At yesterday’s “Creating Video Narratives” workshop at Beyond Bootcamp, Washington Post video journalist Travis Fox shared his 10 guidelines for making video reports.

• Golden Rule 10: Get “X-roll.” X-roll is when you get your interviewee’s money quotes in their natural environment.
• Golden Rule 9: Shoot within 180 degrees around a subject. In other words, don’t walk around your subject when interviewing them.
• Golden Rule 8: Sequence your video with a variety of detail, tight, medium, wide shots as well as cut away shots. 50 percent of shots will be tight, 25 percent medium and 25 percent wide
• Golden Rule 7: Remember 80:20 ratio (80 percent should be b-roll and 20 percent should be interviews)
• Golden Rule 6 Get close to the subject when interviewing them for audio purposes
• Golden Rule 5: Stay quiet when shooting
• Golden Rule 4: If you do not get the shot, you do not have it.
• Golden Rule 3: Do not move the camera when shooting (unless you are an advanced videographer)
• Golden Rule 2: Hold every shot for 10 seconds
• Golden Rule 1: Wear headphones

Thanks to University of Miami multimedia graduate student Walyce Almeida for letting me share these with you.

Tagged: The Washington Post Company, Travis Fox, videojournalism