Reporting for Television

This is the essential guide for television reporting. The main thing you must remember is stories, 95% of the time, are about people. People ARE stories.

Firstly, it's important to know the terminology.
PACKAGE - a journalist's TV report.

PTC - piece to camera. Essentially, it's a reporter talking to a camera.

SOT - sound on tape.

GRAB/CLIP - interview sound of tape.

UPSOT - sound up on tape.

OOV - out of vision.
ULAY - an underlay.

NATSOT - natural sound on tape.

VO - voice over.

TALKING HEAD - an interview.

GV - general view.

CUT AWAY - covering shots - useful for editing or change of scene.

SOQ - standard out cue - cut off.

So now you know the basic terms and their definitions - here's the essentials of what you have to do to make a good piece.

ON ASSIGNMENT:

• First and foremost, do your research. Know where you are going, why you are going there, who you're going to see, why that person or place is important, who will be your target audience - cover all grounds.
• Know your library. It's good to know what resources you'll be able to use so you can prepare properly for your package.
• Check your equipment. This may sound basic, and it is, but it is vital you do this. There would be nothing worse than getting the chance to have the perfect interview and not having a tape to record it on, or a book to write it down.
• Get permission. It is legal for you to film in public as long as you're not being a nuisance or identifying children. Just check before you go to a location that you have full rights to be there.
• Know where you're going and be punctual. It is better to be an hour early than a minute late. It is vital if at a press conference or any important meeting you get the best seats in order to get the best quality film.
• Start shooting as soon as you can. Moments don't wait until you're ready, you want to make sure you don't miss any.

FILMING:

• Shoot in sequences. Be in control and try and get all the shots you need, using variation and thinking about actuality and shots for cutaways.
• Use different size shots. Keep the filming interesting. However, be careful not to zoom in and out to much because that's not what happens in real life with your own eyes - keep it realistic. 
• Shoot longer and more than you usually would. This is vital for editing. Cutaways can be used to cover edited moments and if you film a few seconds before and after every important shot it will give you more lenience during the editing process. Remember, too much is better than too little.
• Maintain continuity. Remember the specifics of shots so that you won't have five second with a man with a gun in his left hand, then change shot and it's in his right side.
• Shoot cutaways. It is vital to use them to cover up any possible jump cuts to make the piece smoother.
• Shoot in thirds. This is very important for decent shots. Imagine your shot has a grid of 9 squares, all equal sizes. Use it to guide your shots, for equal proportions and professional shots.

PTC:

• Don't start with PTC. That's just simple - try to be more inventive. If you want your piece to stand out from the others, try and shake it up a bit.
• Place yourself in the action. It's not going to add anything to the piece if you're sat at home talking about a riot in another city.
• Use movement. Don't just sit or stand there - walk and talk. However, make sure you start walking before you talk, otherwise it will look unnatural.
• Only do PTC if it adds something to the piece. People won't want to hear you talk if it doesn't make the piece any better. Don't try and drag it out, get the best information in. If you don't manage to fit your face in, well, that's just too bad.

INTVERVIEWS:

• Get cut aways. By now, we all know the importance of that.
• Get an intro shot for your interviewee. Introduce your interviewee with images somehow. It doesn't need to be amazing or in-depth, just something simple. For instance, if you are shooting a story about a man who was ran over by a car and lost his legs, film him getting out of bed and into his wheelchair.

COMING HOME:

• Start writing your story. Everything will be fresh as soon as you're coming home. Write down the idea of the construction of what you want.
• Check pictures. Make sure they're out of the library and on database.
• Organise graphics. Use graphics to explain facts and statistics.
• Report back to the news editor. It helps to keep in touch and if anything needs altering or changing it'll solve possible problems from arising.

WRITING YOUR INTRODUCTION:

• Introduce your piece before everything else. People need to know what your piece is about in a short, sharp way to know if they're interested or not. It is, however, important to ensure you're first line/s of your introduction aren't the same as the link.
• Remember the five W's - and the occasional H. Who, what, when, where, why and how. You need to fit this vital information into the first part of your piece, then you can expand.
• Never repeat yourself. Ensure you don't go over information in your main piece if you've already said it in your introduction.

WRITING YOUR STORY:

• Use present tense if possible. Keeping it up-to-date and now will maintain people's interest.
• Keep stories fresh. In an ever changing world, people want to know what is going on right now - they don't want to be told the same thing in the same way over and over again.
• One idea per sentence. Don't go on and on, say what you have to say and move on.
• Use plain English. Most people understand plain English - stay with simple.
• Use simple numbers. Saying two thirds is much better than 66.6%, it's just keeping it easily understandable.
• Use graphics to explain numbers. It makes it clearer for the audience to understand and it makes it more interesting - rather than just watching someone talk.

PACKAGING:

• Start with your best pictures. The first few seconds are vital for capturing the audience's attention. Reel them in with your best work.
• Don't name your interviewee. Just use a caption at the bottom of the frame, it's just keeping it short and sweet.
• Limit grabs to 20 seconds maximum. For instance, three vox pops. Once again, it's about maintaining the audience's attention by keeping everything fresh.
• End with something that has significant meaning. Don't end with a question, that's just typical. You want something that will be memorable and will make the audience want to tune in again.
• Don't end on an interview. That's the lazy way of signing out - it just doesn't work.
• Use natural sound. It makes the entire piece seem more real and natural.
• Don't describe the picture. Only use words to compliment a picture instead of describing it.

That is the basic guide for creating your television piece - follow the simple rules and with practise, you'll be able to make a decent piece.