Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Assistant Professor
Multimedia University of North Carolina
ryan.thornburg@unc.edu
Reporting
Multimedia reporting is about the convergence of different storytelling tools all in service of a
single story. Audio or visual media are best for conveying human emotions, moments of conflict or
a story's environment. In newsrooms large and small, journalists must be familiar with techniques
that should be used to report a story through audio and visual recordings.
Step 1. Use the right settings. Record in the WAV file format at 44.1 kHz and a bit depth
of 16. Convert to a 64 kbps MP3 file for publishing on the Web.
Step 2. Run a sound check before you begin. Use headphones. Watch any level
monitors that on your audio recorder; they should be moving, but not hitting the
extreme right or top of the bars.
Step 3. Reduce background noise. Use headphones. Are there any
buzzing vending machines, air conditioners, outside car traffic
noises, or light bulbs in the background?
Step 4. Hold the microphone carefully. You will hold the microphone about five or six
inches away from your subject’s mouth, slightly off-center. Move as little as
possible during the recording. Keep your grip loose. Never let your subject hold
the mic.
Step 5. Don’t interrupt. Don’t say “uh-huh.” Show interest by maintaining a
comfortable, but consistent, eye contact with the subject.
Step 6. Take notes and record time stamps. Notes are a valuable resource when you
edit the audio on deadline. Record in your notes the time stamp at which the
subject said each quote.
Part 1. Introduction. Tell your audience what episode they’re about to hear, including
the date it was originally posted. Introduce yourself and the topics the podcast is
about to cover.
Part 2. The “lead” of the first segment. Leads need to both summarize the upcoming
story and grab the listener’s attention.
Part 3. The story. Use short sentences and repeat key points. A word or phrase that may
be perfectly clear in writing may need to be simplified and clarified in audio.
Part 4. Re-cap. You’ve told listeners what you’re going to tell them, then you told them,
and finally you should tell them what you told them.
Part 5. Teasing the next segment or episode. Let people know what they might be
hearing next and when they will be hearing it. Point people to your Web page or
other resources. Music between segments provides an aural break.
15 Video Tips
For interviews ...
1. Use a tripod. If you don’t have a tripod then lean on something that helps keep your
arms steady. Take slow breaths, keep your arms close to your body, put your feet
at shoulder-width and bend your knees slightly.
2. Do not pan.
3. Do not zoom.
4. Always use lights. Check to be sure there are no shadows on the subject’s face.
5. Put the camera at the eye level of the subject. Shooting up makes the subject look
“powerful.” Shooting down makes him look insignificant or helpless.
6. Shoot tight. Shoot very tight. You want your audience to see the expression on the
subject’s face even if they are watching the video on a mobile device. It’s OK to
cut off a bit of the subject’s forehead, even. But be careful not to frame the shot
so that the subject’s chin looks as if it’s resting on the bottom of the frame.
7. Have subject look at you, not the camera. If you place yourself slightly to the left or
right of the camera, the subject will look more natural.
8. Be quiet. When the subject is speaking, don’t interrupt. And don’t shuffle papers.
9. Shoot some environmental shots you can use as cutaways. Cutaways can “cover” a
long answer or be used as transitions. Iamges should match the subject’s words.
10. Don’t shoot too much. Unlike photographs, it takes a long time to capture and sift
through a lot of video during the editing process.
This tip sheet comes from Chapter 8 of Ryan Thornburg’s book Producing Online News, published by
CQPress. For more examples, exercises, ideas and case studies buy the book and subscribe to the related
online module at http://www.cqpress.com.