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Content
Words add quotes, facts to the story VERBAL When verbal elements are visually appealing, readers are more likely to read them.
Words provide facts, figures, opinions and descriptive details. They tell the anecdotes about people and their experiences that readers like. The best yearbook writing focuses on people and uses their quotes to tell much of the story. Solid reporting adds substance to stories. CAPTIONS: Add information to photos. They can range from simply identifying and supplying minimal information for people in photos to serving as ministories telling the five W’s and H (who, what, when, where, why and how) and including quotes. FEATURE STORIES: Tell the five W’s and H. In the most common yearbook form, stories begin with a catchy lead followed by short paragraphs featuring meaningful quotes and transitional paragraphs containing facts and figures. HEADLINES: Attract readers to stories and draw them into pages. A well-written headline can summarize a story or highlight its focus. A headline should always contribute to the story and not merely label the page. Headline formats include primary and secondary. QUICK READS/INFOGRAPHS: Tell figures, facts or opinions in a visual, nontraditional paragraph style. They’re often packaged with graphics and photos. Figures: table, index, listing, stats, chart, scoreboard, pie chart Facts: fact box, listing, top 10, summary points, informational map, diagram, definitions, profile Opinions: quotes, question-answer, for/against, personal narrative, journal, advice Time: schedule, calendar, timeline Interactive: fill in, matching, connect the dots, color and object, check test, crossword puzzle, word search, quiz
Images tell the story with realism VISUAL Yearbook spreads that used to include five to seven photos now incorporate 20 or more photos of different types.
Some stories are best told visually. Images show emotion, action and reaction with great realism. Visuals can provide information in ways that words cannot. They can make it easier for readers to understand or relate to information. PHOTOJOURNALISTIC: These photos tell stories, show action and reaction. They provide a variety of subjects and points of view. Each photo should have strong content and be able to stand on its own as well as work with other photos to tell a story. REFERENCE: These are the portraits and group shots that provide a visual record of school enrollment and group or team membership. SCRAPBOOK: Although these photos feature posed subjects, and offer a more casual way to document students’ lives, they still tell stories.
Contemporary yearbooks often feature many photos per spread. Yearbook spreads that used to include five to seven photos now might have scrapbook photos and 20 or more photos of different types: Single shot is one image used to tell the story. Series refers to three or more photos showing the sequence of action. Collection is a group of related photos, each telling a different aspect of the story. Cut-out-background (COB) refers to removing the background, leaving just the subject. Mortise is a smaller, related photo that overlaps or is inset into a larger photo.
XXX ANGLE Xxxxxx | An angle narrowly defines a topic making specific verbal and visual storytelling possible. FEATURE STORY | A single-story approach packed with facts, figures, descriptive details, specific examples, quotes and poignant anecdotes. Journalistic feature stories use a catchy lead followed by short paragraphs featuring meaningful quotes and transitional paragraphs containing facts and figures. HEADLINE | The large type designed to attract readers to stories and draw them into pages. A well-written headline summarizes a story or highlights its focus. Headline components include primary and secondary. INFOGRAPH | Presents facts and figures, often poll and survey results, in a visual way that often includes illustrative art. PHOTOJOURNALISTIC PHOTOS | Tell stories, show action and reaction, provide a variety of subjects and points of view. QUICK READS | Typically short stories or groups of facts presented in a broad range of writing and design formats. Quick-read stories tell figures, facts or opinions. They can be chronologies or interactive formats. REFERENCE PHOTOS | Group shots and portraits that provide a record of the school population and the membership of organizations and teams. SCRAPBOOK PHOTOS | Photos of posed subjects offer a more casual way to document students’ lives.
Visual, verbal journalists must work together When editors, writers, photographers and designers plan and report a story as a team, many good things happen. Readers get more complete and focused stories that appeal to them while redundancy is avoided.
A story angle is more focused than the topic. When planning yearbook content, angles and topics are often confused. A topic is broad and often vague. “Jobs” is an example of a story topic. The topic doesn’t drive interesting visual and verbal stories. It’s vague and begs the question “What about jobs?” This is where the angle comes in. Possible angles on the topic of “jobs” might be working outside in the summer heat or working with children. Or, perhaps the impact of the economy on the teen job market. A specific angle provides essential direction for photographers and reporters. Focused storytelling results from a narrow story angle.
Angles drive decisions about verbal and visual formats. After initial brainstorming sessions to explore story ideas and fresh angles, yearbook journalists continue the process by listing all the sources they need to contact and the resources they need to access for information and insights. After interviewing, researching and examining all aspects of the story — including the before, during and after — the best visual and verbal story formats are determined.
ANGLE A topic is broad and vague. Focused storytelling results from a narrow story angle. Content determines the verbal and visual story format.