The Piece to Camera
To see just how much conventions have changed over the years, you only need to look at Fifty Years of Pieces to Camera on Four Corners. It’s quite entertaining. All I can say is that nowadays a hands-in-your-pockets piece to camera looks very peculiar. I wouldn’t advise the crossed-arms-look either, although an exit on horseback does lend a certain something to the piece to camera.
For a more up-to-date approach, this short compilation by cameraman Christian Parkinson is interesting, as he outlines a number of innovative methods including the two-part PTC. He shoots for many BBC veterans including Andrew Harding and Orla Guerin, and his advice only works if you have a dedicated — and experienced — cameraman on hand. If you’re shooting your own stand-up, then do keep it simple.
Here’s the full BBC Academy of Journalism piece that included some of the examples we looked at today.
Finally, here’s an example that used some very fancy drone camerawork. Fancy tools and great visuals perhaps, but these don’t quite manage to rescue a rather dry backgrounder. Even the best piece to camera doesn’t disguise a lack of content. The story is still the key, and that fact should never be forgotten.
