F4 Fan
Well-known member
The term “compelling video†is one of those buzz words bandied about by news directors and out of work photographers. But what is it really?
Four years back I was hired by a small network in San Francisco that was focused on technology. In the two plus years I worked in the news department there, I had the privilege of working with 3 or 4 of the best shooters I ever known. (Stoney are you out there?) The news director and senior producer loved to challenge us to shoot compelling video, but they could never define for us exactly what that was. One month the edict would come down and we would shoot network style, the next month we would shoot MTV style. It got to the point where some days I would fluctuate between 2 or 3 different styles depending upon the producer or reporter that I was working with. Talk about split personalities. Eventually we settled into styles that best suited our own individual personalities and backgrounds. But the experience made me a much better and more flexible shooter.
I’m not convinced that compelling video equates to intelligent, thoughtful, insightful or educational story telling, or even good TV for that matter. But the term is still out there being kicked about, and in my mind still undefined, in fact I cringe whenever I hear it. What are some thoughts from the B-roll.net community?
Four years back I was hired by a small network in San Francisco that was focused on technology. In the two plus years I worked in the news department there, I had the privilege of working with 3 or 4 of the best shooters I ever known. (Stoney are you out there?) The news director and senior producer loved to challenge us to shoot compelling video, but they could never define for us exactly what that was. One month the edict would come down and we would shoot network style, the next month we would shoot MTV style. It got to the point where some days I would fluctuate between 2 or 3 different styles depending upon the producer or reporter that I was working with. Talk about split personalities. Eventually we settled into styles that best suited our own individual personalities and backgrounds. But the experience made me a much better and more flexible shooter.
I’m not convinced that compelling video equates to intelligent, thoughtful, insightful or educational story telling, or even good TV for that matter. But the term is still out there being kicked about, and in my mind still undefined, in fact I cringe whenever I hear it. What are some thoughts from the B-roll.net community?