Introduction to Television Reporting

6. Vox pop
(This is the Sixth article in the Ten part series on 'Introduction to Television Reporting', this series is part of an online course taken by CBA)

What is a vox pop?

The term vox pop comes from the Latin language. It's short for "Vox Populi" which means "the voice of the people". A vox pop is a very brief comment by a variety of people on one particular issue. So think of vox pops as snapshots of public opinion.

Vox pops have to be used as two or three responses together. They are an excellent way of adding authority and interest to a news story. Ordinary people often have fascinating thoughts and opinions. This enriches our journalism.

Before you start doing vox pops

Vox pops are done by walking around with your camera operator and asking people their opinion with one well chosen question. So start by discussing the question with your camera operator and tell him/her who you are going to approach.

If you have a team which includes a producer as well as a reporter, the producer can also be asking people if they would agree to be vox popped!

Remember to ask your camera operator to alternate left and right facing vox pops. That means for the first vox pop, the camera operator would be on your left and for the second, they would be on your right and so on. Alternating left and right will look better in the edit.

Discuss with the camera operator whether you will be using a hand microphone or using the top-of-camera microphone. And discuss the framing of the vox pop. It's usually a medium shot or a medium close-up.

After you have discussed what you want to do with your camera operator, you can start approaching people.

A typical approach would be something like this:

"Hello my name is Raj and we are filming a story on the elections next week. Would you mind telling us what you think is the most important issue for voters?"

How to ask a good question

A vox pop is only one question at a time. So you must decide the right question and ask the same question to everyone. Think carefullyabout the key question that will go with your story.

Never ask a question that can be answered with a yes or no. Always ask what we call "open" questions such as

"why do you like football?" instead of "do you like football?"

Another example might be

"what do you think about the smoking ban?" not "do you agree with the smoking ban?"

This particular question was asked in many news reports in the before the start of a smoking ban in all restaurants and pubs. Which brings us to another point about the vox pop...

...always choose an appropriate location to ask a vox pop.

For example, when asking a question about a smoking ban in pubs, ask it inside a pub. Or asking a question about the defeat of the national cricket or football team, ask it outside the stadium.

Always remember the active listening skills we discussed in the Interview module. You will get better answers by listening carefully and using active eye contact.

Treat people with respect — after all they are doing you a favour by stopping to talk to you and your camera. So above all, always be polite!

Who to vox pop?

It is vital to get a cross section of people for your vox pops. For example if you were doing a story on a football match, it would be no good to just vox pop supporters of one team.

You want a mix of opinion to make your story more lively and to have choices in the edit room. Get a variety of views, genders, age group and ethnic mix. Remember with vox pops the more, the merrier!

You can be creative with vox pops. Try vox popping two people in one shot to create an exchange between them. Or you can try a vox pop with the reporter in shot to create a conversational feel.

How long is a vox pop?

Just as we discussed in the Interview module, this can be a matter of style and length of the story. But remember that vox pops are short — much shorter than an interview.

A good length for vox pops is 5 to 10 seconds. Longer than that and it might be considered an interview.

A vox pop can be a collection of one word answers or short phrases. Usually you would never use a response that was longer than a sentence or two, but again this is up to your taste.

Finally, unlike an interview, the person that you vox pop does not have to be identified by name.

A Few Tips

·         Record more answers than you think you need for safety. That means at least a half a dozen, and probably a lot more

·         Always ask permission before you start filming anyone for a vox pop

·         Coordinate with your camera operator on vox pops — they need time to change the set up with each vox pop