Television Journalism Basics I

This course exposes students to the central production and reportage techniques involved in television news reporting. The course emphasizes person-on-the-street interview segments. Students learn how to handle the tripod and camera and become adept at foreground and background framing, camera positioning, simple lighting techniques, and analog (cuts only) editing - all in the service of telling a news story. Students also learn basic video script formatting, how to select 15- to 20-second sound bites from raw interview material, and how to write an opening and a close that help focus viewers on the central theme of a story.