10 Golden Rules for Video Journalists

As Advancing the Story reports on TV stations replacing two-person reporting teams with “multimedia journalists," Ricochet by Chrys Wu has 10 Golden Rules for Video Journalists from Travis Fox, a video producer for The Washington Post:

• Get “X-roll.” X-roll is when you get your interviewee’s money quotes in their natural environment.
  
• Shoot within 180 degrees around a subject. In other words, don’t walk around your subject when interviewing them.
  
• 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
  
• Remember 80:20 ratio (80 percent should be b-roll and 20 percent should be interviews)
  
• Get close to the subject when interviewing them for audio purposes
  
• Stay quiet when shooting
  
• If you do not get the shot, you do not have it.
  
• Do not move the camera when shooting (unless you are an advanced videographer)
  
• Hold every shot for 10 seconds
  
• Wear headphones