Page 149 - Convergent Journalism an Introduction Writing and Producing Across Media

Part 2: The NLE Process

job is to get some “B” roll because the fire department is already busy
putting the fire out. Be careful. Don’t get too close. Make sure that you
get enough “B” roll (20 minutes or more) to include with any voiceovers
from interviews that you will be shooting soon. Make sure the camera
is on manual iris and check the video levels in the viewfinder. The
flames will be quite bright against the night sky, so let them almost
go completely white. Stay with a wide-angle view to emphasize how
immense the fire is—this is your cover shot. Be ready to zoom in should
a particular part of the structure look like it is starting to collapse. Once
you have shot the fire itself, it is time to find potential interviewees.
If you are lucky enough to have a videographer, you should start looking
for people to talk to as soon as you arrive while the videographer shoots
the fire itself.
The fire chief is very busy at this point so don’t bother him or any
of the other firefighters. Start looking around for any other officials
you might see. Police officers are usually a good choice at a fire scene
because once they’ve secured the scene, they need to wait until the fire
is out to begin the next stage of their work. You find an officer just next
to where you have parked. Grab your videographer and bring him or 139
her over to set up for a few questions.
The officer tells you that no one was living here yet and that the
police department has no clues at this point. However, he does tell
you that a small car was reported driving in the area just a few minutes
prior to the fire being spotted. A neighbor now walks up, recognizes
you “from the TV” and makes a motion that he has something to tell
you. Fred, the owner of the house just across the street from the burning
building, says, “I saw someone running across my front yard just before
I heard a car starting down the block.” One of the firefighters now
passes by your position and is heard to say, “It was all over the place,
like someone had sprayed it in every room.” You keep the camera
rolling as another neighbor walks up.
Shirley, who lives three doors down the street, says that she did
not see or hear anything prior to the fire trucks arriving. However, her
13-year-old son was shooting some late-night hoops when he ran out
in the street to pick up the ball. He had not heard the car approaching
and the driver had to swerve to miss him. He had already told a police
officer what he saw.
The fire has now been brought under control and will be out in
another half-hour. A few firefighters remain on the scene to “overspray
the structure” for the next few hours until daylight. You make a note