Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Chapter Sixteen Visual and Multimedia Storytelling 499 Before fi lming 1. Scout the location or predict relevant circumstances. If you are doing a story about the football team’s interesting pregame rituals, which include singing on the bus, you may not be able to climb on the exact bus they will take to their next game, but another bus will help you decide where you should sit, what you should shoot and what angles work well. If possible, consider the natural light at that time of day. 2. Make a shot list. A shot list is a checklist of shots you want. Make sure your list includes at least one tight, medium, wide, action and reaction shot. 3. Write open-ended interview questions. You may not use these exact questions, but well-phrased queries invite full responses from people as you are fi lming. Avoid questions that bring a yes or no answer. They make for boring video. For the football rituals story, ask the coach or players what they thought when they fi rst heard the singing, what the players get out of the ritual, how the rituals prepare them for the game or why they chose specifi c songs. 4. Develop a storyboard. You cannot predict exactly what you will shoot or what people will say as you fi lm, but you will be able to predict at least a few motion sequences, for instance the players boarding the bus. Use a storyboard (Figure 16.15 on the next page) to plan the shots you need to make to complete a sequence: wide shot of the line of players entering, closeup on the players’ feet stepping up from the curb into the bus, an over-the-shoulder of the players as they load in from the driver’s perspective, the back of the players at the back of the line as they take their seats and bus door closing from the inside. That is one complete action sequence that is guaranteed to happen, will set the scene for your audience and can be planned in advance. 5. Charge, pack and check off your equipment. Charge all batteries and all spares well in advance. Create a master list of all equipment you use for shoots, including cameras, batteries, lights and refl ectors, memory cards, microphones, headphones, rechargers and whatever else you ever use. Keep a copy of your list in your camera bag and highlight the items you will need on this particular shoot. Before you leave, check off each item on your list. When you come back from a shoot, add to the master list anything you wished you had brought so you can consider bringing it on the next shoot. Production: Getting the Shots Production: Getting the Shots Whatever the story, you are likely to have four basic components: • Stand-ups or voiceovers: a reporter, either in front of the camera or by narrating written copy off camera, directly addresses the viewer • Interviews: subjects respond to questions from the reporter, usually presenting different perspectives • B-roll: any footage that is not of an interview but illustrates the story, such as detail shots, establishing shots and action sequences