On Time.com's video stories, I came across a news video story titled Inside Mexico's Overcrowded Prisons. After learning about good qualities of journalistic video stories in my convergence coursework this week, I paid attention to the video's attributes to analyze if the correct types of shots were retrieved, how the interviews are framed and if using multimedia for the story contributes something new to the stories that photo, text or radio cannot add alone.
I think this video is a good example of TV journalism because it takes the viewer on a journey through the jail. The reporter takes viewers through the largest penitentiary in Latin America in Mexico City, discussing how its 12,000 inmates are crowding the property. Video reporting allows various parts of the story to be told and portrayed- such as the overall atmosphere, exercise therapy, and the different programs and recovery classes that the Mexico City prison has. A variety of wide, medium and tight shots are used wisely and work together to portray the story of an inmate's daily life inside this packed prison. While a photo slideshow would also be powerful, the background sound as we observe the prison and interviews contribute to the significance of this prison and its newsworthiness.
There are more than three interviews, and the interview shot framing does a good job of focusing on the sources. The interviews showcased are not just thrown into the story, they add detail and personal stories to the package by discussing the inmates' situations, explaining how one man has not seen his son in years.
One way I observed that the video could have improved upon was using a tripod to film shots. Some of the film was bouncy - meaning someone carried the camera around instead of keeping it still on a stand - and it diminished the story's credibility.
Check it out yourself:
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