Six Mistakes on Breaking News Shoots and How to Avoid Them

Arriving without a clear brief

The most common mistake starts before the van leaves Swansea. A crew is told there is a fire, a crash or a protest, and little else. Without knowing what the newsroom wants, whether a live-ready position, a quick set of rushes or material for a package, the operator guesses, and guesses cost minutes that a developing story does not give back.

I ask for three things on every call: what the desk needs first, when it needs it, and who on the ground can speak to us. A producer on our side confirms the answers in writing so that nobody remembers a different version later. It takes two minutes and it saves us from filming the wrong angle for half an hour.

A short brief also tells us what to leave out. If the desk already has a wide shot from another source, we spend our time on faces, details and the people affected rather than repeating what exists.

• Confirm the first deliverable and its deadline
• Name one contact at the desk and one on location
• Agree whether audio from bystanders is wanted

Shooting only what looks dramatic

Flames, flashing lights and crowds draw the lens, and an operator can come back with ten minutes of spectacle and nothing an editor can build a story from. Television news needs sequence: an establishing wide, a medium that shows what is happening, and close detail that carries the human side.

I keep a simple order in my head on arrival. First the wide that places the viewer, then the action at medium distance, then the cutaways: hands, signs, a police cordon, a doorway. Cutaways are what let an editor trim an interview or cover a jump without a clumsy join.

Hold each shot longer than feels natural. Five clear seconds on a steady frame is worth far more in the edit suite than a restless pan that cannot be cut into.

Neglecting sound until it is too late

Pictures get the attention, but a story with unusable audio is often unusable altogether. Wind, traffic, generators and a crowd talking over an eyewitness can ruin an otherwise strong interview, and on a live-ready feed there is no second chance.

Before any interview we check levels with the person speaking, listen on headphones and move a few steps if the background is competing with the voice. A windshield on the microphone is not optional on the Swansea seafront or on an open hillside. Where possible a second recording, even from a camera microphone, sits behind the main one as insurance.

Callum on our team sets audio for planned work, but on a breaking job the operator is often alone for the first half hour. Everyone we send knows the routine: check, listen, then record.

• Wear headphones for the whole interview
• Use a windshield outdoors, always
• Record a few seconds of room or street tone

Standing in the wrong place

Position decides what you can film and how safely. Crews sometimes set up where the first police officer waved them, then discover the light is behind the subject, the cordon blocks the view, or a vehicle will need to pass through the shot within minutes.

Take a short walk before unpacking. Look at where the sun sits, where emergency vehicles will move, where a reporter could stand without being in anyone's way, and where a clean line to the scene exists. Then choose, rather than accept the first patch of pavement.

Safety is part of this. We keep clear of anything an officer or fire crew asks us to avoid, and no picture is worth being in the way of a response. A calm, courteous approach to the people running the scene also tends to earn better access.

Sending footage late or disorganised

A strong shoot can still fail at the last stage. Rushes arrive with no notes, files named by camera number, and the newsroom has to scrub through an hour to find the one shot it needs. On a rolling story, that wasted time is the difference between airing and missing the bulletin.

We log as we go: a line on location, the time, who was interviewed and their spelling, and which clips are strongest. The best material is flagged for first transfer, with the rest following while the editor starts. Names and titles are checked on the spot, because a wrong spelling on screen is an accuracy problem, not a cosmetic one.

If the connection on location is poor, we say so early and agree an alternative, such as returning to base or sending a short selection first.

• Send the strongest clips first
• Include names, titles and spellings with the files
• Report poor signal as soon as you notice it

Skipping the debrief

Once a story is on air, the temptation is to pack up and move on. Yet the small lessons from each job, a lens that fogged, a route that was blocked, a contact who was helpful, are the ones that make the next deployment quicker.

After a significant shoot, Rhian Pugh, our head of production, and the crew spend ten minutes going over what worked and what slowed us down. Notes go into the kit checklist and the contact sheet. Over the years this habit has removed more problems than any piece of equipment.

If you commission crews regularly, ask for the same. A brief conversation about what the desk needed and what arrived is the cheapest way to improve the next call.