Producing Cross Country

Ch

an

dra

Cla

rk: B

EA

20

14

Producers are in

Demand:

Field Producers

Line Producers

Documentary Producers

Film Producers

Average Salary: $35,100

Maximum: $140,000

Source: RTDNA/Hofstra

University Annual Survey

2013

First Steps:

Two Semesters Before:

Know your curriculum.

Assess basic skill level of students who can handle producing.

Know your equipment, studio space, editing capabilities.

Be aware of free planning software and test it.

One Semester Before:

Find another school, class, or college to collaborate.

Find a topic of importance with plenty of content to divide up the work.

Plan interviews, footage, and content collection.

Establish goals and expectations of the project for partners and students.

Our Topic: Hurricane Sandy

Footage collected November 2013

33 Post Hurricane Sandy interviews from reporters, anchors, meteorologists, city officials, and news managers.

Video and audio clips from 7 TV and Radio Markets:

Washington, DC

Baltimore

Philadelphia

Trenton, NJ

Belmar, NJ

Seaside Heights, NJ

New York, NY

Our Goals of Producing

Class Spring 2013:

• Log footage

• Select

soundbites/footage

• Edit themes and

sequences together for

flow

• Collaborate with

colleagues at Univ. of

Oklahoma and fellow

classmates –

responsible professor

at each location

• Graduate student to

assist

Every producer, director, student, and editor could see what each crew member had logged, written or produced along with possible issues with individual videos.

Biggest Task: Logging Footage

Software Used: Google Documents &

Spreadsheets

Google Drive Features

• 15 GB of online

storage free with each

gmail account

• Use for documents,

spreadsheets, forms,

presentations,

drawings and much

more

• Very simple,

interactive, shareable,

and web link friendly

• Changes save

instantly

200+ Free Google Drive

Feature Apps

Hurricane Sandy Logging Sheet

Clear Division of Work & LinksCity, Station, Interviews, Logged By, .mov or mp3, pictures, file size,

video/picture links, verbatims, verbatim document link, logged, added to

master, issues

Verbatims• Clearly labeled each person’s

interview.

• Noted who logged it if there

were questions.

• Indicated file number for

clarification of that specific

videos details.

• Each student logged

soundbites word for word of 8-

10 minute interviews using

exact time codes.

• Highlighted usable soundbites

to make themed soundbites

easy to find.

Multiple Skills

Gained With

Project

• Organization

• Story judgment

• Shot selection

• Soundbite

quality

• Nonlinear

editing

• Various file

formats

• Exporting

process

• Emailing &

syncing files

Syncing Files: Duplicated External Hard

Drives• One drive in Oklahoma with director and his

students.

• One in Alabama with producer and her students

with same footage and interviews on each.

• Footage was copied to student’s personal drives

after they signed nondisclosure releases about no

personal use.

University of

Oklahoma DriveUniversity of

Alabama

Drive

• Subclipped files exported on timeline and emailed as

Final Cut Pro file.

• Downloaded files and synced sequence timelines with

producer and director’s drive.

• Students then edited their own versions of what

happened in different markets.

• These examples then emailed and viewed for

storytelling ideas for final project.

Subclip & Email Edited

Sequences

Skype Communication:

• Watched in real time

as each other edited or

previewed sequences.

• Students watched

teamwork in action.

• Skype tools allowed

sharing footage and

documents as issues

were discussed.

Cross Country Exchange Produced Results:

• All footage logged and edited by 18 students from UA and OK on Communicating Superstorm Sandy.

• 8 finished mini-documentaries where they assisted in logging, editing, and producing.

• 1 finished mini-documentary they could claim as their own edited sequence using high quality footage.

• Line produced 6 newscasts where they wrote and prepared each story and video using Google Spreadsheets and CNN Newsource.

• Copied scripts into ENPS and edited video using Edius.

Big Results:

• Two seniors and graduate

assistant got producing jobs

after graduation. OK graduate

got production job.

• Three sophomore students did

summer internships. Three

weeks later they wrote saying

how prepared the class made

them at their respective TV

stations. They were

supervising the other interns

and helping set up rundowns

and stories with ease using

Edius, INews, and ENPS.

• Graduate student built

producing website for future

producers.

How You Can Do It:

• Find topic that relates to your department, region, or

state.

• Realize how producing and collaboration can help

students, your professional development,

department, and school.

• Explore free Google software that can benefit you

personally and professionally.

• Understand that you will learn as much as the

students.