Introduction

For many of us, especially as kids, there is something inherently fun and interesting about being part of a news broadcast. Being the man or woman on the street is fun, too. But nothing beats being the "star," the anchorman or anchorwoman, as perfectly captured by Will Ferrell's documentary film, Anchorman.

The Nightly News Effect takes advantage of the incredible resources that are available today to give anyone's "basement tapes" the look and feel of a professional studio production. With the entire world, it seems, uploading their videos to One True Media, Mydeo, YouTube and even the Current cable network, we are all evolving into better videographers and video editors simply by exposure to others' videos. We are getting better, too, because we are all, to some degree, creating more small video clips than ever before. And why not? The world is watching! Now back to our main story...

Available from a variety of sources across the web are overlays, lower thirds, and what are variously referred to as "back drops," "motion loops," or "motion backgrounds." Not only do these look professional, they are professional. The exact same broadcast-quality backgrounds, overlays, and lower thirds that you can use in your productions are being used by Entertainment Tonight- and ESPN-type shows nationwide.

The Nightly News Effect is a great effect for having fun with kids who want to create a news broadcastfrom developing the "stories," to creating a basic set (chair, table, paper and pen), to the "broadcasting" of the finished news program on your television. The techniques learned here can also be used by students for school television broadcasts or for incorporating into school projects.