Under the Weather

New Trier

TV Show

Entry Description

60 minute style investigation of the handling of taking a sick day from school.

Judge 1

Positives: The host is very enthusiastic and has obviously done a lot of work to prepare this report. Also, the choice of topic was very interesting and well-researched. I found it very helpful when the math figures were on screen. Those numbers were important to the report, but would have been confusing to hear without also seeing. That was a good choice. I also very much liked the choice to let the students speak for themselves. The information gathered in the interviews could have easily been done off-camera and reformatted into more general information. Hearing their opinions from their mouths was critical to the impact of this segment.

Improvements: The audio was distractingly inconsistent. There was a jump in levels between pretty much every cut. My guess is that this wasn't realized until editing. This is exactly the sort of thing that you need to know might be a problem before even starting. This whole segment could have been filmed in the same room, at the same time. This room could have been scouted beforehand to ensure that there were different backgrounds, wall colors, artwork, so that the final product looked like it was filmed in different places. And of course, the audio levels would be the consistency a piece like this needs. The host and subject material were excellent, and the piece was edited together very coherently. But the matter of the audio was so distracting that it took away from the entire experience. I've worked in television for 9 years, and this is the sort of problem that you need to nip in the bud before you even pick up a camera.

Judge 2

Positives: A good topic that is very relevant to your target audience. The host is well spoken and articulate with good, natural inflection in her voice. Lighting, overall, was even and avoided any distracting shadows.

Improvements: This feels more like a news package than a TV show. If you're going for more of a news magazine or talk show feel, I'd consider getting even looser with the style, so that it doesn't feel like an actual news cast. I thought the sound bites you used were all cropped a bit too close and framed strangely. (Shoot for having your interviewees looking into the frame instead of out of it.) The focus was soft on one of them.

Judge 3

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Judge 4

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