TVR 11500 Introduction to Field Production

 Syllabus
 
 

ENG

• News Story & Interview

  ***Read the assignment requirements carefully***

Learning Objective/grading rubric:

In addition to an expectation that your abilities to shoot good video and to tell a coherent story will improve with each assignment, this particular assignment should demonstrate your abilities to visually convey nonfiction subject in compelling visual narrative form I will look for careful blending of audio tracks, appropriate use of split editing to build flow, effective editing of soundbites with appropriate b-roll video that has natural sound included.

The Assignment:

• Being the star reporter at a cutting edge broadcast station in a major market (and knowing that if you blow this assignment you will be serving coffee to the general manager for the next six months), you will...... 
• Draw upon the concepts, ideas and principles and techniques from what you learned in class and already know about news stories (cause you watch television news all the time).  Shoot and edit an actual news story
  • including an soundbite of at least one person,
  • B-roll with nat. sound,
  • a reporter standup(you) and
  • at least one sequence. 
• The piece may be of a topic of your choosing but must be of actual news value.
• Make sure you still include natural sound from your B-roll when you mix audio channels.
• In addition to an expectation that your abilities to shoot good video and to tell a coherent story will improve with each assignment, this particular assignment should demonstrate your abilities to package a news story using the common norms of news production. 
• Your FCP folder (titled ENG-your names) with the project and all supporting media files and a QT version of the story should be placed in the class folder on the instructor's computer before class on the due date. A DVD version of the assignment should be turned at the beginning of class on the due date.  The DVD should be have the assignment name, students' names and the run time written on it with permanent marker. The paperwork accompanying the DVD needs to be complete, neat, in proper order and in a folder that includes a cover page with assignment information, student's names date and run-time.

Format and length of piece: 

• 5 sec. black with names/date//assignment graphic
• countdown
• 15 second of black at the end
• 1.5-2.5 minute news story (longer is rarely better)

Deadlines

• ENG topic due Mar. 22nd (have key interviews scheduled and access to locations cleared)
• The story must be shot by April 5th.  At this time you will turn in a COPY of the complete shot log. 
• Due date of completed assignment: April 19st.  Also due at this time is your paperwork package which will include in order:
  • folder
  • cover page
  • topic (the version with my comments)
  • shot log (the version with my comments)
  • edit log
  • self-evaluation
  • peer evaluation

More unsolicited advice:

• Interviews have a habit of falling apart at the last minute.
• Editing should go a little faster this time.
• Late assignments are not good, unless you like serving coffee... at Starbucks... for the rest of your career.