Power In Numbers

VIDEO NEWS STORY ROADMAP: We suggest creating a folder and keeping all documents related to your story in one place.

Estimated time to complete step: One day to one week

Associated SRL Lessons:

• Find your story
• Follow your curiosity
• Research and understanding

If you don’t have a compelling story in mind, write down all the possible education stories to help identify your character.

Themes to consider:

• Why are young people starting or joining this movement?
  • What issues or problems are they responding to?
• What is this movement’s goal and how does it plan to fulfill this goal?
  • Does the movement escalate to a specific event that you know you want to capture i.e. performance, town hall meeting, vote?
• How is your community reacting to this movement?
  • Are there differing viewpoints on the movement’s goals?

Estimated time to complete step: A couple days to one week

Associated SRL Lessons:

• Pitch your story

Your main character should be a classmate or peer that is currently organizing or participating in a movement in your community. Do research and fill out the SRL Pitch Sheet. Chat with potential interview subjects to confirm that they are willing and able to participate. Take good notes. If you contact someone and they don’t seem like the best fit, ask them to give you suggestions about who else to reach out to.

You can weave together several characters that have different points of view about the same topic.

Questions to think about:

• WHAT’S YOUR BIG IDEA? If your audience only can learn one thing from your story, what would it be?
• IS THIS A STORY? Does it have a beginning, middle, and end? An interesting character?
• CAN YOU PULL THIS OFF? Think about logistics: weather, time, length, access to people and filming locations. Is your idea realistic?
• IS IT VISUAL? Is video the best way to tell this story, or how can you make a topic that’s clearly newsworthy into a compelling visual piece? If you are producing this story remotely, you will have to coach your subject to record their own broll.

Estimated time to complete step: One to three days

Associated SRL Lessons:

• Art of the Interview

Avoid yes or no questions. Start questions with: Tell me; Describe; Explain; Identify; Help me understand. Have an idea of what you want to hear, but let the conversation flow. Make sure to schedule your interviews.

Estimated time to complete step: A few days to one week

Use the Level Up tutorials for ideas about how to set up your camera, frame your shots, find strong lighting and capture good audio. B-ROLL, LIGHTING, Principles Of Photography (Teachers - assign these worksheets to help build skills.) Think about the concept of b-roll sequencing and practice shooting good b-roll.

How to Conduct Virtual Interviews

The Art of the Remote Interview Webinar

**MUST DO: Ask subjects under 18 years old to sign this release form.**

Besides your characters talking, what can you or your character film to bring the story to life? Write down the shots you want to gather using this organizer.

Estimated time to complete step: One day

You can do this by hand or use a site that creates a word file of your video like otter.ai. Make sure to GO BACK and listen to fix spelling errors and become more familiar with the material you captured.

and cut them out with scissors.

Estimated time to complete step: One day

Estimated time to complete step: One to three days

Associated SRL Lessons:

• Scripting 101; webinar

REVIEW:

• What is the best way to start your story? Think about the videos that you watch online: how do they capture your attention?
• Remember: The first 7 seconds of your video are critical. Use your best b-roll or most compelling soundbite.
• How do you want your story to end? What do you want your audience to feel? What do you want us to be thinking about after we watch your story?
• Arrange your soundbites to tell your story.

USE THIS TEMPLATE that includes a beginning, middle and end before you start editing. Take a look at this script lesson for inspiration.

Estimated time to complete step: One to three days

Consider whether your story needs voiceover (VO). A voiceover is the connective tissue that holds the parts of your story together. You can also use it to include information that was missing from what your characters said. Listen to student reporter Mason Baum’s voiceover in this piece on the NewsHour.

Estimated time to complete step: One week

Use the highlighted soundbites to create a video montage on your timeline. If it’s your first time editing, use the SRL Editing Webinar to help you organize your footage, create a project, import, and export your final video.

• Add b-roll to visually support the audio and cover jump cuts.
• Pay attention to sound and match levels.
• Export a rough cut edit, maximum of 4 minutes for review.
  • Format: H.264 Preset: Vimeo 1080p Full HD
• Get feedback from your teacher, parent/guardian or a friend. Revisit your timeline, make fixes and finalize the piece. This takes multiple rounds!

Estimated time to complete step: Three days to one week

• Edit your final cut with the suggestions
• Export a final cut. Format: H.264 Preset: Vimeo 1080p Full HD
• Update your script
• This project does not have an active deadline to submit to PBS News Student Reporting Labs. However, students are encouraged to publish their stories on their school/club/program website or through video/social platforms such as YouTube, Instagram or Twitter and tag @reportinglabs.
• CELEBRATE! You’re done!