SHOOT WITH YOUR EARS

Thanks to the NPPA’s 2004 Airborne seminar, we’re able to share more tips from some of the best in the photojournalism business. Both photographer of the year Ted Nelson from WTVF in Nashville and editor of the year Brian Weister from KMGH in Denver focused on the importance of sound. Their suggestions complement those we've heard from others in the past (see: Tips for Photographers).

Capture lots of sound: To make sure you collect the sound you’ll need to tell the story, Brian Weister advises closing your eyes. “Listen, and then go shoot it,” he says. Weister sees natural sound as essential to achieving one of his goals as a storyteller: to make the viewer feel as if he or she is on the scene of the story. “If something makes noise and it pertains to my story, it draws my attention,” Nelson says. He’ll often roll just to capture sound, and shoot video later that he can use to go along with it.

Go wireless: Nelson works hard to get lots of natural sound on every shoot. For a story about National Guard troops in training, Nelson taped a wireless lav to the soldiers’ cell phones to record both ends of their conversations with their families back home. He also uses a wireless shotgun mic to get in close. “I don’t see any reason why somebody would look up from their food” for a story that’s just track-bite-track, says Ted Nelson.

Time shots for sound: Nelson makes sure the reporter he's working with knows when to ask questions to get the best usable sound. In one story, he framed an interview subject with a backyard baseball game in the foreground, and told the reporter to ask a question as soon as the ball was pitched. The result: a shot that begins with the crack of the bat, followed immediately by a soundbite.

Use what you get: Nelson logs natural sound while the reporter writes, and often builds a nat sound sequence or two while he’s waiting for a script. He’ll tell the reporter what elements he’s using so they’re both on the same page. As an editor, Weister says his niche with the station’s producers is giving them more than they expected. His specialty is turning “just a V/O-SOT” into a 45-50 second natural sound mini-package that tells a more complete story in just a little more time.

Let sound dictate edit: Weister uses sound differently, depending on what type of sound it is. He’ll cut directly to a sharp, crisp sound like a hammer hitting a nail, but he’ll bring up a droning sound like a circular saw 20 frames ahead of where he wants it up full, and then will fade it back down.