Jonathan Hiskes | Sept. 27, 2007
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| Photo by Jonathan Hiskes |
| WTHR’s Steve Rhodes told students that good video storytelling has the pace of a roller coaster, with anticipation, rush as it develops and slowing at the end. |
“There’s anticipation, like you’re going up a hill,” he said to assistant professor Mike Conway’s J520 Video Storytelling class. “Then there’s the surprise and the rush of adrenaline as it develops, and then a slowing down at the end.”
The effect doesn’t happen without careful planning, shooting and editing, said Rhodes, who has won a slew of television journalism awards, including several Emmys. Piecing together narrative building blocks in the right way is more important than filming pretty shots, he said.
“I try to put the story first and the video second, because the crafting is more important than the glossy pictures you see,” he said.
Last week, WTHR News Director Jim Tellus told the class about the importance of TV news stations investing in well-crafted stories with “soul,” showing several of Rhodes’ clips as examples. This week, Rhodes invited students to ask about the technique behind such stories.
Master’s student Olesia Oleshko asked about the ethics of staging shots, or asking a subject to perform or repeat an action for the camera. Rhodes referred to a story he shot about an Italian violinmaker.
“He was going to play the violin anyway that day, but he probably played it a little later than he would have for us,” he said. “I in no way feel we were altering reality. But there is a line you can cross.”
He said surprises are key to achieving a “roller coaster” effect. In a clip he showed about a military funeral, it was not until several scenes into the story that viewers learned the service was not for a recent soldier but for a World War II veteran whose family was just now memorializing him.
“We wanted to hide that in the story a little bit, so it’s a surprise,” said Rhodes, who edits his own stories. “But not too much — we didn’t want to be coy or disrespectful of the subject.”
He showed how he used a variety of compositions in the story’s interviews, filming one veteran with an extremely low-angle shot from between cemetery markers and filming a family member with a wide-angle shot with rows of graves spread behind him. He spoke of staying out of the way of mourners, yet moving quickly enough to film marching soldiers from multiple positions.
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| Photo by Jonathan Hiskes |
| After his talk to J520, Rhodes fielded questions from students such as Jing Ting Zhao. |
Conway noted that few television photographers get to do so many of the special projects in which Rhodes specializes. For every four-minute special, most photographers must shoot 15 to 20 regular daily stories, he said.
Senior Elle Lissitzyn asked about how to improve drab or routine stories, the ones not about violinmakers in Italy. “What tips do you have for spicing things up, or making them more engaging?” she asked.
Rhodes responded by showing “Tips on Tipping,” a fast-paced piece about tipping, told by Indianapolis waiters, taxi drivers, bellhops and baristas.
“It’s just the whole idea, once you guys get your foundation, of taking your story and saying, ‘How can we do this a little differently and still inform?’” he said.
While visiting Wednesday, Rhodes also spoke to adjunct lecturer Lee Giles’ J385 Television News class.
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