1. Writing to Video MC3306 – Dale Blasingame

2. TV Writing  In television news, we write for two tracks:

3. TV Writing  So far, we’ve mainly focused on one of those tracks…  It’s true that conversational writing is paramount to quality television newscasts  But so are the visuals…  The biggest challenge when you’re starting off in the business is to take advantage of everything both tracks can offer

4. Visuals  When you discuss visuals with a story, we’re typically talking about video  But visuals can also include:  Still images  Graphics  Animations  Archive footage (known as File)  Maps  Charts

5. The Biggest Key  Your package audio (reporter track) should complement your visuals  In most cases, this audio/video relationship should not be so literal that it causes redundancy

6. For Example…  Let’s say you’re doing a story on the TxSt marching band winning a major award:  Your first shot of the story is four members of the band’s drum line in full action  You will likely reference the band, based on the story. Perhaps, “The weather for this morning’s band practice may have been below freezing. But the Texas State University band is red hot.”  You will not say, “Four members of the band drum line march down the field.”

7. Scenarios  You will run into plenty of these situations:  Great information, poor visuals  Great visuals, limited information  Amazing visuals, no information (breaking)  Important information, no visuals (lawsuits, etc.)

8. Twiggy the Water-Skiing Squirrel

9. In a Perfect World…  …TV news writers will have looked at all video before they begin writing  In other words: Think visuals first, words second  This tactic avoids the use of wallpaper video

10. Referencing the Video  Touch and Go Method  First reference in the VO section is what’s being shown on the screen (touch)  Then you show different shots of that scene while moving on to other facts that cannot be visualized or for which you have no specific pictures (go)  For example: You’re doing a story on a prison protest  “Family members demonstrated outside the Hays County jail tonight – to protest what they say is unfair living conditions. The protestors claim dozens of prisoners have been assaulted over the past six months, and say they can’t get jail leaders to talk about it.”

11. Literal References  There are times when you’ll need to clearly explain what’s on the screen  “That is an 18-wheeler – slamming into another car during evening rush hour.”  “Look at the upper right hand corner of your TV. That’s home video of a student collapsing at her high school graduation.”  Save this method for times when it’s really needed or it loses its effectiveness