I want to pass along some observations about good and bad slide shows. I haven't done many, mind you, but have been shooting, editing and producing TV news stories for 20 years and there are a lot of parallels. If my slides put you to sleep, that's one thing. If my news stories bore viewers, they turn to another channel and ultimately I don't eat because of that.
Most of the slide shows I've seen at Winterail are too long, boring, repetitive. So, keep in mind some basic rules of tv production that apply to railfan slide shows (and videos). 1. WRITE SILENCE. You don't need wall-to-wall words. Music is fine in the background...during a particularly strong image, don't say a thing... 2. DON'T WRITE LIKE YOU ARE WRITING AN ARTICLE FOR CTC BOARD, RAILFAN OR TRAINS. Be conversational. Listen to what you would say if you were projecting these slides to four friends in your living room. You'll find the best kind of writing for a/v shows contains short words, short sentences...not a lot of garbage like engine models, etc. 3. ...OR DON'T WRITE A SCRIPT AT ALL. Have someone interview you (w/tape recorder) about the pictures...use excerpts from that interview. That's how National Geographic does slide shows. Works great. 4. USE NATURAL SOUND. Trains make plenty of noise, so does everything in the world of rr's. You'll find that mixing music, natural sound and strong pictures is one hell of a dramatic means of communication. 5. TELL A STORY. A story has a beginning, middle and end. Keep that in mind pictorially. 6. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER SAVE THE BEST FOR LAST. Tease the audience. Wow 'em at the beginning, middle and end. A slow, subtle start puts people to sleep. 7. 10 MINUTES IS AN ETERNITY. If there is some railfan subject matter tha deserves more than 20 minutes, I've yet to see it, OR, everone in the audience has pocket protectors and NO LIFE! Keep the program short. Make the audience howl for more! 8. DON'T USE POPULAR MUSIC. Music works best when it's something the audience probably has never heard before. 9. VARY YOUR SHOTS. Don't just use 50mm wedgies, or dramatic telephoto shots. Use every lens you own. And take plenty of closeups...little details that give the kinds of flavor to a picture story that all the dramatic train shots in the world can't begin to offer. I am sure Bro. Corns has a few items to add here. This discussion could get lively, I hope. --Dave Busse --> SPORRS: Serious Photographers of Railroad Related Subjects X-Mozilla-Status: 0011 Content-Length: 2520
