Paper Trail
Nov 2nd 2005, 09:11 AM
Off Camera, November 2005, page 1
Secrets of Winning Tips from Wayne Freedman, KGOTV reporter. Wayne has won 47 Emmy® awards in news writing, reporting, and on-camera performance categories.
Q- When did you win your first Emmy® statue?
A- I won my first Emmy® award in 1985, after five nominations without success. It was a story about veterans remembering the 40th anniversary of D-Day. I ended up winning three others that year.
Q- Were you reluctant to enter? Were you afraid it wasn’t Emmy®-worthy?
A- I was not reluctant to enter. I am reluctant, now, but still compelled.
Q- What did you learn from early entries that helped you with future entries?
A- One should not “try” to win an Emmy® award. You do excellent work, and maybe it happens. Some of the best stories I’ve ever done have not won. I have been surprised, at times, by those that have.
Q- Do you have any insights to share from your wins that could help somebody who hasn’t bagged a statuette yet?
A- The key, I think, is to do a story that advances the medium. Too many people expect to win Emmy® awards for pieces in which they merely did their jobs. An Emmy® award-winning story should be different, reflecting extra effort, extra care, prescient vision, flawless execution.
Q- Any particular type of story that seems to do better or worse with judges?
A- Stories about other people dying or being sick rarely do well with judges. Remember, the judges are cynical. Try to make your submission as different as possible, while remaining true to requirements of the category.
Q- How much do you write in the summary/précis?
A- The précis depends on the entry. There are no absolute rules.
Q- Can you win a reporting or writing Emmy® award if the story is shot or poorly edited?
A- Good video always helps, and bad video always hurts, particularly when the judges include photographers.
Secrets of Winning Tips from Craig Franklin, KPIX-TV producer and photographer (formerly KRON-TV). Craig has won 17 Emmy® awards for photography, editing, and for producing stories and documentaries.
Q- When did you win your first Emmy® statue?
A- I won as cameraman for a story titled “Peacock Gap Flood.” It was 1982. I think the category was breaking news/camera. We covered a big storm that pales next to hurricane Katrina but was unusual for Marin County, with muddy rivers flowing down streets and through upscale houses. Not the best video I ever took—wet, foggy, and shaky— but we were right there in the action and reporter Hampton Pearson wrote a wonderful mix of facts and drama to go with the pictures.
Q- Were you reluctant to enter? Were you afraid it wasn’t Emmy®-worthy?
A- Oh yeah, I had all those thoughts.
Q- Did you win the first time you entered?
A- I had entered one other story the year before, and to this day I still think it was one of the best things I ever shot: 3 days of flight operations on the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise. Lots of action and great stories of young hot-shot Navy pilots long before “Top Gun” became a movie. I thought it was a sure Emmy® winner. It didn’t get nominated. That really hurt my confidence.
Q- What did you learn from early EMMY® entries that helped you with future entries?
A- I learned never to do a story with the hope or purpose of winning an Emmy® award. It’s bad psychology and bad karma. Telling a good story is the only goal. Tell enough good stories and you’ll win an Emmy® statue, god willing. Winning an Emmy® award is great but it’s not the goal.
Q- Do you have any insights from your wins that could help somebody who hasn’t bagged a statuette yet?
A- If you’re trying to do your best work you need to work with likeminded people. I’ve won Emmy® awards with a broad range of reporters, producers, editors, camera people—all with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Sometimes it was brutal. As for Emmy® entry tactics, I think it may depend on what kind of pizza the judges eat. But the fact is you’re putting your best work against everybody else’s, which is especially tough in the crowded breaking news, feature, and craft categories. Stories under four minutes seem to do better in most categories. I think longer analytical stories don’t get the time or respect they may deserve unless something in the enterprise and execution really jumps out at the judges as they wade through a long pile of entries.
Q- How much do you write in the summary/précis?
A- I rarely write a précis, and if I do it’s to make one single, otherwise unexplained point like: “We spent three weeks with Osama before he granted an interview.” Usually I want the story to reveal itself to the judges like any other viewer. I try to include on-air leads and tags with packages.
Q- Can you win a photography or producing Emmy® award if the reporting or writing is poor?
A- It’s next to impossible to win if one or more elements are done poorly. Even in individual categories, Emmy® entry is a team sport.
Craig’s Final Thought: I worked with Wayne Freedman when he was honing his craft in the years before he won an Emmy® award (and sometimes thought he never would). Last I checked with him, he’s still honing his craft.
link (http://www.emmysf.tv/members/offcamera/pdf/1105.pdf)
Secrets of Winning Tips from Wayne Freedman, KGOTV reporter. Wayne has won 47 Emmy® awards in news writing, reporting, and on-camera performance categories.
Q- When did you win your first Emmy® statue?
A- I won my first Emmy® award in 1985, after five nominations without success. It was a story about veterans remembering the 40th anniversary of D-Day. I ended up winning three others that year.
Q- Were you reluctant to enter? Were you afraid it wasn’t Emmy®-worthy?
A- I was not reluctant to enter. I am reluctant, now, but still compelled.
Q- What did you learn from early entries that helped you with future entries?
A- One should not “try” to win an Emmy® award. You do excellent work, and maybe it happens. Some of the best stories I’ve ever done have not won. I have been surprised, at times, by those that have.
Q- Do you have any insights to share from your wins that could help somebody who hasn’t bagged a statuette yet?
A- The key, I think, is to do a story that advances the medium. Too many people expect to win Emmy® awards for pieces in which they merely did their jobs. An Emmy® award-winning story should be different, reflecting extra effort, extra care, prescient vision, flawless execution.
Q- Any particular type of story that seems to do better or worse with judges?
A- Stories about other people dying or being sick rarely do well with judges. Remember, the judges are cynical. Try to make your submission as different as possible, while remaining true to requirements of the category.
Q- How much do you write in the summary/précis?
A- The précis depends on the entry. There are no absolute rules.
Q- Can you win a reporting or writing Emmy® award if the story is shot or poorly edited?
A- Good video always helps, and bad video always hurts, particularly when the judges include photographers.
Secrets of Winning Tips from Craig Franklin, KPIX-TV producer and photographer (formerly KRON-TV). Craig has won 17 Emmy® awards for photography, editing, and for producing stories and documentaries.
Q- When did you win your first Emmy® statue?
A- I won as cameraman for a story titled “Peacock Gap Flood.” It was 1982. I think the category was breaking news/camera. We covered a big storm that pales next to hurricane Katrina but was unusual for Marin County, with muddy rivers flowing down streets and through upscale houses. Not the best video I ever took—wet, foggy, and shaky— but we were right there in the action and reporter Hampton Pearson wrote a wonderful mix of facts and drama to go with the pictures.
Q- Were you reluctant to enter? Were you afraid it wasn’t Emmy®-worthy?
A- Oh yeah, I had all those thoughts.
Q- Did you win the first time you entered?
A- I had entered one other story the year before, and to this day I still think it was one of the best things I ever shot: 3 days of flight operations on the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise. Lots of action and great stories of young hot-shot Navy pilots long before “Top Gun” became a movie. I thought it was a sure Emmy® winner. It didn’t get nominated. That really hurt my confidence.
Q- What did you learn from early EMMY® entries that helped you with future entries?
A- I learned never to do a story with the hope or purpose of winning an Emmy® award. It’s bad psychology and bad karma. Telling a good story is the only goal. Tell enough good stories and you’ll win an Emmy® statue, god willing. Winning an Emmy® award is great but it’s not the goal.
Q- Do you have any insights from your wins that could help somebody who hasn’t bagged a statuette yet?
A- If you’re trying to do your best work you need to work with likeminded people. I’ve won Emmy® awards with a broad range of reporters, producers, editors, camera people—all with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Sometimes it was brutal. As for Emmy® entry tactics, I think it may depend on what kind of pizza the judges eat. But the fact is you’re putting your best work against everybody else’s, which is especially tough in the crowded breaking news, feature, and craft categories. Stories under four minutes seem to do better in most categories. I think longer analytical stories don’t get the time or respect they may deserve unless something in the enterprise and execution really jumps out at the judges as they wade through a long pile of entries.
Q- How much do you write in the summary/précis?
A- I rarely write a précis, and if I do it’s to make one single, otherwise unexplained point like: “We spent three weeks with Osama before he granted an interview.” Usually I want the story to reveal itself to the judges like any other viewer. I try to include on-air leads and tags with packages.
Q- Can you win a photography or producing Emmy® award if the reporting or writing is poor?
A- It’s next to impossible to win if one or more elements are done poorly. Even in individual categories, Emmy® entry is a team sport.
Craig’s Final Thought: I worked with Wayne Freedman when he was honing his craft in the years before he won an Emmy® award (and sometimes thought he never would). Last I checked with him, he’s still honing his craft.
link (http://www.emmysf.tv/members/offcamera/pdf/1105.pdf)