We do reinvent the wheel a little every year, don’t we?

When our broadcast staff returns to school in the fall, we greet our “returners” and our “newbies,” then it’s time to plan the first show of the new year. We just finished our September “HTV Magazine.”

Let’s start with what we did right.

*VISUAL TOPICS: The kids for the most part chose stories that had a strong visual component. What we lacked in “heavy” subject matter, we made up for in visuals and decent nat sound. Last year, our first show was derailed by the visual challenges of the stories covered.

*AUDIO FIRST: As far as I could tell, only one group initially forgot to stick with the practice of editing audio first. It was encouraging to see everyone else praciticing this approach. Of course, I more or less “reviewed” the technique in full “coach mode,” raising my voice for emphasis when needed. But no wind sprints, I promise.

*SAVE A SURPRISE: We got this one in at least five of the nine segments, if I counted correctly. There are no “shocks” or moments that make viewers gasp, but I think there are some decent twists and turns within the structure of several of the pieces.

*BY TEENS, FOR TEENS: That’s our focus, and that’s what we accomplished. The stories will be of interest to teens, and even when the subject is not teen-specific, there is something for teens to “chew on.”

Okay, now the not-so-good, but sure-to-get-better:

*DEADLINE: We had a September 16 story deadline. We had two stories finish on the 17th, one on the 18th. Yes, they all made the show, but some grades will take a hit.

*WRITING: For the most part, there was nothing too inspired in our scripts. That will improve with practice, and with a little better direction from me.

*AUDIO: It’s ALWAYS AUDIO, isn’t it? Getting solid video seems so much easier than collecting consistent audio levels in the field, and even in the studio when shooting the anchor spots. Thank goodness for Soundtrack Pro!

*DEPTH: We have stories that are maybe a bit too wide and a bit too shallow. The kids shot their footage in the summer, which was a first for us, and they produced features with no sharp edges, no “news peg.” For a summer show, that’s okay, but the rest of the way, we’ll look for more layers.

See you next blog. Now back to the Redbirds!