You will often see an “of the week” segment featured here on our Terrier News episodes. But what you may be wondering is, how does one make such a segment? What is the process behind filming, writing, and editing it? The answer? Dedication and love.

Step 1: The Idea
Each of the week segment is special in that it always starts with an idea that is outgoing and, at times, maybe a little crazy. It sounds so absurd on paper, but once you have a vision for how you can get it to work, you are excited to execute said vision. Some of our best segments have come from the most outlandish ideas: “Did You Know, Of the Week!” and of course the classic “Teacher of the Week”.

Step 2: The Plan
Every great segment starts with a plan. It doesn’t necessarily have to be well thought out, but a rough idea of where you want to go is crucial. Sometimes, while working on a segment, the path you want to truly take may reveal itself, and that is what you will ultimately follow. Personally, we like to outline what we want to do in a google doc, and try to stick close to that outline. It helps if you give yourself pointers with each step in your outline, so you know exactly what to talk about, and how to edit it down later.
At the end of this broadcast is a segment of “Did You Know, of the Week!” which is our best planned episode: https://youtu.be/WOmlO7kaaoo

Step 3: Execution
This is the most important step. Executing the plan you came up with that successfully gets the point of your segment across to the viewer. There are a couple key ways to do this. Start with an introduction. Let the viewer have a good laugh with a goofy introduction before you get into the nitty gritty.

Introductions should be light-hearted, and re-enforce the segment you are doing (this can be done through repetition of the segment name, or a skit in relation to the segment). After the introduction, you should move onto the details in your segment. This is the most important part, because it is the glue that holds everything together. Make sure you have done research into what you are reporting, so you can get the facts across to the viewer. For example, if you were doing Teacher of the Week, after the introduction you would want to talk about what the teacher has done to receive this honor. Throwing in some comedy is also a good idea, as it lets the viewer relax and enjoy what they’re watching.

After the explanation part, cutting to interviews is very important. It comes off as lazy if you have one sole interview, and some boring B-roll, and causes the viewer to lose interest in what they are watching. Try to get a diverse array of interviews, and spice up that b-roll! I like to scatter the interviews between my talking and giving information. Sometimes b-roll is not an important aspect, and can be left out. This is the case with our “Did you Know- Of the Week” segments. It operates like something of an MoS (man on the street), and b-roll would only complicate the point behind the segment. Which brings me to my last point on proper execution: be consistent, concise, and clear. The three C’s as I call them.

If you start the segment joking around, keep that going throughout the piece. It sets up a precedent that the viewer expects moving forward. Staying concise and clear is important, because you don’t want to confuse the viewer or muddy the point you are trying to get across. Personally this has happened to me before, in our most recent segment entitled “Meme Review” where we lost the point of the overall segment at times. It makes the story weaker, and less engaging. My favorite segment, that you should follow as an example, is at the end of this broadcast: https://youtu.be/XedohvNwSXc

If you follow these steps you are certain to be on track to making a golden segment. Be outgoing, creative, and thoughtful! Too much of what I watch nowadays is boring and uninspired. I hope to see these steps utilized in future “of the week” stories!

BONUS STEP: THE WHEEL

Every great segment utilizes “the wheel” in some way or another. This can be done through use of picking a place, subject, or person to feature the segment around. The wheel has famously been used in Birthday of the Week, and Teacher of the Week.