Short, practical articles from our tutors on framing, delivery, live coverage and broadcast writing, written for people who are learning the craft or sharpening it.
Our journal runs to about one article a day, covering shooting habits, piece-to-camera delivery, live crosses and fact-checking. Pick whatever matches the skill you are working on this week.
On-Camera Skills
A step-by-step method for writing, rehearsing and delivering a clean piece to camera, from the first line drafted on paper to the final take on location.
Teamwork
Joint rehearsal sessions suit some reporters and camera operators better than others. Work through these questions on your skills, your partner and your goals before you commit.
Camera Craft
Shaky handheld shots, muddy audio and misjudged exposure ruin more news footage than any faulty kit. Helen Marlowe walks through five common field camera mistakes and how to avoid each one.
Course Prices
A plain look at what a Live Coverage Strategy workshop costs at xuplin, what the fee includes, and which choices make it cheaper or dearer for you and your crew.
Student Case
A short case from the classroom: Maria came to us writing long, careful copy that fought the pictures. Here is how a few weeks of broadcast writing and editing changed her work.
Study Library
Tom Ashworth explains how to use the study library through the coming winter term: which reading to start with, how to pace it, and how to turn pages into practice.
Trade Terms
A piece to camera is the moment a reporter speaks straight to the lens. This note explains what the term covers, how it differs from a voiceover, and why it is used.
Teamwork
A comparison of rehearsing shoots together against training reporters and operators apart, with a clear recommendation for pairs preparing for interviews and vox pops.
Behind the Scenes
A look behind the scenes at how a Field Camera Techniques session comes together, from the kit check and the choice of location to the review of each student's footage.
Live Coverage
Tom Ashworth answers the question we hear most often about our live coverage workshops: what actually happens when a plan meets a breaking story, and how students prepare for it.
Course news
A look at how the Newsroom Writing and Editing courses are laid out this term: scripting to picture, cutting packages, and the fact-checking routine we expect before anything is transmitted.
Study Library
A look at the books, guides and method behind our study library: how titles earn a place on a list, and how students work through them alongside classroom practice.
Reporting Skills
Priya Nair lists the questions worth answering before you commit to piece-to-camera coaching: your starting point, your scripts, your nerves and what you want to be able to do afterwards.
Teamwork
Most problems on a joint shoot start before anyone presses record. Helen Marlowe sets out the habits that trip up reporter and operator pairs, and the simple rehearsals that fix them.
Prices
A plain account of how our Field Camera Techniques sessions are priced, what each fee covers, and the few things that make a booking cost more or less.
Case Story
Sam came to a live coverage workshop after a shaky first cross from a flooded car park. This is how he planned the next one, and what changed on location.
Writing Advice
Priya Nair sets out how to use the coming months to sharpen scripts, tighten edits and build a fact-checking routine before the winter news calendar fills up.
Study Library
A reading list is easily misread as homework. Daniel Pryce explains in plain words what it means in our study library, how to work through one, and when to put a book down.
By email: hello@xuplin.com