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My kids got me a mug for Christmas that says, “STOP volunteering for stuff.” They know what I’m like. A compulsive volunteer…always willing to lend a hand. The result is often overload and burnout. This is just to give you a heads up that the school semester just began this past Monday…I have two or three stories at various stages of development…have to get the tax paperwork done…think-news website needs developing…and our pump is faltering (live in the country, so water has to come out of the ground)…and the family demands are increasing. What is giving right now are the blog and, to some extent, the stories.
Unless I go OCD and can’t stay away from the computer, I’m probably going to concentrate on getting the work done that needs to be done. So bear with me…I shall return in about three weeks.
Couple of updates – one a milestone. My co-horts and I finally got the “under construction” pages up for think-news.com. Wow. We’re still exploring where we’re going…and expect a wild trip. If you visit, please realize I’m currently a high school teacher and my partners are equally busily employed (one still in broadcast news/one with his own production company). We’re getting this together in our “spare” (hah) time. This is the second baby step. (First step was deciding to do it.)
Got some shooting done on one of the stories…the quirky philosopher, Poppa Neutrino. If you Google him you’ll find he is a vagabond…a dreamer…a traveler. Thirty years ago he decided he never wanted to work again and has spent the time since doing what he wants and setting to sea in rafts. His latest escapades have brought him into my back yard. The initial interviews are done…and I’m into research and looking for cover video for what at this point is a talking head story.
Still waiting for callbacks on the other stories.
Wish us luck on our journey…and hope some of you come along for the ride!
What are the biggest flaws most newcomers (and some old timers) make in creating video stories? According to Carol Knopes, director of the Radio Television News Directors Foundation, it’s poor lighting and audio.
The Poynter Institute’s Al Tompkins says it is light and sequencing or shots.
Lighting is absolutely key to photography, and it is becoming even more important as people watch video on bigger, sharper screens.
Some of the biggest mistakes I see in beginning photojournalism are too many medium shots, pans and zooms and not enough wide/medium/close-up/super-close-up sequences.
They’re both right – and these deficiencies are easily fixxed. The fix is simple. Be aware. Light…audio…shots/sequencing are all apparent once you really start looking or listening. They’re all right there inside your cranium. Not enough light? Move or add light. Bad audio? Move (closer) or add a mike. Too many similar shots/not enough shots? Get a variety of shots and plenty of them. Tape is cheap. Let me add one more item to this list. Use a tripod.
Now for the reality check. Initially getting it all right is going to take time. You resist using a tripod cause it takes time to set up. In the field you think audio sounds great – you can hear it okay in your headset. And you can see your subject so the light must be fine. Right? WRONG! Don’t rush through your story and cheat your audience. They (and you) deserve your best every single day…every single shot. At first you’ll feel as if you have a weight attached to you. Time…time…time…it takes time to get each of these elements done properly. Time to take out the sticks and set them up. Time to check out the light and move your sticks over a bit to get better light or pull out the stand light and umbrella and find an outlet and light your subject. Time to attach the mike and check audio levels. Time to really look at the story and get more than the obvious shots. Time to see the details that will really impact the audience. Time to think and do it right.
And it’s not over in the field. Now you’re back editing and you have more tape and more choices, cause you shot more than you did before. Your tape looks and sounds cleaner, so you aren’t straining to hear the bad audio that sounded so good in the field and sounds like crap in the quiet of the edit area. Nice. You begin editing and suddenly you realize you can really edit…you’re not just covering words with pictures or putting in a great shot just because you have it. You are creating a visual story with an establishing shot and details. You start getting excited and then look at the clock…and deadline time is coming up fast.
At some point all of this will click. Tossing up your sticks will be as effortless as turning the camera on. You’ll always keep the tripod plate attached to the bottom of your camera for quick and easy mounting. You’ll look at light as you enter a room and automaticaly set up in the best area…or put up your reflector or light/umbrella without thinking. At the same time you’ll have the mike out ready to clip on to the interview subject. While you’re shooting the interview, you’ll be visualizing your shots for cover. With time, all of this will become so natural and effortless you will forget you never did it before…and once again, you’ll be concentrating on what is most important: telling the story (thanks Student Television Network for the motto).
There’s an interesting discussion on Yahoo’s newspaper group about tripods. Arguments for and against. Biggest (and most valid) arguements against are the weight and time it takes to get set up. Best argument for tripods is they work – they do what they’re meant to do, which is allow the audience to focus on content and not be distracted by shakey video.
Tripods, like all other gear discussed here, come in a wide variety of sizes and prices. And there is no single tripod that works for everyone. (Hope you’re not getting tired of this tirade. I’ll try to give you the information you need to make an informed decision – but I hope I never tell you what to buy.)
At the (very) low end are those teensie little three-leggers that look like a table ornament. I’ve seen them in electronics/camera stores for about ten bucks. After years of lugging “real” tripods around, my first thought was “How cute. And how useless.” Second look made me realize that they have their place with a cheap/lightweight point and shoot camcorder for desktop use in interviews.
Next up the scale are the plastic and sometimes metal consumer tripods. I’ve got one – a Velbon that retails for around $20-30. Yes it’s inexpensive (Hey…look out, here comes the English teacher. Denotation – the actual meaning of a word. Connotation: the emotional response to the word. If I say “cheap,” you think junky. If I say “inexpensive,” you think bargin.” Enough of this frivolity.) but it works. I use this probably 90% of the time for quick work in the field and studio. It is lightweight and easy to carry and set up. The downside is it is light – and there are times I need stability.
There’s a whole bunch of tripods in between my Manfratto and the Velbon…mid weight tripods that are general use and ones that most of you might consider. The Bogen-Manfratto is actually two separate pieces of gear: sticks and a head. The “sticks” are the legs…when you go higher up the food chain you can put your tripod together just the way a still photographer puts their body and lenses together. You choose what you need. So you can choose tripod legs that go higher or are heavier. Then look at the heads…fluid heads that allow smooth tilting and panning and movement. Some heads just attach to the sticks and you level the tripod by adjusting the legs. The better heads have a handle under them so you just twist the handle to level the head – and that is a great timesaver. Tripods in this range start in the hundreds and upwards.
Next up are the pro tripods, which are lighter, sturdier, more specialized and much much higher priced. Thousands of dollars for a tripod. Quite a bit to think about when you may have budgeted that much for your entire production (including camera, computer, software, tripod, etc).
How do you decide which tripod is best for you? I like my heavier tripod for when I’m out in weather or crowds and need the stability to hold the camera steady in adverse conditions. A little plastic/metal tripod just won’t cut it then. The heavier tripod can hold a lightweight camera rock steady in a stiff wind. It also lets the public know I’m serious…not just another granny out with her toy camera (and I do put my ZR60 on the heavier sticks). And because I’m getting older and can’t schlept a 15 pound tripod around all day, the Velbon is perfect for most shooting. It gets the camera up high and holds it steady. Downside is after a year of abuse it is aleady showing signs of age…one of the legs came out of a socket/went back in easily. I’ve lost one of the adjustment screws (gotta go to my local hardware store to find a replacement).
So look at your budget…when/how you plan to use the tripod…and even how you want to be perceived (put this at the bottom of the list most of the time). Once you’re used to using a tripod it only takes seconds to set up…and you can even keep the legs together for a make-shift mono-pod. Look for another posting soon on how/why to properly use a tripod for video.
I bought my first (personal) light kit a month ago. It’s taken a bit of time to get used to it…took it to STN for my lighting workshop and ran it through its paces. As with everything in life, it was a compromise of what I wanted and what I could afford. The goal was to keep it in the $500 range. Kinda cheated there because the kit cost $584, plus tax and shipping, which took it up to around $630. Ouch.
In news I used everything – and I mean everything. My first job was at KXTV/Sacramento on the night shift and I had no lights. Every day when I came in I had to scrounge for a light and battery belt. As I moved up the food chain I got more goodies. Got the light belt and head when I went daysides (go figure).
Back then most news cameramen had possibly one light stand and one light head/battery belt and that was that. Didn’t start working with three lights until I hit KQED (late 70s). That was a revelation. Got a Colortran three stand kit with barndoors and one dichroic (to balance tungsten to daylight). KOVR provided a nice set of gear…mostly Lowel and Frezzi…and I always had three lights, ranging from 250 to 1K. That’s what probably influenced my thinking most when I started looking for my own kit. Low power lights with umbrellas for quick interviews and killer lights to light up a building at night.
Looking at what I got:
Three stands and cables for light heads
Tota-Light Tungsten Light w/750w lamp
Omni-Light Focus Flood Light w/500w lamp
Pro-Light Focus Flood Light w/250w lamp and barndoors
Impact – 45″ Convertible Umbrella
Impact – Mini Boom Arm – 5′ 4″
Heavy duty canvas bag to hold it all
If I’m in a hurry, I can just grab the Pro-light and and umbrella and do a quick soft light interview setup. On the other end, I can set up an interview or standup with the Omni-light, get a hairlight using the boom and Pro-lite, and fill the background with the Tota. With three light heads and three different wattage lamps, I have lots of choices. If all you’re doing is interviews, this might work for you or it might be too powerful (too much light). If you’re shooting movies and need to light sets, this is way too small. And I do need to add to it. Need at least one dichroic filter to balance indoor light to match the temperature of daylight. I can either buy a filter to fit one of the heads or get a gel holder and set of colored gels (blue would be the equivilent of dichroic). I want a set of barndoors for the Omni to control where the light goes. I already have an umbrella…which makes for two soft lights.
Some other stuff:
Whenever you go into a building, eyeball it for age and renovations. Pre-60s houses and some business establishments may not have the ability to support a kit like mine. I’ve blown out fuses and breakers a lot, either through not checking or trusting people who told me their lines can handle my power. If you know you’re in a problem site or building, just use your lowest power light. And always carry a three-prong to two-prong outlet converter.
Toss an extension cord and power strip into your bag. When setting up you want to spread yourself over several outlets to minimize impact.
Have gaffers tape or some small rugs to toss over cables in high traffic areas. You are a lawsuit waiting to happen if someone trips and gets hurt.
If possible, get lights set up and roughly in position before your subject arrives. That way all you hve to do is tweek the position, focus of the lights. Also makes you look good (more efficient and professional) and saves your usually very busy interview subject the time and hassle of dealing with sitting and doing nothing while you fiddle around.
If you’re in news or plan to go into news, for most gun and run interviews, all you need is one light and an umbrella. My lighting philosophy has always been to make it look natural…and this one light outfit replicates open shade. Nice even light/makes everyone look good. If you want, bring in a low wattage mini-light for a hair light. Save your three light setup for the times when you have time or events that warrant it.
Final note – I’ve explained above why I chose my kit, but that may not work for you. Your needs and situation are different and you have to consider what you need. (Reminds me of a time when my mother bought the identical still camera I had “because yours takes such good pictures.” I loved my mom, but she eventually realized who really took the pictures.) And don’t feel you need a kit right away. One good solid stand and lighthead w/umbrella may take care of your needs initially. Best thing to do is look at what you do. Look at your budget. Consider how much weight you’re willing to carry around (do you have help). When I say my light kit is portable it means I can carry it – but not for long. I’d guess it weighs around forty/forty-five pounds. And do realize that “less is more” in lighting. Your goal is to make your subject look credible, not to astonish the world with your lighting skills. Anytime your lighting skills, editing skills become visible, you are intruding on the story. Ideally when the audience watches your video they comment on what a good story it is – not what wonderful/lousey light or sound or editing there was.
This weekend I talked about how to develop story ideas. Here’s an update.
I met with Richard Hanner of the Lodi News Sentinel this morning and hopefully will be meeting up with his circulation manager to get going on the story about changing demographics of newscarriers.
Finally caught up with my local philosopher in a Walmart parking lot of all places (the only location we could both agree we knew) and talked with him at length. With a story like this it’s very important to pre-interview and get a feeling for the subject’s personality. He told me about a book about his life that I plan to track down and I visited his website.
Left messages for contacts on the food story and the street racing story and am waiting for folks to get back to me. Having time to wait is a luxury I’m enjoying. In the grind of daily news, stories were often sacrificed or cut short because we couldn’t track all of the necessary elements down in time to meet the deadlines. With luck (fingers crossed) I can shoot the philosopher story and the newscarrier story and edit while I’m sitting out some events I have to drive my daughter to this weekend. The food story may be mostly shot before I leave, but the local food expert isn’t available until next week.
Stay tuned for updates.
As you may know, I’m at STN in Anaheim – and my roomie (Jamie Watts of Arizona) loaned me a teensie video camera. It’s called a PureDigital and has 512KB of storage. Here’s the user guide, which pretty much explains the features.
This little camera is big on the “cute” factor (which I am immune to). But still, it was intriguing. My intent was to run a test shoot and see what the audio and video quality were like – not expecting much. After all, cost was down around $100 (more or less, depending on rebates). But for a beginning camera it seems to have it all. A built-in mike. Almost a zoom. It can record about 30 minutes of tape on a 512MB chip. The latter is what stopped me – sure, and with what kind of quality? I was taking odds my five year old digital still camera could shoot better quality video.
So here’s some video shot with the PD.
And here’s an interview.
My assessment:
The video astonished me. It was compressed with mpeg4 and considering how much it can jam onto a small chip, it is remarkably detailed. There are, of course, drawbacks. Pixelating if you pan or tilt or if there is rapid movement of any kind.
Zoom is not much and focus is set for about three feet or more with a fixed focus lens. Combine that with the audio quality when you get too far from the camera mike and it won’t work for interviewing unless you plan to cover the interview with b-roll.
The audio seems tinny. There is little depth and the interview has a lot of sibilance. Strangely, my voice sounds okay…just the person in front of the camera has lousy audio. Even the natural sound/ambiant sound is tinny.
Hook-up to my laptop with the pop-out USB connector was a breeze.
Installing software was equally easy, as was downloading video.
Then the problems began. I could download to the proprietary software program – but what I wanted was access to the clips in a real editing program and it was a headache. Jamie had set up her laptop by guess and by golly so she could do it, but we couldn’t replicate on my laptop, so she converted the clips and put them on my portable hard drive.
So if you’re happy using PureDigital’s proprietary system and like a little point-and-shoot with great video, this is one to consider. If you’re trying to teach visualizaton and basic editing and don’t need good quality audio, you might consider this camera. Jamie told me she has a bunch she uses just for that purpose with her students. And considering she got three for the price of one traditional video camera, that’s three more students able to pick up gear and get out and shoot.
We all have them. Faces…voices…memories of past lives, past relationships….past……..
If you are a newsie, the images are strong, the memories can grab your gut. For an instant, you are back there…laughing, crying, silent in shock…reliving….
I don’t know why, but this weekend was a weekend for reflecting and remembering. Mentioned to a fellow teacher a week or so ago I’d worked with Randy Shilts and I got the look. If you’ve worked in news with any known personality, the look is a bit awed and incredulous. I touched the hem of a god (or goddess) just by sitting in a car with them.
So when I slowed down over the three day weekend (Thank you President Lincoln), I began to think about the people I’ve worked alongside and opposite…folks who were friends or just strangers passing by in a story or on the road.
There was a time when I never thought about death, despite seeing and covering it daily. After all, I wasn’t part of the mix…I was a news photographer. Newsies covered the news – we never became the news. Then I had to write the story of an Oakland Tribune photographer hit by a train. A silly slip – he was so focused on getting his shots he didn’t see the oncoming train. Then Jonestown. Two photographers down and I knew them both casually from stories we’d worked together. Bob Brown and Greg Robinson. Dead on an airstrip. Will Soby/KTVU. Dead of a heart attack. Willie Kee…that was a hard one. A gruff tough guy – too short to get in the military, but a proud Marine nonetheless. Dead from living life too hard and ignoring the consequences.
And the reporters. Randy Shilts. George Duscheck. Pat Davis.
The citizens/our public. The gas station attendant I talked with several times a week after topping off my newscar tank. One day I filled up and the within an hour was back recording the paramedics as they wheeled him off to die. Some idiot who tried to defend his right to steal some cash and beer took him out. San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk – the latter a gentle laughing man. Both gunned down by Supervisor Dan White.
These ghosts come back at times to haunt. They flit into consciousness – stabbing with their vividness and then fade away.
It’s been a month since I began this posting. Couldn’t end it. But the ghosts came back three weeks ago. I walked out of the studio at my school – looked over the baseball fields and saw the ambulances. I knew instantly it was bad. Solo car full of teen-aged boys. Three dead. My DMC (digital media club) members were with me and wanted to get closer and I couldn’t move and I didn’t want them exposed too young to too much. When the club meeting was over, the ghosts returned. It was at that point I realized yet another reason I couldn’t work in the daily mix of television news…in the past I would have grabbed gear and raced over to document the tragedy. This time I just wanted to shut the doors and pretend it didn’t happen. Yes, there are good reasons to cover these stories. Yes, the public needs to know what happened and how to prevent future occurences. But others will have to be there to cover these events. I’m too busy staring down ghosts…
This assignment is meant to allow students the opportunity to get creative. They can write their own poem or select one written by someone else (no – not a friend/I have to approve and generally it has to be a recognized author). They choose music, shoot stills or video, and either record the narration themselves or have others speak for them. The final effort is expected to be a mood piece – a visual poem that evokes feelings of one of the four seasons.
Requirements:
Video must run two to five minutes
Find or write a poem about one of the four seasons (recommend that it focus on the season of the moment because it is easier to get visuals)
Shoot stills, video of the season (leaves, grass, clouds, people enjoying or not enjoying the weather, animals, flowers, trees, etc)
Choose instrumental music that helps set the mood and works with the words of the poem
Student or a friend (or friends) record narration
Edit with title slide at top and credits at end (attribute who wrote poem, who read narration, author and performers of music, video produced by)
Where do stories come from? Some are pretty obvious – what is happening today/what happened yesterday in your world. Some news is important because it affects you or those around you. No matter where the news comes from, you have to work to develop the idea.
I have at least four stories under development right now for thinknews. They range from food to a quirky philosopher to the changing demographics of newscarriers to a variation on street racing. Three I got from reading local newspapers. One of these is the result of looking at a print ad and realizing there was a story behind the ad. The last one came from an aquaintance who is promoting a local event. Because my goal is more reflective stories, I’m not repeating what the papers did – the plan is to look at each story from a new perspective. I’ll probably (have the time to) go more in-depth, look for the expert interview, tie the story in with a larger issue.
So how do I “develop” a story? The process can be explained in the same sense as developing a black and white print the old-fashioned way. Expose, put in chemical bath and wait for the image to show up.
I’ll use the newscarrier demographics story as an example. Every day (except Sundays when it doesn’t come out) I read my local newspaper – the Lodi News Sentinel. It’s a great paper and does a good job of focusing on its community. A few weeks ago I was scanning through the classifieds (yeah, I read everything) and I saw a two column promo ad that was part of an ongoing series focussing on the paper’s newscarriers. This one showed a stay-at-home mom with her family. The stereotypical newscarrier is a kid on a bike, so this struck me as unusual and worth looking into. Consider this the “exposure” part of developing a story. I saw something and realized there might be more to it.
Stage two: put in the chemical bath. This part involves tracking down the necessary elements and making sure you get enough to develop the story further. I’ve been in touch with the editor, who has passed on the email and phone numbers of the circulation manager. I’ll admit I’ve been a bit lax in my follow-up at this time (the usual excuses of too much to do). I did email him (my server bounced it back) and called (need to call earlier/the guy must get up at 3am)…but this also is typical. You have to be persistent, so I’ll keep trying until I get through. Additionally, one of my daughter’s friends is a newscarrier who rollarblades her route. I’ll definitely ask the circulation manager if he has a typical carrier or if few fit a defined mold. If there is enough information (chemicals) to develop the story I’ll move on to stage three.
Stage three is waiting for the image to develop. Best analogy here is going out with camera in hand and shooting interviews, cover shots, gathering more facts, writing and editing. The final “image” is the final product. The edited story, which will be posted (hung) on the Internet.
Each of the stories I’m considering is going through the same process. They are all at different stages of development – so it’s kind of like juggling, waiting to see which ball will come down next. I may be able to shoot the newscarrier story completely this next week while I’m on spring break from school. Ditto the philosopher story (which has a great follow-up story to go with it). The food story I may begin to shoot this week, but I know I’m going to need some food experts at the state level, so I may not finish it for a month or so. The street racing story will be mostly shot the weekend of the event. All will be posted when I’m through on thinknews, but I’ll keep my Videojournalism readers posted on progress and completion also.
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