Warrior Weekly - ID# 549

Maine West
News Program
Entry Description

This is an episode of our weekly news show, Warrior Weekly.

Copyright Info

Recent Teacher Comments

  • 4/30 10:24 pm - Fun intro, shows a lot of the school. It would be great to hear from some of the people involved int he stories you are telling in those first 2 spots. Short SOTs are great, like in your swimming and autos pack. Cool way to finish with some student talent.
  • 4/29 8:13 am - It’s nice that you used b-roll in your tease. I like that since you did sports out of the studio that you have the basketball practice going on in the background. It would have been nice to see some of your reporters. Have then do a stand-up at the beginning or the end of the story. Why do some of the students you interview have their first and last name in the lower third but others only have their first name?
  • 4/27 2:03 pm - Nice opening of the show. Really like how you have moving b-roll to accompany your live stories. Sports- watch the opinionated words like "devastating loss." It's the news- not an editorial! Swim story- make sure you include interview guests' last names- not just "Ben." Car mechanics story was well done. Warrior con was well done, too. Good b-roll and a solid story was told. Maine Minute is a great idea to get a lot of stuff in in a short amount of time. Maybe add a clock ticking in the background? Or a minute countdown in the corner? Might be cool- just a suggestion! You really highlight a lot of people and events in your show which is what it's all about! Keep it up!
Judge 1

Positives: 1. All the anchors in the newscast were engaging and delivered their lines strongly. Good job, guys! 2. I thought the talent display was a cool way to end your newscast. I'm not sure if a lot of other people would've thought about doing something way.

Improvements: 1. I think your newscast needed an item or two more of stories with hard news focuses. Like reporters could have covered something on a new rules change at school or something new happening in the neighborhood. Most of it was really just sports or feature stories. Without those harder types of stories, newscasts can feel more like entertainment segments. 2. The sports segment occurred too early and went on a little too long compared to the rest of your newscast. Additionally, it was a bit confusing when the sports anchors effectively said the sports segment was over before then going on to mention another sports story would be coming up featuring the swimmer.

Judge 2

Positives: Wide variety of stories highlighting the events at the school. Nice job!! The "Maine Minute" was a clever and effective way to include school announcements that are needed but not the most visual. Strong use of graphics throughout the newscast to help with visualization and pacing.

Improvements: Good idea at the top of the newscast to tease what's coming up. That sets the stage for the viewers. It could be stronger to start with the tease video as a "cold open" and then go to the anchors on set. Look for more opportunities for student voices, especially at the top of the newscast.

Judge 3

Positives: Great use of highlights and stills to tell the sports stories across the school. I really appreciate the variety of stories the reporters covered across the school. The use of a virtual set is also really great especially the rundown of upcoming club events. I'd encourage you to build off that - it's unique versus the other entries in this category. It's exceptionally difficult to shoot in natatorium - you're fighting lighting and audio the entire time. Big credit to the team that made that story happen. Some really good photography in these stories - following the action and helping me connect with the story.

Improvements: Watch your audio levels - stories and anchor segments did not have matched audio, especially in the interviews and reporter tracking. These details matter. I recognize the transition wipe is over a black screen, but each wipe looks like an error with the video cuts back on. I might consider reworking those wipes to have a cleaner look from one segment to the next. For as strong as some of the photography is throughout the entry, I'd remind it's still important to have consistency and basic building blocks: wide shot, medium shot, close up - especially on a tripod. The ComiCon story is the best example of this - nice steady shots of the interviews and then wild movement in the b-roll. Balancing that story out will go a long way in improving the overall visual storytelling. Also - and very minor - consider a light under your studio talent (on the floor, in front of your desk, on below the prompter, etc) to knock out the chin shadows of your anchors.

Judge 4

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Judge 5

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