Terry's Toffee - ID# 516

Glenbrook North

News Package

Entry Description

This news package profiles Terry's Toffee, a confectionery store in Lincoln Park that is owned by 2003 GBN graduate Greg Reich. The premise with this package was to explore the business while avoiding making this piece a commercial. By defining what makes them different from other toffee stores in addition to including parts of their backstory and real experiences, we were able to make this piece as authentic as possible.

Copyright Info

Recent Teacher Comments

• 4/23 8:20 pm - I like that you chose a unique topic to your community to highlight. I second the comments below and do not want to be redundant. This was one of my favorite pieces. Here is a way you can improve. Shoot a wide of the exterior to give us a sense of where this is located by cars and people moving past the frame. You could even stage customers walking in. You want to make this business seem warm and inviting as well as you want to make sure that there are customers. The interviews seem a little lonely without these visual cues. I really like the b-roll. It makes me want to call them and see if I can order. I can recall the smell of sweetness though your piece. Otherwise, I really enjoyed this piece. If you are an underclassman, keep making pieces. If you are a senior, I wish you the best in your future and congratulations!
• 3/16 8:26 pm - Ethan, I thought your piece was well done. I thought you told your story well, and it constantly moved smoothly from section to section, you edited it at a good pace. I would improve is one you had so much good broll of all the wonderful treats that are available that I stopped listening to the voice over and was fascinated with the visuals (for example 20 to 40 seconds). I am not saying make your b-roll more boring, but the problem was it was not always fitting exactly with what was being said so you force your audience to focus on one or another. The part where he was talking about the malt balls being a bad attempt got a little long, it could have easily been spliced down where you hide the jump cut with b-roll to get to the end of him saying they would explode quicker. I would have maybe liked a little more information about what makes their chocolate better than someone else’s. He mentioned breaking it by hand and coating it by hand makes it different but how? and what does tempered chocolate mean? And finally, I would have been nice to hear from some customers, I know that takes a little bit more work and risk (out of your comfort zone) but it really rounds out the story nicely. Great piece, professional looking, you did a nice job, and now I want chocolate.

Judge 1

Positives: - Overall, you did a great job with the camera. The tight shots on the toffee make me want to go to the shop ASAP. Great work! - The writing here is really well done. I think it flowed tremendously. Nice job setting the scene and transitioning to Reich taking over and how they've made it their own.

Improvements: - While your b-roll was well shot, the editing could've been better. You want to utilize more sequences when shooting. For example, start with a wide shot on the shop, then go closer to tight shots to show different parts. You had a few jump cuts that could've been avoided this way. - You missed an opportunity to utilize more natural sound. The sound off the top was great, but I wanted more of it along the way. Don't be afraid to use it as a way to break up your reporter track or just transition between soundbites and such.

Judge 2

Positives: Broll and interviews shot well, got a variety of shots even with shop being empty

Improvements: Not sure why you started the pkg with the sales guy. I understand he said something good, but the whole piece focuses on the owner. Also you never introduce or explain why the sale guy is important in this piece. People at home aren't always reading name banners. Why didn't you use the broll of the toffee making process as you described it? Would like to have heard from customers

Judge 3

Positives: -well shot, Beautiful images of toffee that captured my attention. -Great use of video sequencing to tell the story. Also liked how the writing matched the video

Improvements: -Try to use more natural sound to tell the piece. It would've been great to hear the owner crack the toffee as he prepares it, in between the reporter's track. -Since this is a feature story, I would've liked to hear some music in the background. That would add some character to the piece.

Judge 4

Positives:

Improvements: