Before You Book a Breaking-News Crew: A Checklist for Editors

Travel time is the number that decides whether a crew is useful. Ask where the operators will be coming from, how they travel, and what they do if the road is closed or the weather turns. A crew promising to be anywhere in thirty minutes from a base two hours away is not giving you a plan.

Ask also what happens before arrival. Good crews start working in the car: confirming the exact location, checking for police cordons, deciding where to park and where the best vantage point is likely to be. For stories in north Wales and similar terrain, ask about coverage in areas with poor mobile signal, because that affects both contact and file transfer.

Footage is only useful if your edit suite can use it quickly. Agree the format before the crew leaves: codec, frame rate, aspect ratio and how files will be named. Ask whether rushes arrive as one block at the end or in stages while the crew is still shooting, because staged delivery lets your editor begin cutting while the story develops.

Sound deserves the same attention. A single clean voice, a wind-shielded microphone and a few seconds of room or street tone make the difference between pictures an editor can use and pictures they have to apologise for. Ask what audio the crew records as standard, and whether they can send a short slate noting who is speaking and where.

Ask who is responsible for access arrangements. On a developing story the answer is often 'whoever gets there first', which is not good enough. Agree that the crew will follow instructions from emergency services, stay out of restricted areas and tell you straight away if they are asked to leave, so the desk is never surprised.

Safety is a practical question, not a formality. Find out whether operators carry appropriate protective clothing, whether they work alone or in pairs, and what they do if conditions become unsafe. Crews that say they will always get the shot are a worry. You want people who will tell you plainly when a position is not worth the risk, and who will say so before it becomes your problem.

Decide whether you want raw rushes, a lightly trimmed selection or a finished package. Each takes a different amount of crew time and changes how quickly you can use the material. If your channel requires captions or a particular graphics treatment, say so at the start rather than after the footage has landed.

Rights are the quiet item on the checklist. Confirm in writing that the footage is yours to broadcast, that any interviewees have agreed to be filmed, and that there is no restriction on reuse in later bulletins or online. A two-line email now saves an awkward conversation later, and it is the sort of thing a workflow review often finds missing.

During a live story the desk and the crew need a simple way to talk. Agree whether it is calls, messages or both, how often the crew will check in, and what the desk does if it cannot reach them. One person on each side keeps things tidy; five people ringing the operator on location does not.

Finally, get the cost in writing before the crew moves. Ask what the quoted price includes, such as travel, a producer, equipment and delivery, and what could change it, like a longer shoot or an overnight stay. On this site the prices page sets out how enquiries, quotations and invoices work. A clear quotation is a sign of a crew that has thought the job through.