LANGUAGE OF TV/VIDEO
VO Voice Over generally read by an anchor or
reporter who reads the copy over video.
SOT A portion of an interview also called a
Sound bite.
VO SOT A voice over that leads to a soundbite.
SOT VO You can also use a soundbite to lead to a VO.
NATSOT Ambient noise or sound or natural break in
sound when someone speaks.
TRACK Reporter’s narration. Tracks are generally
numbered in scripts: Track: 1
STANDUP A reporter’s on-camera presentation.
PACKAGE A complete story that includes tracks,
standups and maybe natsot:
SCRIPTING FORMATS
FORMAT FOR VO
VIDEO INSTRUCTIONS COPY GOES HERE.
GO HERE.
CU OR TWO SHOT ANCHOR:
OR 2BX YOUR COPY
TAKE VO ===VO====
CHYRONS, LOWER-THIRDS, YOUR COPY
SUPERS, OR ESS
NAMES,
LOCATOR
ADDITIONAL
WORDS ON THE
SCREEN
FORMAT FOR VO SOT
INSTRUCTIONS GO COPY AND WHAT
HERE ANCHOR READS
GOES HERE
CU OR TWO-SHOT ANCHOR:
OR 2 BX YOUR COPY
TAKE VO ===VO===
YOUR COPY
CHRYONS, SUPERS,
LOWER-THIRDS, ESS
TAKE SOT ===SOT===
FORMAT FOR PACKAGE
A PACKAGE IS ALSO CALLED A STORY, A REPORT OR A PIECE.
VIDEO INSTRUCTIONS ALL COPY AND
CHYRONS, LOWER- INDICATION OF
THIRDS, SUPERS OR SOTS, NATSOT
ESS GO HERE. AND TIME CODES
WHERE THEY
CAN
THEY INCLUDE BE FOUND ON
NAMES, RAW FOOTAGE
LOCATORS GO HERE
AND ANY OTHER
WORDS.
VIDEO
INSTRUCTIONS
TO EDITORS
SUCH AS
TIME CODES
AND SPECIFIC
SHOTS
GO HERE.
FOR EXAMPLE
APPLES 2:35
WIDE SHOT
MARKET 4:50
YOUR SCRIPT LOOKS LIKE THIS:
ANCHOR LEAD:
YOUR COPY
TRACK: 1
YOUR COPY
UNIONDALE, L.I.
JANET JONES SOT:
VICTIM’S MOTHER 1:36 (TIME CODE)
WRITE OUT WHAT SHE
SAYS.
BABYLON, L.I. NATSOT: (POLICE
COP CAR 4:28 SIREN)
CRIME SCENE 7:23 (TIME CODE)
10:02
TRACK: 2
YOUR COPY
SOT:
10:40 (TIME CODE)
- KEVIN SMITH WRITE OUT WHAT HE
NASSAU POLICE SAYS.
CAROLYN RAMIREZ STANDUP:
REPORTING WRITE OUT WHAT
YOU SAY IN YOUR
STANDUP.
Sample Script from CNN
This is a reporter’s script without editing instructions.
TRACK: 1
The pilots of Swiss Air Flight 111- bound for Geneva from JFK- notice a strange smell in the cockpit less than an hour after take off..
NATSOT:
TRACK: 2
Then they see small amounts of smoke..
Concerned — they ask to land at the nearest airport.
This is the air traffic control tape from that night…still haunting all these years later..
NATSOT;
Air Traffic Control tape
**Must font these**
pilot: Swissair one eleven heavy is declaring Pan Pan Pan. We have uh smoke in the cockpit, uh request (deviate), immediate return uh to a convenient place, I guess uh Boston.
ATC: Swissair one eleven roger … turn right proceed …uh … you say to Boston you want to go?
ATC: //Uh Would you prefer to go into Halifax?
Pilot: //Affirmative for Swissair one eleven heavy. We prefer Halifax from our position.
TRACK: 3
Bill Pickrell was the air traffic controller talking to the pilots.
sot: Bill Pickrelll // former Air Traffic Controller 12:47:41
It was a fairly straight forward operation, uh, up to the point where they advised that they needed to dump fuel.
TRACK:4
The plane reaches the coast of Nova Scotia…
natsot: Air Traffic Control tape
ATC: You’ve got thirty miles to fly to the threshold.
Pilot: Uh we need more than thirty miles
TRACK: 5
The pilots are worried about landing with so much fuel on board.
NATSOT Air Traffic Control tape
ATC: Swissair one eleven when you have time could I have the number of souls on board and your fuel onboard please for emergency services.
Pilot: Roger, at the time uh fuel onboard is uh two three zero tonnes. We must uh dump some fuel…
Standup: Randi Kaye
The Captain then makes a fateful decision. The plane is only 25 miles from the airport but instead of heading straight there for a landing, he takes the plane over water to dump fuel. Neither he nor the co-pilot have any idea there’s a fire just above the cockpit.
Natsot: Air Traffic Control tape
pilot: Swissair one eleven heavy is declaring emergency
(Roger) we are between uh twelve and five thousand feet we are declaring emergency now at ah time ah zero one two four.
ATC: Roger.
pilot: Eleven heavy we starting dump now we have to land immediate.
SOT: Bill Pickrell // Former Air Traffic Controller // 12:53:13
in the background I could hear the uh warning alarm for autopilot disconnecting. And he told me verbally at the same time that he was flying the plane manually that the autopilot had disconnected.
Natsot: Air Traffic Control tape
And we are declaring emergency now Swissair one eleven.
TRACK: 6
That is the last transmission from Swiss Air flight 111. The transponder also fails..but the plane is close enough to the airport that radar can strill track it as it makes an unexpected turn to the west..
SOT:
Bill Pickrell // former Air Traffic Controller // 12:56:55
Whether it was a manual input from the pilots or what the reasoning was, they flew for probably 2 or 3 minutes west and then did an 180 degree turn headed back and at that point we thought maybe they had control of the airplane but uh, they turned again and headed out toward the ocean and uh then the aircraft disappeared.
TRACK: 7
The plane slams into the Atlantic ocean 16 minutes after smoke was first reported.. hitting with such force it explodes into two million pieces..
Everyone is killed. Only one body is recovered intact.
The flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder – found days later- reveal the fire had caused the pilot’s flight screens to go dark.. making it nearly impossible to discern up from down..
Randi Kaye CNN New York.
Writing a VO
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8p1vwvWtl6T73JiExfWs1g
http://bronx.news12.com/story/37755500/man-killed-another-injured-by-hit-and-run-driver-in-the-bronx
Sample VOs from NBC News
LESTER:
SOME QUICK-THINKING KIDS ON AN EASTER EGG HUNT IN SOUTHERN ENGLAND HELPED THE POLICE CATCH TWO BURGLARY SUSPECTS.
VO:
TAKE A LOOK AT THIS. THE KIDS FORMED A HUMAN ARROW TO DIRECT A POLICE HELICOPTER TO THE MEN THEY SPOTTED RUNNING ACROSS A FIELD. OFFICERS ON THE GROUND CAUGHT UP AND ARRESTED THE SUSPECTS. THE HELICOPTER CREW THEN LANDED TO THANK THE KIDS FOR THEIR HELP.
#####
Lester:
AND, YOU COULD CALL IT “COP-SCOTCH.”
VO:
POLICE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WERE CHECKING ON A VEHICLE. AND THEY CAME ACROSS A MOTHER AND HER DAUGHTER LIVING OUT OF THEIR CAR. SO WHILE ONE OFFICER TRIED TO FIND A PLACE FOR THEM TO STAY, THE OTHER PLAYED HOPSCOTCH WITH THE GIRL. THE FAMILY POSTED THE VIDEO ON FACEBOOK AND IT GOT MORE THAN A MILLION VIEWS.
#####
Lester:
FINALLY TONIGHT, A ROYAL MOMENT FROM INDIA.
VO:
THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE SAT FOR A PHOTO ON A MARBLE BENCH AT THE TAJ MAHAL… ON THE FINAL DAY OF THE COUPLE’S TOUR OF THAT COUNTRY. THIS IS THE SAME BENCH WHERE WILLIAM’S MOTHER, PRINCESS DIANA, POSED 24 YEARS AGO FOR THIS
CCNY Televison Journalism 