Competitive Speech Team - ID# 297
Neuqua Valley
News Package
Entry Description
I created this story as the competitive speech season was beginning, so the team had not competed in any tournaments yet. Neuqua Valley’s speech team has been extremely successful at the state competition in past years; I wanted to document the start of their season. What makes this team so successful is their tight-knit bond and welcoming culture, which I conveyed through the sound bites I chose. I recorded multiple team members’ speeches at the team’s open house event, in which parents could watch the speeches for the first time. There are so many different categories in competitive speech that provoke a multitude of emotions. I personally experienced laughter, sadness, and joy throughout the time that I recorded the team. I made sure to include all of those feelings in my story through the b-roll and natural sound that I chose.
Copyright Info
Recent Teacher Comments
- 4/25 9:46 pm - Nice informative piece on your school's speech team. Audio was solid throughout. Lots of broll of the team performing. I'm assuming this was a "toss" to the reporter as we don't know who is speaking until the end. All of the broll is of the team delivering speeches, etc. Vary up what they are doing and your shot composition. Get some up shots, some close-ups, some medium shots. Change the look of your shots throughout.
Judge 1
Positives: I like that you opened with nats to grab attention. I like that you incorporated lots of nat pops and ended with more nats. You really let that tell the story. I like that you interviewed multiple students.
Improvements: Make sure to check your focus. Some of your broll is blurry. You have a back focus on your first interview. Was that a teacher you interviewed? Your track talked about mentors and then that seemed to be an adult. It would be good to introduce that person if they are not a student mentor
Judge 2
Positives: -Good use of natural sound to transition in between clips. -The story was narrated well and I could absolutely tell you enjoyed putting it together and learned so much from the experience.
Improvements: -Suggestion: start the story with one of the characters interviewed in the piece... showing them perform, then mixing with bites of why they love being on speech team. After that, you can open up to explain the competitive speech season and add the perspective of other members. It's a great way to capture viewer's attention and engaging them right off the top. --I would've liked to see more sequencing in the video. It's important to lay out a series of camera movements from wide to medium to close up shots, so that they move your story ahead
Judge 3
Positives: - I think you did a great job capturing the emotion that comes with speeches like these. The natural sound is what helped you accomplish that, and I think those inclusions were really smart. Great work! - The soundbites you chose really helped move your story forward, and I like the fact you got varying perspectives. This helps the viewer to comprehend the story fully. Way to go!
Improvements: - I realize this is a bit of challenging story for video and audio. While I think you nailed the audio, the video could have been better. For instance, you start with a great natural sound pop of a speech, but then you cut away to something completely different. This is confusing for the viewer. Next time, lean into that natural sound pop. You could go to a wide shot of him speaking (avoid jump cuts) or go to close up shots of the audience. This would have helped you out of some editing holes. - The story just needed more visual variety, especially with sequences. You did a great job capturing the speeches, but a story like this needs the action and the reaction. Some shots of the audience would have helped.
Judge 4
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Judge 5
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