Video #2: Some Great Examples From The Past

I feel like we really struggled on this second video assignment; B-roll was weak or not there at all; attribution was often redundant; we were missing lede voice-overs or captions, etc.

So, in hopes of giving you guys some examples of what we should be aiming for, I've posted some second video assignments from past 200 classes of mine (all but the first one are from an online class, just like this one) to give you a better sense of what we can -- and should -- do at this point of the semester.

Please look at each, consider my comments (from the original class blog posts reviewing this assignment for those classes), and then think about what you can incorporate for your third video assignment. Again, please note the ledes, B-roll, B-roll placement, use of captions for attribution, etc.

Here we go:

* Smoking ban video

Simple yet strong B-roll here. It's a story about a smoking ban; we show people smoking in different environments. That's all it has to be.

* Road work video

The video style here is what we call a "stand-up," which is literally that: a reporter stands in front of the camera and narrates the report. But notice the extensive use of B-roll throughout, especially within interview segments where we start with the talking head, then while the head continues to talk we switch the visual to B-roll that shows what the person is talking about, and then we return and finish with the talking head shot. Good story structure here. It's the video equivalent of pairing telling facts and quotes in print.

* City market video

LOTS of B-roll SHOWING what sources are talking about. Plus, four sources! Two is just the minimum; the necessary amount is however many you need to get a broad sense of things. 

* Golf course flooding video

OUTSTANDING B-roll here! What makes it outstanding? While a golf course official talks about a flooded course, we play B-roll showing the flooding from the perspective of a motorboat trekking across the flooded course! We show (via video) AND tell (via interview) at the same time. That's what we're aiming for; telling a story in two dimensions simultaneously.