,0

    ii/ W#at are t#e Sound 1ites needed and from w#om0

    iii/ W#at are t#e -isua*s needed for t#e stor,0 W#at is t#e stor,0

    ome times the re"orter may get lead time to "onder over these ,uestions...however6 most of the times he is in a hurry to cover the event. In order to stillensure that you get the right story.. there is no o"tion but to think and resolve

    these stories at the back of your mind even as you travel to the location to shoot.

    The answers to the other three ,uestions actually make newsgathering a"ossibility.

    *hat is the story+

    This is one of the most basic and im"ortant ,uestions that hel"s in carving yourstory. The answer to the ,uestion focuses the #e"orter to what he should belooking for. owever6 the skill of knowing what the story is comes mainly withe5"erience. 0efore answering the ,uestion the following as"ects should be ke"t

    in mind.a) *hat kinds of stories are welcome in your "rogramme+b) *ho is your audience and what is their awareness level+

    c) ow many minutes can your story be+

    / news story generally is between one to two and a half minutes long. *hereas6a story for a $urrent /ffairs (ewsmaga3ine can be 8 to 1G minutes long.

    An e)am$*e: /n earth,uake story could be any one of the following or "erha"s ami5ture of some of them:

    Stor, 2/#e"orting the event i.e. where and when it ha""ened+ *hat was theintensity of the ,uake and enormity of damage+ ow many were killed orin%ured+

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    Stor, 3/*hat causes an earth,uake+ *hat is an earth,uake "rone 3one andwhich areas are more "rone+ ow safe are the buildings in the areas etc.

    Stor, 4/ *as enough done as far as relief is concerned+ *hat aboutrehabilitation+

    #emember the Simplify and ExaggerateH "rinci"le. These stories have beensim"lified. /nd now think of the various elements of the sim"lified story. ou cango one ste" further here and block the stories into various segments.

    In t#e Se"ond stor, for instan"e'

    0lock 1: The information about the latest earth,uake

    0lock 2: *hy does an earth,uake occur+

    0lock : The seismic 3ones

    0lock &: *hat can be done ;afety to buildings etc.) and why it was not done.

    o before starting to work on the story be sure of what your story is and itsvarious elements+ If you are a fresher4 I would suggest discuss your story with asenior to get focussed. / clear answer to this ,uestion will automatically tune youto the ne5t two ,uestions.

    If you know what your story is6 you can also figure out the various elementsassociated with it.

    W#at are t#e Sound 1ites needed and from w#om0

    If you know the story you are doing6 itCs easy to think about who the right "eo"leto interview are and what sound bites you re,uire from them. raming the right,uestion will get you the correct ,uote.

    If it is not an interview where you are cornering someone6 you could tell theinterviewee in advance about what you are looking for. This will also reduce theamount of footage used for the interview. Thus6 reducing the amount of times"ent in "reviewing the ta"es.

    1e o56e"ti-e: Interview both sides6 !ive e,ual im"ortance to both sides > interms of time given6 interview frame etc.

    5am"le: I once covered a story on child labour in lime stone kilns. This was astory for a newsmaga3ine and hence the story duration was 18 minutes.

    T#ere were -arious e*ements to 5e "o-ered for t#e stor,

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    a/ C#i*d La5our7

    5/ T#e $#,si"a* dangers in-o*-ed w#i*e wor%ing in t#e %i*ns7

    "/ Po**ution and #ea*t# #a8ards and

    d/ Low wages9

    etCs take one as"ect at a time and see what sound bites will be re,uired foreach one of them:

    a/ C#i*d La5our'

    i) *e need sound bites of the children about hardshi"s in the kiln

    ii) The "arents on why they are sending their children to work+

    iii) The owners of the lime kilns on why they re,uire children to workthere+

    iv) The abour $ommissioner on what action he has taken+

    5/ T#e $#,si"a* dangers'

    i) / $hildCs case study on how he fell of the kiln stairs. ;The kilnshave un"rotected stairs 4 2G or 28 in number. If they sli" they willfall a good 1G 418 feet down) /nother child can also talk about how

    he got burnt.

    ii) The kiln owners on un"rotected stairs.

    "/ Po**ution and #ea*t# #a8ards'

    i) The children about their health "roblems.

    ii) The "arents e5"laining about the res"iratory ailments of theirkids.

    iii) / doctor in the area talking about common health "roblem tokids.

    iv) /n environmentalist on "ollution levels in the area.

    v) The "ollution control board on what action they have taken.

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    d/ Low wages'

    i) The childrenCs sound bite on how much they are "aid.

    ii) 7wners on why they are "aying a "ittance.

    iii) The abour $ommissioner on what is being done on the lowwages being "aid there.

    7n doing this e5ercise you would find that even now there are more sound bites"lanned than re,uired. /im to get all of them as they may come handy when youare scri"ting. In the story I used brief bites from all of them.

    The sound bites themselves should not say or cannot say the story4 you re,uire

    su""orting visuals. In the ne5t lesson we talk about how to "lan for shootingvisuals

    W#at are t#e -isua*s needed for t#e stor,0

    If you have researched your story or under taken a recce to the area you wouldalready have "lanned what shots you would take. owever6 if you havenCt done ituse your imagination and note all the ideal shots re,uired.

    Think about the various elements of the story and the ideal shots to "ortray them.0ring out the director in you and even think of the creative shots.

    The various kinds of shots vi3. ong shot6 $lose u"6 'an etc. will be e5"lained inthe cha"ter on visuals.

    /n 5am"le: In /ndhra 'radesh6 a southern state in India an on shore 7il *ellcaught fire. The fire raged some 2G metres high and ke"t burning for nearly amonth. It could be seen for some few kilometres.

    Trees in the neighbourhood got destroyed and the nearby villages had to beevacuated. There was a deafening sound because of the gushing gas.

    The 7il and (atural !as $ommission ;7(!$) was involved in trying to ca" thewell and "ut out the fire. / foreign team was also invited to hel" in "utting off thefire. 7n the basis of this descri"tion "en down on a "iece of "a"er the visualsthat you can imagine.

    Exercise : ( Write the Visuals down and then proceed)

    Then com"are it with the actual list of shots taken6 which is given below.

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    1) /n e5treme long shot of the fire taken from one kilometre distance. This shotwill establish that it could be seen from kilometres away.

    2) hot of the fire from various distances and angles.

    ) $lose u" of the mouth of the well from which gas is gushing out

    &) 0urnt trees in the vicinity.

    8) m"ty villages.

    9) $lose u" of em"ty houses

    =) 7(!$ men trying to "ut out the fire.

    ) These men used to drench themselves with water before they neared the fire.

    hots of that. 0oth long shots and close u"s

    ) *ater was used to kee" the surrounding cool. hots of water being s"rayed.

    1G) hots of water eva"orating.

    11) o"histicated machines brought there.

    12) armuffs used to kee" the deafening sound away.

    1) The nearby school6 which was the tem"orary accommodation for the

    evacuated "eo"le.

    1&) hots of regulation of movement in the area.

    18) The foreign team assessing methods to control the fire.

    19) Ase of so"histicated machines by them.

    1=) Triggering of blasts by them to "ut off the fire.

    1) The result of the blast on the fire etc.

    (ote that I have not used technical %argons for the various shots. If you are wellversed with the terms used4 you could e5"lain it as long shots6 close u"s6 wideshots etc.

    Re""e or re"onnaissan"e

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    / visit to the area where you are going to shoot your story hel"s in "lanning thestory better. ook for the following details while undertaking this recce.

    1) Take into consideration the lighting in the area. 0ased on the lighting6 fi5 theideal time to shoot there. or instance if a "lace looks good during sunrise or

    sunset "lan it then. g: seashore.

    2) isten to the ambience sound in the area. ou may re,uire to take a s"ecialmicro"hone to ca"ture the sound in the area or to avoid unwanted sound.

    ) This visit can hel" you choose the ideal "lace for interviews

    &) This will also hel" you in identifying the shots to take. @ake a note of all ofthis.

    8) (ew angles to your story may also emerge.

    9) ook for the various visuals6 which you could "ossibly get from there.

    =) "ot the locals you could interview and set them u". /lso conduct researchby talking to them.

    ) If the shooting would be at night make sure the availability of electricity forlighting. If there is none6 you might have to take a battery sun gun.

    Pre:Fi*m S"ri$t

    7ne more ste" ahead in "lanning a story is to write the "re4film scri"t. This is agood idea only if you know the story well in advance.

    *rite a "ro"er scri"t with visuals on the left side and $ommentary and soundbites on the right. i.e. ty"ically like a scri"t.

    The art of writing a scri"t would be discussed in detail in the cha"ter on cri"ting./ "re4film scri"tlooks e5actly like a scri"t but all the elements are imagined and"ut on "a"er. The real story will be an attem"t to emulate the "re4film scri"t

    7ne drawback of "lanning > #eality may not e5actly be the same. 0ut yet

    "lanning will not go waste because it does give you the framework to work with.

    /lso remember that des"ite "lanning your story you should be o"en to ideas andwilling to change the story as "er reality.

    INTERVIEWS

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    "In this interview I have given you a lot, you have taken something out ome, you!ve interrogated me according to me" Kamal Haasan- PopularIndian film star"Was this an interview# I elt like talking to a classmate o mine, though

    you are not even hal my age"$A 6 year old politi!al leader from "orth India#Former $ttar Pradesh %A "orthern Indian State& 'hief (inister (aya)ati tal*ingto her P+, after an interie) - "Why did you allow this guy who keepsasking irrelevant (read uncomorta%le ) &uestions$ 'hrow him out""re you a counsellor# I eel more relaxed ater this interview$ 'hankyou"$A ./ year old girl )ho had attempted sui!ide t)i!e#"*on!t ask me these &uestions, ask some%ody else$ I won!t answer them"$Senior 'ongress leader Prana0 (u*her1i on 0eing as*ed a0out per !onstituen!y

    poll expenditure of the party#These were reactions to my interviewing these "eo"le. I believe every interviewis an event6 which leaves an im"act on both the interviewee and the interviewer.owever this would ha""en only if the interviewers gets involved and makes theinterviewee think and react to him. I have interviewed hundreds of "eo"le fromvaried walks of life. 0ased on this e5"erience I have categorised the interviewsand ste"s to im"rove your skills. 0ut before I write any further I need to mentionthat @r. Ian @asters of Thomson oundation6 *ales6 AK during his lecturesdemonstrated that how much more I have to learn about them. o even as youutilise these ste"s6 kee" your eyes ; or more correctly ears) o"en to learn out of

    your own mistakes and trium"hs while interviewing.I broadly categorise interviewsfor (ews and $urrent /ffairs into:

    1) Interviews for toriesand2) ace to face interviews.

    1efore going into t#ese "ategories some "ommon fundamenta*s9Resear"#'I have already em"hasised the need for in4de"th researchfor interviews. ThatCswhat makes the interviewer confident L focussed and the interview interesting.

    Fo"us'#esearch however has to be carefully utilised. Just because you have known alot does not mean youCve to ask everything. In fact6 the research should be usedto figure out what is relevant and what is not. I know of many T- #e"orters whotry to com"lete their research while interviewing. This not only results in wasteof footage but also allows the interviewee to sell his "oint of view ;*hich may not

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    necessarily be the ob%ective one). o be sure of what you re,uire from yourinterview before you start.O$en Ended ;uestions'To get a good ,uote the ,uestion should be so "hrased to get a com"lete

    answer. / ,uestion that gets %ust a MesH or M(oH answer is to be avoided.ometimes it hel"s to add a why2 ho)or )hatto your ,uestion to get such a,uote. ome interviewers even go to the e5tent of briefing an interviewee aboutwhat they are looking for. 0ut I donCt like to do that because the s"ontaneity inthe interview is lost.5am"le:C*osed ;n'/re you against your "arty leaderCs new economic "olicy+

    /nswer: es.O$en Ended ;uestion' *hy are you against your leaderCs new economic"olicy+

    /lthough in most cases 7"en nded Fuestions hel"s to get a good ,uote6 with areluctant interviewee only closed ,uestions work better. This is also true forsmall children.eading ,uestions

    / leading ,uestion will gain an obvious answer. They could be used to corner ainterviewee who is avoiding to give a direct answer.. eg6 BDonCt you think this istoo trivial an issue to have an internal s,uabble in the "arty+B

    y"othetical ,uestions/ hy"othetical ,uestion can be used to e5"lore an organisation or a "erson

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    Formu*ating t#e .uestions

    /lways consider what the ob%ect of any interview is.

    $hoose the right ,uestion format.

    If the answers are not develo"ing "ro"erly6 change the format.

    If the interviewee is nervous or an5ious use "rom"ting ,uestions.The aim behind such interviews is to get the right ,uote. ence6 the effortsshould be made towards this end. Ideally6 the ,uote should be com"lete in itselfwithout the need of the interviewerCs ,uestions. If the focus of the story is clear a#e"orter would know what ,uote is e5"ected out of an interviewee. The ,uestionneeds to be "ointed to get the re,uired result. / vague ,uestion would give onlya vague answer.

    E)am$*e:Wrong'F.:*ould your "arty align with any other "arty to fight this election+

    nswer: We may align i need %e$

    Rig#t'F: *ould your "arty have an electoral alliance with $ongress+ If yeswhy+

    nswer: We would align with the +ongress %ecause$$$$$/n 7"en ended ,uestion discussed in the last cha"ter is very effective to get theright ,uote.;uestion List'7nce you

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    ooking "ace:*hile interviewing for stories6 the interviewee should look at the interviewer andtalk. If the "erson is turning right to look at the interviewer6 he should be ke"t atthe left side and vice4versa. Ideally the sub%ect should cover 2Nrd of the "icture

    ;hori3ontally) and the one third "icture left is called the looking s"ace. If theinterviewer is looking left the looking s"ace should be given on the left side..

    1a"%ground'$hoose a background that goes with the to"ic. If you are interviewing a "ersonwho has something to tell about com"uters6 use that as the background. If it is anofficial who is being interviewed6 it hel"s to do the interview in his office 4 an actorin the sets of a film or theatre. ven the green room is an ideal "lace in such acase. 0ut if you want to "ut a "erson on the defensive take him to a background6which he is not6 used to.

    S#ot framing'*hile interviewing for stories the $lose A" shot is the most used one. Thisframe hel"s to show the facial features L emotions of the "ersons and at thesame time gives enough s"ace to su"er the "erson

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    Noddies'These shots again are taken to show that the interviewer was there ;doing theinterview). These shots are taken after the interview with the interviewer nodding6even as the interviewee talks. This could be inserted ;while editing) in between a

    soundbite9 (oddies could also be shot as an 76 this time over the shoulder ofthe interviewee.Lig#ting'In an (! ;lectronic (ews !athering) situation6 the #e"orter does not haveaccess to the best of lights. The "ortable lights used may not give the bestresults. owever6 efforts should be made to at least have a key light and abacklight during the interview. The Key light will be the main one to light thesub%ect whereas the backlight will light the background and give de"th.Interviewing in sunlight6 utilising the window light etc. are some of the methodsused by good $ameramen to get the best in an (! situation

    M-o5 'o"sH or M-o5 'o"uliH means "eo"le

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    &) ully concentrate on the answers to make sure you get the re,uired bite.

    8) our interviewee may hi%ack your interview by giving leads6 which may beuseless to your story. Try to take full control of such a situation. This you can doby being alert during the interview and sticking to your ,uestion line.

    9) If you antici"ate that the interviewee may not want to answer your ,uestions >go with the camera on and get the M(7H on camera.

    =) If your interviewee wants the ,uestions in advance6 nothing wrong in giving it ifthe sub%ect is non4controversial. If you are cornering the interviewee give anambiguous ,uestion line.

    ) Kee" your ,uestions short.

    !on

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    >>To e)$*ain somet#ing?: In a way this is an e5tension of the above ty"e of'T$. The #e"orter e5"lains an o"eration in front of the $amera. g: 5"lainingthe ease of o"eration of a new e,ui"ment.

    >>As t#e turning $oint?' If a story has two different as"ects to it a MTurning

    'ointH "iece to cam can be done to combine the two. /lso called the 0ridge'T$ the "iece to camera hel"s bridge the two different "arts of the story. g: MIfthe govt. shows their a"athy towards these victimsPeven the victims themselvesaren after all you would be addressing the audience then.

    Re"ording a PTC

    0y heart the words well so that you need not do re"eated takes. If you are oneof those who have "roblems by heartingPremember the different "oints and tryto s"eak it e5tem"ore.

    >@ake sure that there are no grammatical errors.

    >/void tongue twisters and difficult words

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    >ook straight into the camera lens

    >ave a relevant background but avoid noisy "laces

    >!ive a ma5imum of G seconds for the 'T$

    *hile shooting the visuals the %ob of a re"orter is being the director on location.0ut before you start shooting the visuals kee" the following "oints in mind1rief ,our Cameraman' our story is based on the shots that you take. Anlessyour cameraman knows what to shoot and why he is shooting it6 the results willnot be good. o take him into confidence while covering the story. During theshooting be "olite to get your work done6 give the cameraman the o""ortunityto show his skills and sense of vision.+ee$ s#ot *ist read,' *hile "lanning your story > you already should have

    created a list of shots re,uired for the story you are covering. Kee" this listhandy while shooting.+now #ow to ta%e good -isua*s' earn some amount of basic camera work tobe sure that your cameraman is taking the right shots.Ta%e re.uired e.ui$ments'/lways cross check that you are taking there,uired e,ui"ments6 ta"es6 charged batteries6 lights6 battery sun gun etc.S#oot at t#e rig#t time' If a "lace looks good in the evening or that the "ointin your story can be "roved only in the morning. !o there at the right time to

    catch the events. The #ecce will tell you about the right time to shoot.A*wa,s use t#e Tri$od' ou should see to it that your cameraman alwaysuses the tri"od to take shots. owever good the "articular cameraman

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    ou might need to break out of your earlier notions about the story by beingo"en to new ideas6 which strike you on location.

    T,$es of s#ots used in ENG

    2/ 1*o"% s#ot' This is the most used shot in a news or current affairs"rogramme. In this ty"e of shot there is no camera movement. /fter choosingthe right frame the shot is recorded for 12 to 2G seconds.

    2) Pan S#ot and Ti*t S#ot' The shot recorded when the camera is "annedfrom right to left or left to right is called a "an shot. /nd shot recorded when thecamera is tilted from to" to bottom or bottom to to" is called a tilt shot. 0oththese shots need to be used only when needed. That is6 when you need toestablish something from one end to the other say to highlight the length of a,ueue you should use the "an shot. imilarly to show how tall a building is one

    might use a tilt.

    ) @oom

    Qoom in: In this shot the shot si3e changes from a wide shot to a close u". Aseit when you want to highlight a small as"ect of a bigger thing. g: If you want tosay that the huge ele"hant has a small eye.

    Qoom out: In this the shot si3e changes from close u" to a wider shot. Ase itwhen you want to establish where e5actly something is ha""ening. g: *henyou 3oom out from two "layers in a football field to the entire field. This will

    highlight in which "art of the ground the ball actually is.

    &) To$ ang*ed s#ot& *ow ang*ed s#ot'

    ow angled shot: In this the camera is ke"t at the ground level and lens is"ointed u"wards to show how big and im"osing the sub%ect is.

    To" angled shot: This shot is taken from the to" to show how small the sub%ectis.

    / Tra"%ing Bon "ar and foot/'

    trictly s"eaking unless one has the steady cam these shots need to beavoided. owever6 in a situation like say if you want to show the amount ofdamage in an earth,uake hit area or a war torn country tracking shot of theregion even if taken from a slow moving car works well.

    Tracking on foot also works well when one is following somebody. g: /terrorist to his hideout.

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    / Creati-e s#ots B;ui"% 8oom7 (TV t,$e s#ots et"9/'

    In a feature story that involves covering a glamorous "erson or a "o" singer >an @T- ty"e shot works well. ou could do ,uick 3ooms6 tilted frames6 shiftfocus etc. 0ut be sure to take normal shots as well. This is im"ortant as your

    organisation may have a strict rule when it comes to using such shots.

    Lig#ting for s#ooting -isua*s

    !enerally when you are out shooting for news6 you have only the Msun gunH andthe Mbattery sun gunH to shoot. *hile shooting at night6 make sure you carrythese lights > they may not give you the ideal kind of shots but in an (!situation they do the %ob well.

    Case studies'

    *hen you are doing a s"ot interview and you realise that the "erson you aretalking to ; say a victim6 a "atient etc.) can be a case study in your story > takee5tensive shots of the "erson. These shots are re,uired to tell their story.

    Stage (anaging'

    tage managing means asking your sub%ect to act out something which youcould not ca"ture otherwise. or instance6 asking the ca"tain of the winningteam to take the "ri3e again as you could not shoot it the first time around.

    Simu*ation'

    In some cases a whole event may need to be dramatised to drive home a "oint.In a situation like this do say that this is a re4enactment both in the commentaryand with a su"er.

    Introdu"tion to use of gra$#i"s in stories'

    !ra"hics is e5tensively used in stories. !ra"hics not only consists of frameswith a diagram > the su"er6 the ,uote written out6 the "hone in "late etc. all ofthese fall under gra"hics.

    *e also have gra"hic in"uts for stock markets6 weather etc.

    In a story generally gra"hics can be used to highlight a "oint6 e5"lain somethingthrough sketches6 D images of a disaster6 unrecorded ,uotes6 statistics6 asurvey etc.

    !os

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    1) #emember to shoot cut4aways after an interview6 "ress conference6 onlocation of "erformance6 action etc.2) /sk your cameraman to take shots with editing "oints. or instance6 if youare shooting a "erson moving in your frame from one end to another6 wait forhim to move out of frame.

    ) /lways visualise how the shots will look when you edit them. /void shotsthat might cause a %um" cut.&) #ecord each block shot for at least 12 seconds.8) The ratio of visuals used to that of shot should be a ma5imum of 1:1G.hooting more than this is a waste of footage and time.9) Know when to switch off and when to kee" the camera in stand by mode.!on

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    the truth out of the interviewee. owever6 avoid "utting words into the mouth ofsuch an individual.

    These kinds of interviews are closer to interrogation and many a time aggressionhel"s. 0ut remember you as a %ournalist is not an enemy6 and not out there to

    defame the individual. 7ne has to be very careful as this could backfire into adefamation case.

    W#om do ,ou inter-iew0Do a face to face interview with the "erson who is in news. g: i) / "erson whohas to""ed an e5am. ii) $a"tains of India6 /ustralia and (ew Qealand etc. ;iii)#ailway @inister during the railway budget etc. ;iv) /martya en when he wonthe noble.ome "eo"le however will always be worth doing the two4cam interview. g: I)The 'rime @inister6 ;ii) 7sama 0in aden or Dawood Ibrahim6 iii)/mitabh0achchan.

    W#at do ,ou as%0or news you need to ask ,uestions on the current issue. In a cornering kind ofinterview know all his failures now and the failures in the "ast. In a revealinginterview you could ask about all achievements of the "erson6 his failures6 likesand dislikes his hobbies and rela5ation methods etc.omework or research is very im"ortant otherwise the interviewee will "rove youwrong in all stages.

    Pre$aring ,our .uestions *istThe decision to ask which ,uestion first and which ,uestion later has to be

    decided on a case4to4case basis. 7ne as"ect to be ke"t in mind is the length ofthe interview. / cornering ty"e of interview may not last long6 so one might haveto kee" some not very critical ,uestions also u" your sleeve. ocus u"on yourto"ic6 and follow a logical line of ,uestioning.

    g: ou are doing a story on e5"loitation of $abaret dancers. (ow6 while you

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    interview6 or give the sub%ect time to think u" an e5cuse instead of an answer.There are stories where catching the sub%ect off guard is best.g: / story on fake licenses being made. ou are interviewing a license tout.ook the ,uestions below are all "robing ,uestions > which are closed as such.

    F: ow may fake licenses do you make+/: /bout 2GG a month.F: ow much do each of these cost+

    /: /nywhere between #s. 1GGG418GGF: ow long does it take to get them made+

    /: *ell6 2 days6 maybe.F: Don

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    If you want to interru"t the sub%ect6 it is better to wait till the sub%ect "auses forbreath or the inflection of the voice is downwards. 7therwise an ugly overla" ofvoices can be uneditable. /t the same time make sure you have got the answeryou want. If the ,uestion is genuinely misunderstood6 the re"orter is well advisedto call cut to sto" the camera so the "roblem can be discussed before starting

    the interview:g: / good e5am"le of ,uestioning to a cussed "etrol "um" owner:F: /re you aware that adulteration of "etrol is common+

    /: (o6 they

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    The rules for framing the $amera that was mentioned in the interviews for storiesalso hold good here. 7ften in a face to face interview along with close u" shots6mid4shot is also used. This hel"s in showing the hand actions of the interviewee.RS44if SvmlU44V

    RS44endifU44V

    Imaginar, *ine of -ision*hen shooting a two4cam interview6 both the cameras should be on one side ofthe imaginary line that connects the interviewee and interviewer. This line iscalled the Mimaginary line of visionH. The "lacement of the cameras will be asshown in the above diagram. The two frames have also been de"icted. In a shotlike this the two "eo"le would seem like talking to each other. 7n the other handif you cross the line of vision > both the "eo"le will seem like talking to a third"erson.

    /lso6 line of vision should not be crossed while shooting meetings ;where the lineof vision would be between those in the stage and those in the audience)6 "ressconference etc. ven while taking 7 shots this should be avoided.

    Two s#ots/ shot in which both the interviewer and the interviewee are visible is called atwo shot.There are three different two shots which can be takeni) 7ver the shoulder of the interviewer6ii) 7ver the shoulder of the intervieweeL iii) 'er"endicular to the line between the interviewer and interviewee.-ariations of these shots are also used.!enerally shot number iii) is avoided.(at"#ing FramesThe shot si3e of the interviewer and the interviewee should be more or less the

    same while doing the interview. In order to achieve that6 frames of both thecameras should be matched at the beginning of the interview. This however doesnot mean that the shot si3e needs to be maintained throughout the interview6 itcan be changed de"ending on the emotions of the interviewee and the needs ofthe interview.

    (at"#ing Lig#ting and A$erture

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    During the interview the lighting and a"erture on both the interviewer andinterviewee should be similar. This is im"ortant because while cutting betweenthe two of them the %um" will be disturbing to the viewer. $arrying a monitor tothe interview venue and com"aring the out"ut of the two $ameras can achievethis ob%ective.

    1a"%ground$hoosing the right background 4 I can safely say is an art. If an ugly or dullbackground is chosen for an interview6 the viewer will get bored and maymentally switch off which will not be in the interest of the "rogramme. 7n theother hand a stunningly beautiful background will distract the attention of theviewer 4 once again undermining the interview itself. / "leasant background"ro"erly lit and the de"th shown would be ideal. @any use flower vase or a tablelam" as a "ro" 4 this generally works well. / window in the background o"eningto a beautiful garden may also work well. 0ut this one will re,uire "ro"er colour

    matching and use of the correct filter

    Noddies

    The reaction shots of the interviewer as the interviewee s"eaks are callednoddies. hot of a "erson talking for more than G seconds it is believed boresthe viewer. The reaction shot brings a change and also is used to edit "arts ofthe interview that are irrelevant and eating away the footage. ometimes closeu" shots of hands of the "erson s"eaking are also used these are called cut4aways.

    Li-e Vision (i)ing

    Asing a vision mi5er ; a kind of editing machine) to switch between one camerato other as the interview ha""ens is called live vision mi5ing of the interview. ivevision mi5ing is also done for other "rogrammes such as shooting an event6 acultural "rogramme6 a rock show etc. / well done live vision mi5ing does notre,uire any "ost4"roduction on it after the interview.

    Post Produ"ing Fa"e:to:Fa"e inter-iews

    /ny editing work done to "roduce the final "roduct is called 'ost 'roduction. In asituation were live vision mi5ing is not done 4 "ost"roduction will be re,uired.

    Post $rodu"tion for two "am inter-iews

    *hile working with a two4cam interview footage6 the entire interview ;if shot tothe re,uired duration) recorded from one of the cameras is co"ied onto themaster ta"e. ets say the entire interview recorded from the camera "ointing atthe interviewee is co"ied onto a master ta"e. Then the visuals of the interviewerCs

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    corres"onding ,uestions are edited onto the master ta"e. 'rogramme logos andthe relevant noddies are inserted at the right "laces. The two shots are editedinto beginning and end of the interview. /lso the breaks that have been recordedlater on in the same location are inserted at the relevant "laces. diting would bedealt in detail in a later lesson.

    Post $rodu"tion for sing*e "am inter-iewsI have already e5"lained how a face4to4face interview is done using %ust one$amera. The editing of this is done as in the two4cam shoot but the audio of the,uestions is taken along with the visuals while editing ;unlike the two cam shoot).This is because the original ,uestions asked during the interview will be difficultfor the interviewer to re"eat without any change in the wordings or "auses.

    *os and *on"ts for a face to face interview

    *os:7 'f you need to refer to your questions do it when the interviewee is answering.;7 Always keep the questions ready neatly typed in double space for quick reference.

    7 Remember all the elements of research 1 do not make mistakes with numbers,statistics etc. /ne mistake will give your interviewee the upper hand.

    ?7 Try to keep the interview within the given time duration even if it is only being

    recorded. @ut at the same time do not hesitate to shoot the interview for longer duration if

    you realise the interviewee is opening up.7 %arry extra tapes, batteries etc. lest these may run out 4or fail7 at the right time when

    the most important person is in front of you.

    B7 Always be on the interview spot before time and if possible set up the camera beforethe interviewee arrives.

    *on"ts

    :7 The background of interest should not be so absorbing or overpowering that it distracts

    the viewer from what is being said.

    ;7 -on8t spend all your time lighting up and setting the interview frame, and leave littletime for the interview. %hances are that the sub9ect will answer in a hurry, and you may

    run the risk of not getting his interview again.

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    et you would have seen that the anchor is always looking at the $amera. Thisis made "ossible by the Tele4"rom"ter also called /utocue because of thecom"any which makes the machine. This machine makes it "ossible for theanchor to look at a com"uter monitor to look and read whereas for the camera"ositioned behind the monitorPthe monitor acts like a trans"arent glass.

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    W/utocue machines ensure that anchor doesnGood -oi"e and di"tion' /nother "art and "arcel of good anchoring. 7nceagain these are as"ects which can be develo"ed through "ractice.

    >;ui"% t#in%er'/ news fall6 a mistake in the tele"rom"ter or the altogetherfailure of the system re,uires that the anchor can think ,uickly and address theviewers without embarrassing the channel

    >A5i*it, to mu*ti:tas%' The tasks of the anchor in the news channels today arecom"licated. e has to read from the autocue6 simultaneously be ready tointerview the guest in the studio6 be ready to interact with the corres"ondent onlocation and also react to the directions from the studio director. In channelsdealing with business he also has to kee" a look at the stock market u"s anddowns available on the com"uter.

    If you are one of those who has watched and followed T/# T#K6 you wouldhave heard this "hrase very often: M $a"tain log6 tar hi" nter"rise6 July =6PPH. The idea of logging there was to record day by day events that ha""enduring the %ourney of tar hi" nter"rise.

    The idea of logging in television is to note down what is available at a given "artof the ta"e. In "rofessional video recorders a se"arate track on the ta"e notesthe length of time the ta"e has been recorded. This is called time4code. This willnever change irres"ective of from where you "lay the ta"e or in which machine.o for every frame there is a s"ecific Time4$ode "o"ularly called T$.

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    0ased on this T$ one can note at what time6 what footage is available. /ne5am"le of logging is given below:

    Logging'

    WGG.G1.G > hots of college

    WGG.G2.G > $A 0hel"uriwala

    WGG.G.GG > IN- tudent

    WGG.G.28 > Talks about the taste

    WGG.G.884 Talks about hygiene ;!ood bite)

    WGG.G&.2G4 Talks about style ;(!)

    ogging is very useful both during scri"ting and editing of the story. (ever scri"twithout logging as a crucial shot you thought your cameraman took was nevertaken or if the angle missed the im"act of the event.

    WLa5e**ing Ta$es' /s soon as a ta"e is recorded6 do not forget to label the ta"eand lock the record tab. This is done to avoid accidental erasure.

    WLogging w#i*e s#ooting' The time4code of an im"ortant event shot can benoted at the time of the recording itselfPfrom the $amcorder. In the breakingnews scenario such a noting hel"s a lot as one can send back the ta"e with the

    time code mentioned for immediate retrieval by the "roduction team in thestudio. This can save crucial seconds for being the first with the news.

    1efore ,ou s"ri$t'

    te" 1: Kee" your log ready : /s already e5"lained the log will come handy if youneed to figure out what you have or whether a "articular sound bite is available.

    te" 2: 0lock your story' 0reak your story into various "arts the beginning6middle and the end. ou are telling a story. ence it should be told logically.Think how absurd the crow6 %ug of water and "ebble story would be if it is told in

    the wrong order.

    te" : *rite anchor link first' The anchor link is the summary of the story.7nce written this also clarifies the story idea in your mind. This also ensures thatyou do not re"eat the introduction in the first "aragra"h of the story.

    te" &: *rite the scri"t itself: 7nce the above ste"s are com"leted one is readyto scri"t.

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    Writing An"#or Lin%s' In (ews the first line itself should introduce the story.M1G "eo"le killed and 8G in%ured in a landslide in Attar Kashi.H 7nce the storyhas been introduced give the summary and a background if it is re,uired. In

    some channels there is the style of introducing the re"orter in the link itself. M7urwar corres"ondentPso and so re"orts.H

    S"ri$ting'

    "oken anguageN hort sentences: The television scri"t is written for the ear.ince there is no sco"e of rewinding or cross checking what has been saidPit isbetter to use sim"le words. hort sentences also hel" as it kee"s the storysim"lePone idea "er sentence. 7nce you have written the scri"t read it aloudonce or twice. *hen you listen if it sounds right6 it is correct.

    *riting to visuals: Television is a visual medium. ince the scri"t is being writtenafter watching the footagePkee" the visuals in mind. Do not try to e5"lainsomething for which you do not have the su""orting visuals. 7f course it is notalways "ossible to get the visuals that you wantPhowever? some shots whichgive an idea of the thought being discussed in the commentary can be used. 7nthe other hand when there is some s"ecific footage available few more lines inthe scri"t could be added to highlight the issue. g: Pthe dignitary showeds"ecial interest on this child who "erformed well des"ite his handica"PH

    The first "aragra"h: /fter the story has been introduced by the anchorPthe voiceof the re"orter takes over. The re"orter in his first "aragra"h should never re"eat

    what has been said in the anchor link. This will not only make the storymonotonous but crucial on air time would be wasted:

    ou tell the story: #emember that you as the %ournalist are telling the story. Thesound bites are only meant to su""ort what you are saying. They are notsu""osed to add new elements of the story.

    ollow u" sentence to reinforce lead: *hatever has been said in the last"aragra"h has to be followed u" in the ne5t one. There has to be a connection.The "argra"hs cannot be dis%ointed.

    eft hand and #ight hand side: 7ne method of writing the scri"t is to have a lefthand side and a right hand side. The left hand side for visuals whereas the righthand side for the commentary and other sounds.

    /ctive voice: Ase active voice while writing the scri"t. Instead of writingM/ustralia was beaten by IndiaH6 write MIndia beat /ustralia.H

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    /lways use the word that em"hasises immediacy: Taking from the other e5am"leitselfPinstead of saying MIndia beat /ustralia6< write MIndia has beaten /ustraliaH.This gives immediacy to the news. Television is su""osed to re"ort as thingsha""en. That immediacy has to be felt in the language as well.

    E: E stands for ound ffects. It is also called natural or ambient sound.This is the original sound recorded on location. In the scri"t when we writeEPthe sound level there is su""osed to be increased so that the originalsound has the re,uired im"act. or instance if you are able to film a bomb blast6the im"act would be very little without the accom"anying sound heard at the fulllevel.

    The ending > /void editoriali3ing: The ending of the story could be a 'iece to$amera or the concluding voice over. /void using a sound bite to end the storyunless the interviewee has something outstanding to say or is delivering arelevant "unch line. /nother as"ect to watch out for is editoriali3ing the ending

    of the story. !iving the #e"orters "oint of view is called editoriali3ing. The roleof a #e"orter is to give both the sides in an unbiased manner and let theaudience %udge.

    /bbreviations: 7nly abbreviations of well4known organi3ations can be used.g: $0I6 (// etc. Do not use @r. /nd @rs. In the scri"t. This is to be usedonly in the case of the 'rime @inister or 'resident. /nother e5ce"tion to this ruleis when both husband and wife figure in a story.

    7mit /ddresses6 ages: /void full addresses6 age in the story6 unless it is veryrelevant.

    Ase contractions. It

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    Anknown names > follow u" with designation: It is im"ortant to give designationsof unknown "eo"le as otherwise the viewers would not know who this "erson is.g: Muresh kumar while s"eaking the media saidH > would not mean muchunless you s"ecifyP Muresh Kumar6 the 7 of the "olice station saidP.H

    tress negative M-a%"ayee did (7T see the warning: 7therswise audience mightlisten as -a%"ayee DID see the warning.

    Time: Don

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    Voi"ing a Stor,

    Fuality of -oice: Though not much can be done about the ,uality of the natural

    voicePefforts can be made to im"rove it. -oice can be trained throughe5ercises and constant "ractice.

    'ronunciation and nunciation: 7ne should know the e5act "ronunciation anddiction of every word. Know the use of "ronunciation key given in the dictionary.

    -oice Delivery: 'ro"er "auses6 inflections which go u" L down and "ro"erem"hasis form the basis of good delivery. *e do all of this while talking.owever6 for most of usPthis does not come naturally while reading. In orderto become a good voice over "erson this art will have to be mastered.$ontrolling breath does form "art of the voice delivery. If one were to give half a

    "ause for a comma and a full "ause for a full sto" the breathing should comenaturally.

    Asing the micro"hone: $areful "ositioning of the micro"hone is a must toim"rove voice over ,uality. /n e5"erienced sound recordist will try two or three"ositions with the artist to get the best out "ut.

    'racticing with audio recorder: The #e"orter on his "art could "ractice using anormal audio recorder at home. istening and "racticing would hel" better thevoice.

    -oice e5ercises and singing: 5ercises to im"rove voice ,uality hel" a lot. Thiswill however6 have to be done under e5"ert guidance. inging is one of the safere5ercises.

    Stor, Editing' This is the final ste" in "utting together a news story. There aretwo schools of thought on editing. 7ne is the method in which we scri"t first andthen edit accordingly. The other thought is to edit first taking the best visualsand best bites and then writing a scri"t to it. *e will stick to the scri"t firstmethod in this module.

    Re*e-ant Visua*s: nsure that the most relevant footage is edited over the

    correct voice over. /s the voice changes even the footage should. owever6 itis to be ke"t in mind that even the shots a life s"anPunless they are allowed tolive their full life they won

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    This is the cru5. *hile shooting one will always have to remember how thewhole thing will look in the editing table.

    Lengt# of s#ots' There is no s"ecific rule about the length of the shots. 7newill have to "lay the shot to see how long it should and can last.

    1reat#ing S$a"e' 0etween "aragra"hs a few seconds of break has to be givenin the voice over. These breaks are called breathing s"ace and make the"rogramme better.

    (usi"' #elevant music used in the background heightens the im"act of thestory. owever6 one has to kee" in mind the style of the news "rogramme inmind 4 whether using music is allowed or not.

    Using Gra$#i"s' *herever statistics or im"ortant information or a unrecorded;but im"ortant ,uote) is involved using a gra"hic "late makes the story richer.

    The names and designations su"ered on the screen are also gra"hic "lates.u"ers are also called /stons.

    The following are some of the "laces were gra"hics is widely used:

    4 'hone ins

    4 *eather

    4 tock #e"orts

    4 5"laining an event

    4 /n unrecorded Fuote

    4 /stons

    4 tatistics etc.