INNER CIRCLE EXPECTATIONS
• 1-2 staff members: 1 video per week
• 3-5 staff members: 2 videos per week
• 6-19 staff members: 3 videos per week
• 20+ staff members: 5 videos per week
WHY VIDEO?
As we continue to evolve in the digital world, we want to explore all of the storytelling opportunities available to us, and video is sometimes the best way to tell a story or to add a layer to a story or package. It conveys immediacy, motion and emotion in a way that no other medium does.
The key to managing video as an added layer is to aim for quick-hit, consistent elements. The more you work with video, the more comfortable you will be and the more efficient you’ll become. The goal is consistency. You want to ensure that your community members know your website will feature fresh, locally produced video every week. People will look forward to new video offerings, and you’ll see more page views and an increase in time on site, which are valuable as we continue to find ways to monetize our websites.
We have two approaches to video: the quick-hit video and the higher-level multimedia projects. If you’re a small paper, you will want to stick with the quicker-to-produce ideas. But if you have more resources, you will want to add the project videos into the mix. We’ll describe ideas and best practices for both levels of video here . When you produce videos that require editing, the process can be time- consuming. To manage the production time, we encourage papers to rely on staples that require little or no editing.
Today, Zope video can appear on mobile devices, and as more newspapers launch on mobile applications, the appetite for video will grow among the audiences we serve. As more Americans use smartphones – Morgan Stanley’s report projects that more people will access the Internet via mobile than desktop computers by 2013 – the audience for video on mobile devices will be huge. At any given time on any day, one in 10 mobile users is watching video, according to Bytemobile’s Mobile Minute Metrics report in March 2011. The demand is there, and it’s growing. GateHouse wants to capitalize on these trends and offer quick, interesting video on our websites.
A video committee has been established at the corporate level that includes field advertising executives who are working on monetization plans of the video our newsrooms are expected to create. Before those plans can get off the ground, it’s our newsrooms’ job to start creating the volume we’ll need to monetize this effort.
INNER CIRCLE EXPECTATIONS
• 1-2 staff members: 1 video per week
• 3-5 staff members: 2 videos per week
• 6-19 staff members: 3 videos per week
• 20+ staff members: 5 videos per week
WHY VIDEO?
As we continue to evolve in the digital world, we want to explore all of the storytelling opportunities available to us, and video is sometimes the best way to tell a story or to add a layer to a story or package. It conveys immediacy, motion and emotion in a way that no other medium does.
The key to managing video as an added layer is to aim for quick-hit, consistent elements. The more you work with video, the more comfortable you will be and the more efficient you’ll become. The goal is consistency. You want to ensure that your community members know your website will feature fresh, locally produced video every week. People will look forward to new video offerings, and you’ll see more page views and an increase in time on site, which are valuable as we continue to find ways to monetize our websites.
We have two approaches to video: the quick-hit video and the higher-level multimedia projects. If you’re a small paper, you will want to stick with the quicker-to-produce ideas. But if you have more resources, you will want to add the project videos into the mix. We’ll describe ideas and best practices for both levels of video here . When you produce videos that require editing, the process can be time- consuming. To manage the production time, we encourage papers to rely on staples that require little or no editing.
Today, Zope video can appear on mobile devices, and as more newspapers launch on mobile applications, the appetite for video will grow among the audiences we serve. As more Americans use smartphones – Morgan Stanley’s report projects that more people will access the Internet via mobile than desktop computers by 2013 – the audience for video on mobile devices will be huge. At any given time on any day, one in 10 mobile users is watching video, according to Bytemobile’s Mobile Minute Metrics report in March 2011. The demand is there, and it’s growing. GateHouse wants to capitalize on these trends and offer quick, interesting video on our websites.
A video committee has been established at the corporate level that includes field advertising executives who are working on monetization plans of the video our newsrooms are expected to create. Before those plans can get off the ground, it’s our newsrooms’ job to start creating the volume we’ll need to monetize this effort.
CONTENT
What makes good video?
Studies show people watch about a minute of your video, so keep it short. Look for motion and emotion. Here are topics that make for video that will get some attention:
• Breaking news: Fires, bad weather and accidents.
• Events: Festivals, fairs, reunions, school functions, sports.
What if we don’t have breaking news or events going on in town?
Since we need consistency to build an audience, we need to look for other opportunities to keep video flowing on our websites and to allow us to practice and become proficient at producing video. Here are topics that can be used consistently. They will help develop a relationship with your viewers and offer useful information:
• What the newsroom is working on: This could be a regular Monday video that features the editor discussing upcoming stories to promote the newspaper. Or you can also have reporters discuss news, sports and lifestyles stories. Aim to have three stories for each video – at least one news, one sports and one other. If you have one person talking, you can have that person in an office or at a desk, but be aware of the noise in the area where you’re shooting. If you have multiple people speaking, keep them nearby so you can avoid needing to edit or having the camera follow you somewhere else in the room . You might position the people at one end of the newsroom so the shot shows the newsroom in the background. Or you can have them standing in front of a wall, which isn’t as interesting visually but offers more control.
• What's coming up this weekend: This works perfectly to highlight events going on around town . You can shoot someone on staff who coordinates an events calendar and you can highlight three events . Or you could highlight one recreational event, one sports event and the weather forecast. Another option is to shoot someone in the community who knows about a variety of events. This could be an event coordinator at the parks and recreation district, the chamber of commerce or a college. Again, you can ask the person to discuss three upcoming events. You can shoot at the scene of the set-up for an event to give the video some visual appeal, too, although the quickest video to shoot here is a staff member in the office.
• Festival coverage: For a quick video, instead of trying to shoot the entire festival or event, zoom in on one “story” for your video. For example, you can choose someone at a booth to tell that person’s story. Tip: Work on your print story and photos first, and save the video for the end . You’re bound to come across someone who would be a great focus for a video.
• Pet of the week: Work with your local animal shelter to shoot a quick video of one of the pets. You’ll want to interview someone who can speak about the animal. If possible, have the person hold the animal during the interview so you can capture both the person speaking and the animal without moving the camera or editing .
• What's happening here: This video works in conjunction with the Public Service Journalism format of the same name. Shoot the scene, preferably with someone explaining it right there so you don’t have to edit for a voice over. These can be construction sites, roadwork, a new business going up or a business that is recently closed. You can use an official on site, or you can have someone shoot the reporter who can discuss the information .
• A minute with .... You can rotate these to include any of the people on your list of Community Partner Journalism profiles: newsmakers, coaches, athletes, students, teachers, professors, pastors and more. You can also stick with one of these . For example, during football season, you can rotate among your coaches, or stick with a weekly minute with the head coach of your biggest team . If you choose someone you are profiling in a Community Profile Journalism template, you can ask the three questions you use in the Community Partner Journalism form. The quickest way to shoot this is to ask the person to come to your office for the video. Or, if you do a minute with a newsmaker, you can shoot the video after you interview the person whether that’s in an office, on the field after the big game or on location at a business that is about to open, etc.
• Coach/athlete: You can grab the coach after the game for a quick observation about the game or a look ahead based on something that happened during the game .
• Sports events: At sports events, be sure to shoot more than just the players . Look for cheerleaders, the drill team, poms and band . Shoot an entire routine or song .
• Fan of the game: How about a “fan of the game” interview with someone who’s dressed in team colors, has face paint on, etc .? If the person is totally decked out in fan gear, you can ask how they prepare for the game . You can also ask if they are supporting a specific player and details about the player (dad of the running back, etc .) . Ask for their favorite cheer, favorite part of the game, what they bring to the game, what they thought of the game, what they think the prospects are for the season, etc .
• Plays, musicals and concerts: See if you can shoot a bit of a dress rehearsal, which makes an excellent promotion for a theater production or school production in town. Package it with your preview story.
• kids’ band: You have a lot of options here, including marching band, concert band or garage band. Shoot part of a song or an entire song or routine to promote an upcoming show or game.
• Featured weddings: For big anniversaries shoot video with the couple talking about how they fell in love. Again, you can package the video online with your story . You can add to your anniversary form a box that people could check if they would be willing to be videotaped. Or you can have the clerk who takes the anniversary form ask about video and notify the editor to schedule a time for the couple to come to the office to be videotaped.
• Sermons: If your pastors rehearse their sermons, you can shoot part of the practice session at the church.
• Weather this week: If you can find a meteorologist or even someone who loves weather as a hobby, this makes a great weekly video.
• History this week: Find someone who loves digging through archives or who is your town’s official or unofficial historian to offer a few interesting stories about what happened locally during the week many years ago.
• Golf tips: You can rotate among the pros in your town to do a weekly golf tip that the pro demonstrates as you shoot. Or if you have one you can rely on, you can ask that person to come up with one tip per week .
• Doctor tips: You can rotate among doctors or choose a general practitioner to do a health tip of the week. You can also think of other health-related tips: nutritionist, trainer, sports medicine specialist, etc.
• Fashion: You might focus on just one shop owner or rotate and have someone demonstrate how to tie a scarf, use the trendiest colors to create a new look, etc.
• Autos: You can find a mechanic or rotate among several to offer tips on maintaining your car, getting better gas mileage, etc.
How can I ensure that I’ll meet expectations?
Breaking news will drive the most views, but we all know those news events don’t happen every day . To ensure consistency, you’ll want to rely on the topics above to give you a steady flow of video . Here’s a sample week:
• MONDAY: What we’re working on this week, weather for the week ahead or history this week.
• TUESDAY: Tip of the week: These could be the golf, fashion, health or auto .
• WEDNESDAY: Pet of the week, featuring a pet from your local animal shelter .
• THURSDAY: A minute with ...
• FRIDAY: Weekend planner, showcasing what’s going on around town this weekend.
When would we use the quick-hit video?
Quick-hit video will form the basis for your consistent video offerings . You can also use a simple video to post a breaking news video to your site when you’ll want something up quickly .
How do we do it?
For the most part, you will post raw, unedited video . Once you have shot the video, you will upload it in Zope using the Zope video player . You can relate videos to stories or publish to the video player, which is similar to the photo gallery .
What will the video look like on our website?
Every GateHouse Media newspaper has a video player today . Instructions in this handbook explain how to upload videos into Zope . You can add specific sections for your videos, such as Coach of the Week, once you get enough volume, the exact same way you would create any other section in Zope. If you need assistance with creating new sections, please submit a support ticket .
Will local video appear on my homepage?
If you don’t have a local video widget on your homepage, you can add one . Instructions are included in this section.
Will there be any GateHouse News Service videos produced as part of this initiative?
Yes, starting in August, the news service will offer national videos on topics such as saving money at home, food and kids.
• MONDAYS: GHNS Shoestring Living columnist Molly Logan Anderson provides frugal-living tips in video form. Learn how to save at home, on the kids, in the kitchen and more.
• WEDNESDAYS: GHNS food writer Margaret Maples shows you how to make her original recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner – and dessert – offering her tricks and tips along the way.
• FRIDAYS: Kids can learn to draw characters, animals and other items on a weekly theme with children’s book artist Mark Marderosian, of the public television show “Drawing With Mark.”
In fall 2011, more videos will be added to the rotation on the topics of pets, health and fitness, technology, fashion and beauty.
