Giant Warriors Combined Softball Team - ID# 53
Deerfield
Natural Audio News Package
Entry Description
For the third year, two former rivals have merged into one team. The Giant Warriors softball team builds a cohesive team – and they are ready to play this season.
Copyright Info
Recent Teacher Comments
- 4/30 3:54 pm - Strengths: There is a great variety of b-roll and several natural sounds that make the story feel lively and engaging. I especially loved the second shot of the girl catching the ball, where the sound of the catch was clearly audible. It added a real sense of presence and made the moment feel immersive. Areas of Growth: The interviews could benefit from slightly less headroom to keep the subjects framed more comfortably. While the story was interesting, I found the ending a bit confusing. I wish some of the closing interviews had connected more directly to the idea that the two rival teams had combined. The interviewees shared memories and spoke about friendship, but it wasn’t entirely clear how these reflections tied back to the main concept. This was such a unique story, and clarifying the direction in the conclusion would make the overall narrative stronger.
- 4/30 3:00 pm - You had a good story with a variety of interviews and perspectives. Good job gathering those and assembling them. I felt like one thing that would have been helpful was to introduce why the two teams combined (budget, facilities…) I found myself asking throughout the video why and as a result wasn’t fully engaged throughout. At times your B-roll was spot on at reinforcing what was being talked about, but at others it didn’t fit for example at 12 seconds the coach is talking about a sense of community and family and the b-roll shots that follow are all the girls walking past each other and not talking or making eye contact (as if they are all mad at each other). It was a good news story but as a natural sound package, I would have loved to have heard more authentic audio - bats cracking, coach calling out commands, team mates encouraging one another etc. There wasn’t as much as I thought would be there, and your topic lended itself well to provide all different types of authentic audio.
- 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. The interviews did a great job of telling the story, but how can use use that natural audio to help tell part if it as well? Put a wireless mic on the coach and then follow her around with a camera. Let the viewer hear and see her working with the athletes. At the beginning and at :44, we see the coach working with the players. Bring that natural audio up full from :47 and :51 and let us hear (clearly with the mic) her coaching the players. (If you don’t put a mic on her, then it’s harder to hear her.) Then bring that audio back down and continue on with the sound bites at :51. Include little natural audio pops throughout this story. When someone hits the ball, let’s hear that sound. When they are in the dugout laughing, bring that up full between sound bites for about 2-3 seconds.
Judge 1
Positives: 1. The story ran smoothly. There were no major errors in its production or aspects that seemed out of place. 2. The interviews were well composed visually and easy to hear. Additionally, it was nice to see you interview multiple players on the team, instead of just one or two people, so you could show a wide range of perspective.
Improvements: 1. It was good that you made a concerted effort to use natural sound during the piece. However, some of the decisions you made while doing so did not help the story as much as they could have if done differently. While it's okay to use natural sound of people talking, you usually do not want that natural sound soundbyte to go longer than 2-3 second or else it will slow the story down. This is what occurred at the beginning of your piece and toward its middle when another coach was speaking with the team at a low volume. Really try to zero in on those moments like the team saying "Go team" or "baseball glove" nat pop as food examples of natural sound use in the future. 2. The story felt a little too general because it did not focus enough on what would be considered the news aspect in this situation: the two teams combining to become one. While your interview subjects mentioned that that had happened, the story never really brought it back up again. Instead, a lot of the questions the interviewees answered felt like things any player on any softball team in Chicagoland could have said. As a viewer watching a story on this subject, I want to know... what it is like to play alongside a former rival? How is the team more improved combined as one element compared to two? Why did the team combine in the first place? Those elements would really make your story more unique.
Judge 2
Positives: Good job interviewing both the coach and athletes. Good job getting a variety of broll
Improvements: You can tighten up your shots on interviews if there is nothing to see. Half the coach interview was a concrete wall. For Taylor, I was staring at the empty bleachers and porta potty behind her. Make sure your nat pops are sound full. It was only sound full at the very last shot. About half way through, the story line changed. You went from merging teams to why the athletes like playing softball.
Judge 3
Positives: The storyline was solid with a good hook off the top. Your interviewees added context to the story and were well spoken. This was likely a product of your prep work when coming up with interview questions.
Improvements: I would challenge your video capture. Not necessarily the number of shot you get, but the quality of the shots...this would help elevate the story and bring it to life more. Next time you do a nat package, consider letting your interviewee wearing the mic for awhile longer. Let them naturally go about their practice, day, etc. Whatever your story may be this allows for those everyday moments you can't ask for in an interview. A simple interaction or phrase they say could lead your story in an entirely new direction you never thought of...or add emphasis on the storyline you already had in mind. Film some of that interaction too. This can seem tedious especially if its a long stretch of time and you have to go back through it later...but this will make your story standout.
Judge 4
Positives:
Improvements:
Judge 5
Positives:
Improvements: