Show Pacing

If you only have a pkg or two in your show, that means the rest is filled with vos and vosots, which euqals a lot of writing on your part. Don't forget that you can write pkgs too. I tend to like 1:00 producer mini-pkgs for the show. They accomplish several things. If you pick some interesting story from the feeds or something that's already in house that you need to put in, you can bang this out early and then NEVER HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT IT AGAIN. So I think I've mentioned how I liked to work the show from the bottom, up. I might put a 1:00 mini-pkg prior to weather or sports or in the second block depending on timing needs. It's a way to give an interesting story a little play and also eat up a bit more time so you don't feel like you have the "vo" show. You can also throw one of these in the a block. Is there an important story that's been playing all day that you have to put in the show but don't need to devote a reporter? You can wrap that up into a nice little mini-pkg. Also, in terms of the a block, mini-pkgs give your anchors a break and really help in terms of pacing.

As for pacing, just remember to change it up a little every so often. So if you have a couple vos, throw in a vosot. Two vosots? Toss in a vo. Remember, these are just broad GUIDELINES. Form should always follow content. But for the most part, there's always some leeway in terms of sots you can add or subtract. Seems obvious, but make sure the vosot's sound is worth it. If you have a choice between the fire vosot where the sound is a witness describing how he escaped versus the shooting with the cop talking about the suspect, go for the witness. Put in the most interesting sound. Use nats like a soundbite. Look for natural sound on raw video like you would a sound bite (I'm think nats of a saw or snowblower, a good sploosh frmo a car on the road in a rainstorm, ambulance sirens, etc). They can be a nice breaker. Again, form follows content, so if natsor a soundbite's not there, it's not there.

The best way to see if you have good pacing is to watch your shows after the fact. A day or a week after, when your head has cleared from the previous day's challenges, you should try to watch a show like a viewer. Where do you start getting bored with your show? Where do you start getting bored in a story? This is where you should be changing things up or popping in something interesting.

My general guidelines for vosots/vos/gfx stories are below. Again, follow the rule of changing it up a bit every so often, even within a story. I liked to keep vosots/vos short... like 35/40 for vosots and 15-20 for vos. Just a guideline. Other excellent producers and tv news professionals think I'm nuts on this. To your own news judgement be true because you'll be the one explaining it if there's a problem.

So....

VOSOT
First graph: Anchor intro on cam or ots/at chroma/whatever
Second graph: in video
Third graph : in video or skip this and go straight to sot
Sot: 7-15 seconds. Less than :07, it tends to whiz by. More than 15 and you start to get bored.
Tag: on cam or back in video or on a graphic. Maybe even a second graph on vo or on cam.


VO
Similar deal.
First graph: Anchor intro on cam or ots/at chroma/whatever
Second graph: in video
Third graph: in video
Fourth graph: (potentially) back on cam.

Basically, if you have one anchor reading a couple of things, you might want to bring them back on cam for the last graph to re-establish them and signify a change. Likewise, when an anchor starts reading the next few stories, you want them to be established up top in some way, rather than, say, just wiping into them.

How do you get a complicated story down to a 20 vo? You don't. You either figure out a way to give that story more time/and visuals/sound or just rethink putting it in. Save quick vos for easy stuff. Your average traffic tie-up doesn't need more than 20seconds.

If you're having trouble, try to figure out... if I were telling this story to a friend and I had to break it down, how would I do that? Look for the most interesting details and try to include them, especially in the lead. Write to your video (obviously). Grab a quick graphic if you have to, even if it's just reinforcing words in the story. Don't forget to ask yourself-- why is this in the show? Generally the answer to that question will lead to what you must include in the story.