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Keith Kyker and Christopher Curchy
The News Show Pledge
A question…Do you and your students present the Pledge of Allegiance on your school news show? If the answer is “No”, you can skip this article and flip to another page. If the answer is “Yes”, please read on.
While we were traveling around counties, states, and country this summer, one interesting question often came up during our presentations: Do the students on your news show say the Pledge of Allegiance? Mine don’t, but we do “present” it. Keith’s don’t, it is done on the intercom at the beginning of the school day. His news show airs during 4th period later in the day. But many shows we watched, and heard about, do.
And just how are they “doing” it? Hmmmmmm.
Scenario #1 – The Pan and Zoom Technique
The anchor or anchors politely say “Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance”. A lone camera shakily pans off the anchors and zooms in on an obscure flag hung in the corner of the news room set. The anchors recite the pledge, sit down, and the camera zooms out of the shot of the flag and shakily resumes its shot of the anchor or anchors.
Scenario #2- The Ready-Made-for-School TV-Videotape
Some counties produce a “Pledge Tape” to be shown on each school news show and send them out upon request. Usually these are standard -fare shots of flags waving in the breeze narrated by a distinct announcer-like voiceover. Often these even contain line-by-line graphics of the Pledge at the bottom of the screen.
Scenario #3- The Make-It-Yourself-Flying-Flag Tape
The school’s flag is videotaped as it waves in the breeze on the school flagpole. This is shown on videotape while the anchors recite the pledge. Sometimes graphics are added, sometimes not, but the flag is always waving and flying, even in the dog days of August when school begins here in Florida. My school is called Windy Ridge, but we never have that kind of breeze in August! Wish we did.
We have all seen, or even used, these scenarios, and they work. Usually they are great for about a week, good for about a month, and become stale and boring soon after that. So what can you do to make the Pledge fun and interesting, but still retain the somber dignity it deserves? The answer I like is: Let the classes do the Pledge. It isn’t hard, doesn’t take much equipment, and it is fun, interesting, and educational for all involved.
The students enjoy seeing themselves, their friends, their brothers and sisters, and even their cousins on the show. The younger students learn the Pledge by reading the graphics and watching the older students model good patriotic behavior. The news crew students are relieved that they don’t have to say the pledge each and every day, and are excited about the opportunity to create a simple video project that is fun and useful. Here’s how it works.
The Plan – Each day a different class will be shown saying the Pledge of Allegiance on the daily news show. This creates an opportunity for every student to participate in the news show during the year.
Getting Started – Start with one grade level. I like to start with Third Grade. They are old enough to know the pledge, but young enough to still look cute saying it. Place a note in each Third Grade teacher’s box explaining what you will be doing, and when you will be coming in to tape them saying the pledge. I usually pick one day to do all the taping, and plan on ten minutes in each room. Our school has 5 Third Grades, so I would tape from 1:00PM-2:00PM. Don’t forget to check back with them in the morning the day you will be taping. You know how things can get lost in the hectic day to day heroics of classroom teaching.
Taping – When you show up in the class, explain to the students what you are doing and how it will be used. Make sure they understand the importance of acting proper and respectful. I usually tell them that if I see anyone not acting properly, their class cannot be shown. I line them up in two or three rows in the classroom. We practice once, with me giving them the cue to start, and then having them stand there for 5 seconds quietly when it is finished. This gives me some room to “edit” them together. Then I start the camera, and after about 5 seconds, cue them to start. I like to start with a wider angle showing the whole class, then slowly zoom in on the students on the left side, slowly pan across to the right, then zoom out to a full shot again. Sometimes even the teacher will join in. I go from class to class, taping one after the other. It goes very quickly.
Editing the Tape (Optional) – If you have
a character generator, it is not hard to place the words (graphics) at the
bottom of the screen. I even put a simple “Title Screen” before each class for 6
seconds. This also makes it easier to cue the tape to play during the news show.
The videotape operator cues the tape to the first second or two of the title
screen.
Each line of script in the Pledge of Allegiance is typed on a separate graphics page with “video” or “clear” selected as the background. The text looks better if it is centered and positioned at the bottom of the screen. Use a black outline on the letters so they show up well on the screen. I use a simple bold font, one that is easy to read on the monitor. Once all the “screens” are typed, including the title screen, connect the video camera to the character generator. Then connect the character generator’s output to a VCR. Chances are, if you are already doing a news show, your equipment may be connected this way anyway.
As you can see from the diagram above, the video output of the camcorder is connected to the video input of the character generator. The video output of the character generator is connected to the video input of the VCR. This connection allows the video signal to flow through the CG enabling you to place the graphics on the screen and record the finished product on the VCR. The audio output of the camcorder is connected directly to the audio input of the VCR. There is no need to “edit” the audio, just place it directly on the finished tape.
Start each segment or class by recording the Title Screen for about 8-10 seconds. Then record the class saying the Pledge of Allegiance through the CG and playing the pages of graphics in time with the words. It may take one or two practice tries, but you will soon get the timing down.
Playing the Tape – The finished product can be played during the show in a variety of ways:
- If you have a “play” VCR for segments incorporated in your news show equipment, you are all set and ready to go. For you, this is easy.
- If you are broadcasting “live”, you can cue the tape and place it in the VCR located in the “head in” or broadcast area of your media center. This is probably where your camcorder is connected for live broadcasts. When your anchors introduce the pledge, simply push play on the VCR. The tape will bypass your camera signal and broadcast the pledge. When it is done, push stop, and your camera signal will come back on.
- If your camcorder is connected directly (no VCR) to a modulator or broadcast amplifier, you will have to place the finished tape in that camcorder. After your anchors introduce the pledge, simply push “play” on your camcorder and the camera signal will be replace with the tape’s video and audio. When it is done, push stop, and the camera signal will reappear.
Students will enjoy seeing themselves and other students they know on the show. Each day will be a new delight trying to guess which class will be on that day. After a week or two of Third Grade, move up or down the grade levels, saving Kindergarten for the end of the year when they have aptly mastered the pledge words and hand positions. What fun to play the tapes at the end of the year and see how much the students have grown. They love to laugh and giggle at how “little” they looked at the beginning of the year, or their “old” hairstyles. The Pledge of Allegiance has now become a “fun” part of your news show, both for you and your students and faculty.
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