ASSIGNMENT DESK: We are in search of ace reporters to give us the low-down on what our students in Prince William County Schools are seeing and doing all year long. Submit a story, and we’ll work with you to get it on PWCS-TV! (Comcast Channel 18/ Verizon FiOS Channel 36 or streaming on pwcstv.com)   Suggestions for i-Reports: Snowmageddon 2010 Use any photos you took during or after the big snowstorms, and tell us your stories. Athletics/Sports Do you play on a school team? Participate in a league sports program? Share your footage, and tell us what's most important to you about participating in sports. Favorite Hobby Are you an aspiring chef? Working with stained glass? A budding photographer? Tell us what's important to you about your extracurricular activity. i-Report Submissions Get us your written report complete with pictures, photos and even video if you can manage it. If your report is selected to be produced for TV, we'll contact you to record the voice-over yourself! Email your i-Report and pictures to: info@pwcstv.com Or snail mail to: PWCS-TV i-Report PWCS-TV, Media Services P.O. Box 389 Manassas, VA 20108 Need help in developing your story? Call Angie Carey, 703.791.7433 or email careyax@pwcs.edu Be sure to check with your parents, and include your phone number, address, and email address (if you've got one). If your files are too large to email, then send us prints or a CD or DVD. Submit any video on tape, CD, DVD or digital file. PWCS-TV i-Reporter Guidelines:  Telling Your Story – “Wass’up”? Your teachers have probably told you to answer  the questions who, what, where, when, why and how in your story or report. That’s good advice. Take notes, draft your ideas. Use pictures, sketches to capture your ideas. “Storyboarding” is the process used to capture the flow of a story – kind of like drawing a cartoon strip of your ideas. Write out your story, even if you are shooting a video. Use interviews with friends and family to help tell the story.   If it’s a story about you, get a testimonial from your parents such as, “We always knew Billy was a genius, and profoundly gifted. That’s why he doesn’t need to do chores around the house.” (Good luck with that.) Use clear, simple language. Check your spelling. Try to relate to your audience. How can you tell the story so the viewer cares about it? Pictures, Photos “Frame” your picture or photo. Rather than centering a subject in the photo, try putting the main subject just a bit off-center. Allow a bit of space in front of the subject’s face, for instance, if you are photographing a person in profile. That gives your image “breathing room” or visual space, and makes for an interesting composition. Make sure you have enough light to see the subject of your photo clearly. Take a lot of pictures. You can always pare down to your favorites later, especially with digital photography. Video Rule of Thirds - The rule of thirds is a concept used in design for placement of picture elements. The rule is based on an being divided into three sections, left, center, right. Using a slightly off-center placement of elements can make the picture more interesting, even though our natural inclination is to center it. Use a Tripod or a stable surface. You can find less expensive tripods. If you can’t find or get one, at least set the camera on a stable surface. Simple is Better. Don’t try to move the camera too much, or change focus too much. Pans and zooms can easily be overused. Remember, what you hear is as important as what you see. When you are shooting a video, make sure you can hear the voices you want to be heard. You may need to use a microphone besides just the one built in to the videocamera We’ll help you out as much as we can!