Shooting a PTC in Moscow - 2006
I love to film – to capture the moment as it develops. There is though one element of News films that I usually dread shooting – The Piece to Camera or PTC. They often seem contrived and can disrupt the flow of a piece. But we do work in a business where Reporter involvement is seen as crucial to adding gravitas and establishing their authority and credibility. For me the only pieces to camera that really work are those where you are “in the thick of it” – dodging bullets in Afghanistan, at the front of a demonstration or in the middle of a riot. The reality is that these action PTC’s are quite rare and so time and again we are forced to make something from nothing – Bring to life a dull background while still appreciating that Reporters always want to look good – no matter what the circumstances.
There are no golden rules to shooting a good PTC and every situation is different. I’ve put together a short clip reel of PTC’s I’ve shot over the last couple of years and I hope they will give some idea as to how I often try and lift the story with an engaging PTC. I don’t claim that they are all great, but I hope they might give a few ideas to anyone just starting out or looking for some inspiration.
Shooting Pieces to Camera: Some examples of my work from caparkinson on Vimeo.
If I ever see a PTC in front of a sign or against a wall then I want to throw a shoe at the TV. My advice to anyone starting out in News is always to avoid the cliché. Add some movement and make it feel that the Reporter is really in the middle of the action. I love to use foreground, to move past objects and then reveal who is speaking. I don’t buy the argument that claims you should only move for a reason – that it should be motivated? Isn’t a good shot motivation enough ? We are trying to appeal to and grab the interest of viewers bombarded by Hollywood movies and the flashy music videos. Are we going to stick to the old and boring “news style” or we going to grab our viewers and turn them away from the internet by offering new and interesting ways of shooting and editing news.
As always I welcome your feedback and would love it if you post links to some of your own work.
If you would like to use this article on your blog/Website then feel free. If you do so then please print my name, copyright notice and a link to my site at the end. Cheers.
Hey mate,
Thanks for the site. It’s been very helpful to gain tips and inspiration.
I was shooting a flooded area where a busy highway had been cut off the other day. My rival cameraman but good mate was shooting a PTC and zoomed out while the journo was still talking. I was a bit amazed as I would’ve thought this distracts the audience away from what she is saying. His argument is that it revealed the flood.
I’d be interested to hear what you thought.
Cheers,
Greg.
Hi Greg, every situation is different but in theory I’m with your mate on this one. As long as the zoom is done well and is nicely paced and not wobbling then I think it can be a good idea – alternatively if the move is not very good then you’re right it could be really distracting. I like to use a lot of movement in my PTC’s because otherwise I find them the dullest part of any TV News package – they often slow down the pace of a piece and can feel shoe horned in just to get the Reporters face on TV. Experiment and see what works for you mate. Cheers, Chris.
Hi Christian, I thought all they were great example of PTCs. Thank you for posting them. I’m a multi-media journalist covering the RWC in New Zealand and would love your feedback on some PTCs I’ve done. I’m still fairly new in the industry having been a business writer for CNN in Hong Kong for 2 years, then a reporter and anchor for a local TV station in HK (ATV) for 1 year and now a journo for stuff.co.nz – the national news website of NZ. Cheers, Laura
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/small-business/5669153/Whangarei-banks-on-Rugby-World-Cup
And another:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/fan-central/5753856
Hi Laura, great to hear from you and thanks for posting. I just watched the first link that you sent. A nice fun little piece with good use of natural sound and minimal script which I am big fan of. You seem good on camera and I have no fault with your PTC’s all I would suggest is that it might work to add a little movement as they felt a bit static – My personal theory is that we need to move away from the ‘news’ way of doing things especially for web stuff. . . Keep it up and Please feel free to post more. if you want to chat on a less public forum my email is christian@caparkinson.com