It was only eight seconds. Eight seconds of silence between a question and answer. But it didn't actually happen that way. And now, the decision to insert an 8-second pause in a documentary about a controversial subject has become a controversy of its own. The director of the …
Beginning, middle, end. That's a useful way to think about story structure, especially for video, but it's not sufficient. Lots of stories start out well and may even finish with a memorable shot or sequence, but something keeps them from being great: the middle. Knowing what you want …
Words have power and the most powerful word in a sentence should come last. I could have written: Words have power and the last word should be the most powerful one in a sentence. But that would have put the emphasis on "sentence" when I …
A good editor can make something out of almost nothing. Boring video? Pick up the pace in the edit and the viewer may not even notice how dull the shots are. A bad editor, on the other hand, can ruin even the best video. I …
Reporting with sound isn't just a technical challenge--it can raise ethical issues as well. How do you gather sound in the field and how do you use it? How much editing is okay? Guidelines like the RTDNA ethics code, which warns journalists not to "manipulate sound …
Digital editing allows you to do amazing things with video, but NPPA editor of the year Josh Shea urges editors to show restraint. He did just that in his winning entry, according to the judges: "This editor made great storytelling choices that did not draw …
Technology has made lots of jobs obsolete over the years. Remember telephone operators? Back in the day, TV photojournalists routinely went out on stories with a sound person and even a lighting tech. The days of the three-person crew are long over. Now, some …
