Writing the Package
Package. An edited, self-contained video report of an event or feature, complete with pictures, sound bites, voice-over narration, and natural sounds. The package is a form of narrative storytelling with a beginning, middle, and ending.
Some reporters start with the pictures whenever they “write” a package. Others start with the words. But the most efficient reporters first block the package as a story with a beginning, middle, and ending. The blueprint looks something like this:
1. Focus (the story stated in a sentence)
2. Beginning (lead)
a. Studio lead-in
3. Package lead
a. Visual lead
b. Voice over (VO)
4. Middle (three or four main points)
a. Main point A
b. Main point B
c. Main point C
d. Main ...
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