ATTENTION: OFFICIAL COURSE MATERIALS HAVE MOVED TO CANVAS!
ONLY TECHNICAL GUIDES WILL BE UPDATED FOR 2018-2019

visual stories for the masses

Project Overview
This is it: you now have a real audience. Your work for this project will be shared with the school--either through The North Report itself, or on BVN Broadcast's YouTube channel, where we hope to build a robust and varied collection of student work. Your work on this project is for BVN; it should aim toward serving the BVN community. Aim to improve the public conversation at BVN in some way. 
Some constraints you should consider as you list and generate ideas: 
  1. Tell a visual story. Use visual language to tell a story with a beginning, middle, and end. 
  2. Add value. Seek to inform or inspire, or to do some good for the community. (You know, to raise up and not to drag down.) Don't make fun. If you must punch, punch up. 
  3. Keep it real. True stories only for this project. (What does "true" mean, anyway? Is a poem true? A painting?)
  4. No funny business. This sort of follows from the above constraint: don't do a comedy sketch for this project. If you think this is unfair, I'd be more than happy to explain my rationale for this limitation.
  5. Make it shareable. Because the world should see it, right? Please abide by all applicable copyright and fair use limitations for everything in your video--music, other video, still images, and graphic elements.

Samples for you

I've curated a collection of videos (from both Broadcast 1 & 2) that have appeared on The North Report for you to watch for inspiration. I present these videos not as perfect exemplars, but as food for thought--for thinking about the issues and approaches that others pursued to help you  Take a look if you want. ​

Essential planning questions

To help you navigate the most basic parts of this project, I've designed this brief planning sheet. This isn't the most detailed planning sheet, but it will force you to prep the minimum required for STORY PITCH (4/5-6)

What's the story?

Imagine a child asks you to tell her a story. You would not simply say "debate!" or explain that your friend Sally is blind in one eye. These are not stories. These are happenings, topics. A story has characters and conflict. "Pole vaulting" is not a story. But there's this freshman, Jimmy Thomas, who is learning to pole vault. He hasn't ever done it before, but he's working hard to overcome the fear of falling that the sport necessarily entails. That's a story. 

WHAT WILL IT look like? 

Video is a visual medium. Consider what the story will SHOW to us, how it will take us visual places we can't ordinarily go in our day-to-day lives. Many interesting stories present visual challenges.  

Who are your sources?

You have a duty to tell the truth. If your story involves reporting facts, you'll need to fact check your work with at least two independent sources. If your story relies on data or online research, same deal: confirm your facts in two places.

Who cares?

Have you considered your audience? Imagine a freshman boy in advisory. He's just sitting there, watching your story. Why should he care about it? What's in it for him? How does it overlap with his life? How is it helping him make decisions or think about his life? 

Fallback option: story of a day

A day begins at sunrise, continues into midday, and then ends when the sun finally dips beneath the horizon. But are there other sorts of days? You bet. After all, when your mom asks, “How was your day?” She’s probably not asking about every single moment of your waking life; she wants to know about your day at school. Your day at school overlaps with the days of the people who work at BVN.  A police officer’s day may well begin at 10:00 pm and end at 7:00, just as the sun is coming up. The day as an organizing concept is powerful and varied: sick day, test day, game day, senior skip day. Encourage someone to spend a day without a smartphone, and then ask them about it. Or document a day in track practice or of play rehearsal.  The point is: for this project, you’re free to define “day” any way you like. ​

The best part? You can interview anyone for this project. Any person who is alive can talk about her day. That means there can be no excuses for not finding an interview subject. You can even do a first-person story. As long as it meets the technical (exposure, white balance, etc.) and structural requirements (has a beginning, a middle, and an end), you can tell this story however you like. 

Story of a Day Tips & Pointers:
  • Tell a true story
  • Choose a day you know about (or could quickly learn about).
  • Do your research
  • Profile a person who is easy for you to access 
  • Do a story that lends itself to this class time (so you can use class to interview, shoot, research)
  • Choose something that’s inherently visual or that you can frame in a visual way
  • Practice the camera and mic before it counts. Know what you don’t know, and ask for help.
  • Pay attention to which mic and/or camera you use. Use the same equipment when possible.
  • It's easier to edit the story if you first prompt your subject to TELL YOU THE STORY.
    ​
If you choose to go this route, you still pitch your idea. Your pitch must answer the same questions: What's the story? What's it going to look like? Who cares?

technical requirements

Captured video & audio:
  • HD 1080/30p
  • white balanced
  • properly exposed
  • properly focused
  • shot variety (2:1 ratio CU:WS)
  • clean audio/voiceover audio 
Editing:
  • employ animated lower thirds & titles
  • no jump cuts in interviews
  • employ J & L cuts
  • mix all tracks to dual mono/stereo
  • mix all tracks to peak at -6db
  • color correct for continuity

Process requirements

At a minimum, and regardless of your approach to this project, success will require the following process components: 
  • Pre-production planning (using this sheet, or your own framework)
  • Story pitch during class
  • production artifacts (including interview questions, shot list, emails, texts, FB messages, etc.) that you'll include with your 
-->You need ideas.
The above process components are a minimum suggestion. Your success on this project will be directly proportional to the work you do on developing your ideas, getting feedback on your ideas, and planning the actual project. 
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legal & ethical stuff

For this project, we'll adhere to the SPJ's Code of Ethics. In brief, that means the following: 
  • Seek the truth and report it. Be accurate and fair in your reporting.
  • Minimize harm. Treat your sources, subjects, collaborators and members of the public with respect.
  • Act independently. Avoid or disclose any conflicts of interest. Refuse to pander or promote special interests. 
  • Be accountable and transparent. Take responsibility for your work.  

Additionally, please abide by any copyright and fair use limitations that apply to any media used in your story. This includes music, images, video clips, graphics, and sound effects.