SportsShooter.com - Writing game stories + photos

	Portland \| ME \| United States \| Posted: 4:32 PM on 09.03.09
	->> Thanks guys, this is all great info. I worried about making more work for myself with an audio recorder. Maybe I'll be better off with keeping it on a notepad and if I need to record a few voice notes or something, just use my camera's recorder. I like the idea of hanging it around my neck, seems like this might be the easiest solution. Thanks for that Peter.

Michael Granse, Photographer

Urbana | IL | USA | Posted: 4:34 PM on 09.03.09

->> Eric's suggestion of using a voice recorder is a good one. When I am shooting and writing at the same time (high school football) after a significant play I will start the voice note with "camera 1, frame 104 to 108 35 yard run by #27 2:23 1st quarter was third down."

It only takes a few seconds to whisper something like this into the voice recorder, and it only takes a few minutes to get a few post game quotes from a couple of players and coaches. If you listen to your voice notes on the way home from the game the story is practically written before you start typing.

Football lends itself very well to this sort of double duty, and I would imgaine that baseball probably does too. For hockey, basketball, and other sports where there are fewer breaks in the action this would probably be much more difficult but I have never tried it with these other sports.

Renay Johnson, Photographer

San Diego | CA | | Posted: 8:45 PM on 09.03.09

->> I also employ the note taking method when shooting boxing. I keep a bout sheet with me write down the score numbers(sometimes), the # of rounds the fight went then whether it was a TKO,KO and then a check mark by the winner's name. When it's time to caption, I start with the first fight and my notes are there. I work alone and I know I'm not going to remember the round or how many minutes where in the round if it's a KO or TKO.

Ethan Magoc, Student/Intern

Erie | PA | United States | Posted: 9:05 PM on 09.03.09

->> Brandon,

I will echo Eric's sentiments and add another line of praise. You have the job that I want, in some capacity, someday after graduating college.

As a reporter turned videographer turned photog, I have an already decent background in the platypus journalist realm midway through my education. All of the above tips are definitely valuable. I'd add one more--constantly think during the game of each medium.

Which moments that you capture through your shutter or on tape are worth noting in the story? Which are not? These are usually self-evident--touchdowns, big runs, a key hit or stop on third down are worth providing key details for the print edition.

A few weeks ago, I was assigned as a stringer reporter for my local newspaper to cover an MMA event. I'd never written or shot one of these before, so I wanted to do both. I sat ringside with my pad and recorder, hustling after fighters for quotes following their matches. During the fight, however, I would look for the key moments through my camera, and the doubly duty process gave me a better idea of how I could write concisely and colorfully for the 10 p.m. deadline.

Here's the blog post I did chronicling that event: http://ethanmagoc.com/?p=608

The photos were my own personal work and, because of the paper's union rules, did not run in the print edition alongside my story. They sent a full-time staffer out to perform that task. I shot and posted them for the reasons mentioned above.

Anyway, I hope some of this helps. Let us know how it works out for you. I'd love to gain some of your insights into performing the one-man band act.

Good luck!

Jared Dort, Photographer

Yuma | AZ | usa | Posted: 9:26 PM on 09.03.09

->> Oh, I've done this before. Quite a lot, actually.

There's some good points already mentioned so I'll just touch on a few keys to pulling double duty.

1. You have to know the teams you're covering - very well. Players names and positions, who's who, stats, what they did last year and beyond and really any little detail you can find before, during or after a game will be helpful.

Example - James Langley is a third-generation running back for the Woodpeckers and both his dad and grandpa were at the opening game.

Example - Flagstaff has not won a region game against Payson since 1992.

Trust is so vitally important in journalism so the more you can get "in" with a team, the more you can get out.

2. You don't have to shoot every moment of a game. Take some time to write notes, check stats, take photos of the scoreboard from time to time so you have a reference. Of course, if it's fourth quarter and the games tied, you don't want to put your camera down.

Along with this, knowing who does the stats and their phone number is good. Having the ability to call them at anytime is even better. Relationship is key there.

3. Since you're shooting the game as well as covering it, you'll obviously figure out a story line. That's where your notes become focused on that. Questions after the game are more centered with purpose as will the story.

Find your lead and build off that.

Most teams use maxpreps.com for their stats and that will become a necessity for you at some point.

Follow runs, i.e. basketball - outscored opponent 24-7 in third quarter.
Football - marched 87 yards for their first score of the game.
Volleyball - aces in a row or game, scoring runs.

All these extras transform a sports story from average to interesting.

4. Stay focused. Write the story ASAP or you'll forget stuff and remember, not every sports story has to be a gamer.

George Bridges, Photographer, Photo Editor

	Washington \| DC \| USA \| Posted: 8:21 AM on 09.04.09
	->> I haven't done that since high school. I used to keep a clipboard pressed between my knees that I would write notes after each play. One time a player came out of bounds and as I backed up the clipboard fell. I picked it up to find a hole punched in it by the cleat.

Jody Gomez, Photographer

Murrieta | CA | USA | Posted: 12:48 PM on 09.04.09

->> If you are on a quick deadline this won't work, but when I covered a lot of the PBR events, I had to shoot and write a story. In my case, I was lucky because it was for a monthly magazine, so I made sure to record the event on TV. During the event, I could concentrate on shooting and when I got home, I watched the event for my story. Maybe you could apply the same technique using a video camera up in the press box or by possibly getting copies of game tapes (once again, depending on your schedule).

J

Clark Brooks, Photo Editor, Photographer

Urbana | IL | USA | Posted: 1:29 PM on 09.04.09

->> Brandon:
My motto is: Shoot first, ask questions later. :-)

After big plays I use the voice recording feature on the Mark2 to ID players and describe what happen on the play. Between downs, I record gains or losses and by who, key tackles (I don't just interview players who touch the ball) or fumble recoveries, write down moment leading to a certain play if it exciting or leads to a possible score, and color (comment from fans, the color of the moon and weather conditions, interesting comments heard from players or coaches on the sidelines that might make a great lead paragraph). After the game, I use a digital voice recorder to do interviews.

A couple of games I attached a video camera to my mono pod and let it run while I shot so I could hear the PA announcement as well catch a few plays of action that I could describe in the article. Found out it wasn't much help on a tight deadline situation.

Chad Ryan, Photographer

Fort Wayne | IN | USA | Posted: 2:33 PM on 09.04.09

->> Brandon,

I do this quite frequently ... as in almost every day since I was moved from the photo staff to the Sports desk. I find that I don't need to keep a running stat tally. If you're writing a game story you don't necessarily need to include every stat in the story. Game stories rarely need to be more than 500 words.

I generally shoot the entire game and use voice notes on the camera for the key plays, which maybe is about 4-5 per game. I also shoot pics of the scoreboard after every score to get the time and the yardage distance of the score. You have to be fast here, because some scoreboard operators wipe out the previous play info right away.

I think visually, so having photos of the whole game helps me remember how it played out. The bottom line is, you cannot get everything if you're pulling double duty. I concentrate on a story within the game, keeping it from being a stat-driven piece. As others have mentioned, knowing the teams you're covering is invaluable to you in this capacity. I am the only person on our staff who does this, and the feedback I've received would suggest the readers seem to enjoy having at least one story that isn't all about how many yards all 6 running backs got. Our veteran sports reporters even seem to like what I'm doing, and a couple are warming up to learning to shoot their own photos.

I was totally against this when I first started about two years ago. I still don't like it, but there are benefits. One of those is that by doing both, you have almost total control of your coverage package. You decide what photo(s) illustrates your story best. You decide how the game story will read. You just have to figure out where you can compromise in terms of what notes you take and what photos you shoot.

Another piece of advice... get to the games early. Coaches like to talk, and you can pick up good info before the game ever starts. As others have mentioned, introduce yourself to the stat keepers- FROM BOTH TEAMS- and leave a business card. This way they can put you on their email list for when they send stats to the various media outlets.

Have fun with it because I've learned that being pissed off about having to do both duties doesn't relieve you of either one ... unless you get too pissed off and they fire you.

Chris Peterson, Photographer, Photo Editor

Columbia Falls | MT | USA | Posted: 3:15 PM on 09.04.09

->> I've done it a bunch. It's not that tough.

You have a camera, so shoot the scoreboard frequently, it's a great way to capture key moments in a game without having to remember everything. Here in Montana, an assistant usually keeps stats, so you just catch them at the end of the game. A voice recorder would also help.

Keep your sentences short and sweet. Like this one. Makes writing much easier. You're not writing a novel. 600-700 words seems way long. That's 18-plus column inches. A 10 to 12 inch story would be far better.

Chris Peterson, Photographer, Photo Editor

	Columbia Falls \| MT \| USA \| Posted: 3:17 PM on 09.04.09
	->> PS — The shorter your story is, the bigger they have to run your kick ass photos :-)

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