Online video presentation given to Online News Association June 12, 2015.

1. MY TALK LINE UP
• Why you should shoot video
• What role video plays in generating ad revenue
• Who consumes news video
• Where your organization is in its adoption of video
• When you should use video
• How you should shoot video
and also…
• Sources to watch for inspiration
VIDEO FOR THE WEB

2. WHY SHOOT?
VIDEO FOR THE WEB
• People like to view videos online.

3. WHY SHOOT?
VIDEO FOR THE WEB
• People like to view videos online.
• Video drives viewers to your website.

4. WHY SHOOT?
VIDEO FOR THE WEB
• People like to view videos online.
• Video drives viewers to your website.
• Videos are good for SEO.

5. WHY SHOOT?
VIDEO FOR THE WEB
• People like to view videos online.
• Video drives viewers to your website.
• Videos are good for SEO.
• Videos allow your news organization to extend its
brand into new audiences.

6. WHY SHOOT?
VIDEO FOR THE WEB
• People like to view videos online.
• Video drives viewers to your website.
• Videos are good for SEO.
• Videos allow your news organization to extend its
brand into new audiences.
• And yes, they make money, but more about that in a
minute…

7. WHY SHOOT?
VIDEO FOR THE WEB
• People like to view videos online.
• Video drives viewers to your website.
• Videos are good for SEO.
• Videos allow your news organization to extend its
brand into new audiences.
• And yes, they make money, but more about that in a
minute…
• The best reason to shoot video, however, is that we
are storytellers in an increasingly visual world, and
video reconnects us to the reason most of us went
into journalism — to learn about the world and
communicate that to others.

8. VIDEO LITERACY #1
VIDEO FOR THE WEB
• Six in 10 U.S. adults watch videos online. What
percentage watch news videos online?
SOURCE: Pew Research Center State of the Media 2014

9. VIDEO LITERACY #1
VIDEO FOR THE WEB
• Six in 10 U.S. adults watch videos online. What
percentage watch news videos online?
a) 12%
SOURCE: Pew Research Center State of the Media 2014

10. VIDEO LITERACY #1
VIDEO FOR THE WEB
• Six in 10 U.S. adults watch videos online. What
percentage watch news videos online?
a) 12%
b) 36%
SOURCE: Pew Research Center State of the Media 2014

11. VIDEO LITERACY #1
VIDEO FOR THE WEB
• Six in 10 U.S. adults watch videos online. What
percentage watch news videos online?
a) 12%
b) 36%
c) 52%
SOURCE: Pew Research Center State of the Media 2014

12. VIDEO LITERACY #1
VIDEO FOR THE WEB
• Six in 10 U.S. adults watch videos online. What
percentage watch news videos online?
a) 12%
b) 36%
c) 52%
SOURCE: Pew Research Center State of the Media 2014

13. VIDEO LITERACY #2
VIDEO FOR THE WEB
• What percentage of social media users have posted
videos they shot of news events on social media
websites?
SOURCE: Pew Research Center State of the Media 2014

14. VIDEO LITERACY #2
VIDEO FOR THE WEB
• What percentage of social media users have posted
videos they shot of news events on social media
websites?
a) 12%
SOURCE: Pew Research Center State of the Media 2014

15. VIDEO LITERACY #2
VIDEO FOR THE WEB
• What percentage of social media users have posted
videos they shot of news events on social media
websites?
a) 12%
b) 22%
SOURCE: Pew Research Center State of the Media 2014

16. VIDEO LITERACY #2
VIDEO FOR THE WEB
• What percentage of social media users have posted
videos they shot of news events on social media
websites?
a) 12%
b) 22%
c) 43%
SOURCE: Pew Research Center State of the Media 2014

17. VIDEO LITERACY #2
VIDEO FOR THE WEB
• What percentage of social media users have posted
videos they shot of news events on social media
websites?
a) 12%
b) 22%
c) 43%
SOURCE: Pew Research Center State of the Media 2014

18. VIDEO LITERACY #3
VIDEO FOR THE WEB
• What percentage of all digital ad revenue did video
make up?
SOURCE: eMarketer, 2013

19. VIDEO LITERACY #3
VIDEO FOR THE WEB
• What percentage of all digital ad revenue did video
make up?
1) 6%
SOURCE: eMarketer, 2013

20. VIDEO LITERACY #3
VIDEO FOR THE WEB
• What percentage of all digital ad revenue did video
make up?
1) 6%
2) 10%
SOURCE: eMarketer, 2013

21. VIDEO LITERACY #3
VIDEO FOR THE WEB
• What percentage of all digital ad revenue did video
make up?
1) 6%
2) 10%
3) 22%
SOURCE: eMarketer, 2013

22. VIDEO LITERACY #3
VIDEO FOR THE WEB
• What percentage of all digital ad revenue did video
make up?
1) 6%
2) 10%
3) 22%
SOURCE: eMarketer, 2013

23. VIDEO FOR THE WEB

24. VIDEO FOR THE WEB

25. VIDEO FOR THE WEB

26. VIDEO FOR THE WEB

27. VIDEO LITERACY #5
VIDEO FOR THE WEB
Where is your organization in its online video adoption?
See how you compare. Pew looked at 32 local television
station websites:

28. VIDEO LITERACY #5
VIDEO FOR THE WEB
Where is your organization in its online video adoption?
See how you compare. Pew looked at 32 local television
station websites:
• Almost all include website video, although how many
homepage stories contained video varied as much as
92% to just 6%

29. VIDEO LITERACY #5
VIDEO FOR THE WEB
Where is your organization in its online video adoption?
See how you compare. Pew looked at 32 local television
station websites:
• Almost all include website video, although how many
homepage stories contained video varied as much as
92% to just 6%
• The stations that used video all contained a specific
place for videos on the website

30. VIDEO LITERACY #5
VIDEO FOR THE WEB
Where is your organization in its online video adoption?
See how you compare. Pew looked at 32 local television
station websites:
• Almost all include website video, although how many
homepage stories contained video varied as much as
92% to just 6%
• The stations that used video all contained a specific
place for videos on the website
• Nearly half included live streams, but most of those
were just the regularly aired local broadcast as
opposed to one set up specifically for the Web.
SOURCE: Pew Research Center State of the Media 2014

31. VIDEO LITERACY #5
VIDEO FOR THE WEB
Where is your organization in its online video adoption?
See how you compare. Pew looked at 32 local television
station websites:
• Almost all hosted their video content themselves,
although most also have a dedicated YouTube channel
SOURCE: Pew Research Center State of the Media 2014

32. CONCLUSION
VIDEO FOR THE WEB
One take-away from the Pew Study:
Online video news continues to grow in popularity
among a very desirable demographic, but is not at
present accounting for a large share of ad revenue
for news organizations.

33. NEXT: WHEN VIDEO?
VIDEO FOR THE WEB
Poynter’s Al Tompkins answers when to use video on
stories
Tompkins
champions using
video when you
can find a CCC
— a central
compelling
character — to
illustrate the
story.
Poynter plug: Check out Al’s 3-part video webinar
and read “Aim for the Heart!”

34. WHEN TO USE VIDEO
VIDEO FOR THE WEB
From the Los Angeles Times Originals video
channel
“Behind the
scenes of the Los
Angeles Ballet”
selects a highly
visual subject and
finds a CCC who
can provide a
voice to the
challenges
Videographers: Jay L. Clendenin and Bethany Mollenkof
http://www.latime
s.com/entertainm
ent/arts/la-et-los-
angeles-ballet-
video-20150520-
premiumvideo.ht
ml

35. WHEN TO USE VIDEO
VIDEO FOR THE WEB
What makes her a successful CCC?
•• Her thoughts
are focused,
insightful.
• Three words =
Dancers are tough
• Plain-spoken
but also eloquent,
she provides a
contrast to the
mystery of ballet
Videographers: Jay L. Clendenin and Bethany Mollenkof
http://www.latime
s.com/entertainm
ent/arts/la-et-los-
angeles-ballet-
video-20150520-
premiumvideo.ht
ml

36. WHEN TO USE VIDEO
VIDEO FOR THE WEB
Tompkins’ advice on framing story angles
In his “Telling
Memorable Video
Stories” series,
Tompkins lists five
motivators that
engage viewers:
• Money
• Family
• Safety
• Health
• Community

37. WHEN TO USE VIDEO
VIDEO FOR THE WEB
Tompkins’ advice on framing story angles
The idea behind
the five is to think
of fresh angles
that will interest
people who
might not be
interested in the
subject matter.
The key is to
attach it
immediately
at the top of the
story.

38. HOW TO USE VIDEO
VIDEO FOR THE WEB
Good editors like
Tompkins
encourage
establishing a
hook / finding
focus
immediately
because viewers
are fickle.
Unfocused videos
can have
clickaway rates as
high as 85%
within first 10
seconds.
Videographer: Ashley Curtis

39. LENGTH OF VIDEO
VIDEO FOR THE WEB
You’ve probably all heard the 2-minute max. for the
“typical” online news feature, but perhaps that’s
oversimplifying a bit.
Gretchen Frazee of WTIU (Bloomington, In. PBS affiliate):
• Their audience seeks more in-depth stories so their
longer-form stories (about 4-5 minutes long) draw the
most traffic, but that is also because they are the main
ones they segment out of their shows for YouTube.
• They have realized that videos posted directly to
Facebook typically receive many more views than if they
post just a link, but Facebook has a file size limit.

40. INTERVIEWING
“It’s not your job to make them respect you, or to
think that you’re smart, and then to walk out of
the door with nothing in your notebook... Your job
is to get them to answer questions, and to share
things with the public.”
—NPR reporter Laura Sullivan
VIDEO FOR THE WEB

41. • Always conduct a pre-interview and plenty of
research. Ask about noise / lighting at the location
and ask the person to have ready any materials
needed (e.g. scrapbooks).
• By the time you get to your shoot, you should already
know what part of the story your source is going to
explain.
VIDEO FOR THE WEB
INTERVIEWING

42. WORD/IMAGE HARMONY
In putting together a video package, you will have two
different (speaking) audio tracks that provide the
explanation of what’s going on — your VO and the a-roll
of the person.
• Remember that you don’t always have to hear the
person’s voice over the b-roll. Let natsound
contribute.
• Viewers don’t want to stare at a talking head (a-roll)
for long.
• Ask questions that describe processes and
environments so that you can then run b-
roll that matches what the person is saying.
VIDEO FOR THE WEB

43. This story on a teen group heading to Japan illustrates
this well:
VIDEO FOR THE WEB
WORD/IMAGE HARMONY
https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=-Pz8MZ0mOEQ

44. VIDEO LITERACY #6:
In a traditional broadcast, what is the percentage
of the video piece that is the VO (the narrator’s voice)
versus the person being interviewed (SOTs)?
VIDEO FOR THE WEB

45. VIDEO LITERACY #6:
In a traditional broadcast, what is the percentage
of the video piece that is the VO (the narrator’s voice)
versus the person being interviewed (SOTs)?
ANSWER: As lopsided as 80% VO, 20% SOTs
VIDEO FOR THE WEB

46. Using your subject’s own voice entirely is becoming
much more common, but it requires more thorough
interviewing
• You must record enough SOTs to explain
everything through that person’s eyes.
• Your interviews become more challenging, but
using only the subject’s voice makes the piece
more intimate.
• As you watch this video, consider how it uses
first-person and also bucks traditional news-
gathering conventions like timeliness and using
multiple sources
• Ryan Brady: The Polevaulter
VIDEO FOR THE WEB
FIRST-PERSON VO

47. • Before you even head out, write a list of b-roll musts:
1) Close ups and medium shots
2) Establishing shots
3) Close-up of hands and other cut-in shots
4) Details mentioned in pre-interviews
5) Good opening and closing shots
VIDEO FOR THE WEB
SHOOTING TIPS

48. • Look for action you can capture through
sequences, or series of shots that are edited
together:
1) Establishing shot, medium
shot, CU to set a scene
2) Interactions (a gymnast being spotted
by her coach)
3) Action and reaction (e.g. a winning
basket goes in, crowd cheers)
VIDEO FOR THE WEB
SHOOTING TIPS

49. VIDEO FOR THE WEB
INNOVATION
• Several companies (JumpCam, Mixit, Peepsqueeze)
have been developing collaborative video software
where several creators can upload shots together for
live streaming.

50. VIDEO FOR THE WEB
INSPIRING SOURCES
• There are a number of good sources online. A few:
• http://tv.nppa.org/
• http://mediastorm.com
• http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/
• http://www.vice.com/en_us
• Chicago Tribune, LA Times, etc. Originals
•
http://www.washingtonpost.com/multimedia/videos/