What kind of props should I get for a press conference scene?

[harmonica44]

I was going to order cameras and mics that looked like the ones reporters used. However I came across this article here:

http://ideas.time.com/2013/01/24/is-washington-overreacting-to-zero-dark-thirty/

If you look in the picture, the press seems to he holding their phones out. Does the press use phones to get information now! If this is true, than maybe I do not need those props. Do they use cell phone cameras as well? If so, then it's cheaper for me, but just so long as it's true and the audience will buy it.

 

[wreckerman893]

Are you sure they were phones and not small recorders? I was a journalist in the Army and I used a small tape recorder to do interviews and to tape briefings. I often would turn the recorder on and place it on the speakers platform just as they started to talk.
When we did press conferences and had media briefings we always had "Press Kits" that we handed out that contained information that we wanted to put out. Usually it was just a folder with our logo on it. Inside would be photos, reference material and Points of Contact so the reporter could get in touch with key people for follow up information.
If we were going to do a slide show or Power Point brief there would be a screen and projector in the room. In some cases we would have work stations that had a phone for the reporter to use.
Most press rooms will have seating, either like a movie theater or with folding chairs and tables.
In some cases, but not all the time, we would put out light refreshments such as pastries and soft drinks to smooze the press with.
If the briefing is key to your story you should make it as convincing as possible. The briefer should be convincing that he/she is a subject matter expert or has practical knowlege of what they are briefing about.
Hope this helps.

 

[jax_rox]

It depends on what you're doing. If it's a standard presser in a press room, they sometimes have tap-in points, where the assorted media outlets can tap in to the audio. Other times, the media outlets will set up their mics on the lectern or podium that is being spoken for. Mics are usually flagged, unless they're television station booms. In media scrums, they tend to hold flagged mics in front of the person speaking. Phones are generally only used if the information is time critical and they have no recorder on them, or their recorder is out of action. Also, sometimes if a radio station wants a 'live' feed but can't set up a micro link quickly enough, the reporter will simply call the station and hold the phone in front of the person speaking.

More importantly, however, is what your audience is going to believe, and what's going to look best. Phones might be easier/cheaper but will they really look that great? And is your audience going to buy a bunch of reporters standing around with phones, rather than microphones?

 

[NickClapper]

Those aren't phones, those are dictaphones.

And that's not a press conference, that's a quote ambush. For a press conference, the people delivering it will be mic'ed up so that the reporters don't necessarily need to bring their own recording devices. There are also unlikely to be that many photographers- the main bulk of the room will be journalists sitting and vying to have their question answered.

 

[jax_rox]

This is a more typical press conference:

Sometimes the mics will look like this:

Sometimes, the venue will allow tap in points for audio, or alternatively will have speakers set up where journalists can place their mics, rather than right at the person's face. They look more like this:

This is a media scrum:

Sometimes, you get people speaking a prepared statement around a smaller scrum, this happens in certain cases, generally more appeals for witnesses or statements from family of victims are more likely to look somewhat like this:

The image above has Australian mic flags. Radio stations have moved away from triangular mic flags or branded pop guards purely for the reason that flags that are above the mic itself are easier to get onto TV. I'm not sure if many other media outlets around the world are doing such.

Media scrums are where you generally hear the cacophony of noise, of journalists trying to talk over each other to get their question answered. Press conferences are often a little more civilised, though not always.

 

[harmonica44]

Okay thanks. Well for my story, a VIP has to make a statement about an important nation disaster that occurred. So it would be something that is scheduled. Or I could have it be a media scum, but why would the media scum it, when they can just schedule something that the VIP would gladly talk about to ease the public's minds? So I guess I could order props for a scheduled press conference.

 

[wheatgrinder]

natural disasters are normally scheduled so it depends on how quickly the VIP is supposed to respond to the disasters. If hes acting like a good guy and wants to be seen as really concerned he might STAGE a scrum style on his front porch first thing in the morning. Never let a good crisis go to waste!

If the story has the press conf. being more of a FOLLOW up to the disaster, then a scheduled event might be more appropriate.

In short, either will probably work in your story. Scrum would be less complex to set up, but harder to get the right shots, on the other hand maybe the conference style is harder to set up, but easier to get the right shots.

 

[knightly]

I always start with a google image search. In this case: "press conference" (in quotes to make it a phrase rather than 2 separate words).