Oregon Wine

[Photojournalgist]

I had higher hopes for this one, but with 2 and a half hours to log, write and edit a vosot and package ... this is what I came up with.

Oregon wine industry gets better with age

I used the "belt trick" for the stand up (yes you can laugh at the hat ... but it was that or a really bad case of hat head. So I went with the hat). I know, I know .... it's very stand up for the sake of stand up, but the powers that be are really pushing for me to do more stand ups. Because I didn't think this package needed a stand up, my brain couldn't come up with anything more creative.

 

[cyndygreen1]

Hey PJ
Can't open the file for some reason.

 

[Photojournalgist]

Weird ... give this a try.

http://www.kval.com/news/local/125659858.html

 

[Capt. Slo-mo]

Tony:

Not bad for a run and gun! Couple of random thoughts:

1. For the primary interview, I might have taken the owner down into the vines--like where he was in the back third of the piece--instead of having an empty dirt pathway as the primary element on the open space framing.

2. At least on the first pass....I didn't really get a sense of the existing wine infrastructure or buildings, so the empty framed building didn't really tell me much.

Keep up the effort, and look for more natural sound elements!

Bill

 

[Latin Lens]

So while you have pointed out that you are comfortable with shooting...its the reporting side that is still giving you trouble. And I think once you get comfortable with writing faster...you'll approach your stories differently. Because the shooting isn't anything stellar but we can work on that later...its the approach and structure to the story itself that I know can and will improve over time. There's a better way to start off the story than " Blah, blah, blah is in the Oregon wine business." Find the quick sound bites and images to draw us in...don't think of the local KVAL viewer. Think of anyone in the world watching this because its on the internet. Its worldwide...draw us in with enough so we care. It helps with images, sound, and writing. I think you might be in the market for some books about news writing and watching a lot of great NPPA stories to get some inspiration. The words and approach need to catch up to your camera...then we'll work on the camera again and then the writing as you go up the ladder rung by rung. Its not bad...hat was hokey but you knew that...and yes, we (shooters) will always monday morning quaterback every story. Just try and get the best version on the first time. Keep at it. And keep it fun. Relax and try not to stress out there.

 

[cyndygreen1]

You could have ba"cked into it with a line like - (state his age here) Chris Shown is expanding his winery.

Quote: "At my age I probably don't need to be spending money on a winery, but my wife and I see this as an oppoturnity for our two sons," said Shown.

And then get into the sons, who I hope are involved...show the family more. You have some studies/facts that help out, but no personalization of the story. You need to make your audience care about Shown and family making a go of it. Are they struggling or have they overcome any problems which lead to their current success?

Visually this story looks like a construction site. Half finished buildings...piles of lumber...dusty roads. I'm assuming you used file footage of the harvest - ned to label as such. The tiny buds of fruit are more believable at this time of year.

When you approach a story like winemaking, with a rich and flavorful history, you need to get in the mood. Use your senses.

WHY is Shown doing this? Not just for the kids - he must LOVE wine. (I know I do.) Why is he taking this risk...this gamble. Is he trying to provide the nectar of the gods to the everyman or aiming at the higher price point. What drives him.

Ahh...don't know how to end this...but if you can't ignite the passion to tell the story, maybe there isn't a story there for you to tell.

On that note - nice shooting/nice editing. Why are you wearing a hat in the standup?

 

[Photojournalgist]

I'm a hat guy ... used to wear a lot of baseball caps, but over the last year or so I have started mixing it up with different varieties of hats. I don't wear hats on days that I report, but I didn't realize I was going to be turning a package that day so I had the hat on. While most normal people would be able to remove the hat and be good to go, my thinning hair amplifies my "hat head" by about a million times. So it was the hat or really awkward hat head. I was going to leave the stand up out of it, but our producer told me to put it in. I warned them about it, but for some reason I just had to have a stand up.

Thanks for the great story tips ... I'm trying to soak everything up that I can, but I know it will take some time.

Cyndy ... I love the idea of focusing on the family. Unfortunately it was just him at the vineyard, and I rushed myself out of there before I thought to ask about photos.

I asked about putting a font on the file footage (I intended to put the vineyard name and date of the harvest), but was told by our EP that we didn't need to. He has less experience than I do ... which is scary ... but he's the one with the final say on that so I had to let it go.

Latin ... I actually picked up an older text book recently called "News Reporting and Writing," and one of the veterans I work with, Bill Goetz (who is also always willing to work with me on stuff, gave me a book to help with shooting called "Sequences: strategies for shooting news in the real world." I haven't spent as much time in them as I would like with the new little one at home, but I try to keep them with me so I can check them out when I can.

I feel like a lot of the personal aspects of my stories are nixed by producers in favor of just getting the facts and info out. I've tried pushing more info into intros and tags to help give myself more time for characters people can relate to in the story, but I find myself constantly fighting the battle to prevent dry stories. We finally have a new news director (we've been without one for the better part of a year) so I'm hoping things will change a bit on that front. If not, does anyone have any advice on how to push for emotion versus information?

 

[cyndygreen1]

I asked about putting a font on the file footage (I intended to put the vineyard name and date of the harvest), but was told by our EP that we didn't need to. He has less experience than I do ... which is scary ... but he's the one with the final say on that so I had to let it go.

I feel like a lot of the personal aspects of my stories are nixed by producers in favor of just getting the facts and info out. I've tried pushing more info into intros and tags to help give myself more time for characters people can relate to in the story, but I find myself constantly fighting the battle to prevent dry stories. We finally have a new news director (we've been without one for the better part of a year) so I'm hoping things will change a bit on that front. If not, does anyone have any advice on how to push for emotion versus information?

Whew...having someone with less experience telling you what to do must really suck. All some producers are interested in is a story count - not the content. Or they don't understand that a great story means repeat viewers. Or they just don't care.

See if you can have a sit-down with your new news director. Don't trash the producers...but find a way to let him understand what you want to do and the hurdles you have to jump. What you said above is good...needing information in intros and tags. Maybe take on of your stories that you feel is dry and rework it with more character/emotion so they can see the difference.

BTW I once told an incoming news director BEFORE he even turned up at the station that I was a short timer (I had a three year plan to get out of news). And with that I could be honest with him. No griping or bitching or trashing others...just outright honest. We got along great and he gave me a wonderful referral to my next job and we still keep in touch.