Wallpaper Video

[NoJobTog]

How do you define what wallpaper video is?
There is a debate at my station as to what wallpaper video is, and isn't. I feel that wallpaper video is video that doesn't neccesarily go with a script. Video that adds nothing to a story. For example a health story about Men and Male birth control...... Wide shot of men walking down a street, tight shot of a man shooting a basketball, medium shot of a man and son playing a video game, wide shot of men walking down the street....etc.

How do you or your station define wallpaper video?

[photogguy]

Wallpaper video is video thrown into a story, solely for the purpose of filling the black holes between sots, while adding nothing to the story.

Ideally, the video should tell the story as much as the reporters voice track does. Someone at home, while cooking dinner, should be able to watch the video (without hearing the reporter's track) and know what the story was about. Wallpaper video will never do this.

[TexasDave]

Wallpaper is filling the holes with video. For me, it's something like close-ups of buildings, the windows, front door. Very uncreative video. Avoid it if possible. Can't always avoid wallpapering a package. I always snap off a few "wallpaper shots" in case it's ever needed, or rerporter throws in track that there is no video for.

[svp]

If your station is like ours, you're bound to have one or two reporters that are VERY lazy and just want to get back to the station as soon as possible so they can take their one hour lunch break. These are the reporters that go shoot two interviews and say "we're done" without giving any thought to video, and frankly, they don't care. These are the packages I wallpaper. If they don't care, I'm not going out of my way to work my butt off to make them look good. If the package is wallpapered and isn't very good, its THEIR name associated with it, not mine (as far as the viewers go). I know this isn't the best attitude to have and I try to avoid it as much as possible but lazy reporters really irritate me.

To answer the question about wallpaper video, its video that's plugged in to fill black holes but doesn't tell a story. If you slapped a package together in 15 minutes, yes it happens, then most likely you just wallpapered it.

[NoJobTog]

So does the concept of wall paper video only apply to packages? Does it apply to VO's and VO-SOTS?

[Tazam77]

I believe wallpaper video is just about the same as spraying a scene. To me wallpapering a package is like cutting a story so fast that you just slam in shots and run it to the tape room. I don't really enjoy it, but it happens occasionally.

I think spraying a scene, (literally setting up shooting 6-8 shots and leaving) could be considered wallpaper video too. Your not taking time to think about the shots that go with the story, but rather banging out shots to make deadline.

[sixtycyclehum]

You could also add that wallpapering a package entails using shots for long periods of time, forgoing any rhythm or sequencing. Seeing for how long you can get away with a shot before a sot or nat break comes up (although if you have time for nat pops then you have time to b-roll!). Set your in and out points and let it go!

I've put many a piece of crap on the air this way but I've never missed slot (knock on wood).

[Stoney]

Vo's are subject to wallpapering. Sure.

Wallpaper is filling the black with something that gets the job done. The video is related to the story but probably not advancing the story one bit. Example: Story about gene therapy & shots of building where scientists make drugs. It's related (it's not dancing bear video) but unless the track is specifying that the drugs were made in that building then it is total wallpaper. Even if the track is specifying that building... the shot could be so generic that you might consider it wallpaper.

So, I guess to me, wallpaper is super-generic, unmotivated, cover the black, get it done video. Storytellers avoid wallpaper.

[pre-set]

Then I'm a paper-hanger, I guess.