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What Managers Really Want To See On A Producer’s Reel.

We recently talked about what hiring managers want to see on a reporter’s reel, and since then producers have reached out asking: “What do I show?”

Last week I put that question up for debate on Twitter and was surprised to see so many people say “A-Blocks.” Simple answer: NO. That is not good enough at all. Here’s why: A blocks in most shops are truly a group effort. Anyone can end up with one or two sizzling A-blocks to show off.

When I screen producer reels, I take a very close look at how you start each and every block, what the flow is like throughout the newscast, and your TEASES. Often I see a great A-block tease then, as of the end of the B-block, the teases STINK. That is a clear indicator the producer gets help at the end of the A.

Managers want to see a very solid newscast, with great flow from start to finish. They want consistent use of graphic elements, and natural sound. They are looking for movement of the anchors with purpose (and that is proving harder to pull off than you might realize for many producers) and conversational flow. Here’s another element they are looking for: How you utilize social media in your newscast and with your own accounts. This is getting to be as important as your reel. If you act childish on your Twitter handle, they will not look at your reel.

Now let’s address the second most common misconception, that producer reels should always have heavy breaking news. Not necessarily. News managers know that to a large degree how breaking news is presented has as much to do with how the staff is guided by management, as it does how well the producer puts it all together. This does not mean that managers do not want to see a killer breaking news/continuous coverage newscast. But that should not be the only newscast on your reel. Your “everyday” work should actually sell you more.

So to answer the “What should my reel have?” question, you need two things: A very well put together “regular news day” show and one that showcases how you handle breaking news. Yep, two newscasts. Oh and, by the way, do not leave all of the WX hits and sports in there, show the transition, then cut to the end of the segment. We newscast reviewers don’t need to see what the high temperature was or who won the game and we get tired of constantly having to fast forward. You’ll get brownie points for showing that courtesy!

When to use two shots.

This seemingly simple technique is misused all the time. Too often you watch a story about a difficult situation like a murder or serious health issue and when the story ends, the next image is a two shot. Then the, visibly, uncomfortable anchors try and transition to WX, teases or a story about puppies!

Two shots are not throwaways used just to get to WX or sports or to make sure you do not have disappearing anchors. Two shots have a specific, and key, purpose in a newscast: Building your team.

Two shots are best used as transitions between subjects that have a similar emotional appeal. In other words: Use them when discussing a serious subject (when you have team coverage for example) or a break out on a story. You can tag out on a two shot, when discussing a story about a bank robbery and have second anchor say a line about another crime story. This type of handoff is fine, and at times quite effective.

Too often two shots are used in the same spots in a newscast every day: At the top of a block, then just before teases. If you do not consider whether the subjects you are discussing are related, you are setting your anchors up for a lot of uncomfortable transitions. No good team building there.

So when planning two shots in a rundown, you really need to think of your anchors as having a conversation and look for places where one anchor can say something, and the other can add a little extra. Let’s go back to the bank robbery example. Let’s say Joe, reads a vo about the robbery. The last line is a two shot, Joe: “Police are hoping someone will call in a tip about that surveillance video.” Then Jane can say, in the two shot: “Police wish they had more tips on this case… (car crash, fire, a burglarly..etc..). If you base two shots on transitions, instead of setting up face time, the number of uncomfortable moments will go way down.

A final thought: Two shots do not require that both anchors speak on camera. You can have just one actually speak. This is especially true if you are wanting to quickly re-establish team during continuing coverage, breaking news or in the middle of a news block. Two shots can get uncomfortable if one has to read a line, then the other sits and waits their turn. This is especially true if the sentences are long, or the first person actually is reading more than one line. Keep two shots tight. Keep the emotional pulse the same. Let it seem like one anchor finishes a thought, and the other picks up the idea to add more. That’s how people talk. It will create natural flow and your anchors will thank you for it.

How to tighten your own writing.

When producers call and tell me how their work stands out, the number one statement I hear is“ my writing is tight.” Truth be told, when I review a newscast, that is rarely the case. Same is true of reporter scripts. I would get calls from the crews to copy edit and be told “You will love it, my writing is so clean and tight.” That is a tall order. Many were shocked to hear they fell short.

So how do you tighten your own writing? Copy edit yourself. Write your script or cold open or whatever it is, and then go back to it and try and shave time off. Often you will find entire sentences or sections that you can cut.

Another effective technique is to compartmentalize elements. When constructing a live pkg for example, assign facts for each element. Maybe the “what” and “when” are in the anchor intro, the “where” is explained in the live lead, the “who” is the start of your pkg which ends with the “how.” The live tag is the “what’s next.” This helps tighten things up. Often pkg’s repeat information from the anchor intro or live intro. Then the tag repeats information yet again. By compartmentalizing, you help story tell better (see Storytelling on a Dime) and you write more succinctly.

Print out multiple stories, take them home, then write them over again. Sometimes practice makes perfect. A little secret: Many of the best in the business take time out each day or at least each week for self evaluation (see Humble Pie). Your writing will improve. Your speed will improve as well.

Finally, make adverbs and adjectives really count. They must be crucial to the telling of the story, not just something you throw in for extra flare. If you do that, your writing will not only become more clear and concise, but you will also avoid exaggerating facts.

So there you have it, some ways to tighten up your own writing.

When to wipe between stories.

With the constant push for more and more content, I am seeing producers use wipes between stories to keep up the pace. This can be a highly effective technique to showcase stories. It also can be very uncomfortable to watch if misused.

So when should you wipe between stories? There are three common rules:

If stories have the same type of subject with a common link (i.e. – three crime stories that happened overnight, three parades on a holiday etc.)
To showcase different elements of the same story (i.e. – “Here is what the fire looked like when it first started.”, then a wipe to more fire crews arriving on scene, wipe to helicopter dumping water, then a sot from a worried neighbor.)
To showcase a section of news (like national headlines, local headlines, craziest vids of the day etc.)

When you veer from these rules, you can put anchors in some interesting situations. For example, it does not work if you have a taped interview on a serious political issue, then wipe to vo of a charity event. A wipe needs the stories to be related somehow. Morning show or weekend producers, with one anchor, often use wipes to get around a pre-recorded interview. That is, they wipe out of the interview to avoid making it obvious that the interview is pre-recorded. But that is not the best technique. So what do you do? Well, you can have the editor end the taped subject on an image that does not show the anchor. That way you can show the anchor back on the set to do a transition line without sweating it. Or, you can wipe to a story that is related. For example, in the case of the pre-recorded political interview, wipe to a quick followup about a political story. Then show the charity event, with the first line on camera.

Bottom line: Wipes are effective when the stories have a common link of some sort. They do not help you pick up the pace if the stories have nothing to do with each other. In that case you confuse and slow the viewer’s reaction down.