Elements of visual storytelling
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This document provides tips for journalists to improve their skills as video storytellers. It outlines 9 key elements to consider when crafting video stories: determining a story's video potential, planning the story's structure and shots, capturing b-roll footage, using emotion to engage audiences, considering visual appeal, showing actions and movements, using effective audio, documenting unique events and moments, focusing on characters, and establishing settings and locations. The document stresses that these elements are used to inform and engage viewers of video stories across various formats.
Elements of visual storytelling
- 1. Tips for Journalists to be better Video Storytellers MCJ 335
- 2. 9 Elements of Visual Storytelling Video stories, whether features, spot news or documentaries, tend to rely on the same set of elements to inform and engage viewers. Determine a story’s video potential. Plan a video story, from overall structure to specific shot selections. Evaluate the effectiveness of the video stories you and others create. Capturing B-Roll
- 3. Emotion Emotion is a powerful storytelling tool. It gives audiences a reason to care and a way to connect to a story, sometimes in a very personal way. And emotion gives storytellers a larger palette, making it possible to show not just concrete facts but the abstract reality of the human experience. Daughter’s pain
- 4. Visual Appeal Video stories need visual appeal. Some places, people and things are inherently more visually interesting. However, visual appeal comes in both obvious and unexpected ways. We don't want to avoid certain stories because they don't appear to have strong visuals. Discover the appeal that might be hidden. Even everyday locations and activities can spring to life with fresh perspectives, angles and composition. Thailand
- 5. Action and Movement Processes, sequences and motions are made for video. Whether it's someone using, operating, creating or destroying something, video can reveal exactly what the process looks like and precisely how it works.
- 6. Audio Audio is often the backbone of a video story, setting the tempo and, in many cases, informing how and when shots are edited together. Surprisingly, video is often edited to match audio, not the other way around. Interview soundbites tell us what the people in our stories are thinking and feeling. Narration ties everything together. Ambient, or location, sound creates a sense of place. Natural sound punctuates actions and important moments. Veterans Day
- 7. Events and Moments Video offers an unrivaled way to document unique moments in time, and video storytellers are always looking for ways to capture the things that only happen once. Obama March in Selma
- 8. Characters The most interesting stories involve people. The most interesting video stories show people in conflict with each other, themselves or some force in their worlds. Storytellers have used characters to advance plot lines, provide a point of view and gives audiences someone to cheer or jeer. Through interviews and live shots, video stories can achieve these same ends. Some subjects are natural characters. They shine on camera, and they draw viewers into their worlds.
- 9. Newsworthiness Journalistic video stories need to show something new, noteworthy, unusual or timely. Factors include: Conflict Scandal Local David vs Goliath Incident Incompetence Extremes/ Superlatives Surprising/ shock value New Hypocrisy Timely/ Relevant Titillation component
- 10. Settings and Locations We can quickly establish a sense of place with video. Wide shots -- the sweeping views that establish a scene -- can tell us where a story takes place and convey the size and purpose of a location. Medium shots and close-ups can reveal detail and texture, providing a sense of a location’s age, condition, energy and character. Coupled with strong audio, shots that depict a location can transport our audience to another place and show them exactly what it’s like to be there. Story for Tomorrow
- 11. Focus The best video stories rely on a central premise to push them forward. We can think about this premise in terms of what’s happening -- someone doing something. This approach to focus gives us two familiar elements: plot and theme, which are the basis of countless video productions, whether three-hour cinematic epics or 30- second TV commercials. Video storytellers have a few precious moments to establish a scene, introduce characters, advance a plot line and inform, surprise or entertain.