Getting the Story Told

Tyson Sprick
There were some good points in the Poynter article by Doug White, and perhaps the best one was "focus." With our assignment we are not really on a strict deadline (we have a whole week), but with breaking news it will be imperative that you go into the interview having a focus of the story. That's not to say that you can't learn and adapt during the process, but you'll probably have better luck going into it with an idea of the final product.
Interviewing is a skill that is very important in visual storytelling. To get quality video you must ask pertinent questions. A tip here is asking unusual questions; it leads to sometimes unexpected answers that will surprise and inform the audience at the same time.
Finally, when taping it's important to show and prove everything you say. A good way to do this is showing "genuine" moments, which build a bridge between the subject and the viewers. Also, surprising footage will draw viewers in engage them in the story.
Most viewers probably don't realize all the planning an decisions that go into a news story, but I'm sure they would notice if it was lacking.