One of the key skills a videographer needs is to know how to shoot an interview plus B roll or cutaway footage to tell a story. And there’s a way to get free lessons very night in your living room.
TV News and Current Affairs programs are based around the interview. Almost every news story contains the same basic ingredients:
- An interview;
- B roll* or cutaway footage and;
- The standup (with the interviewer talking directly to camera)
While most people watch the news to find out what’s happened in their world that day (a very hopeful aim in my opinion), the keen videographer can learn a lot about the basic skills of shooting interviews by watching how the pros do it – and its free on TV every night!
The Interview
The interview with the ‘news maker’ is usually done first. Watch how the interviewee is positioned in front of the camera. What’s in the background? How are they lit? How are they framed?
B Roll/Cutaways
The ‘A’ roll is the interview, so the B roll or cutaways is other supporting footage. Generally these are pictures of whatever the interview is about. If you’re interviewing a local politician about a new school, then the cutaways would be of the school. Remember to shoot these as sequences.
The Standup
These are usually filmed after the interview and cutaways have been shot to give the reporter a chance to write an intro and/or linking piece(s). These are sometimes filmed with the actual event that the story is about happening in the background.
Homework
Record a TV news service and then deconstruct three or four news stories. Break each shot down into one of the three basic types above. Try and work out what order they were shot in?
Who would have thought that TV could really be educational?
(*B Roll is more an American term. Cutaways is more commonly used in Australia.)
