• Interview Ms. Kenny about being acting headmaster while Mr. Tashjian is on sabbatical?

Shooting this news story was definitely a lot more work than our previous films. There were a lot more components of it and it was also very different to be working with three other people. Our news story wasn’t really “news” because it was literally just Hunter telling us a story and we added crazy and funny B-roll and sound effects over the top. But it was still a good lesson on how the setup of a news story should look.

First of all, it was very different because of the setup necessary. First, our group had to come up with a cohesive idea and agree on it. We ended up with the idea to take fun/crazy stories from teachers’ pasts. Then we had to find teachers that would be interested in filming with us. We ended up with two options — at least for this one film — Mr. Hunter and Dr. Spero. We ended up going to see Mr. Hunter in person during A block, and he agreed to film with us the next day, so that worked out really well. I emailed both him and Dr. Spero, although Spero never got back to us, so we just decided to keep it to Mr. Hunter, which actually turned out for the better. I asked Hunter two questions, which landed us with a 20 minute story that we had to cut down to less than two minutes. So, trying to squeeze two stories in there just wouldn’t have worked, luckily for us. After that, it was just a matter of filming, editing, and polishing.

We really didn’t experience many difficulties while filming/editing, although we did face some challenges while filming my stand-up. Our first take turned out to be way too dark, since the ND Filter was switched on (not our fault though). Which meant that I had to change back into my ‘dressed up reporter’ clothes and reshoot. It took a while for the lighting to come out just right, and we ended up having Bryan hold a key light at about eye level with me so that I wouldn’t have huge dark shadows under my eyes. It took a while to set up, but that shot turned out well and we didn’t experience any other big difficulties from there. Taking the time to do all the setup really helps the film come out looking nice. We did learn through all this, though, that we should take the time to set up lights and cameras before the ‘talent’ even gets under the lights, only making final adjustments once they’re there. It gets super hot and bright under those lights, and you don’t want your actor looking super sweaty in the final take, so use a crew member to adjust lights before the actor arrives.

Then we just needed to add B-roll, which was kind of hard to find, but Bryan made it really comical, with footage from the TV show A-Team and ridiculously exaggerated pictures that really added to the energy of the story. Mr. Hunter is also just really good on the delivery and presentation of stories. Bryan also had me standing in front of the White House in my stand-up which definitely added to the comedy of it all.

As for things to be done better in my next film, it was noted that for interview-style things, we should put a key light on the hair to separate the subject from the background, maybe something to catch light in the eyes to bring attention to them. We should also pay attention to a need for color correction, which can really make the shot pop and set the subject apart from the background. Other than that, Muench seemed to really enjoy our film and gave us a lot of pointers on B-roll (like the fact that we probably shouldn’t use footage of some black men, when the story is about a bunch of white guys) and editing that really helped. Personally, I think if I do another stand-up anytime soon, I want to look less stiff and open my eyes a bit more. I honestly think I look half dead in the shot because my eyes are only halfway open, and I’m standing very rigidly with the microphone held tightly in front of me. All in all, this was a really fun project to work on, and I think this group wants to make it a recurring segment on BBA News, which I would definitely enjoy.

"Cut a package"

Making the film shorter, cutting it down

A-Roll 

The primary footage in a film (such as the actual footage of the interview)

Anchor 

The "talent" and face of the news story. They introduce the story, add personality, and keep interest.

B-Roll  

Photos/video added on top of the A-roll that covers up cuts and adds interest to the film. Breaks up the talking with something extra that keeps the audience's attention. 

Cold Open 

Getting right into the material with no 'warm up' — thus the 'cold' open.

Copy

The dialogue before a story is aired, introducing what is going to be shown.

Copyright

A legal term describing a person's creative rights to a certain material

Credits

A list of all the people who worked on/contributed to the film, typically shown at the end of the film.

Director of Photography

The person who deals with the cameras and composes the shot. Makes sure the lighting looks good and that the camera is ready to go. 

Human Interest Story

A story that pulls on the heart strings of the audience, deals with emotion. Such as cute animals, sick people, sad stories, heart warming stories, etc.

Lavalier Mic (Lav Mic)

A microphone that clips onto the clothing and helps pick up that person's voice more clearly.

Lower Third 

A title card, usually on the lower right or left of the shot, showcasing the name and title of the person/people being shown.

NAT Sound 

Natural sounds

Package 

The full finished film, with B-roll, A-roll, credits, sound effects, etc.

POV or Point-of-View Shot 

A shot taken from the 'point of view' of the person. Usually shot from eye level 

PSA 

Public Service Announcement

Sign Off, Sig, Sig Out 

When the anchor says something to the effect of, "I'm So-and-so, this is BBA News." What is said before the news story is officially over.

Stand-up

A shot of the anchor/'talent' giving a preview of and setting up the story. Is shot while the anchor is standing up usually, thus the name.

Tease 

Click-bait, basically. A headline/intro that creates interest and keeps the audience interested

Two-Shot 

 When two people are in a shot

Videographer  

One who takes videos

Voice-over

A recording of voices that can be placed over B-roll or footage

XLR Cable

The cable used to hook up Lav Mics to the camera. Hung behind the door on the hooks with other cables.

• Greenscreen:
• • get the lighting right so there are minimal shadows
  • Make sure the ND Filter is switched OFF
  • Put the footage in FCP
  • Apply the "keyer" effect to the green screen shot
  • If needed, use "sample color" on the right under 'keyer' in effects to get rid of shadows
  • Add a picture to the background underneath the shot
  • add gaussian effect to blur the background and keep focus on reporter 

• When working with greenscreen and an anchor, get the lights ready before the 'talent' comes on. Don't want them sweating before the camera even starts rolling.
•  When doing a sign-off, quickly recognize the people who helped out the most in the process, like, "for him, her, and them, I'm So-and-so, BBA News." Kinda like credits.