Kevin Roach,the Associated Press's VP for Broadcast News, tells Beet.TV that the hybrid Canon 5D Mark II (the first DSLR to enable 1080p video) is a "game changer" for visual journalism. .
The AP wisely committed resources to supplying both its print reporters and still photographers with these pricey tools (which run about $2500 each just for the body) -- and, here's the important part, the necessary training to ensure worthwhile results.
The video interview below includes samples of AP footage -- both raw and "produced." Note that stories often combine stills and video in the same piece, a testament to the enduring power of a single memorable frame.
Everyone loves the image quality, but pros concur that there are still enormous audio drawbacks for newsgatherers. Because there is no audio out (i.e. for headphones), you can't hear the interviews you are recording, to ensure their sound quality. Also, large video files require frequent changes of memory cards. And we've been hearing complaints about the challenge of focusing while in video mode.
We suspect all this will improve soon, and advise media outlets to follow AP's lead in acquainting qualified staffers with the tools and knowledge that will empower them to augment their visual storytelling prowess. It's a prudent investment.
You know that a high-end video production company like MediaStorm -- that collaborates with top media organizations and can't go a month without getting tapped for more awards -- is bound to have some fancy equipment at its disposal.
Producer Rick Gershon (pictured) shares exactly what's in MediaStorm's "current field production kit" in a recent blog entry.
There are a myriad of options out there right now when it comes to tools for multimedia storytelling. The combination of tools you use can be your greatest strength or your greatest weakness. The important thing is to find the right combination of gear that fits your style of shooting and allows you to tell the best story possible. Below is a list of tools that we may use a combination of on any given multimedia shoot. Again the importance is to find what combination works best for you.
Multimedia tools are constantly evolving. There are many options on the market from which you can mix and match to best suit your needs.
Go take a peek at what HDSLRs, HD videocameras, mics and accessories (from tripods and headphones to lights) the big boys use.
Can't quite afford that $4,000 Canon 5D Mark II?
Then Adam Westbrook to the rescue. From across the pond, the UK multimedia enthusiast comes to the rescue of those who are working on a student budget, or bootstrapping it as a fledgling solo practitioner.
In his "Multimedia Journalism Gear Guide (On the Cheap)," he notes that a Canon 7D can be every bit as functional for half the price, or even the new Canon 550D for half the price of that. But even if you don't have $1,000 handy, you can get a lot of mileage out of the pocket-size Kodak Zi8 for only $150.
Westbrook similarly offers more affordable, but still professionaly viable, alternatives to top-of-the-line lenses, mics and other accessories. Go see what might work for you.
Have you been following the fuss over "cinematic journalism"? It started when Khalid Mohtaseb went to Haiti and produced a video montage of the earthquake's aftermath. As you can see, it's visually stunning...
... and therein lies the controversy. Although it's not clear what exactly the dispute is.
First, some objected to the idea of shooting pretty pictures of people in misery, claiming irresponsible ethical breaches. Then, when Mohtaseb shared his aesthetic secrets on a popular DSLR blog (color-grading with Apple Color and Magic Bullet), others objected to "glamorizing" reality in the name of journalism. Others found it vile that he used a Kessler Crane Pocket Dolly to create motion in otherwise stagnant shots, arguing that the technique belonged in fictional Hollywood films, not in real-life disaster zones.
Mohtaseb and his defenders counterclaimed that visual journalism need not consist solely of gritty images, and that shooters should take advantage of the ubiquity of high-definition technology to produce something that will grab attention by deliberately looking different from the typical TV news footage we're all too accustomed to seeing. Many applauded the simple fact that it looked new and fresh and stylish.
Others objected to the fact that, without interviews or narration, the images alone presented no context or understanding of the situation. We get to know the subjects only by their faces, not their hearts, minds or souls.
Vincent Laforet, an award-winning former New York Times photojournalist, chimes in, adding perspective about using DSLR for news and documentary video:
Here's Mohtaseb himself hashing it out with veteran TV news cameraman Philip Bloom:
From our perspective, the wrong questions are being asked. The controversy shouldn't be over whether videojournalism can consist of gorgeous images -- visual journalists of every generation have always taken advantage of the latest optical advances. Isn't that the point of owning a HD-DSLR? Color correction and enhancement has been with us a long time, and is fair game -- provided, of course, it doesn't alter reality.
As for employing cinematic style, we're not sure why there should be a problem with enriching one's visual vocabulary by looking towards Hollywood for inspiration. While we draw the line at "special effects" that distort what the naked eye would see at that same location, it's always been the job of the visual journalist to employ an arsenal of legitimate techniques to draw our eye to the subject, and see it in a novel and unexpected way.
Ultimately, what was Mohtaseb trying to achieve? In a Huffington Post interview, he said:
My intent when creating this piece was to cover the disaster in a non-traditional manner as well as create a piece that can be viewed as a series of moving photographs... I wanted the visuals to do the talking rather than have sound bites or interviews. Most of the footage coming out at the time was of the devastation and destruction. I wanted to show that life continued despite incomprehensible odds.
The visuals are admirable, and unquestionably light years beyond the oft-numbing pedestrian B-roll we've grown accustomed to seeing on TV newscasts. But we would argue that the piece falls short of telling its intended story, and not necessarily just because it substitutes a maudlin strings soundtrack for human voices.
Ironically, what's called for is more Hollywood influence, not less. Like an array of beautiful words in search of sentences and paragraphs, Mohtaseb's beautiful footage needs to be arranged into scenes and sequences to tell a compelling story. We need to get to know the characters, up close and personal, to empathize with their plight.
The video might serve a useful purpose as a companion to a fleshed-out text article, but to qualify as journalism on its own merits, it needs to show us more than well-lit, well-composed colorful images. It also needs to enhance our comprehension of the situation and inform us of the basic W's: who, what, when, where, and most of all, why.
Not all shooters can be great interviewers, and vice versa. Very few have all the requisite skills to find, plan and execute a multi-dimensional story that engages, entertains and enlightens.
While solo artists gravitate toward videojournalism -- or are pushed in that direction by budgetary considerations -- they also need to candidly assess their strengths and weaknesses, and compensate accordingly by recruiting collaborators to assist in areas where they are deficient.
So can "cinema" and "videojournalism" coexist? Of course! However, what we are seeing in this Haiti montage may be great cinema, but it's not quite journalism.
We've previously introduced you to KobreGuide sponsor Jeff Rhode, creator of the J-Rod videocamera mounting systems that will dramatically improve your shooting experience. Jeff just alerted us to a new product in his line that sounds worthy of your consideration, the J-Rod CUBE:
I have a brand new bracket called The J-Rod CUBE which will allow a microphone and a radio receiver to be mounted on your camera and leave a shoe open for a light, flash, hard disc, or extra receiver. I am really excited about this mount, and think it will be a great solution for a mounting problem that many people have. This is an awesome solution for HDSLR cameras like the Canon 5D Mark II, 1D MkIV, 7D, Rebel T1i, Rebel XSi, Nikon D300, D3S, or D90. Additionally if you have a video camera such as the Canon GL1, GL2, or the Sony FX1 or VX2100 that has a shoe mount, but no mic clamp, this is for you!
The Centre for Documentary Practice (CDP) seeks to support an emerging documentary photographer who submits the best-judged folio that aims to Seek Justice. The prize, a Canon EOS 5D Mark II Premium Kit, is designed to contribute to the continuation of, or an extension of, the submitted project synopsis. The CDP Award is free to enter.
The folio may be on any subject but must have the intent to be used to make a positive difference to the subject or the context in which the subject exists.
The award will be judged by two of the keynote speakers from the CDP Online Symposium: Seeking Justice. The winner will be announced December 14, 2009.
You are eligible if you are not represented by a gallery or agency and have not worked (earned a salary or wage) as a photojournalist for more than five years. Only one entry per person is allowed.
What's remarkable about today's KobreGuide pick is the amount of feedback it has generated, not only for the story it tells, but for how the story is told -- aesthetically and journalistically.
Chang W. Lee (right), an award-winning New York Times senior photojournalist, reluctantly leveraged his talents for his first foray into videojournalism, a six-part series called "Second Chance," about triumphant life transformations.
His initial installment, "The Jazz Singer," showcased today on KobreGuide's New York Times channel, is drawing mostly effusive praise. But the nitpicks and quibbles are notable because they connote an increasingly more discerning audience.
As the Times itself noted on its Lens blog, Lee made the leap from stills to video only because the transition was eased by the much hyped "hybrid" Canon EOS 5D Mark II, a new SLR digital camera that also shoots HD video. His first video effort, signficantly, represents a "second chance" of sorts for Lee himself.
So how did he do?
On the positive side, viewers justifiably complimented Lee for the way his story's theme and subject -- a single mom fulfilling a lifelong artistic dream -- touched their hearts and inspired them. His images were inarguably "masterful" and "evocative." Many appreciated the way his frozen stills would seem to "come to life" and become moving images.
However, many took Lee to task because they felt his initial effort fell short of TV or feature-documentary quality -- and couldn't understand why the short video should have taken four months to research, edit and shoot. They wondered if the story wouldn't have better been served with simply still shots, or perhaps an audio slideshow, mediums that played to his established strengths. What purpose, they asked, did video serve?
Many noticed that the audio quality was uneven, a trait especially distracting in footage of a performing musician. Others thought the story's sequencing and shot progression was amateurish, and that the narrative itself was flat -- we don't see the main character experience inner growth or catharsis.
Some gave Lee low scores on basic journalism principles, feeling that the story lacked essential details (e.g. her musical background; her finances), and that there was an absence of sources and perspectives. For instance, we never hear from the nightclub owner, the singer's fans, her son. And where are the kid's dad and grandparents?
Some appreciated Lee's cleverly edited laundromat sequence; others felt it was extraneous and detracted from the main story.
In sum, the point here is not to pick on a particular photographer, who has spent decades shooting stunning images around the world, but rather to underscore the chasmic leap that even the best still photographers must make to conquer the world of videojournalism. While photographers have some advantages, as one critic aptly noted, a lifetime of experience capturing stills does not prepare you for shooting moving images: "It takes time and practice. It involves changing the way you see, think and work."
The harshest naysayers, accomplished videographers in their own right, compared Lee's video to a student project. While intended as an insult, that may in fact be the highest compliment. After all, the best videojournalists are learning as we're doing. It comes with the territory. Every assignment is another lesson. The mere fact that an established pro like Lee is willing to stir himself from his comfort zone and attempt to master new technologies and techniques -- and that he and the New York Times are bold enough to publicly display his fledgling efforts -- is a feat to be applauded.
We look forward to seeing the next five weekly installments of Chang Lee's "Second Chance" series.
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Kevin Roach,the Associated Press's VP for Broadcast News, tells Beet.TV that the hybrid Canon 5D Mark II (the first DSLR to enable 1080p video) is a "game changer" for visual journalism. .
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