Fair Game - ID# 49
Lyons Township
Natural Audio News Package
Entry Description
This is a natural audio news package about Fair Game, a family-owned group of game stores located throughout the Chicago suburbs. The interview with manager Graham Carlson explains why Fair Game is more than just a store that sells games.
Copyright Info
Recent Teacher Comments
- 4/30 4:04 pm - Strengths: This was an interesting topic with many unique visuals. I felt like I got a clear sense of what the store is like and what the space offers. I especially liked how the owner talked about the store as a community center, which helped give the story a meaningful focus. The piece was clear and easy to follow, and the visuals helped create a good picture of the environment for the viewer. Areas for Growth: For interviews, it would be better to have the interviewee look at you instead of directly at the camera. This would create a more professional and polished look. I also felt that most of the audio we heard was background noise of people playing, and I did not really get to hear the community that was being described. For example, we did not hear much of what people were actually saying to each other. It would be interesting to include other natural sounds from the environment, such as the games themselves, the sound of a cash register, or someone leading a community activity or event. Adding more meaningful natural audio would help the audience better experience what the community atmosphere is really like.
- 4/30 3:06 pm - I liked your opening close-ups, it helped focus the audience on what the store is about and what was to come, but somewhere in there you should have had a wide establishing shot of the outside of the store of someone walking in etc. Anytime you start off tight and stay tight it can be hard for your audience to get a sense of context for the space. The owners' interviews were clear and concise, excellent sound but just as the story got good, it was over. I would have loved to have heard from some of the people showing up, reinforcing what the owner said about it being a community space and taking it a step further about what the space means to them. Generally I liked your B-roll, it supported what was being talked about and provided different perspectives as well framing (close up vs cover shots) The only one I thought needed improvement was the last one of the three boys, Mr. Carlson is talking about interacting and making friends but all I see is there backsides, no faces, it would have been much more impactful to see the boys looking into each other and being friends (hard to tell from the backside) Finally, this is a natural sound package; other than the general chatter of the background noise you didn’t make any attempts to bring in the sounds from the environment in dice falling on a board, someone saying “your turn”, asking for the red paint while they were painting the figures. When you bring those elements in, it helps break up the interviews better and brings more of that environment to the viewer.
- 4/29 6:51 am - The purpose of this category is to not only have natural audio in the news package, but to use that natural audio to help tell the story and move it forward. Put a wireless mic on one of the patrons and let’s hear them interact with others at their table. Put a wireless mic on the owner and follow him around with a camera so we can see AND hear him interact with the people who come into the story. In terms of visuals, remember the sequencing of your b-roll - wide shots help to establish where you are and the space that you’re in. We should see one of those shots either at the very beginning or pretty close to it. Then we should see medium shots followed by tight shots. Add natural audio sound pops to your story - get a shot of someone rolling dice and put that audio pop in between sound bites from the person you interviewed.
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