Key Components To A Good Feature Story

It takes a lot to make up a good feature story. Your subject and concept must be well thought out and specific and unique. You also must think of good open ended questions about the subject for your interviewee. Close ups can play a large role in telling your story. Connecting your voice over to shots that go along with it is also a good practice. The voice over should have medium volume with good clear speed. Try to get as much B-roll as possible so you can change shots often which will keep the viewer intrigued. At the beginning you should introduce your topic and subject with descriptive words and phrases. Your shots should put you in the subjects shoes and tell their story from their point of view.  You want to get shots that are unique to your topic and your subject. All of this should combine to show case your subject and story. Towards the end you want to give your story some closure and restate what the viewer should take away from your story. Here is an example of a very well done feature story.

Narrative of Feature Story

On a cool Saturday morning in mid-October, a group of boys made men by the sport, suit up for the reward of their commitment. As they walk onto the field you can feel the competitive atmosphere as friends, family, and fans gather in the stands. The black and white striped uniforms spread to different parts of the field as the players get ready for the kickoff, ready to show their skill against the enemy team. The referee blows air through the little black whistle and a loud signal spreads out through the air. The kicker takes a step and boots the kick off, sailing high and fast down the field. The game has begun and Ryan Wallace is ready to play.

Wallace is a sophomore football player for Olathe Northwest High School. For ONW football is a social output that also allows players to exercise and craft their skills. He describes what its like to be a sophomore football player with the Ravens and what makes up a good team.

“Trusting your teammates whether it’s to catch the ball or throw a good pass” is key to being successful,” he said.

Ryan also gave an outlook of what the season looks like in terms of practices and games.

“We practice everyday after school and if there is a day where we don’t have school we’ll still come in and practice in the morning. We have 9 games in our season, “Wallace said. 

You may be wondering why someone would commit to devoting their time to such a long and psychically challenging season. Ryan says it is because he loves the game and he’s played It for a long time.

CJ Vredenburg is another sophomore football player for Olathe Northwest. He also gave his perspective about the team sport.

“I play football because my family has always played it and it’s a really fun sport,” Vredenburg said. “It takes a lot to form a successful team,” “The most important parts of a good team are knowing each other well and being synchronized.”

It can be hard to balance homework with a large afterschool commitment like football.

 “We get out of practice earlier now than we did earlier this season. Before it was kind of hard because we would get out so late,” he said.

Being on the field with the team helped show the brotherhood of the players. They all worked together on the green turf to score points and win games. Ryan and CJ are just a small part of the team. The season is long and difficult, but whether it’s the sweaty hot practices or the numbing cold games, the sport has made them who they are. They are Raven football players.

Football Feature Story

Feature Story Experience

 When I first began my ONW feature story I was very excited. It was the first time I got to do a story on almost anything I wanted other than the fact that it had to have to do with an ONW student. I quickly picked the topic of football. I decided to focus on what it's like to be a sophomore football player for Olathe Northwest. I started by writing a list of 21 questions I felt were important if I wanted to answer my guiding question correctly. My interviewees were two of my friends that were on the team. Ryan Wallace and CJ Vredenburg gave me all the information about the team and experience that I needed. On a Saturday morning I went to ONW to watch the sophomore team play. I got a lot B-roll of my subjects with my iPhone. I interviewed the subjects a few days after the game. I really enjoyed getting to film the B-roll and being on the sideline with the team. After all the filming I  edited my footage in Adobe Premiere Pro. This has been my favorite project so far in video.