carlsbad high school television
carlsbad, california

We can become accomplished storytellers by learning from some of the best journalists in film and television. In each lesson we will view a remarkable story and then figure out why, and how, it works so well.
LESSON #2 | LIFE-CHANGING PLAY
(STEVE HARTMAN/CBS)
NOTE: AFTER WE SPEND SOME CLASS TIME "DECONSTRUCTING" THIS STORY, PLEASE CLICK ON THIS GOOGLE FORM LINK OR DOWNLOAD THIS PDF AND SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON EACH OF THE DISCUSSION TOPICS BELOW.
1. LIFE-CHANGING PLAY (trt: 3:31)
BEGIN BY WATCHING THE ENTIRE STORY
CLASS DISCUSSION
LET'SDECONSTRUCT
2. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE ELEMENTS OF THIS STORY THAT MAKE IT SO COMPELLING?
3. NOTICE THAT THE REPORTER DOESN'T DROP THE FIRST GOLDEN NUGGET UNTIL WE ARE 45-SECONDS INTO THE STORY. UNTIL THAT MOMENT, WE HAVE NO IDEA WHY THE TEAM WAS PLANNING THIS "REMARKABLE PLAY." RATHER THAN TELLING THE AUDIENCE ABOUT KEITH IN THE VERY BEGINNING, WHY IS THE STORY STRONGER BY WAITING? (VIEW UNTIL 1:16)
BUILD UP TO THE SURPRISE
4. WE NEED TO CARE ABOUT THE CHARACTERS. WITHIN THE FIRST FEW SECONDS OF MEETING KEITH, WE CARE ABOUT HIM. WHILE WE CAN SEE THAT HE IS UNIQUE, WE LEARN WHY, AND WE IMMEDIATELY CONNECT WITH HIM. HOW DID THE REPORTER MAKE THIS HAPPEN IN THE STORY? (VIEW UNTIL 1:32)
5. LET'S PARALLEL PARK! PARALLEL PARKING IS AN EASY-TO-EXECUTE EDITING TECHNIQUE THAT CAN TAKE YOUR STORIES TO THE NEXT LEVEL. WE CALL IT PARALLEL PARKING BECAUSE THE EFFECT, ON AN EDITING TIMELINE, LOOKS LIKE A DIAGRAM FOR VEHICLE PARALLEL PARKING. ESSENTIALLY YOU "PARK" SHORT AUDIO CLIPS IN BETWEEN YOUR VOICEOVER OR A-ROLL AUDIO. LET'S WATCH THIS SAME SCENE AGAIN- NOTICE HOW THE REPORTER PARALLEL PARKED KEITH'S "HUGGING" COMMENTS IN BETWEEN HIS VOICEOVERS.
(VIEW UNTIL 1:32)
THE HUMAN CONNECTION
