What makes good journalism? Is the sort of question that makes me cringe and try to escape the room. However, I’m intrigued about what makes a good piece of video journalism. Is it just the same old principles of good journalism- but ‘on film’?
Google has found an article that promises to answer all such video-riddled questions……………
The Digital Journalist, suggests decent video journalism requires the following:
-a narrative arc (i.e. make sure there is a story, rather than a home video of you and your mates drawing shapes on each other’s faces with mayonnaise)
-don’t cram the video with ‘wallpaper’ (visual ‘filler’ of people walking etc, to pad out time while the voiceover/narration continues)
-‘Show not tell’ and make the film self-contained – rather than relying on accompanying text or explanations
Of the pieces I’ve seen online, work on the VJ movement website seems to be following these principles most effectively: