Exercise 1
Skill Building--Narration

Practice your delivery by reading this challenging script aloud. Read it once through "cold," directly from the screen, and record it. Try your best to read with expression, natural pauses, and phrasing.

MR. GO AND MR. WENT HAD A DATE TO SEE A BALL GAME. GO KNEW
WENT WANTED TO GO BUT IT DEPENDED UPON WHEN WENT WENT SO GO
WENT TO WENT TO GET WENT TO GO WITH GO BUT WENT TOLD GO TO GO
SO GO WENT. AFTER GO WENT WENT WENT AFTER GO TO TELL GO NOT TO
GO NOT KNOWING THAT GO WENT TO PHONE WENT TO TELL WENT NOT
TO GO. WHEN WENT WENT TO TELL GO NOT TO GO AND WHEN GO WENT
TO LET WENT KNOW GO WANTED WENT NOT TO GO IS NOT KNOWN AND
THAT'S WHY GO WENT WITHOUT WENT AND WENT WENT WITHOUT GO.

Now, print a copy of the script, add punctuation, and mark it for meaning. To review one approach to marking copy, refer to Chapter 12. Read and record it a second time.

Compare your two efforts to see the value of marking copy before delivery. When you’re finished, you can see how a professional journalist marked the same copy and listen to a reading.

Marking the script should have helped you read it with meaning. Take a look at the markings we made before recording it. Notice the use of a single slash for a pause, a double slash for a full stop, and a down arrow for lower pitch. Click here to listen to the recording.

Here is a marked up copy of the script:

Exercise 2
Stand-up Planning

You are assigned to cover a story about a new study that found fluorescent lighting contributes to eye strain and other concentration problems in many classrooms and offices. What kind of demonstrative or interactive stand-ups might you do for this story? You don’t need to write the stand-up copy; just describe what you would do.

Questions--Stand-up Planning

• Describe three ideas for demonstrative or interactive stand-ups you might do for a story on fluorescent lighting in classrooms.

Exercise 3
Solo Stand-up Challenges

Working alone makes it difficult to produce creative stand-ups. Difficult, but not impossible. Joe Little is a solo journalist who specializes in active stand-ups. He often shoots his stand-ups in multiple parts so he can edit the finished product. Watch this video compilation; we’ll have a question for you afterward. Watch the video here.

We asked Joe for a little background on how he shoots stand-ups. Here's what he told us about the one in which he uses on-screen graphics.

“It’s all about ‘negative space.’ I purposely leave myself enough room in my standup (I rarely do a straight-on standup anyway) to give me room for those graphics. It’s simple text added using Final Cut X. It’s a great program. I’ve been using some variation of Final Cut for 12 years.”

Questions--Solo Stand-up Challenges

• Of all the stand-ups in the video, which one do you think worked best and why?