“The nature of the media is changing,” said KXTV News10 reporter George Warren at Thursday evening’s video storytelling tips and shortcuts workshop, hosted by The Sacramento Press.

Warren is an Emmy-winning reporter/multimedia journalist. He recently celebrated his 30th anniversary working with News10. He started started creating videos when he was a senior in college and has shot with primitive videotapes and 16mm film.

“The equipment today has gotten so good that it’s easy for one person to go out and produce really good content in just a short amount of time,” Warren told the audience of about 30 aspiring writers, journalists and community members.

Warren used his own recent videos to demonstrate examples of what a single person can do to produce quality videos and tell memorable stories in as little as an hour and 15 minutes.

“You usually want to start with your strongest element,” Warren said. “But on the other hand you want to build to the big finish.”

Warren showed an example of this through his story about a shoplifter caught on a surveillance camera stealing $300 worth of merchandise. The piece began with the footage of the woman filling her bag multiple times with stolen merchandise. It built up to the final kicker: the shoplifter was only caught because, at the end of her spree, she filled out a raffle ticket with her full name and contact information.

“Think about how you’re going to start the story, think about how you’re going to end, and the rest will fall into place,” he said.

Warren added that when planning the beginning and end of the story, the reporter must choose strong pictures for both.

Prosumer camcorders and microphone kits are available in the $5,000 range, though small handheld cameras, camcorders and video phones work well and get the job done.

If using smaller cameras, it is important to invest in a tripod, he said. Smaller cameras are very sensitive to any type of movement – even simply the pulse in your hand, Warren joked.

For those serious about video journalism, it is not ideal to depend on the camera’s built-in microphone, he added. Investing in external wireless microphone options allows for improved audio, particularly in windy or less ideal situations.

Images should be shot wide and should not be head on. The subject should fall off-center onto the left or right third.

“Shooting people wide allows them to use their hands and guarantees they won’t lean out of your frame,” Warren said.

Other tips included: let people and cars in the background enter and exit shots; let shots linger as you film; allow natural sounds in the background; shoot more video than you think you need; avoid excessive head room; film in tight, medium and wide shots; and avoid panning and zooming in and out. These practices allow for best overall footage and edit points.

To narrate the story behind the footage, Warren emphasized the use of an active voice opposed to a passive voice. “To be” verbs such as “was,” “is” and “were” should generally be avoided. Action verbs provide a direct approach to conveying the message and setting the scene.

Narrations should be kept simple and should reinforce the videos. The audio should not retell what is already seen on the screen.

It’s important to have a specific shot in mind for every piece of narration written. To reiterate this, Warren shared the common saying, “If we didn’t shoot it, it doesn’t exist.”

Jason Silva, an architect who often makes videos about future projects, said he took away a lot of information about composing the pieces.

“It’s not just about taking shots and building it later,” he said. “It’s about building it first in your head, narrating it in your head and then filming to match that.”

“While I don’t shoot video,” said Trina Drotar, who recently started writing articles for The Sacramento Press, “I thought there were a lot of really good tips that he gave us for even taking photographs that accompany our articles as well as (for) writing our articles.”

Every year, the number of people watching local news on television drops. Because of this, Warren said there is a move toward experimenting with unconventional methods to present news in videos outside the traditional package.

“They’re encouraging us to kind of push the envelope, to be uncomfortable, to take chances.” Warren said. “Anything goes.”