Citizens not actors

Michael Bittner

I really am not a big fan of staging during a video or photo story. It's really not a difficult concept. Journalists are here to not to speak for people but allow them to tell their own stories.

It's easy to fall into traps that could be considered staging. When conducting an interview, I will simply ask questions rather than giving people hints about what we're looking for. I feel weird whenever I interview someone and they say "sorry if I did bad." How can you do bad other than if you simply lie during your interview?

I even feel weird answering "should I look at the camera or you?" I want you to look wherever you feel comfortable!

I think it's very tempting to frame stories, to give people hints on what your looking for rather than to ask questions straight up. However, we are not playwrights. We are hear to speak from the people, and we must do that, even if it takes some extra work.