Fire Station Open House - ID# 15
Maine West
Natural Audio News Package
Entry Description
This is a news story about the annual fire station open house in Des Plaines and how it can help our community's youth learn about careers in the fire department.
Copyright Info
Recent Teacher Comments
- 4/30 3:52 pm - Strengths: There is a wide variety of b-roll that helps bring the story to life. I especially liked hearing the narration audio where the narrator talks through the fire. The moments when you paused to let the natural sounds come through, such as the fire, the vehicle breakdown, and the obstacle course, were very effective. These details helped place the viewer at the event and made the experience feel more immersive. The interviews are well framed and follow the rule of thirds, which keeps the focus on the speakers. I also like the emphasis on the stories of people pursuing careers as firefighters. Areas of Growth: It would have been great to hear a younger kid talk about their interest in becoming a firefighter. An interview with one of the younger kids visible in the b-roll could have added another meaningful perspective to the story. Additionally, some of the shots appear a bit dark, and the interviews could have benefited from additional lighting to help the subjects stand out more clearly.
- 4/30 2:58 pm - The beginning of your story was a little confusing, I hear the speaker from the public address talking about the burning house simulation, which my brain wants to assume is a voiceover introducing a story on fire safety and how quickly a house fire can spread, then it suddenly midsentance ends when the chief comes on and provides what appears to be the real introduction to the story which is more focused on the open house (and what we are about to see - which we just did) Instead I would have showed a few short clips from the day, mixed in with crowds watching and then have the chief come on. I have gone back and watched your story several times and couldn’t put my finger on what was missing from it, because each time I watch it, it just doesn’t feel complete. I guess what I come back to is I don’t really have an introduction. The chief just jumps in and talks about the fire simulation and extracation from the car, I would have loved an introduction that says something like “once a year we invite the public in to teach fire safety, and inspire young kids to think about fire prevention differently, consider as a career, etc” I know it can be assumed but because you jump right in I am not always sure of the direction of the story. Also I would have loved some more visuals of the crowds or the public talking about what they are seeing (afterall it is an open house) The interviews of the various firemen and cadets were good, and brought some depth to the story and answered a handful of the why questions. I think you just made your audience assume alot, and left me wanting to hear from the crowd or a kid who was motivated after spending the day at the open house. You have some great camera shots that help tell the story, I appreciate how you moved around to give different angles of various activities. Because it is a natural sound package utilize those sounds a little more from the source of your story, for example pulling on the chain saw/reving that engine, the pump sound to build pressure in the canisters the kids were squirting from, A siren or horn that a kid is pulling in the fire truck, kids laughing in the bounce house, etc. The more sounds you pull in the more your audience gets drawn into your story. Great story, and love that you got out in the community to cover an authentic news story. Good Job
- 4/29 6:49 am - Great topic, especially for this category. This story lends itself to a lot of natural audio options! When putting b-roll in a story, you want to avoid what’s known as “ping-ponging” - that where we see the person being interviewed, followed by 1 clip of b-roll, back to the interviewee, then 1 clip of b-roll, back to the interviewee, etc. You want to string together multiple clips of b-roll. Once we’ve seen the person being interviewed, you don’t have to come back to them. In a few spots, you did a good job of editing in natural audio pops - places where we aren’t hearing a sound bite, but instead are hearing the sound of a hammer hitting a windshield, etc. For something like this, try putting a wireless mic on one of the firefighters so we can hear what they are doing - whether it’s talking with another fire fighter about where to put the hose, or the sounds of the equipment they are using, etc. The purpose of this category is to not just have natural audio in the story, but to use the natural audio to help TELL the story. Hearing someone working in the field who happens to have a wireless mic on lends a lot of credibility to the story and moves it forward. Let’s hear what those little kids are saying about putting on the gear, shooting water, etc.
Judge 1
Positives: 1. You captured good natural sound throughout the piece, from the sawing to the vehicle extrication, it sounded like your microphone was in all the right places at the right time which made the piece ultimately more compelling. 2. You also showed things as the interview subjects were talking about them. For example, fire display was shown was shown as the fire chief was talking about it. Good job!
Improvements: 1. You want to always show your best material first. Unfortunately, however, I think there were a few times you decided to show things that probably could've been brought up later. For example, some of your most compelling sound and video was of the car being cut up. We could hear it clearly and it showed video of something most people don't see every day. That would have been much more interesting to see compared to the sign saying you were at the Des Plaines fire department. I understand why you started with that first, to set up where the story was taking place, but it was still a kind of mundane shot compared to many of the other visuals you had. 2. Your story was a bit hard to follow. I think it would've been best to start with the fire chief and let him lay the groundwork for what the viewer as seeing as a way of setting the scene. After that, it would've been nice to see you focus on just one aspect of the story you produced, instead of ultimately what was several. While using smoke alarms or organizing events like these to inspire children to become firefighters are important topics, crunching them all together into a 2 minute piece dilutes from the messages your interview subjects are trying to convey. For example, if you had just focused your story on the inspiration this sort event can provide, I think it would've made your piece a bit clearer, opened up your storytelling, and left your viewers with a message they can remember.
Judge 2
Positives: I like how you had broll and nats to match the interviews
Improvements: Start with the best video! The beginning was confusing with the audio and showing random shots. You don't need to establish where you are with broll. Let the interviews tell me. The story felt a little out of order. You showed me the best video, told me about the rest of the open house, then went back to sot about why homes need smoke detectors. It felt like two stories. One about the burning house and extrication. Then another about an open house and why kids might want to be a firefighter. Some nats or a few quick interviews with kids or parents would have rounded this out.
Judge 3
Positives: This was a story that offered a lot of opportunity for natural audio. There were plenty of visuals.
Improvements: Consider switching to a handheld microphone for a story like this in the public. This will help with the clarity of your interview. More of the background noise is picked up with the lav. If you know you're going to do an X amount of interviews. Try switching up the side of the screen in which the interviewees are on for variety. In your description, you mention this being about the community's youth and how they can learn about the careers in the fire department. I would've loved to hear the perspective of the youth participating or even a parents thoughts on how this event was beneficial. Try weaving interviews in and out of each other and trimming down SOTs a bit.
Judge 4
Positives:
Improvements:
Judge 5
Positives:
Improvements: