According to videographer Nathan Thompson, there are five essential elements to every good story. The former National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) Photographer of the Year thinks of them as puzzle pieces that the storyteller has to fit together. 1. The story open. Thompson says you need to grab the audiences’s attention, introduce them to characters and establish the setting or the mood. For this reason, Thompson says  he likes to rely on natural sound as a story opener.  ”It engrosses people in the environment,” said Thompson. “Think of natural sound as the film score for your story.” 2. Story intrigue.  Thompson says storytellers need to shoot the unexpected, capture details and look for themes.  He says he seldom uses his best video at the very start of a story.  ”Don’t give everything away right off the bat, each story needs to be a journey,” Thompson said. 3. Story development.  According to Thompson, you can’t settle for any old b-roll if you’re going to shoot a great story.  He says you have to take the time to get your story characters interacting with others and their environment — don’t just settle for head shots.  ”Log everything,” said Thompson. “The more familiar […]

The first word in telling video stories efficiently is “focus,” according to videographer Lisa Berglund.  The former  National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) Photographer of the Year says your story assignment is a location, it’s up to you to find the actual story. “It’s not just shoot it,” said Berglund.  ”Before you pick up your camera, be sure you understand the assignment and where it fits in to the big picture.” Berglund says she mentally storyboards what she will shoot for each story — thinking through the shots she will take and how she will sequence them.  For less experienced photojournalists, Berglund suggests creating a shot list — simply writing down all the video elements you might want to gather and then actually checking them off as you get them. Berglund says you’ll get better at it by forcing yourself to critique your own work. “Take the first paragraph of a story you’ve done that you don’t think you shot well.  Draw out a storyboard of how you wish you would have shot it,” said Berglund. For a piece she produced on the impact of a wildfire, Berglund says she found a great character, and as she listened to what he said, […]