Things You'll Need:
- Graphics
- Editing equipment
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Step 1
Decide whether graphics are appropriate for your TV news story. The first choice for visuals in any TV news story should always be fresh video. However, graphics are useful when video is lacking or a point can be better illustrated with graphics. They are also effective when reinforcing a point being spoken.
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Step 2
Consider the wide array of graphics available. They can be a simple list of text or colorful graphs or complex animation. Modern graphics computers can do just about anything you can imagine. Go ahead and be creative. Just be sure your graphics illustrate what you are saying.
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Step 3
Consult with the graphic artists who make the graphics. They can tell you whether your ideas are possible given their abilities and time constraints. They often propose ideas that you would never think of on your own. They are the experts. Trust them.
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Step 4
Pick the best place to put graphics in your TV news story. If you must talk about something but don't have video, then graphics can fill the void. If you need to compare quantity or duration, then graphics can show that visually. If you want to emphasize a phrase, then graphics can focus viewer attention on the words. Decide where graphics will be most effective in your story.
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Step 5
Write to your graphics. It is essential that you talk about the graphics when they are seen on the screen. If it is a list of text, then you must read that text word for word. If it is animation, you have to describe what viewers see as they see it. Graphics reinforce what is being said. They never stand alone.
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Step 6
Consider combining video and graphics. Freezing a frame of video, slowing it down or toggling it back and forth are effective ways to combine video with graphics. Reporters can appear on one side of the frame while a graphics list is revealed on the other. Photos can be pulled out of video then manipulated in endless ways while viewers watch. The possibilities are limitless.
