What are you prepared to do?

"There's no such thing as a bad story, just a bad way of telling it," I once heard Ted Koppel say, and that's how I look at every promo I edit. What's the hook? How can I tease the big news story with my little story in a unique way that captivates an audience and makes them want to watch?

Sometimes you've got a treasure trove of great footage, great sound bites, and the perfect music. What happens when the visuals are less than perfect, there are no sound bites, and you're struggling to find a great track of music? How do you making something out of nothing? It's when you're backed into a corner like this that you have to be bold and as the cliche goes, "Think outside of the box."

A story without a view

A few months back I was tasked with promoting a story, from our investigative team, the Target 12 Investigators, about the state of Rhode Island hiring an out-of-state company to staff state beaches. Let's just say there wasn't much video and what video we did have wasn't going to sell the story. It was a great story that needed great promotion. Then, a light bulb went off, I had an idea that would make the spot stand out. On a warm spring morning, I took one for the team, and started my day at the beach. I went armed with a video camera and a stick.

The concept was to write key phrases, in the sand, to tell the story. I also recorded the sand unaltered so in post production I could write everything on and off. It worked! The unique storytelling resonated with our audience. Viewership was very strong and the story convinced the Rhode Island General Assembly to re-look at contract they had with the out-of-state firm.

Hitting the note

Finding the right music is sometimes the most difficult part of producing a spot. It's the base on which everything else is built. It sets the pace and more importantly the tone. This past February, my job was to put together a spot about potential child sex predators. Not a fun day at the office having to think about that sort of thing, but the music needed to represent that truth. I dabble in music recording, and decided to record an original piece to set the tone for this dark story.

I recorded a couple takes of droning keyboards. Then I used a 5 gallon bucket and smacked it with a drum stick. I wanted to the drums to resonate so each strike was deliberate. It also gave me flexibility to place each strike exactly where I wanted it to gain the maximum sonic impact. Finally I recorded a guitar part. In my mind I wanted the guitar to have the desolate feeling like guitar work in the Pink Floyd song, "Don't Leave me Now".

In the final mix I combined two of the drone recordings, to set a sinister undercurrent. Then I took the bucket smacks, lowered the pitch, and added a delay. The guitar part was dropped because it took away the strength of the musical bed. The back half of the promo had a different tone so I chose suitable music from WPRI's music library. The two came together seamlessly.

Buggy investigation without the living bugs

Years ago we did a story on bed bugs. Who wants to see actual creepy, crawly bugs on TV? That could be a turn off to a lot of potential viewers. How do you tell an effective story without using bug video? The solution was to animate almost everything.

I still love this spot for its visual storytelling. You can turn off the volume know what it's about.

As nice as it is to have great video, great sound bites, and great music, for a spot, part of me prefers the challenge of being backed into a creative corner. It forces me to think outside of my comfort zone and if I manage to knock the creative out of the park there's a great sense of satisfaction I get knowing I've done my job well.

It's important in video production not to confine yourself to a set of rules. You need to stick your neck out creatively, and come up with interesting solutions to difficult situations. This is what allows you to grow in your day-to-day work.

Malone, in the movie The Untouchables said to Elliot Ness, "What are you prepared to do?". My answer, just about anything.