Tag Archive

Just posted a piece about tripods on Angela Grant’s newsvideographer.com. More of a technical look than what i’ve done here in the past - parts of the beast with explanation.

Another one coming up sometime this week on where some of the terms we toss about everyday come from…bins, clips, A and B roll. I’ll post that link when she publishes it.

Newsvideographer.com just published the A roll, B roll, C roll posting. If you’re a bit of a history/definition buff, take a look.

Daniel Sato delved into demographics in his latest post. An interesting concept…one I met when I was about his age and at his stage of experience. Bob Helms, chief photog at KXTV in Sacramento, was brave enough to bring me on board in 1974 as his first female photog after a casual comment: “If you don’t work out I guess we won’t be hiring any more women.” But those were the times.

And then I got this sage advice on how to cover demonstrations: “Shoot what represents the crowd.” Different in a way from what Daniel is being told. His blog looks at “mainstreaming” -

“…which was explained to me in a nutshell, was putting minorities in photos when possible, or better reflecting the diversity of the community.”

Two different concepts about how to visualize when shooting news. Bob was telling me to make sure I represented everyone…the elderly, the ugly, the young…not just the hunks and babes. He didn’t even get into race, although I know he meant that too.

Mainstreaming seems to mean to take the extra minute to make sure you get diversity…and Daniel’s argument is that he goes for the moment - the picture.

“I don’t really think I look at what a person’s ethnic background is when I am taking pictures, just what they are doing, what the composition looks like around them, etc.”

And while Daniel points out that he feels his paper does not represent minorities enough…others have argued that there is too much focus on minorities, out of proportion to their demographics in the community or specific segment of the community.

Daniel wonders if he now has to worry more about who he is photographing than what. I think Bob Helms’ advice may cover this issue better. Shoot what is there and represent what is there. Some days the balance will swing one way…some days another way.

Part of this issue comes from the assignment desk…what do they send you to cover. Are THEY focusing more on certain segments and ignoring others. Does your newspaper represent its community?

Two closing thoughts.
Had a discussion with a friend when we were working on a lighting video. He said too often in discussions photogs like to say they light dark skinned and light-skinned subjects the same when in truth there are lighting challenges for both that are unique. Racism in lighting. Do we want to discuss this?
And I (oh forgive me) erred from time to time from Bob’s advice. My own mother said she could tell when I shot a march/demonstration because there were more shots than usual of good looking guys. (Well, I did have to balance out the opposite tendency of an otherwise all-male staff.)

My spelling skills are average…and while there is instant gratification using online dicitonaries, I’m using them less and less and my hunky old Random House Dictionary of the English Language more and more.

Makes me feel like a scholar….about three inches thick. Dusty. Tiny type. And about every word known to man (through 1966, the year it was published). Like a newspaper, it is solid and real. Some things are hard to let go of.

I felt a sense of hope and serenity when I used my own link from my blogroll to find Richard Koci Hernandez again. Left the link up as a sign of respect for the blog that was everything good about still photogs moving into video and multimedia - and for the photog who got me started on blogging.

This is not an earth-shaking blog in the sense that it will lead us all to Mecca. No, it is more a look into Richard’s soul. youarenotyourego…kind of says it. The first post I read - the man in the hat - is more a look into what drives all who visualize…all who create.

There’s a saying I once heard from a plein aire artist: “I can’t not paint.” I think that applies to all photo-video-mulitmedia-journalists. We can’t not see and we can’t not document. There is something in us that forces us to look below layers and try to see truth. To find the meaning of the universe in a glance, a movement, a moment. A compulsion to document this slice of time to show to others…not for recognition but so that they can see and understand our vision. Or not.

I don’t remember stories I’ve done so much as moments of time burned into my retina. A burned firefighter breaking down as his burned hands press against a hospital window as an engine bearing the body of his fallen partner passes by. A look of innocence as a small child turns in wonder while riding a cable car. The blurred shapes of firefighters dropping their gear and running for their lives as a fireball roars down a mountain. A moment of silence which is broken by the call of a red-winged blackbird. A wail…a honest-to-God Biblical wail..from a father whose daughter is missing/much later discovered dead.

We should all watch Richard as he gropes along through this thing we call life…and watch for his moments of truth. And mourn with him for moments lost.

Kathy Newell emailed me asking what was wrong - why haven’t I been posting lately. Blame it on spring doldrums. No energy. A bit more time in the garden would help…except school is taking all my time. And i have a great post today - but not here. Promised Angela Grant I’d write some stuff for her and when I saw some new flash drive camcorders I spun out a short review. Should pop up in the next few days.

There’s another one on tripods that should be done soon.

TGIF tomorrow. Should be the start of a warm mellow weekend, but I’m off to LA to do a couple of workshops. Also had an invite to attend the Rhythm Emphasis Jam on Friday night at school - almost cancelled the trip but thought better of it. They’re MY breakers and I really wanted to see them compete. (If you have the night free and are in the Stockton area - drop by McNair High School starting at 5pm. Door price is $5)

Enjoy the weekend and I’ll see ya if you’re at the JEA confab in Anaheim!

The studio is officially up and running at Ronald E. McNair High School. What a challenge. All of the gear was bought nearly four three years ago and it took this long to get the class started and enough interested students to open the control room doors and let them get hands-on with the good stuff.

I like to break my students into teams of three…two would be better, but not enough gear for that. Anything more than three results in one team member not doing much. Each team has a cameraman, interviewer/producer/reporter, and camera assistant/editor. They rotate in these roles.

To run the studio we need three of these teams - this time in the Control Room, working the Floor Crew, and on the Anchor desk.

Control Room crew works under the Director (one of the advanced students). One student runs the Audio Board, one is the Switcher/Assistant Director and the third is the Producer. The latter marks up the daily bulletin so that the Anchors know which segment each is reading. We have two main anchors and a sports anchor. Floor Crew is divided into two cameramen and a Floor Manager.

Nine (sometimes ten) teens all learning to work together. The first day was horrible. Got the Floor Crew on board (how to turn on camera, work safely with tripod on dolly, dressing cable, getting shots). Anchors ditto - the hard part was explaining scripting to the Producer. Control Room crew just played with buttons and switches and we found some errors in cabling from gear into the switcher.

Day Two - the teams who were rotated into training this day had been watching (and getting in the way) the day before. We got all the way up to a partial read-through of the scripts.

Day Three - again, teams observing the past two days training were observant and we actually taped a run-through of the show. Totally amazing.

Nine teens in synch with split second timing - what an accomplishment! And better yet - they knew where the problems were and gave feedback for improvements. Frankly I tried to keep the roles as simple as possible…and their suggestions mirrored the actual duties of production crews.

Let me state publicly that I am proud and honored to work with such a team. Freshmen to seniors; special ed to honors - and they took the stress and made it work for them. Now if I can only teach them to use the mute button on the Comrex.

This is a difficult post to write. The paradigm shift has hit home - layoffs at my old home, KOVR in Sacramento. Not just a few folks from what I’m hearing. By the end of today it should be over - for this round at least.

It’s interesting how you can talk about change but it doesn’t really hit you until it touches someone you know. I’ll update with new information as I learn more…
I recognize too many names already…

Blogging is a vast and intimate community. I’ve made friends in places I hadn’t heard of before entering this unreal world. And I’ve linked to people I admire and had my own blog linked to some pretty remarkable places….from high schools to universities to folks who seemed to find a useful tidbit in my ramblings and musings and…well, now to Broadcast Engineering. Now that was a mag I perused when still in the industry. I’m not saying I understood it all - it was about the deep end of the techo-scale. The folks who can rip apart a station and put it back together. But I’d skim through occasionally and pick off what I could.

So in return for the link - I’ve added them to my blogroll. Also cleaned out or fixed a few links that weren’t working, eliminated a few, and have posted who is on the blog and why.

2-pop is a virtual filmmaker community. They have a great forum where you can ask questions or just cruise and get answers. Plus gear for sale/wanted.

Adm & Alison are two vibrant still photogs and their blog features photos - they try to post every day. Ranges from thought-provoking to personal to news in Northern California.

I added Newsvideographer the day Angela Grant set it up - one of the most worthwhile VJ sites on the web.

B&H Photo is a no-brainer. Mecca.

B-roll is a TV photographer site with forums, jobs, gear and a great place to listen to the pulse of broadcast shooters.

Bringing the Fun Back by klncreations - a woman I admire immensely, she spent 25 years on the streets shooting broadcast news. We’ve partnered a few times. Her site is very uplifting.

British Videojournalism by Andy Dickinson - What’s going on overseas…in Europe? Andy keeps an eye on it all and has a complete overview on editing systems he wrote a while back. Love his low-key humor.

Clifford Oto - local photog for the Stockton Record who blogs about his daily work.

Daniel Sato - a student PJ/VJ who is fresh to the world with an eager mind. A younger newsies views.

Digital Juice - resource for all things quirkly - offbeat stuff and video editing tricks. Some inspiring and funny demos.

Eclectic overview of the media - Howard Owens - ya love him or hate him. Proponent of the low-end/lotsa video argument and also on top of very nearly everything related to newpaper changes.

International Videoreporter Ruud Elmendorp - a Dutch VJ who works freelance primarily out of Africa. I’m loyal to him because he made the very first comment on my blog AND his storytelling rocks.

Mindy McAdams - Queen of Flash and online journalsim.

Multimedia Shooter by Richard Hernandez - THE site for still photogs trying to keep up with changes in the industry.

National Oceangraphic and Atmospheric Administration - Keep an eye on weather in real time by radar anywhere in the US.

Photojournalism - Mark Hancock showcases his work and explains.

photokaboom - a photography teacher and reviewer.

Poynter Institute - Just because.

Radio Television News Directors’ Foundation - Some good educational resources for teachers and students.

San Francisco Bay Area Press Photographers Association - been a member since 1978

Student Television Network - brings middle and high school students together once a year at a conference and supports sound teaching of video, journalism, broadcasting

teachj - for J Teachers - my favorite journalism teacher blog

think-news - shameless self-promotion. The carrot on the stick that keeps me going I want a reflective news site with meaningful stories…but am so caught up in work and life I can’t contribute as often as I’d like to.

think-training - shameless self-promotion again. This one may go down in flames…I had high hopes of doing VJ training but the reality is that attitudes, economics, and changes have made it difficult.

University of Georgia Photojournalism - perspectives of a college professor

US Geological Service Earthquake - see earthquake information very nearly as they happen. Location and size. Whoops - there’s one right now!

Viewfinder Blues by Lenslinger - daily reality check by Stewart Pittman/everycameraman with a mouth and attitude to match.

WordPress.org - my blog supporter

Well, I didn’t get out the door to shoot the sun on the day of the spring equinox yesterday…seemed like it was off a bit and besides I was already in downtime mode. I did it the night after instead…and this is another lesson on light. To really be good, you need to know when the light will be where you want it to be.

No - you can’t tell the sun to appear at the certain point on a certain day…but if you’re aware of where the sun (or moon) falls at different times of year, you can anticipate and prepare your shoots. Some of you with less than the required amount of news ethics may ask, so what - I can Photoshop whatever I want where I want. You can stop reading and skip to another blog right now. For those of you WITH news ethics…think about visions you’ve had of certain locations with light falling from the north or south…and what time of year/time of day might be best to revisit and shoot that site?

Too many times we work with the light that is there. At times we supplement it. At times we create our own lighting. But sometimes just letting nature take over results in some stunning images.

When I worked my one year as a production manager for a cable TV company, I’d mention waiting until a certain time or month to shoot local sites/businesses and get “the look.” That look said it all - hey, just go out now and shoot the sucker. If we needed it then and there, fine. But if we were archiving or working a few weeks/months out - I’d wait.

In the winter, the sun shines on the south sides of buildings. In the summer it hits the north side. Morning is sunnyside up for the east and evening is sunnyside for the west.

Example - the storage silos at the Port of Stockton sit right on the water. The shot looks kinda crappy in the winter…with the silos backlit. In the summer the sun shines on them across the water for a much more pleasant view.

So take a look around and get your directions straight and consider the seasons and when you can be there for that one single perfect moment.

Angela Grant’s Newsvideographer.com is becoming a regular meeting place for like minds from all media. Today there’s a post from a name familiar to those who haunt the media Internet - Stewart Pittman aka Lenslinger.

Lenslinger blogs on Viewfinder Blues and has a way with words that few print people can equal. Plus he’s a veteran of the one-man-band, a regular VJ with attitude.

I commend Angela for grabbing him…her site is headed towards becoming what is sorely needed in this time of traumatic transition - a meeting place for anyone and everyone who truely loves news and visuals.

When I first started shooting (film circa 1974) I noticed something strange I hadn’t really noticed when shooting stills. The quality of light seemed different as I travelled. And at the time I thought it had something to do with air…which makes sense in an “I’m not a scientist” type of way.

My career with weighty news cameras began in California’s great Central Valley…hot and flat in the summer and a prehistoric rainy bog in the cooler months. Then (oh great day) I got sent to Mecca (every photog’s dream city of San Francisco) one day for a quickie and the air was…well, not like the flatlands. It seemed cooler, heavier, cleaner.

Over the past umpety-ump years I’ve been all over and sensed the same thing. Now part of this can be attributed to actual climate conditions. The air is cooler near the ocean…thus my perception that my film seemed cooler. The air in Oklahoma City seemed charged (and that was one charged story on Ground Zero of the Murroh Building). Not to mention the checker board weather that week. The air in Australia seems relaxed and mellow. The air at the top of Mt. Whitney in summer is thin and sharp (so was my video). The air in Moscow heavy.

Moods come with location…but terrain and how light bounces has part in this mystery.

The Central Valley in summer is hot (mid-90’s to 110). The land is flat and light bounces right back up at you. We were inside a giant nature-made umbrella with little in the way of shade. As progress (and a kazilliion developments, malls, buildings) has moved in, the quality of light has changed.

San Francisco is surrounded by water…which reflects and bounces in a different manner. Cooler, yes because the water is not the flat land of the valley. There are tall hills and taller buildings. There are cool vales. There is fog and there are clouds.

Each location has its own personality and light and air which contributes to the mystic (or not). It affects the visualization…how you see and shoot. What should you learn from this? Don’t take preconceptions with you. Breathe in the air, look at the light before shooting. And let the mood, like little cats’ feet, become part of you.

Multimedia Shooter is back. This is a link via a link via a link. (Thanks to Angela, Mark, APAD)

Mikes

One of my favorite resource books for teaching video is

Single-Camera Video Production

by Robert B. Musburger (Focal Press). I have the second edition…better remind myself to update it to the 2005 book. It has very clear explanations of how stuff works. Was giving my beginning broadcasting class an overview of stuff that goes with cameras this past week and used the comparison between human senses and cameras/mikes. I know this is probably a bit out of date, but I’m sure human senses are still winning. According to Musburger,

The human eye can focus from nearly the end of the nose to infinity instantaneously. The eye can adjust to light variations quickly and can pick out images in light varying over a thousand times from the lightest to the darkest.
The human ear can hear sounds varying in loudness from 0 decibels to over 160 decibels.

In comparison the camera (in this 1999 edition) can only reproduced light variations at a 30:1 ratio and the best mikes reproduced sounds no louder than 60 decibels. And speaking of mikes (finally she gets to the point)…that’s the focus in the post.

Cameras come and go. Other gear can last a lifetime. I had a mike when I worked at KOVR that I swear dated back to the days of newsreels. An ElectroVoice…really couldn’t tell the model due to the dings and scratches. It was heavy and looked as if it were used in hand to hand combat…and it wouldn’t die. Now that’s a mike for you. After I left news I went out and bought myself its little sister (or great-granddaughter) which I plan to pass it on to my grandkids.

So let’s look at microphones. There are some basics you’ll need to know. If you harken back to an earlier post you can get an idea of the three general types of mikes and when to use them.

Here are some mikes that have caught my eye for one reason or another…let’s start with shotguns (a term that in one sense makes sense - you are shooting with it…but in the sense that a shotgun sprays a scene it is totally inaccurate…these puppies are unidirectional and very focused). Remember, one of my requirements is that I can attach equipment to the camera…not the camera to the equipment (keep it smaller than the camera).

Sennheiser MKE400
Sennheiser shotgun mikes were a standard in news….rugged and capable of reaching out and pulling in sound. With today’s small VJ camcorders it is a wise addition…it actually fits and doesn’t protrude into the field of view. At total length of about 5 inches including mount, this should nicely fit the profile of your camera and Sennheiser’s superior sound sure beats your built-in mike. Can mount onto your camera’s shoe and comes with a short coiled cable to plug into your mike input. Uses an AAA battery and runs around $200…and for only about $50 more you can pick up the furball windbreaker.

Clip-on mike
AudiopTechnica ATR35 - a small clip-on mike with a twenty foot cord, giving you plenty of room to back up and wander. Problem is, as with most consumer mikes, is it has a mono plug so you’ll need to pick up an inexpensive adapter for a few bucks and you’ll record to both channels.

In addition to the above, there are some standards in the industry. The ElectroVoice 635 stick mike. XLR connector…so you’ll need adapters or a special cable to drop it down to the mini-jack size for your camera. Lasts a lifetime for around $120. Sennheiser ME66/K6 shotgun….with the better models you purchase both the power module and mike capsule. The power module can take a variety of capsules, depending on your need. Cost is around $400 but that’s just the beginning…you’ll need a shock mount, wind screen, and more. Problem with both of these mikes is they overpower my HV20 in size, although they work nicely with the older JVC DV300.

I’m sure we’ve all done this. Had a conversation with a non-newsie about the decline of newspaper and/or broadcast audiences. Our discussion partner expresses shock and dismay - they can’t imagine a world without newspapers. You ask them how they get their news and they say - oh, I use the Internet. Silent moment and realization that they are contributing to the paradigm shift.

Media are taking it in the shorts and every day there are layoffs or no-hires so a few more days can be bought through attrition. Some days there are actual deaths…papers going under. News programs “re-organized.”

The sad thing is that the audience is not really aware of what is happening until it happens to them…their program or paper disappears. Should we stand up and scream? Or should someone on the newspaper just start a column/blog and keep daily track of the decline so the public can see the clock ticking down…

It’s a sunny day here in the Central Valley of California. Temperature in the low sixties. But as pleasant as it is, I keep dreaming of Brussels. Hate to even think about what the temperature is there. Probably cold and slushy. Overcast. Dismal. However, in two weeks in Brussels some of the top folks in videojournalism - and not just shooters, but folks from the marketing/money and business/management side - are meeting for the 2008 Digital News Affairs conference. March 3-4. Would that it were a few weeks later when I have spring break.

The panel I would die to listen to (hey, can you stream it to the web for me?) is the one with Andy Dickenson, Michael Rosenblum, and Chuck Fadley. But oh the smorgasbord of choices! I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on this and hopping from blog to blog to keep up on events.

There are times in your life when you have to compromise - err from perfection to just getting it done. Lighting is often the first thing to go on a breaker. Face it - you can’t control light when chaos breaks out. So you can’t see the sniper - what cha gonna do? Pop out the 1K and spotlight him? I don’t think so. You’re close to a deadline and have to grab some sound bites - and there isn’t always time to pull out the light kit or even the umbrella and a single light. You go with the on-camera because there just isn’t time to do what you have to do any other way.

But there are some ways to make it a bit less of a compromise. On-camera light is like your car headlights - your subject is stuck in the headlights and looks it. The trick is to get the light away from the lens. If you’re not working with a stick mike (in which case you need a third arm) you can clip your lav onto the subject and then hold the on-cam light up and to one side so you have some depth. Or ask your reporter to do it. Don’t trust this to casual on-lookers cause they’ll aim the light all over the place. I used to have a crappy little Lowell light stand that was almost falling apart I’d carry and put my on-camera light atop if I had a few seconds.

The other (obvious unless your brain is burned out) advice is to find any light - street light, light from a store window, headlights - and use that. You can even use that kind of light for backlight and fill with your on-camera.

I will freely admit to being a thief - I used to steal other photogs’ light all the time. Out comes the perp or subject and we all turned on…but sometimes I’d leave mine off so someone else’s on-cam could become my high and to the side light - great shadows and mood.

Oh - and the sniper in the dark? Now there’s another compromise. If you know exactly where s/he is, aim your camera there and hope for a gunburst/flash of light. For the sure thing get reaction shots - people you can see. Roll, get the sound you need and reaction of others to that sound.

And now for some digression. Ever watched a broadcast live shot that pans from reporter to a window or scene as the reporter says something like, “behind that window is a man with a gun.” Well, that reporter is safely hidden behind the wall - but guess who head their head sticking out like a target? Don’t ask.

Nominations have been announced for the The Concentra Award 2008 - for outstanding videojournalism. This international competition has been growing each year since its inception in 2004. They’ve narrowed the original field of 97 entries from 23 countries down to the final seven. There’s a new category: breaking news, turned around in less than 24 hours.
Entries can be viewed here.

Today is a stormy catch-up and clean-up day and I’ve found in the process a few postings that were started and petered out. So here they come.

Thank you Colin…for a wonderfully written post that actually acknowledges that still photogs have a lot fo learn from their TV brethern AND including a bit of the history of the past (and some present) great moments. Check out Colin’s blog here.

Quality vs. quantity continues in posts from Angela Grant, Howard Owens, and Zach Echola.

Angela

I found a new blog by a Zach Echola recently when he joined in the short video production debate. He linked to Howard Owens and this blog, and stated his support for Howard’s idea that it’s only financially feasible to do video if the post production time takes one hour or less.

Zach’s basic argument is that newspaper sites need to produce a lot of videos rather than a few because more videos will garner more views.

Love the debate and hope the dust settles within my lifetime. I’ve often wondered why newspapers do not hire broadcast shooters more…they know the technology and they would love (put me in this group) to adapt to the depth and quality many papers seem to want. On the flip side, they can outshoot/edit most print competitors when it comes to video and turning around a story.

Goal accomplished. Backup of unposted stories: 0

There’s something invigorating about being up early and learning (rather than teaching). I was blown away this morning in a session at STN’s (Student Television Network) confab this am. Dave Wertheimer and Dean Staley kept an audience of students and advisers on the edges of their seats for a full hour as they discoursed on laptop journalists - aka one-man-bands in broadcast jingo. Dave’s on the faculty of the NPPA Workshop and a gentle wonder of a man. Dean’s a former co-worker and they are BOTH VJs. They BOTH play the solo virtuoso…and this morning’s session was loaded memorable advice and quotes.

“The best photographers are the best reporters. The best reporters are the best photographers.”

Dave kept talking about “the other voices in my head.” He says those are the voices that remind to get all of the shots and ask him what he forgot. He also has a virtual toolbox he always has with him that include heart, head, and ears and a lots more. But it was the videos he showed that captivated us and reminded me what great work can be done by a person with a passion for their job. With a simple hand-held, rather than his Beta SX, he shot a short New Years Day video on folks out enjoying the first day of the year that was pure unadulterated joy. Another short breaker on a deer caught in an icy pond and the desperate attempts to rescue it. And many examples of excellent work by broadcast videojournalists from across the country.

Being an old newsie I’m pretty cynical…opening ceremonies and keynote speakers just don’t jump-start me in the morning (usually they’re better as sleeping aides). So I was gonna pass on the opening ceremonies but decided to give them a shot and was glad I stayed. Asides from the high (way TOO high at that hour of the morning) energy of the students, Bob Dotson made this trip worthwhile. Now I’ve known reporters and anchors and have really connected with only a few of them. Many are another breed…professionals with a capital “P.” They’re on the star track or have their noses so deep in the industry that they forget why they’re doing news. Dotson hasn’t forgotten. He’s traveled the globe as an NBC news correspondent and he’s got (opinion) the dream job. Talking with real people. A few quotes that stuck in my brain (and my notebook, which came out REAL quick).

“Not much has changed in storytelling since the cavemen.”

He followed up on that thought by pointing out that the technology to tell the stories changes constantly.

His advice for telling a story has four elements.

“HEY!”

A “hey” to get your audience’s attention.

“YOU!”

This story is about “you.”

“SEE!”

The two or three things about the story that you the reporter has learned that no one else has seen.

“SO….”

Here’s why I did this story.

“If you follow real people and see what they do, you’ll have a real story.”

“Look for the people standing in the shadows because sometimes they have the most fascinating stories.”

Dean Staley and Dotson both told students to include the Internet in their career plans. Dean pointed out that the industry is shifting…Gannett is pushing the one-man-band for it’s broadcast departments. Dotson that with the Internet and affordable cameras/computers everyone can tell a story….but you need to tell a story that can hold the audience so they will return…something worth moving to a venue such as the Internet.

Oh wow…I’m stoked again. Listen up those of you fortunate enough to be part of this - this is the BEST time to be alive and working in news since the printing press…since the early days of radio and television…this is a time of unimaginable CHANGE!!! The wild west lives and the Lone Ranger rides again…but his faithful sidekick is a camera and he’s riding the Internet via a computer.

(by the way thanks to schooltube for letting me use their computers to post this.)

It’s time again for the annual Student Television Network Conference…once again in Anaheim (CA). For those of you attending this year I’m putting on a couple of new workshops - convergence of media on the Internet and and hands-on lighting workshop. Yeah, in the past I’ve done lighting but have been rushed at the end as folks tried to get hands on in the few remaining minutes before we had to give the room up for the next session.

Painting with light
Learn the basics and more about using light to create great looking interviews and b-roll shots. You’ll learn when to use an on-camera light and how to use one, two, or three lights for the best effect.
Demonstration and hands-on, so bring your gear if you have questions and be prepared to learn or be lit up (presenter will look for “volunteers” to sit in the hot seat). I’ll try to keep the “lecture” to a minimum and hands-on to the max.

Web video
It’s not just broadcast news producing news video. Newspapers and citizens are now posting to the Internet. Your job options are both broadening and shrinking. What skills do YOU need to join the convergence movement? Will the TV model become the standard or are there other models that are more appealing? It’s a wild new world and you, as tomorrow’s video journalists, are the future.

So that is that…and if you’re a student or educator who is planning to attend, let me know what you would like included in these sessions. I’m adaptable. These sessions (and others) are sponsored by RTNDF.

The story of the replica P-38 is complete. There are variations from the script…and I will most likely wait a bit and think about a cleanup, since there are sections I’m still not happy with. But I wanted to get this done before the day was out.
Honor our veterans…

Couple of concluding comments. Yes, there are some audio level issues. One thing I do regret is my (somedays) failing eyesight. Didn’t realize some dirt had hit the lens of the JVC until I got home and saw the soft spots on the interviews. Ah me…but afer a day of veterans’ events and then completing this edit, I go to bed feeling good. Go ahead and post your remarks…I’m willing to learn (and admit the error of my ways).

Okay…here’s the final version. Nothing like sunrise and a good hot cuppa to help refresh one’s skills. I added some nats behind the photos, some more transitions and a bit of motion. If you watch both, you can feel the difference. Try to pick out which shots were done with which camera - I used a combination of JVC GYDV-300U, Canon ZR60, and Exilim Z75 - but mostly the first two. Hint: I had a wide angle adapter on the ZR60.

8am
Sitting at home with a sore throat (bad for teaching), coughing and unable to keep food down, so I’ve challenged myself to write and edit a story I shot this past Sunday. Went to a radio controlled model airplane field near Modesto to shoot the launch of a model P-38 WWII aircraft. Had a ten foot wingspan. Both the builder and the veteran whose plane this model was a replica of were on hand. It began as a wonderful warm and fuzzy story that ended with irony…during WWII pilot Bill Behrns crashed his P-38, the San Joaquin Siren, into the Burmese jungle. He was rescued the next day and back in the air that same day. At Sunday’s event builder Greg Zola was landing the replica and a cross wind caught the plane and sent it tumbling. Let’s see how this turns out. There are several choices of imagery to tie this to - a group of (older) men who appear at first glance to be holding fishing poles (the controller and antenna)…near a lake. The WWII connection. The passion of a man who spent three years and more than $5,000 building a model - and is now willing to rebuild and fly again this summer. After a cuppa hot tea I’ll sit down and get to work.
11:21
Just finished logging interviews - on to nat sound next. No, they weren’t that long. Word of warning to those who want to do it right. There are several ways to write a story….write and then find the interview and sound to support what you’ve written or log and write to the sound. I’m doing the latter…although I’ve gone the other way when in a rush, I do remember the good sound and am actually writing to what I remember. Logging and then writing is more accurate. I still may make changes as I edit, but most of the hard work is already done. There will be some holes in the story when I initially post it. My main subject - Bill - did not have his collection of WWII photos with him. When I have time to go by his house (after I get over this cold) I’ll copy them.
11:31
Heading back with yet another cuppa tea. And another comment. When logging, you can transcribe every single word or pick and choose. I try to log exactly the words used in the interview segments I know or think I might use. However, when there are segments I know I will use purely for information I summarize or paraphrase…I need the information but not the word for word detail.
4:30pm
So much for plans. I’ve crawled out of bed when absolutely bored and finished off the script. This is more than a news story. Found some non-copyright military photos (thanks to the US Air Force) and will contact my subject once I’m past the danger of infecting him about copying any photos he may have. So it will take a few days - probably until the weekend - to get this up online. Logging pages and script below. My primary camera was my JVC 300 on tripod and hand held. Backup/notebook was the Canon ZR60 with wide angle adapter…shot putting plane together with it and then put it on a minitripod right next to the take-off point and let it roll (not allowed on the airstrip when planes are in the air). Stay tuned to see how closely I stick to it when editing.

B-ROLL LOGGING SHEET/S

JVC Cover Camera
1:17
This is old Nosey – a special two-seater P-38 (old guy w/photo book) pix @ 1:56
Wind bird
Guy w/big yellow & white plane … smaller purple plane taxiing up

JVC Cover Camera w/Crash
Starting planes…flyers turning heads, controls…
3:37 red and yellow plane crashes/picked up by owner
Wind sock…more guys w/controls…good shots red/white plane buzzing airstripe…
5:40…prepping P-38 at end of field
6:46 P-38 taxis out and takes off
9:02 tele shot of Bill
9:14 Greg w/controls
10:41 Bill walks out and watches/quick pan to plane crash (listen to engine failing)
11:07 Too slow for one thing…B: it absolutely looks like that airplane
11:21 Easy come easy go man what are you going to do?
11:24 Yeah the cross wind wasn’t thrilling me we had a little trouble with that but – what ya going to do?
12:02 (in reference to pilot) Look he’s still in the seat!
12:18 Hey not big deal it’s not the end of the world it’s just a model airplane (sound/not a good pix)
12:33 Tara, Bills wife being comforted by Greg: Awww – hey, it was worth it. I coulda worked better but…
13:15 (need to cover) You went all the way to copy my dad – even to the landings, huh? When I went down on the Burma Road this is what happened. Just like this.
14:05 We’d swear that was a plane

Canon WS Camera
Putting plane together
8:00 Greg repeats how he first called Bill
8:44 Red/white checkered plane flying, tele shot guy with controls…folks watching…planes on ground in shade…
13:09 Wheeling it out

Bill Behrns Interview/87 years old
11/4/07
WWII P-38 Pilot

1:17
Didn’t have any idea what it was but when I saw it and gracefulness and everything I determined that this was what I was going to fly.

After flight school sent to Olympia WA on red alert due to leafleting by Japanese. There for six weeks and then sent to Burma. Japanese had taken most of China and come across the Himalayas and taken Burma (and others)…poised to take India. 32 pilots in a squadron on the shore of the Bay of Bengal – 90 miles from Japanese airstrip. We had to kinda watch over our shoulders.

2:26
Of the thirty-two pilots, four of us came home….we had a very large casualty in the squadron.

2:45
I spent 19 months there in combat. Six times I had an engine shot out and I was able to evade the enemy and make it home safely back to our base. Seventh time I did get shot down. I barreled in on the Burma Road just south of Mandalay and I spent the night in the jungle there. I did not get hurt in the flying in. And I spent the night and the squadron came in the next day and which I knew they would do with a small aircraft and an escort and I had a mirror so I could step out and shine it so they could spot me and they came in and landed and I was able to get out.

3:25
When I got back to the squadron the commanding officer and the flight surgeon came up to me and said how are you, any injuries, what happened to you and that. And I said nothing I’m fine I didn’t get a scratch. And the commanding officer said that’s good, there’s a flight taking off right now on a mission and that’s your plane right there and I said well I’m just coming home from yesterday’s mission and he said yes, and you’re going on today’s.

4:04
Burma’s a wild country so we had tigers…we had cobras and boa constrictors and we had quite the most poisonous snakes in the world. We had to watch all these things.

He last flew in 1945…talks about how he and Greg met/on phone. Might be interesting to inter-cut their stories. Also talks about how Greg modified and worked on the plane.

6:22
He loaded it in his truck…drove to California and we wound up here at this beautiful spot today and unfortunately we had heavy cross-winds and (goes into the crash)…

7:00
He did this all the way through right to the crashing the plane.

They had to go back to the air force…back to a Lockheed aeronautical engineer who was the tech rep…my crew chief, me Lockheed.

7:26
Every number had to be identical. Every part had to be exactly the same as the plane that I flew. And that’s his business anyhow – he’s a precision grinding company. And so he took the past three years to make it that way. Unfortunately on his third flight…disaster.

8:08
It’s a very complicated airplane. The P-38 was a workhorse that did everything. First of all, it was a fighter plane. All of the major records set up by the United States were done in P-38s. The plane flew just beautifully – just absolute beautifully. It had twin engines, but they had counter-rotating props so there was no torque in the airplane. It just flew like you were driving an automobile, it steered beautifully. It had tremendous firepower so if you shot anything it was going to wound it or knock it out of the sky.

Greg Zola Interview
11/4/07
Precision grinder

1:30
I’ll never forget it cause I called Bill and I always introduce myself and tell them what I do I model airplanes and I’m going to do a 459th and I asked him I said do you mind talking about it cause a lot of these war guys don’t like to talk about it and he said oh no I don’t mind and I said I was gonna do Web’s airplane and he said what the hell do you wanna do Web’s airplane for? I’ll never forget that.

A little over three years ago..he worked from a plan…had a kit cutter cut it out – there is no real kit. He bought the fiberglass booms, which cut down the time

2:57
Ironically there’s a lot of guys who build P38’s but you never see them – they always become hanger queens because they’re either afraid to fly them because of the amount of money involved or the amount of work that has to go into it – there’s a lot of parts and things – just like a real aircraft to get that thing to work.

3:25
How many hours do you think you put into it?
Gosh – I wouldn’t want to guess. (laughs) Thousands.

3:44
The cockpit – you saw the cockpit you took pictures of that? Just that there’s probably 16 hours in that.

3:57
Right – I stopped keeping track after I crossed five thousand dollars.

4:09
Ya build them to fly them. I don’t build hanger queens.

4:18 (best part of model airplanes)
The enjoyment of seeing something I put together work.

4:26
Oh yeah this is for Bill. This (??) is for Bill.

They’d never met in person…talked on the phone for three years for three years every week, but I’d never met the man til last night. He was in the army for four years in Germany as a field artillery crewman. His rant: today’s kids don’t understand comradery and esprit.

5:38
It was a cross wind and I’m not real thrilled about cross wind landings anyway even with an airplane in a field I’m familiar with and then the other problem is I let it get too slow. And in the interim with the weather and trying to get it back onto the runway – over the runway – I lapsed the part about adding power and it got too slow and it went in.

6:13 (re Bill’s crash)
Yeah – that had to be something. I mean, I wasn’t trying to mimic that by any means. It just turned out that way.

SCRIPT - WWII Pilot & P-38 Model

BEHRNS
Of the thirty-two pilots, four of us came home…

NATS
Plane

BEHRNS
Six times I had an engine shot out and I was able to evade the enemy and make it home safely back to our base. Seventh time I did get shot down. I barreled in on the Burma Road just south of Mandalay and I spent the night in the jungle there.

NARRATION
Eighty-seven year old Bill Behrns spent 19 months flying a P-38 out of the Bay of Bengal during World War II. He had to watch over his shoulder not only for the enemy – a Japanese airstrip ninety miles away – but also for the denizens of the jungle. Tigers and poisonous snakes.

BEHRNS
The P-38 was a workhorse that did everything. First of all, it was a fighter plane. All of the major records set up by the United States were done in P-38s. The plane flew just beautifully – just absolute beautifully. It had twin engines, but they had counter-rotating props so there was no torque in the airplane. It just flew like you were driving an automobile, it steered beautifully. It had tremendous firepower so if you shot anything it was going to wound it or knock it out of the sky.

NATS/Greg
Talking about his first contact with Bill/inter-cut with Bill’s account.

NARRATION
The result of this conversation was three years’ of phone calls as the two men discussed the details of creating an exact replica model of Behrn’s WWII P-38.

BEHRNS
Every number had to be identical. Every part had to be exactly the same as the plane that I flew.

NARRATION
The passion that drove model builder Greg Zola resulted in a radio-controlled aircraft, complete down to the pilot in the cockpit.

ZOLA
The cockpit –just that there’s probably 16 hours in that.

NARRATION
Zola estimates he spend thousands of hours – and much more than that.

ZOLA
I stopped keeping track after I crossed five thousand dollars.

NARRATION
However, the intense research and building were only the first steps in this distant partnership. The plane had to fly.

ZOLA
Ironically there’s a lot of guys who build P38’s but you never see them – they always become hanger queens because they’re either afraid to fly them because of the amount of money involved or the amount of work that has to go into it.

NARRATION
Zola steered his model through two test flights on a grass field in _______________ and then loaded everything into his pickup truck on Friday, November 3 for the two day trip to Stockton, California – where Bill Behrns lives.

NATS WIND/AIRPLANES

NARRATION
Sunday, November 4 finds both men at a model airplane field near Modesto, putting the model back together.

NATS
(Greg says thanks to a guy who gives him a tool)

NARRATION
The airstrip is on a rise above Woodward Resevoir. It’s a windy day. Members of the ______________________ take turns piloting their models – of all sizes and shapes.

NATS
Plane crash

NARRATION
Greg Zola is now ready for the best part of building a model airplane

ZOLA
Ya build them to fly them. I don’t build hanger queens.
The enjoyment of seeing something I put together work.
NATS
Greg taking plane to runway

NATS
San Joaquin Siren takes off
Montage of shots/folks watching…Greg at controls

BEHRNS (cover with P-38 flying)
…when I saw it and gracefulness and everything I determined that this was what I was going to fly

NATS
Crash
Bill & Greg: Too slow for one thing…B: it absolutely looks like that airplane

ZOLA
It was a cross wind and I’m not real thrilled about cross wind landings anyway even with an airplane in a field I’m familiar with and then the other problem is I let it get too slow. And in the interim with the weather and trying to get it back onto the runway – over the runway – I lapsed the part about adding power and it got too slow and it went in.

NATS
(Greg comforting Theryl) Awww – hey, it was worth it.

NARRATION
Unknown to Greg Zola at the time…

BEHRNS
He did this all the way through right to the crashing the plane.
When I went down on the Burma Road this is what happened. Just like this.

ZOLA
I wasn’t trying to mimic that by any means. It just turned out that way.

ZOLA (cover with plane being carried off field)
Oh yeah this is for Bill. This (??) is for Bill.

…until you try to teach it. I think I’ve mentioned a comment Willie Kee made once, when I told him he would be a remarkable teacher. He said, “Yeah, and after I’ve talked for an hour…then what?” We always underestimate what we know…sometimes even the importance of what we know.

All this leading up to a couple of workshops I did last week in Canton, Ohio, for Gatehouse Media. In teaching video to high school students my biggest problem is they come in “knowing it all.” They are, after all, teenagers. Most of the folks at the Repository who came in for the point and shoot class admitted to knowing little, if anything, about video. There was not a lot of common knowledge to build on, so we started from the bottom. Here’s the camera - here’s what each button does. The basic shots. How to hold the camera still (you can’t unless you’re dead) while still breathing. Capturing/importing to iMovie. Basic drag and drop editing. A little on sequencing and patterns (repetitive actions), implied consent. Interviewing video style. They caught on quickly and seemed to enjoy the class (I’ll know more about that when the surveys come back).

Their two major concerns weren’t even technical. Concern number one was just how would they get subjects to agree to be “on camera” with such a small camera (Exilim), given that they are not in a broadcast market (nearest market is Cleveland about 50 miles away) and the locals either weren’t used to video interviews or were outright uncooperative. Concern number two was time management - how could they fold this new technology and its demands into their work routines.

The small camera issue was also brought up by the photo staff. Professional gear brings with it a perception by the public that you are professional. Prosumer gear/consumer gear can create a different perception. The only two comments I could reassure them with were that with time the local community would get used to the smaller cameras and change their expectations - but that it was also in how they carried themselves. The professional attitude does contribute to the professional look. A pro has a certain self-assurance - a stance - that says they are here to work. Amateurs uncertain. When I brought this up with Kathy Newell, she said that since 911 most of the pro photogs in Sacramento took to wearing their dogtags/press credentials all of the time. This might have to be the case when a staff makes the move to the smaller cameras - it helps telegraph who they are.

The time management issue is one that should take care of itself as the staff works more and more with video and becomes more competant. But this is also a whole staff/management issue. Reporters using the Exilim can shoot a few minutes of interview or cover shots…less than ten minutes of their field time I’d guess. However downloading and editing may take more time.

Photographers face an even more difficult dilemma - which should they choose to use: still or video? At this time stills drive the Repository - this is what the photo staff excells at and what the public buys the paper/tunes onto the website to see. As the paper becomes more active online the balance between the need for stills or video will shift - and management needs to consider which should be given preference. Should the photographer make a decision in the field to shoot video of a breaking story (where there might only be one opportunity for the money shot) or stills? There must be a policy that says which to go for - or a policy that says the photographer makes the decision. If the latter - management must totally support the photographer’s decision without any second-guessing. If the former, then photogs at least know which camera to grab. The same should apply to everyday assignments - because initially there will be problems. It will take longer to get both video and stills. There will be issues with doing either well - something has to give. Does the photog focus on stills and just peel off some video or visa versa? This should be an on-going discussion in the newsroom - looking back at stories done the day before and forward to upcoming stories.

More another day…

Have I worked with pro gear? Yes - cameras costing upwards of $50,000, $8,000 tripods and $2,000 mikes. Does the gear make a difference? Yes and no. If it’s going on air, yes you want the good stuff. If you’re posting to the Internet or working on a project for school or just having fun, not really. I’ve shown video from $300 cameras next to $3,000 cameras next to $20,000 cameras and most consumers can’t tell the difference. Photogs and engineers can - they look for detail in the dark areas.

If you take a look at the videos posted on this blog, you should see the two versions of Wyoming Cattle Drive - both edited with the same video & information. It’s a very simple feature story. I intentionally shot this with a low end camera (Canon ZR60 purchased on eBay for about $80), a nine dollar mike, and a thirty dollar tripod. The point is, you don’t need a ton of money to tell a story. Todays consumer cameras have remarkable quality and if you look carefully, you’ll find the features you need to get by.

Decent zoom (1:20 is nice)
Mike input (usually indicated by a small red input)
Headset out (usually indicated by a small yellow input, which also doubles as the A/V out)
Manual focus, iris, white balance (if you’re not picky, you can get by without the latter)

The ZR60 fits the bill for me - you may already have the camera you need. Once at a workshop a particpant asked why pros like manual controls. Stopped me for a moment - I had never thought about it. Just seemed obvious. Manual aperature/iris, focus, white balance all allow you to contol situations that are out of control. Try shooting an interview in checkerboard weather (sun behind the clouds, sun out, sun gone). Try following a subject from outside to inside and then into a room with strong backlighting. Don’t even try racking focus with an auto focus camera. Being in control of your camera and video means you can determine what the final images will look like. My only complaint is that the lens is not wide enough when zoomed out fully (note: my Christmas gift to myself was a $35 wide angle adapter!). I added a BP522 battery - good for up to four hours before charging.

The manual iris allows me to control shots like the one with “Whitey” the white cow - on auto iris my exposure might have “woweed” and the shot would have suddenly gotten darker or lighter. I was also able to get the wide shots with sky without worrying about losing my ground detail and exposure.

The auto white wasn’t used, but I can think of several ways to use it to improve or control video. Main one is shooting sunsets/rises. If you use manual white balance and shoot a cool white (the shady side of a white car), your sunset/rise will come out much warmer. You can use this same trick to make warmer skin tones in interviews.

Mike input is a no-brainer. Anytime the subject you are interviewing is more than twelve inches away from the camera mike, quality will deteriorate. Yep. You have to get the mike up near the sound source to get good sound. Try this. Have a friend stand about two or three feet away from the camera and talk in a normal voice while you listen on your headset. Not bad. Now have them move ten feet away. Bad. Good audio is just as essential as good video in storytelling. In the story I only miked the main interview. The interviews with the little girl and young cowboy were grabbed on the run. I was about fourteen inches away from the girl (she had a very soft voice) and four feet away from the boy. All of you who live in Wyoming say, “Yippeee!” Your state in most places is one giant sound booth - there is little overwhelming ambiant sound, so I was able to get a bit futher back than usual and still use the camera mike.

For the interview with Winn Brown I used an old tape recorder microphone I found in a box while cleaning up the workshop. I’ve since replaced it with a Sony F-V100 stick mike…it has a nine foot cable and a mini-jack terminater and allows me more freedom to move away from the camera.

Headset? Any cheap set that covers your ears so ambiant noise doesn’t bother you will work. Mine are an old set belonging to one of my daughters. (Am I cheap? Maybe. Maybe not.)

I got the tripod (a Velbon Videomate 601) on eBay for $14.95. Might cost you $20-30 in a store. I tripoded nearly everything. This one is light enough so I can easily carry it and the camera with one hand, slap it down, adjust and be shooting in seconds.

Manual focus? The ZR has it…and I do use it, but it ain’t easy. I have to move the shooting mode from auto to manual and then push the focus button on the side of the camera and then focus using the little tiny dial on the side of the camera (and I need my reading glasses to boot cause the screen is so small). There’s one shot in the cattle drive story of some blades of grass in focus with cattle moving behind out of focus - that was done with the manual focus.

Stay posted - I’ll shoot another story over winter break and we’ll see how it goes. Again, the point is it is not the gear that makes the story - it’s all in the mind of the videojournalist. Once you know the process and have the basic gear, you can do nearly anything.

Put yourself in the position of one of your subjects. There’s a cameraman coming at you - both hands out - holding a microphone. He’s aiming at your chest. Time to panic, especially if you’re female. What IS this guy up to?

Face it - we’re in a strange business. We ask personal questions, get answers from people that they might never confide to family members, and we constantly invade personal space. And there are times we may forget how strange our actions really are. We walk around with thirty pounds of technology on our shoulders, sometimes forgetting how it looks because it is so much a part of us. And we try to draw others into our fantasy world.

Nowhere does it get stranger than when we mike an interview. We need good sound, but the fantasy side of the business requires that we hide the mike so the viewer can watch our stories without seeing cables. So in my time I’ve reached up the backs and fronts of both male and female subjects, dropped cables down the backs of their pants/skirts and retrieved cables from said locations.

Obviously I prefer shotgun and stick mikes, but they really don’t allow freedom of movement like a well-concealed lav (clip on) mike. So how do you tell someone you are about to really invade their personal space?

My first preference is to avoid personal contact - this works if the subject has a jacket or suit. Just clip the lav to the inner lapel and run the transmitter and cable down and clip on the waist. But sometimes circumstances require you to place your gear under the subject’s shirt or other clothing - where you have to get personal.

First have the right attitude - be objective. As I walk up to the subject, I say, “Excuse me, but I have to attach this mike to you. We need to conceal the cables, so may I drop it down the back of your shirt?” Generally I am ready to perform the act at this point and most of the time I get the nod of consent. As I begin my maneuvers, I explain what I am doing at each step, so that there are no suprises. And here it is:

I’m pulling the back of your shirt away and dropping the wireless transmitter (or cable for the mike). It may feel a bit cold.
Now I have to reach under the bottom or your shirt to retrieve the transmitter/cable. Next I’m going to have to clip the transmitter to your pants (or put in a pocket or whatever action I need to do).
All right, now I have to adjust the mike. Let me clip it on your collar and hide the cable. I may need to use a bit of tape to make certain it doesn’t slip.
Great - that’s it. Could you talk for a minute so I can get a sound check?

Get the idea? Talking the subject through the process educates them and tells them exactly what you are doing as you do it and there are no surprises. Keeping your voice objective removes any tension they might have that you have other motives. Kind of like a doctor as she does an intimate exam. You have a job to do and you’re a pro.

Sometimes the subject may not be comfortable with you placing the mike - so you have to let them do it. Just explain why you need to hide the mike and cable and tell them what to do. You’ll probably have to position the mike before doing the sound check.

Retrieving the mike is pretty easy - tell your subject you are going to pull the transmitter cable out and then either unclip the mike and gently pull it down the back of the shirt or pull the transmitter up the back of the shirt.

Why not have the subject do it every time? First - they are amateurs and I don’t want them damaging my wireless gear. It’s expensive. If they place the mike, most of them won’t place it properly and I have to put it where it needs to be once they’ve placed the transmitter. I can do it in half the time or less than they can. This is especially important in news - time is critical.

News photogs all have at least one fun story about wireless mikes. I’ve found that people who are “professional interviews” - politicians and others who are interviewed frequently, often begin unbuttoning their shirts when they see the mike coming.

Shotgun mikes and stick mikes require a different approach. More on that later.

Everyone has personal space - the space around you in which you feel comfortable, even in a crowd. This may vary from a few inches with close friends and family to several feet or more with strangers.

Videojournalists (VJ’s) are constantly invading personal space - whether to get in close and get a shot or to put on a mike or to ask a question. Forewarning is the key to good etiquette.

In the future I’ll get into mike etiquette, talking with strangers, saying no politely. Today I’ll begin with shooting cover shots. As a videojournalist your job is to get candid visuals - not staged shots. Generally once a subject knows why you’re shooting they tend to act up for the camera. Let’s say I’m trying to get shots of someone in their front yard raking leaves….I might be half a block away when I first spot them. My first shot might be a tele shot. As I work my way down the street (camera AND tripod in hand) I’ll get a variety of shots, occassionally getting more of my subject. If the subject keeps working, I keep working my way towards them.

Stangely enough I try not to make direct eye contact when shooting my cover shots. If I can pretend I’m not there as I approach my subject, often they don’t know what to do and try to pretend I’m not there either. It might be people skating, dancing, working in the yard - whatever. Sometimes brief eye contact and a curt nod, then I go back to work, moving around and getting my shots. The purpose here is to not disrupt the mood of the subject…if I tell them I’m shooting a story then they might begin acting or even walk away. The brief acknowledgment lets them know I see them. Once I turn my direct attention away from a subject, they are curious but don’t know what else to do, so they continue with what they were doing. When I am through shooting I walk over and explain my intentions.

This method works well in many situations. If a subject walks over and asks me what I’m up to, then I explain the story in general terms and that I might be getting some shots of them as I get in their vicinity. When the subject leaves (or not) I’ll get other shots I need until they wander off or go back to what they were doing. As long as they think I am not focusing on them alone, most people are comfortable with a camera in the area.

Editing begins the moment you decide you want to do a story. As you sift through ideas, you are constantly editing out those you don’t like. Finally, you settle on one story. Now you edit even more: you choose an angle to the story. Remember to think visually as you brainstorm.

Season: Autumn
* windy day (people blowing in the wind, kites, leaves and debris blowing)
* leaves (fall colors, raking leaves, problems leaves cause, children’s leaf art)
* weather (clouds, rain, change in moods)

Once you choose your final angle, start thinking about where to find your visuals. Hopefully you chose based on images you have already seen or know your can find. Let’s use leaves and the problems they cause as an example.

Grab your camera and tripod and start shooting. In this second stage, you continue to edit by only shooting shots that relate to your story.
For this story I know several places in my area where leaves block up drainage from streets and street crews or residents are out during rainstorms trying to unblock the drains. Keeping in mind the need for wide shots, medium shots, closeups and good natural sound, here is what I would shoot:
WS of streets littered with leaves and storm debris
WS of streets with flooding
MS of people working to unplug drains/natsound
CU of rain coming down in puddles/natsound
CU of leaves drifting in water
MS of leaves in piles
MS of leaves blocking drains
CU of drain as it is unblocked/natsound
CU of leaf hanging on in tree
MS of leaves in trees
MS of bare tree limbs
Long WS of sky (if not raining) to show clouds passing overhead
Low angle shot of leaves as they are blown by wind
MS of someone looking out car or house window at rain
You get the idea. As I am shooting I’d grab interviews, first asking people if I could talk with them on camera (I’ll post a videojournalist’s guide to etiquette eventually) and explaining briefly how the video would be used. Questions might include:
State your name and spell it
What is the best part of autumn?
How do you feel about fall and what it leaves?
Is there a problem with leaves?
Could you do without fall leaves? Why or why not?

Now the story is pretty much in the can (this is a reference back to the days when news was shot on film, which came in a metal can). What I have is a basic reaction story to the leaves and problems they cause. If I want this to both educate and entertain, I’d go a step further and try to interview a city worker and get some statistics: what is the leaf season; how many tons of leaves fall in this city every year, what kinds of problems do these leaves cause, how much does it cost to clean up leaves, etc.

Now the story I want IS in the can. Time to capture to the computer and log (write down) all of the information I’ve gathered.

Logging is an essential part of the editing process. During this process you will choose which information you will use in your story (editing even more). Your information must be accurate. As I log (this means playing back the video in the computer, noting the time code for shots or interview segments, and transcribing information I plan to use) I keep an eye open for catchy sound - well worded informative sound bites, funny soundbites, biting soundbites. I will use these to build my story.

Time to write - and to tell the truth, this is the hardest part for me to explain. Ernest Hemmingway once said that, “Writing can be learned, but not taught.” Wow. Let me try anyway.

When you create a visual story you need to catch and hold your viewer’s attention. Memorable sound and visuals help you do this. A good rule is to grab them with a strong visual or sound segment and leave them with a memorable shot/sound. Here is how I might put this story together (in script form, more of less):

Nats heavy rain hitting leaves floating
Nats water draining as drain is unplugged
Interview/comments about rain & leaf problems
MS leaves in trees, sound of wind or rustling leaves
Narrator: When autumn leaves combine with autumn weather, problems ensue. The canopy of bright colors that once clung to tree limbs carpets the streets and clogs storm drains.
Interview/city worker comment on current problms with leaves
Narrator: The city of —– has —– trees which provide shade in the summer. Autumn weather creates a rainbow of red, orange, and brown. When this rainbow disintegrates, leaves pile up on lawns and in streets. (Name of public works person) says that the annual cost to the city to haul off the —— tons of leaves is $—– annually.
Nats of resident raking/unplugging drain
Interview/comments from residents about how they love autumn
Narrator: But most feel this is a small price to pay for the annual beauty that marks the passage of seasons.
WS: nats of car driving down rainy street with strong forground shot of leaf floating in water

Once the script is written and tweaked (read over it a few times and reword and edit), we’re ready to edit the video. This is the final stage of editing - you may have shot as much as thirty minutes to an hour of video. Once you are through editing, you may only have a story that runs two to five minutes. Ideally this final product will have your strongest visuals and audio.