 |
  |
 |
 Insider Tips - 8 These Insider Tips on staging a media event are provided by Maurice McTernan, Production Specialist. McTernan has staged all kinds of live events (theatre, media, special events) and he has worked with Davidson Communications for close to twenty years. 1. TV news is fiercely competitive. Viewers now expect to be virtually "on site" the second a live news story breaks. TV news organizations realize instantaneous reporting drives viewers and ratings. That kind of pressure translates into an enormously high level of expectation from the media, particularly TV. In turn, any event you are staging for their benefit must deliver on that expectation. You won't ever beat live mortar attacks or even a white Bronco chase but you'd better look and sound better than anyone else offering similar stories to yours. There are only seconds allotted per "soft" item for the key news reporting periods and you want them all, or as many as you can get. Therefore, the responsibility for picture quality, content, and clarity rests on how well you organize the event. 2. Your event should provide cameras with at least three easily accessible shots: a "wide shot" that establishes the location of the event for the viewers; a "close-up" which is a tight head-and-shoulders shot; and a "cutaway" which is an incidental shot (such as a "reverse" shot over the subject's shoulder into the audience, a reaction shot, or some sort of product or message display. Needless to say, we like the last choice) used to mask the visual "jumps" that occur when raw footage is edited down to fit the available time; of these, only the "wide shot" is optional. 3. The "close-up" is often the most important part in telling the story. In fact, when staging your event, keep in mind that you should be building everything around that one compelling shot because that is when one's message should be getting out. Don't let your spokesperson be upstaged by anything at this point, even your own signage. Remember: Everything you do must support the event's key message including the event's location (let's not make camera crews or videographers walk miles with heavy equipment. Print and radio reporters take kindly to a quick and easy location as well), lighting (try to avoid white or shiny backgrounds), sound (carpeted and as acoustically dead as possible), and format (send a layout sheet along with the first media alert, showing lectern, camera and lighting positions.) Check out Maurice McTernan's bio at Key Players at Davidson Communications.
Contact Davidson Communications. We'll write it, script it, stage it, and do all the follow-up. |
|
 INSIDER TIPS - 8 |
||||||
 |
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
All
Contents Copyright © 1999-2008. Davidson Communications. All Rights
Reserved.
|