Friday, July 5, 2013

Multimedia Reporting (Video) - Learning to Sequence

An assignment for Multimedia Reporting class with Tim Underhill, Ball State University
by Marsha Imaniara | Friday, 5 July 2013



MUNCIE, Indiana - One of the most common media for story-telling nowadays is through video. It helps bring a story to life with the combination of audio and visual.

What you might not know is that there are many ways to make the video tell an even crisper story. One of them is by sequencing the shots you take into a complete story. Our goal is to create steady, sequenced video with meaningful, compelling natural sound.

Sequence is a series of shots that when edited together tells a story. In sequencing video, there is a number of important things to remember.

First, you need to know that there are three types of shots: wide shot, to provide context; medium shot, to give supporting information of what's going on; and tight shot to give details. This is not a rule of thumb, but it is common to sequence your video in the order of wide shot, medium shot, tight shot, and end with extra wide shot.

Secondly, you need to remember to avoid jump cuts. Never put wide and wide shot or medium and medium shot side by side because it sure will be a jump cut. At least fifty percent of your sequence should be shot in tight shots. Change in screen direction is also considered as jump cut.

And finally, avoid zooming and panning. Why? Because our mind and eye do not zoom and pan. It is unnatural, and therefore it distracts the audience from your story.

Have fun learning sequencing!

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