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Time to take a hiatus…a break. This blog has been up and running for nearly five years. Not much compared with say Lenslinger. But five years of both inspired and forgettable postings. And now the reason to rant and post is slowly dying. Five years ago the concept of singular storytelling…videojournalism…one man bands…backpack journalism was fresh and debatable. Now it is not only getting old and institutionalized, but it’s also become the poster child of savings for news departments looking for fast cheap content, who cut staff and pile more and more on those left behind. This is not the dream we all had for VJs…solo storytellers who would research, shoot, write, edit stories with insight and meaning. Those are out there (check out the facebook Storytellers group and b-roll), but more common are the Q & D in-and-out folks who are either overworked and doing the best they can or newbies who just wanna be TV stars.
So for a time…I’m stepping away and focusing on areas of interest other than this blog. There’s a book to be completed…stories to be told…and sunrises and sunsets to enjoy…
And while I seem to have stepped back from this blog, I have not stepped away from visual storytelling. It’s in my genes, just as it is in every child who wants to talk about their day or curl up in grandpa’s lap to hear about his childhood. We all want to hear and tell stories. And I want to break it down so that others can understand the steps to creating a solid story that communicates a thought…a timeline.
So see me not as gone…just hovering in the background, pondering…
(re-written 9/12/11)
Although there are many resources on the web to watch great videos, there’s one outstanding one if you are primarily interested in visual storytelling news style.
TV News Storytellers on facebook has daily posts from cameramen all around the country soliciting input on how to become better or posts from experts in the field demonstrating best practices.
So hop on over and take a look…and enjoy.
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