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SHOOTING AND EDITING VIDEO FOR THE WEB

Part Four: The basics of video editing for the Web

Telling the story

You've shot some great video. The interviews sparkle. The action footage is fantastic. The b-roll looks great. So how do you turn this into a news "package"?

  • Capture or import your video - You must transfer your video from the camera to the computer. If you are using mini-DV tapes, your video editing program will allow you to "capture" that video. In essence, the program takes control of your camcorder through the VCR/VTR setting on your camera that turns it into a VCR. (If your video is stored on a memory card or compact flash, you will need a card reader to transfer the files onto your computer. Then you will use the editing software to "import" the files into the program.) Your best bet in both cases is to use a firewire, not a USB connection, if possible, because the files will transfer much faster.

 

If you have a relatively small amout of video to transfer, you may want to capture or import all of it into your program. Or you can do a rough trim of each clip as you capture the video to your computer.

  • Assess your assets - What else do you need to tell your story? Narration? Graphics? More b-roll or some stock footage? Now is the time to think of what you may need to plug holes in the visuals or the audio.

  • Start building a rough cut - Just as the best writing is re-writing, the best video comes from tweaking and then tweaking some more.

  • Tips on scripting narration - Writing for video is not the same as writing for print. Remember that your goal is to show, not tell, so use words sparingly as connective tissue where it's needed.
    • Use sentence fragments - Throw in a verb or two. Run. Jump. Then maybe an adjective or two. Screaming fast. The viewer's mind will fill in the blanks if the visuals tell them what they need to know.
    • Attribution first - Print reporters will say: "The sun rises in the east, according to Astronomy Professor Bill Smith." For video, this becomes: "Astronomy Professor Bill Smith says the sun rises in the east."
    • Show, don't tell - Don't tell me the cook is stirring the pot. Show me.
  • Think story - Stories have a beginning, a middle and an end. You watch a catchy lead, a compelling middle and a great kicker at the end.

  • Establish an appropriate pace - The NASCAR story needs to move fast, so the cuts will come quickly, while the sensitive piece on the crime victim's family needs a gentler pace.

  • If it bothers you . . . - A good rule of thumb is that if something in the video - audio, visual, graphic - gives you pause, it will trouble your viewers as well. Trust your gut.

  • The Web is informal - Online video allows you to use a more casual style. Broadcast TV conventions require greater polish, precision and formality.

  • Less is always more - The shorter the better. Ninety seconds is a long time on the Web. Two minutes is an eternity. Keep cutting and trimming until you cannot cut anymore.

  • Titles and graphics - Web video is small, so titles and graphics must be big to be seen.

Solicit feedback

The ancient joke – where a young man asks a man on the street the way to Carnegie Hall, and older man responds, “Practice, practice, practice” – truly applies to shooting and editing video.

Perfecting your skills also requires learning what works and what doesn’t. Ask colleagues for feedback. But perhaps even more importantly, play your video in front of the people who constitute your audience and watch their reactions.  Does their attention falter? Do hey turn away? Do they smile or frown where you expect them to?

We live in a media literate society where people’s expectations are constantly on the rise. Keeping up means finding fresh ways to tell stories that make people think and feel.

 

Shooting and Editing Video for the Web

Part One: Exploring news ways to tell stories online

Part Two: Building a plan to produce news video for the Web

Part Three: The basics of online news video
    - Shots & sequences
    - Lighting
    - Basic composition
    - Audio matters
    - Shooting interviews & standups
    - Tech stuff

Part Four: Editing

Online video on a budget

Part One: The camera

Part Two: Accessories

Part Three: Editing software

Part Four: Posting on the Web

 

Bonnie Bucqueroux teaches digital jouralism at Michigan State University's School of Journalism and is a self-described Web geek.