Social Media Experts Weigh in on Facebook Lawsuit

February 22, 2013 at 11:51 am · Filed under Video and tagged: $, 20 million, b-roll, case, claimant, consult, expert, Facebook, lawsuit, media, money, network, panel, social media

Covering the Saturday post or the Pope’s retirement seemed too easy. So I gave myself a challenge and picked a completely non-visual  story. Looking back, I don’t regret it.

It was challenging. I had a very difficult time filling a lot of the b-roll and avoiding metaphors (the handicap sign at the end is tame considering what I initially had…being more creative was tempting and I had to change a lot of my original choices).

I also was hoping that graphics and interviews could easily replace a lot of my b-roll needs. That proved to be partially true: With crisper, more enticing interviews, I filled time quickly and found that the video didn’t drag where it otherwise would have because of the lack of visuals. Where interviews would have been too much, I tried text elements that kept the viewer engaged. I love how this turned out. It was a painstaking process, but I am now much more accustomed to just how time-consuming graphics and effects are, which I think is valuable.

To “solve” the b-roll problem, going with my gut served me well. When I saw an interesting landscape (such as the one that has text flying across it, listing the 14 groups that Facebook will give money to should their prove to be too many claimants come May), I went for it. And stayed there. Holding shots longer than necessary never fails me. Holding them for too little time always makes me cringe out of disappointment later in the editing booth.

All in all, throughout the making of this video, I hated myself for covering something challenging. But I think in the long run I learned a lot more than I otherwise would have from a “one-stop shop” story. I’ve never tried creating a video like this before, I’m proud of the results and I learned a ton about editing and about what it means to pitch a piece like this.

I know now what it means to think creatively when the visuals of a story are not obvious. I know now how good questions and quality people fill a story with life when it is otherwise depicting a dead, bright computer screen. I know now that if I can dream something that I want to edit, I can more often than not learn how to execute that element in Final Cut Pro.

I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I enjoyed making it!

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