Television news is exciting because it is live and about issues of instant and enduring concern. The challenge is to get the 'live' news breaking pictures almost immediately into your bulletin. To report 'live' from anywhere and everywhere, in the shortest possible time, is what the new age multimedia journalist will be required to learn and master, using the latest 'digital-world' skills in both audio and video.
Students will be trained to be technically proficient in reporting and producing news live and in documenting stories of human struggle, strife and achievements against great odds. They will become fully adept in the 'how to' aspects of recording the audio and video by using the latest technology
Starting with intensive exercises in writing for television news and visuals, students, while anchoring, will be trained to present news in a conversational style. They will learn to face the camera with assurance.
Students are taught basic video shooting techniques using field cameras and mobile phones. They will be taught to conceptualise a shot adhering to visual grammar and tell the story using varieties of shots. How to do a Piece to Camera and how to conceive apt shots during an interview are some of the other aspects of the camera drill. Students are taught audio recording skills, including how to place or hold the mike for clear and perfect audio. After the video shoot, students will be exposed to video editing techniques using editing grammar and tools for digital video editing.
ACJ's 1200 sqft state-of-the-art four-camera television studio will also provide training in traditional live news productions.
Students, working in smaller groups, will be trained in producing deadline-driven news bulletins simulating a newsroom with national, international, regional, sports, business and weather desks. They take up roles of News Editors, Desk Editors, News Anchors, News Producers, Correspondents, Live Reporters, Camera and Audio hands to run the newsroom. The bulletins will have in-vision and out-of-vision reporter news packages; live reports, interviews and discussions; reviews of news and social media; and incorporate social media inputs like tweets.
Fundamentals of News Editing on Avid Media Composer - Tools of the trade
This hands-on workshop will get students up to speed on the tools and techniques required for editing television news stories and documentaries on Avid Media Composer – the industry leader in broadcast news editing software. This video editing software has many features and functionalities, much of which are not required in the short-turnaround environs of the newsroom. So the focus of this workshop is to cut through the clutter and help students master the tools of the trade - the features most essential for news editing. The aim is to help students understand core functionality and to learn the techniques of using these tools in the most efficient and productive manner while also understanding the technical basics of the video format.
Students are trained in aspects of audio journalism such as writing for the ear, interviewing for the audio format and editing the report into a seamless audio report or podcast. Working from a state of the art digital audio studio, students also learn the protocol for live audio production. They acquire the skill sets for creative audio productions including nuanced sound editing, sound layering, mixing of tracks, effective voice-over techniques, location presentations and interviews, laying background tracks and evoking mental pictures with voice and sound effects.
Students will be taught how to set up an online radio station; promote and produce various types of podcasts such as explainers and micro podcasts; produce online audio news stories, packages and features for a global audience on a wide variety of subjects.The training is designed to make students independent audio journalists.