Re: VNR's and B-roll for corporate clients

Judging from, the many formats that I have seen, there really is no "set" standard for this.

The important thing is to think like a news editor. Put a "slug" at the front with very clear information about the content of each segment. At NASA, we usually put a different slug for each soundbite and one for b-roll. (Not counting the one at the front that identifies the who, what, where & why of the program.)

In the slugs, make sure you note:

1: Contact info (for more info contact: James Smith 555-555-1212 etc.)
2: Running time (i.e. TRT = 2:45)
3: Your company name (or where they are getting the video from)
4: Spellings of All people interviewed on camera (for their lower thirds)
5: Brief description of the scenes that follow (i.e. "Dr. Bill Jones demonstrates to the fourth grade class at Hilldale Middle School how to build a thermonuclear reactor.)

I also note which channel(s) the audio is on.

Seperate the clips and slugs with at least 2 seconds of black. Keep your audio levels as near nominal reference as possible. Put reference audio tone and at least thirty seconds of color bars at the front of the tape.

Above all- think about the way that you would want it if you had to edit the package yourself.

This usually keeps me from making VNRs too flashy, because I wouldn't want to be painted in a corner when editing a package.