The Tools Behind a Finished News Package, Cut to Your Running Order
Rhian Pugh
5 minutes to read
A look at the editing software, graphics templates and audio tools our edit suite relies on to turn raw rushes into packages that drop straight into a newsroom running order.
Starting from the running order, not the footage
Every package we cut begins with the running order the newsroom sends us, not with the rushes. That document tells us the slot length, where the item sits in the bulletin, what the presenter will say before and after it, and whether graphics need to match a house look. We open a project template built around those details before a single clip is imported, so the timeline already reflects the duration and the audio levels the gallery expects.
Footage arrives through our transfer system and is logged on ingest. Priya Sharma, our lead editor, and her colleagues mark selects while the files copy, so by the time a clip finishes transferring it already carries notes on the strongest shots, the usable soundbites and anything that needs a second look for accuracy. This saves minutes that matter when a story is still developing.
- Slot length and bulletin position confirmed first
- Project template matched to house style
- Selects marked during ingest, not after
The editing software and how we set it up
Our suite runs a professional non-linear editing system chosen for one reason: it is stable under pressure and every editor on the team knows it well. We keep a consistent project structure, with folders for rushes, interviews, library material, graphics and audio, so any of us can pick up a half-finished item without hunting for files. That consistency matters more than any single feature.
We work with proxy files when footage arrives in heavy formats, which keeps playback smooth on a fast turnaround, and conform to full quality only for the final export. Colour is checked against a calibrated monitor, because a package that looks fine on one screen can look flat or too warm once it passes through a broadcast chain. Small habits like this keep output predictable.
- Shared project structure across all editors
- Proxy workflow for heavy camera formats
- Calibrated monitoring before every export
Graphics, captions and lower thirds
Text on screen is where errors creep in, so we treat it as a separate step with its own check. Lower thirds, location tags and captions are built from templates that match the broadcaster's style, with fonts, positions and safe margins fixed in advance. The editor types names and titles from the producer's notes and then reads each one aloud against the source, checking spelling and job titles twice.
Captions follow the same approach. Where a package needs subtitles for sound-off viewing, we time them to the speech rather than to an even rhythm, break lines at natural pauses and keep them within the length viewers can read comfortably. If a name or figure is uncertain, we flag it to the newsroom rather than guess, since a wrong caption is harder to correct once the item has aired.
- Templates matched to the client's house style
- Names and titles read aloud against source notes
- Uncertain facts flagged, never assumed
Voice-over and audio clean-up
Voice-over is recorded in a treated booth so the track is clean from the start. Where a reporter supplies their own recording from the field, we assess it for room noise, wind and level before deciding whether it can be used as it is or needs repair. A steady voice with even tone saves far more time than any plug-in can recover afterwards.
Callum Reid handles the technical side of audio when a package needs more than a quick tidy. We balance interview speech, natural sound and music beds so speech stays intelligible, then check loudness against the broadcaster's delivery specification. Natural sound from the scene is kept wherever it adds something true to the picture, because it tells viewers where they are without a word of commentary.
- Treated booth for voice-over recording
- Field recordings assessed before use
- Loudness checked against delivery specification
Checks before anything leaves the suite
Before a package is released, a second person watches it start to finish. This is usually someone who has not worked on the item, because fresh eyes catch the jump cut, the mismatched caption or the line that does not match the pictures. We check duration against the slot, look for black frames at the head and tail, and confirm that audio sits where it should across the whole running time.
Rhian Pugh, as head of production, signs off anything with legal or sensitivity considerations, such as footage showing identifiable people at an incident. We then export to the format and codec the client has asked for and send the file through our secure delivery route, with a short note listing what is in it. A package that arrives complete and labelled saves the receiving desk a phone call.
- Second viewer on every item
- Head and tail checked for stray frames
- Delivery note sent with each file
None of this equipment is unusual, and that is deliberate. What makes a package dependable is a settled routine: a template built from your running order, graphics checked twice, clean audio and a second pair of eyes before release. If your newsroom wants edited items that drop into a bulletin without rework, send us your running order through the contact page and we will explain how we would cut it.
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- newsdesk@ordivix.com