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I slid into broadcast news in the summer of 1974 as part of a joint government/private enterprise program which allowed businesses to hire folks as interns, with half of the money coming from the government and half from the industry. Got paid the grand total of a buck fifty an hour to follow crazed people in small Toyotas with big hunky film cameras around in the summer heat…and it was an incredibly hot summer. The little Toyota station wagons that the KFSN (Fresno, CA) news crews used were ovens and often the air conditioners stuggled just to pass in warm air.
My first gig as an employee was at KXTV in Sacramento. Continued to learn the craft of shooting, processing, and editing 16mm single system film on older Auricons and Generals and (when I was good) the new CP16s. Just about the time I got comfortable…about a year and a half after getting on board – I walked into work and found myself in a mini-class, learning how to operate a “video camera.” It was a strange beast. There was the flakey little camera – couldn’t have weighed more than seven or eight pounds. Had a PLASTIC lens. It looked kinda like a radar gun. But that wasn’t even the half of it. It came with another sixty pounds of plastic and metal – the CCU (camera control unit) and the record deck. All of this so cumbersome and heavy that we needed a little golf cart to wheel it around. And we had no choice – we were thrust into the new technology literally overnight. Asides from the weight issues, I was okay – a new kid and I wasn’t embedded in the old technology, so I took to it pretty quickly. Although I did have issues – night shooting (my shift) was a bear. The cameras needed a ton of light just to show an image. I should have carried an arsenal of lights, but only had a battery belt with 30w Colortran head and one stand light. The ten foot umbilical cable helped a bit when covering forest fires – but I was tethered to my news van. But while shooting was frustrating, editing became a snap. We could actually use shots over again and again….if we made a mistake, we could just redo it (something that was very tricky with film). I even learned how to pull the audio cables in the rear of the decks and trade them out to put natsound behind my interviews…but at a very low level cause the channel I used to dump backup sound on was actually the channel engineering used to put cue tones on to start and stop the playback machines (accidentally edited audio on that channel with a very crucial interview with then Lt. Governor Dymally – and the voice on the wrong channel kept starting and stopping the playback machine).
Without going into too much detail, over the next twenty-five plus years I continued to work with U-matics (3/4 inch tape) with better and better cameras. Then they were phased out and Beta became the mainstay of broadcasting…a technology so good it continues today in some areas. In the 90’s DVC Pro came on the scene. Now these were all easy transitions…it was just linear tape. We had to learn new gizmos and methods. But the ugly monster, technology, wasn’t done with us yet. I began mentoring high school kids in video production and the principal insisted I teach them some new-fangled thing called digital nonlinear editing. Learning this nearly killed me emotionally. I just didn’t get it – felt like a dinosaur – one of the old geeks who couldn’t make the film to tape transition. Had nightly headaches…I could shoot, but the damn program (Final Cut Pro 1.0) lurked in the school computer, doing whatever it could to mess with my tiny brain. The terminology….the computer keyboard…the files within files within files…the icons…and the lack of something material I could put in a machine and rewind or fast forward got to me. Finally got so mad I made arrangements with a friend of a friend for a tutoring session…there were four others, some of us dinosaurs and a few new kids who seemed to aborb everything in a wink. In one marathon eight hour session I grasped enough to understand and defeat the evil computer and its demonic software.
Where is all this leading (she must have some kind of point to make here, you’re thinking)? There’s a whole group of photographers who have to choose survival or join the dinosaurs. It’s not gonna happen overnight, but changes in the audience mandate that most print photogs learn at least some video and nonlinear editing. What I’ve seen at the workshops I’ve been to in California are the enthusiasts – the leaders – photographers who are excited about the change and embrace it. What filters in from other areas is a fear of change. I know this fear – it is a gut feeling that, “Dammit I know I’m good. The audience sees my stuff and loves it. Why do I have to change – why me? What does this new stuff do that I can’t already do?” And frankly, I didn’t have to learn it – my old station hasn’t gone nonlinear yet. I probably would have made it to retirement as a happy hadrosaurus. The message of this post is: when you stop learning, you start dying. Can I make it any clearer? Now you can die happy and creatively, doing what you’ve always done – and there’s nothing wrong with that. You have choices. One of those choices may be looking at a different career. But if you truely love your craft; not just the visual part, but the news part – change is inevitable. It hurts – you face the prospect of being not so good at first. You make mistakes. Your whole self-image changes and you have to reinvent yourself. Take it from a dinosaur who has made the transition…it can be done. That half-way feeling of, “what do I do” is part of the uncertainty of change. You ask, “Do I dare risk shooting video at a cruicial moment when I know stills and know I can get the shot with my still camera – but I’m risking it all if I use a video camera.” The broadcast equivalent is, “I’m stuck with the (censored) live shot and the blasted story is happening NOW!. I should be covering the news, not just putting a reporter up to talk.” As much as I’d like to pretend we have a lot of freedom, the reality is the bosses and audience tend to make the decisions.
So while you may not like change and I may not like it, there are a lot of hungry little mammals out there (college students) ready to take us down. I made my choice. I wish you luck with yours.
Final note: this is a discussion that needs to be in the open. I know a lot of folks fear for their jobs and their futures and have a real love of their craft as it is now. Meranda Writes has some good discussions going on this issue on her blog. Get out there and join the conversation – but don’t put up a wall and refuse to consider change. Pick up a video camera and try it out (at home if you have to). It ain’t hard and it won’t kill ya.
After re-reading my last couple of posts, I think I should put forth my thoughts on how video should be used on the web by newspapers.
First, let me state the (in my opinion) news is meant to inform and educate. News should be generally be neutral…although there are times when the VJ (reporter/photographer) does take a stance. I also think that news video should compell the viewer to watch – it must connect with the audience and draw them in.
That said…there are myriad options about how to approach web video. What is pushed most often is get the best and have your best photogs focus on stories with meaning and put all of your effort into them. Then there are those who say, hand out low end gear to as many staff as possible and get as much on the web as you can. And everything you can think of in between.
I sit out of the mix now, as a high school teacher, watching the battle, and laughing. The reality is the audience will decide which approach works best and it’s not about the gear – it’s all about storytelling. Yes, given a choice, I’d take back my $17,000 DVC Pro and sticks and wireless system and light kit. I love the detail – the quality. The ability to work in low light. The instant recognition the big bucks camera gave me. But the reality is that not all budgets can take that kind of abuse. I intentionally have been experimenting with the polar opposite: how cheap can I get gear for and still make a memorable story? I’m finding drawbacks – struggling with minute hard-to-find controls, having to prove I am a pro in dealing with the public, having to relearn my craft. Some of the pluses: I am no longer an invader, infecting the story with my mere presence. I am invisible. An old(er) lady with a camera. Ignored. I can now see the real story…not necessarily the story being acted out for the benefit of the camera.
How a newspaper approaches putting video on the web is very personal – and very much a part of who they are in the community and who their community is. Some papers have the drive and bucks to go all the way…with training, high end gear and enough time to allow full development of stories. Other papers experiment with video…trying it on, if you will. They may post a few simple videos shot by an enthusiastic staffer and see what the response is. If their community embraces it, they are ready to get move involved. If not, it may continue as a minor part of their daily mix. But everyone has a stake in what happens on the Internet – you can stand back and slowly die or you can make bold moves (at either end of the scale) and cross you fingers and hope for the best. Whoever takes the high ground wins. The only uncertainty is – what is the high ground. What magic formula will win. I would guess not the TV model…and I think it may take several years before the obvious model or models will become apparent. Until then – the best bet is to experiment and watch your own audience. Every community is different and will respond to different approaches. Flexibility is the answer.
Rather than hacking and cutting this response from Veronica VanDress, assistant city editor of the Canton Repository, I’m just running it as is. According to Executive Editor Jeff Gauger, she and chief photographer Stan Myers are the two driving the video movement at the paper. Keep in mind this is a Gatehouse Media paper, working under Howard Owens’ vision of affordable cameras…get the gear out and in the hands of as many staff members as possible and get that video online. Here’s Veronica’s response to my request for information on what went into getting four videos onto the newspaper’s website today.
We planned ahead for a video on a heroes quilt that first-graders from a local school were making for a student’s dad who is serving in Iraq. To keep it simple, we told the reporter before he went out to interview the teacher about what they were doing and why and shoot about 90 seconds of the students working on the project. Teachers are great at talking non-stop with few “ahs” and “ums,” but first-graders are a little harder to work with. We decided ahead that we didn’t have time to mess with that. Back at The Rep, we edited the video to dub the teacher’s interview over the footage of the students. Worked great even though the reporter had no training on the camera because we gave specific instructions ahead on what he should shoot. It took roughly 35 minutes using Windows Movie Maker to edit. The video was posted on our Web site at the same time the print story was posted.
A crash around noon during which a toddler was thrown from a car window was unexpected breaking news Tuesday. The chief photographer grabbed a point and shoot and captured the scene. He filmed while the reporter was interviewing a safety official. This video we wanted to get on right away because it was soon dated. The official didn’t know answers to some of the questions. The photographer had put a video together then showed it to a line editor for approval. We wasted some time there because changes needed to be made in the video. We should have had the editor looking at the raw footage when it came in and giving editing instructions, just as we coach our print stories before they’re written. Essentially, we had to do the editing again, which took about 20 minutes the second time using iMovie. We posted that afternoon, plus we had a print story online with photos.
Another reporter took extra photos with a P&S on a gaming story. We were able to process and use her photos. But, we had to punt on video of a security issue at the county office building. New measures were put into effect that caused a line to form outside the building. A reporter happened to be there on another story and had a point and shoot with him. He was itching to shoot it but we had to weigh our print needs and were already processing two video elements, so we let that one go. As we get more folks trained on editing and we get faster at it, we should be able to handle more multimedia content and more efficiently.
We learned:
• It pays to plan ahead.
• Coach with editor on the front end of video production.
• Let reporters practice with the equipment on the little things so they’re comfortable when it counts.
And here are three of the videos:
First – Player of the Week
How to make a martini eyeball
Kids make quilt
All of these videos are simple – an interview with cover shots. It seems that two were one “day of” – quilt and accident. Player of the Week and the Eyeball story were most likely pre-produced and posted that day. The most produced video is the Player of the Week, which is in a format the staff developed and uses each week. Foods writer Saimi Rote Bergmann is a quick study…this is not her first food video. She obviously thinks ahead, prepares her props, and has good repore with the camera. Good catch on the accident – Stan mentioned earlier this week that he passed an accident on the way home and regretted not having a video camera with him. This time he thought fast and grabbed on.
The extra time to plan, shoot, write, and edit did present some difficulties. I see that the newspaper workflow is kept as part of the process. It was different in broadcasting…a photographer might be asked to produce a video essay or a news story, which was checked and nearly always rubber-stamped. This might be because of the expertise of the staff I worked on (let’s just call them all veterans and not get into age). The photo staff knew their stuff, often better than many of the new reporters. As time progresses and both the field and in-house Repository staffs get more comfortable with video, re-edits will become less frequent. Side note: broadcast news departments often toss stories before rolling on them or even after they are shot because of time constraints and other reasons. It’s a part of the process – trying to second guess what will work, what won’t, and what you can do.
Veronica’s final lessons – planning ahead, especially when edting, and allowing reporters time to get comfortable with gear are reasonable from her stance as an assignment editor. Planning and discussing with the field crew (be it reporter or photographer) allows them to understand the angle the desk is looking for so they can do their job better. Having a coach to assist with editing gives support to folks who are learning or a staff that is trying to learn a new process. And gear – my gosh, being comfortable with gear is esssential. You can’t shoot a story if you’re wondering how to turn on the camera, which button to push to shoot, and all of the other technical and nontechnical details of gathering visuals and interviews. Back to Jeff Gauger – he says he understands that not everything will go perfectly initially. That is a good thing for the staff to hear – from an understanding boss who understands their concerns. These are good people, on both sides of the desk. I wish them luck on this adventure.
I was in Canton OH on October 12 and did two workshops with the Canton Repository – one for reporters using Exilims and one for photographers using the Canon HV20. I watched their website before heading back and have been reading it every day since. Until recently they seemed to do a video or two a week. Today they posted FOUR stories. Wow – this is BIG for them. They managed to integrate video into their workflow and are doing it well.
Today’s videos include the Athlete of the Week, a recipe for martini eyeballs, schoolkids making a quilt, and a car accident in which an infant was ejected from a car seat. All well executed with good basic storytelling. I’m in a rush to get off to school (yep – my classroom awaits) and will continue this when I get home. Later…
I was cruising through tvspy when I came across this story shot & edited by photojournalist Jeremy Carroll and reporter Noelle Walker of KNTV NBC 11 in San Jose, California. Thanks to Al Tompkins for singling it out and interviewing the crew to discover their thoughts as they worked on the story, which won a national Edward R. Murrow award.
Talk about tuned to perfection…this is a perfect example of the wedding of words, music, and visuals – and often the words meander down their path while the accompanying video soars above. The imagery is outstanding – not just about the subject matter, but going beyond showing the content of the story and allowing space for your mind to reflect.
Marvel at the story…but be sure to read Tompkin’s interview about a team who became obsessed with a story they couldn’t put on the fast track.
SFBAPPA aka BAPPA or San Francisco Bay Area Press Photographers Association is holding its Multimedia/Digital Workshop at San Francisco State on Saturday, December 8. This is a must attend for photogs in northern California. Opening session by Kim Komenich, who will look at where the news industry is headed. We’re in for a wild ride folks. There is no model for news yet on the Internet and everyone’s guessing and hoping they’ve made the right choices.
There’ll be workshops galore – and I can definitely recommend anything done by Richard Koci Hernandez. After all, he’s the one who turned me on to blogging at last year’s event. Not sure what I’m doing exactly…I’m slated to do a Final Cut Express workshop, but have also volunteered for VJing for Dummies (they’ll probably come up with something more politically correct since this is California). But expect workshops by the pros on Photoshop, Flash, new media, storytelling and reps from manufacturers. Spaces fill up fast – last I heard it was already 2/3 full. Free to BAPPA members…slight fee to others. If you’re intersested go to SFBAPPA’s website or email President Paul Sakuma at sfbappa@aol.com.
One of the neat things about this country is that no one is allowed to define who the media is. So the Washington Post and Aunt Patsey and her quilting newsletter are both media. Now I don’t always like this – would really rather not be included with some news shows or yellow journalism rags – but in order to have true freedom, we have to include equality for all media.
There’s a Federal Shield Law working its way through the system and it’s a great idea. More or less. It protects media – but apparently only those who earn “a significant portion” of their income from their work as journalists.
The Washington Post states that:
The bill would protect news reporters, under most circumstances, from being legally compelled to reveal sources who have requested confidentiality. The protections would apply only to people who earn a significant portion of their livelihoods as journalists. They would not apply in criminal investigations or prosecutions of leaks of classified information that significantly harm national security, unless a judge ruled that the public interest outweighs those concerns. Journalists who are involved in or an eyewitness to a crime would not be protected.
Hmmm…gonna hunt down the actual bill and check the wording. If this puppy passes, looks like the government will be able to define who media is. Once that starts, who know where it will end…
I got off my duff this afternoon (been nursing a head cold) and pulled out the tripod and four cameras: JVC GY-DV300, Canon ZR60, Exilim Z75, and Minolta Dimage S414 with the intent of seeing how they fare against each other. Shot a couple of scenes and edited together for a quick eyeball camera test. Nothing official, mind you.
The JVC is about five years old…three chips. I chose it right after I bailed from TV news cause i couldn’t live without a camera around. It cost $2700 new. Had XLR mike inputs (a requirement) and easy to reach manual controls for focus (a focus ring), iris (dial), zoom, and white balance. The menu offers a ton of settings…and with the A/B camera settings I’m ready for almost anything. The zoom was the only disappointment – only 10x.
Camera number two is my “notebook” camera. I picked it up used on ebay for about $80. It is a little consumer camera with no pretensions. Can go auto or manual with focus, zoom, white balance – but it’s a pain in the rumpus to do manual. Two advantages are its small enough to carry around and the zoom is great (20x).
The Exilim is my newest toy. Got it on the discontinued shelf at Fry’s for $179. It is primarily a still camera with video abilities – in fact the quality of the video is astonishing. 3x zoom, 7 megapixel, and controls are almost as painful to use as the ZR.
Last is my first real digital still cameras – well, almost. Had one before this but all it was was a black box with a lens and absolutely no control. Took crappy photos too – but, hey – they were digital. The Minolta is a Dimage S414 4 megapixel with 3x lens.
(Please excuse – I inadvertantly put the wrong title slide up at the beginning…should just read Camera Test with the names of the cameras. Second part of test has zooms.)
Regarding the test. I shot a fruitbowl with all three cameras (had to reshoot the JVC version when I found I hadn’t turned off the gain). Then went outside and shot a zoom in of a tree in the front yard. Reason for first shot is to look at colors and quality of video. Reason for second is to compare zooms.
In small format there isn’t a ton of difference between the JVC, ZR, and Exilim. The JVC is somewhat better. You can see the difference in the Dimage – I had to enlarge the clip just to make it the same size. JVC and ZR shot on mini-dv; Exilim produced .avi files; Dimage produced very small .mov files.
Looking at the video full-screen on the computer the JVC just pops out – it is by far the best quality. Interestingly enough the ZR and Exilim are very close in quality. I’d be hard put to tell the difference – only thing really noticable is that the colors on the Exilim are more saturated. The Dimage is just plain pixelated.
Regarding zooms. The JVC had the widest angle…and got close enough for most shoots. The ZR began with a tighter shot but got noticably closer. With a 3x zoom the Exilim couldn’t even get close – and didn’t focus on the spot I was aiming at. I’d guess the detector just picks a general spot to focus on. I couldn’t zoom at all in video mode with the Dimage.
Take a look and make your own judgements. If you just need a point and shoot for snapshots or general video (not focused audio) – the Exilim, for the price, is it. The video is great…but to get good audio, you have to be face to face with the source.
Stan Myers, chief photog at the Canton Repository, send me the following video. At first I just sat and thought, “Oh no…another boring video.” Ten seconds later I was on the floor laughing. Enjoy a “Kodak” moment.
Suzi Piker with the Portland Press Herald hits below the belt. She enticed me into looking at her paper’s Friday Night Football page with the promise of a clip about the chain gang – knowing full well that’s where I am when my teams goes on the field. Here’s the video, which is wonderfully visualized. I love the low shot of the chain just slipping beneath the lens. Good nats…nice interview. Only thing I might have added (hey, gotta be objective and not just do a slush piece) is to have the CGers explain why they are out there – are they volunteers or “volunteers.” Great work.
Additional comment – I forgot to mention the photographer who shot this gem: Greg Rec. He has a wonderfully creative eye and is not afraid to “get down and dirty” to get the shot.
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