LARC Tip of the Week: Getting Stories For Your Tape

There are a limited number of ways you can develop a resume tape. You can get a tape complete while at college. You can get a tape complete as an intern at a tv station. You can go to a private company, such as LARC, to get a resume tape done. Or, you can make one on your own. The latter is what I will address in this week's tip. First, get yourself a good quality home camera. If you can't afford one, get what you can afford. Next, look in your local newspaper for community events that will be taking place. There are always festivals, meetings, fairs, etc. happening. These are great stories because most of the time you'll be trying to get a job in a small market where these stories are common. News directors want to know if you can turn these common stories into something interesting. Select an event and attend. Start by finding people to interview. You want to interview at least three people. First, interview someone who is doing something interesting. For instance, a fire eater or a high-wire walker or a knife thrower. All of these people will be doing things that make for great video (TV) and they probably have something interesting to say about what they do and the event they're in. Next, find the organizer of the event and interview that person about the importance of the event. Finally, talk to event goers - two, three max - and get their thoughts about the event. Once you have your interviews on camera, start taking video of everything at the event. Especially video of people you interviewed doing the things they are naturally doing at the vent. NEVER STAGE SHOTS. So what do you do after get all of these interviews and video? That's in next weeks tip.