How to Shoot and Edit a News Package

While styles may vary from station to station, most television news outlets stick to a standard process to put together a news package. Regardless of whether the package is a feature, sports story, or undercover report the news team generally goes through several key steps. By following these steps you can increase the production value and clarity of your package.

In the field

Once you have a topic and sources to interview you'll want to start shooting footage. There are four kinds of footage you'll need for your package:

B-Roll: B-roll is random video of things related to you topic. For example, a story about a local school could have shots of the school's exterior, kids walking through the hall, etc. The closer it relates to the subject matter of the story the better for all involved. A common type of b-roll is called an establishing shot. It is usually the exterior of a location of significance to the story.

Interviews: Most packages have some amount of interviews either with people directly involved with the story or members of the public.

Transitions: A transition is a small segment with the reporter introducing, transitioning, or concluding the presentation of content within a story. These are sometimes performed live on air over the final edit, but usually are recorded in the field. Camera movement is recommended to make the packages visually interesting.

Miscellaneous: Stock footage is footage that may have been made available to the news station or previously taped by the news station. Sometimes stills of a subject's mug shot or a politician's press photo may be used.

At the editing bay

Now that all the footage is taped it's time to start the edit.

To begin, go through the interviews and find the best two to three sound bites from each one. A sound bite is a small snippet of speech that puts across the main point of a statement. Takes these bites and organize them in a sensible order. Group bites that address the same subject together.

Next, consult your notes and write down the voice-overs that will best convey the information. Record these and import the clips onto your timeline. Group the bits of voice-over with the clips of the interviews they relate to.

Look over your clips. Were there any you couldn't group? Watch them again. Will this clip really add anything to the project?

Import your transitions and place them on a new timeline, spacing them as needed. Place your clips between the appropriate transitions. Play each placement and make sure it flows together like a narrative.

Now to cover your edits: Any jump cuts (cuts between separate moments in the same steady shot) need to be covered. At this point you import appropriate b-roll and cover any awkward edits.

Now, simply add any music you might use as well as any on-screen text or graphics you may need and export the project.

It can take a while to become talented in this process, but by simply following it you can up the professionalism of your video news packages ten fold.