Stock News Clips

Any producer who does not use stock news clips is not only lowering the quality of his presentations, he is also wasting valuable time and money. Video news reels can be dropped into a larger story easily because they are short, finished pieces. There are three primary types you can use to enhance your video production: conceptual clips, current news clips and archival clips. These can be added to your own footage to complete a story, used alone, or in combination with each other. Here is an explanation of each type of news footage clip and ideas of ways they can be best used.

1. Current news clips. A complete, current news story can be made by joining a narration to clips that are only a day or even a few hours old. They can be quickly put into a video to add current national and world news to your presentation without breaking your budget.

2. Archival clips. Many current stories are based on past news events. Help your audience gain an understanding of what is going on by including a short clip of former events that led to today's news. Most announcements of the death of Steve Jobs, for example, included news clips of him unveiling well-known products.

Barb Jacobs, a media specialist for a large VA hospital is in charge of producing a daily video clip of the day's events to be played on the building's closed circuit TV's. "I need stock clips to get stuff out quickly. If we are planning a Pearl Harbor Day service, then an archival clip of the attack does a lot, not only to help the audience understand why the ceremony is solemn and sacred but also to add drama to the announcement."

3. Concept clips. Some stories are not based on actual events, but are centered on a concept. Features that focus on poor dietary habits of middle-aged women or an increase in the number of teen smokers do not involve a specific person, location, or event that can be easily filmed. Concept clips allow you to cut back and forth between the narrator and a scene that will illustrate his point. These clips are already edited to protect the privacy of the people being filmed while giving an interesting visual of the story. Types of concept clips include:

- nature scenes

- sports shots

- crowd scenes

- aftermath of disasters

- any other generic clips that illustrate ideas rather than report events.

Stock news clips and archive footage can speed up the production of any story. They add an interesting visual supplement to a narrated story that will keep the audience interested while helping them better understand what is being said. They will also save your company valuable time and money while appealing to a larger viewership.