Are there some kinds of stories that are just not suited for OMBs? Hopefully, when you appear on camera, you make it worth the viewer’s time.
Why wouldn’t I do the same for myself? I’m not egotistical enough (though my wife would beg to differ) to think that the folks at home would hear my voice and say, “Oh, that’s Joe Little.” If I sounded like Barry White, maybe. Little: I think stand-ups are important for one main reason: If I interview a person, I show that person’s face at least once to identify him or her. Why are stand-ups important to video stories? It’s a formula I try to use whenever I can because it lets me do a stand-up and usually gives the viewer a reason to care about the story subject. Then I’ll use a stand-up bridge to segue into the bigger subject, which is “the city may increase water rates, which would impact yards like Chuck’s’.” I’ll wrap the story up with Chuck again. For example, I’ll introduce the viewer to Chuck, who has a lush, green backyard. I call it the “Pregnant I.” I start and end each package with a single thought, subject or personality. The writing style I usually employ allows me to do a lot of stand-up bridges. (Hopefully I instead pull it off live.) A bridge allows me to be creative and not interfere with the producer’s plans. What if I front a story live? I don’t want to waste any time recording a creative stand-up tag only to leave it in the can.
That’s almost a procedural habit of mine. I usually avoid stand-up closes because very often I am fronting the story and will appear at the beginning and end of the story live. A stand-up close wraps up the story at the end with a final thought and a sign off, “in Chula Vista, Joe Little, 10News.” Little: In the way of background, a “bridge” literally bridges two thoughts together in the middle of the story. Tompkins: All of the stand-ups on your sample reel are “bridging” stand-ups, not closing stand-ups. I’ll bet my next paycheck that people would rather see my video than any city council chamber video. But spice up a city council meeting or a water authority announcement. Some days, you just can’t do these stand-ups for murders, crimes, etc. Now, to be honest, I would love to say I whip one of these babies out for every story. Once you do enough stand-ups by yourself it gets easier and easier. There has to be room for my fat head, any subject matter and any movement. I look for meaning, balance and creativity. The tricks I use are the same ones a good two-man crew would use. Without that, I add at least 15 minutes to a shoot. I can flip the viewfinder over, stand in front of the camera and see (with the help of laser-corrected vision) where I am framed up in a shot. Little: The biggest breakthrough in one-man-band/visual journalism technology is the flip-over reversible screen. For starters, how do you frame stand-ups that you walk through? Share some of your tips and tricks with us. Your stories, though, are more creative than the work of most two-person crews I see. Tompkins: Lots of one-man-bands (OMBs), or “digital correspondents” as you at 10News in San Diego call them, struggle to include stand-ups in their pieces. Watch this video featuring excerpts from his stand-ups, then hear from Little about how he does his work.īelow is an edited version of our exchange: (A stand-up for those of you print and online folks who don’t know is when a journalist appears, talking, on camera.) The e-mailers all marveled at how this guy, working alone, could be so creative, especially shooting his own stand-ups. In other words, he shoots his own video, reports the story and edits it. Inside of one week, four people sent it to me. A YouTube video of KGTV’s Joe Little has been making the rounds lately.
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