Video Script Writing and Field Producing
Scripted Out or On-the-spot Inspiration
If you need a script, we’ve got just the guy to write it. He’s got an Emmy® to prove it. But a script isn’t always necessary. What you might need is a professional field producer. Yup, same guy, same Emmy®. What a field producer does is walk you through everything. He comes up with great ideas right on-the-spot. That’s the years of broadcast journalism kicking in. He interviews you on-camera, takes the best of the best from that interview, puts it into a script and the editor takes it from there.
Script Writing for Video
Pre-written narration or reality story telling.
Script writing can be looked at in two ways. Sometimes it means literally writing the words that are used in the narration that goes with a video. But you’ve also seen television shows, documentaries, feature stories and even commercials that have no narration. That’s called reality-style. Reality storytelling is a very popular format these days. So a great script writer needs to not only be able to write narration effectively, but also have a strong sense of how to take reality-style video, shot on-location, and turn it into something that makes sense, is compelling, entertaining and powerfully effective!
Field Producing for Video
The field producer creatively distills to the story essence.
What is a field producer? Well, do you know what a director is to a movie? That’s what a field producer is to your video, and more. A strong field producer funnels down the most important elements of your message and comes up with creative ideas for your video. The field producer can be the most important person on a video crew. Television reporters are good examples of field producers and script writers. Reporters research their subject, funnel it down to what’s important, do the interviews, guide the photojournalist through the shooting of the story, then write the narration to match the video and create a compelling story.
Engel-Angle Video Productions speaks for itself!
Take a look at the videos on this page for some great examples of professional field producing and script writing. Mike Brunswick has been a reporter, producer and writer for more than three decades. The following videos are part of an Emmy® award-winning collection of stories Mike Brunswick researched, field-produced and wrote for On the Road at KSTP-TV in Minneapolis and are narrated by Jason Davis. They really speak for themselves.
Pursuit of Excellence
The folks in this small Minnesota farming community are so proud of their historic dilapidated church; they put up a million-dollars to save it.
A good field producer/writer knows what elements are needed before going in, directs the shoot and then puts those elements together into a great story.
It takes real experience to show up on location, assess the situation, interview key people, know what video is needed to tell the story, shoot it all and be out the door in less than four hours.
The Lighthouse Getaway
What an adventure! A Winona, Minnesota man buys a lighthouse from the U-S Coast Guard, in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay, and turns it into his family getaway.
Putting a story like this together is a real challenge. The object is to capture the adventure as it’s happening in documentary style, then write an effective narrative, using natural sound and interview excerpts to tell a powerful story. We focus on one main character who wears a wireless microphone at all times so we can capture every emotional moment as he approaches the lighthouse in choppy seas, risks the danger of getting aboard the lighthouse and experiences the true emotion of owning this magnificent structure.
The Enchanted Highway
A man abandons his career to create a roadside spectacle he hopes will save his dying town.
A professional field producer might talk with his subject for more than 20-minutes in order to draw out the most compelling information using professional interviewing techniques.
Then, only the strongest quotes will be chosen and the narration will be interwoven around them.
One Day In August
These two young photojournalists, working for their college newspaper, never imagined they would find themselves at the scene of such a horrific tragedy.
It is one day in August that changed their lives forever.
This is an example of a story done almost exclusively with interviews and photos. A good field producer-writer will find and use the most important elements necessary to make a story compelling.
