Homegirl at Crossroads

Reuters photojournalist Lucy Nicholson produced one of the best and most popular videos ever showcased on KobreGuide to the Web's Best Videojournalism.

It's called "One Man Brand" -- about that singer/guitarist in Times Square who performs in nothing but a cowboy hat and tighty whities. He calls himself the Naked Cowboy, and he has female fans aplenty. Lots of other journalists have profiled him, but Nicholson's video -- produced at a MediaStorm workshop -- went one step further. It took us to his home, showed us his off-hours routine, and introduced us to his girlfriend. The multiple locations and perspectives is what gave her project added value.

Nicholson normally shoots stills of major events for Reuters -- from the Olympics to hotspots like Gaza and Afghanistan.

But she recently posted a new video profile worthy of your attention. This one is called "Homegirl Cafe," about Stephanie Lane, a former teen Crips gangbanger. Through Homeboy Industries, a pioneering gang intervention program, Lane left behind a world of drugs and violence, and got a job as a waitress.

Homegirl from Lucy Nicholson.

With text, powerfully intimate images, and video narrated by Lane herself, we get to see a life in transition. She confesses to "backsliding" -- leaving the cafe and returning to the violent and dangerous ways of the 'hood on weekends. After she got shot, and survived two bullet wounds, she took up boxing, rechanneling her energies. Now she's on the path to a career in restaurant management.

Nicholson artfully combines on-camera interviews with telltale B-roll that shows Lane in action -- at the restaurant and at the boxing gym.

Father Gregory Boyle, the founder of Homeboy Industries, provides background and context, though we admit we would have liked to have heard more from Stephanie's restaurant co-workers and patrons, her sparring coach and partners, her family and friends in her tough neighborhood. Still we get a strong sense of a young lady who is confronted by tough challenges and obstacles, but finally making good life choices, shaping her own destiny, and setting her sights on a more constructive path.

It proves once again that capturing captivating characters closeup during pivotal periods in their life is a key to successful video storytelling.

Watch the video here. See more of Lucy Nicholson's multimedia stories here.

How to Turn a Blah Event into a Video Story

Here's a simple technique for turning a bland video report about an event into a compelling video story.

Instead of simply shooting the event itself,  capture footage of the story's subject before and after the event -- preferably at a variety of locales.

That way, viewers get a fuller perspective of the central protagonist of the story, and are also more likely to experience an emotionally charged transition or change created by the event.

Too often, videojournalists treat an assignment like a photojournalist would -- they show up and shoot.  But whereas a still photographer needs to only capture a critical moment (e.g. receiving an award), it's the videojournalist's job to create a dramatic narrative by showing a sequence of activities (e.g. events leading up to and following the award.)

Too many attempts at videojournalism fail because they incorporate only one time and place setting -- the here and now.  What they desperately need is "before" and "after" coverage, and a variety of venues.

Obviously, that makes for a more time-consuming assignment, and requires more planning. But the results will be worth it.  Rather than just show the ending of the story, you show events that build to the climactic action, instilling anticipation and suspense into your storytelling.

KobreGuide to the Web's Best Videojournalism is filled with excellent examples of stories whose narrative arc is improved simply by getting the camera to the action before and after the central activity -- and following the central character to his other habitats.

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Here are three stories about performers that would have been OK if all we had seen was their performance. But in all three instances, we're treated to scenes leading up to and following their performances that not only exponentially enhance the story's entertainment value, but also  add up to an infinitely better understanding and appreciation of the artists themselves.

Start with  Day With a Tap Legend -- imagine how much less satisfying it would have been if the day began with the school performance. Instead, we get to meet the "legend" at home, with his protege, as they prepare for their show. And we follow them after the show, to catch their revealing post-performance banter.

Similarly, whereas most videojournalists would have been content to shoot the iconic Naked Cowboy performing in Times Square,  what makes One Man Brand stand out is how cleverly the narrative builds to that performance, and also how the camera follows him home to reveal previously unknown dimensions  of his life and personality.

Think how pedestrian An Apollo Legend (pictured) would have been if all we had seen was the climactic audition, and not the contestants' preparation before and their reactions afterwards.

The next time you go on assignment, ask yourself, "What footage can I capture before and after the main event? Where else can I observe my subject in action, and interacting with other people in his life?"

Check out KobreGuide's "Hall of Fame" for more examples of videojournalism that benefits from following a subject over a period of time,  in a variety of settings.

KobreGuide's Greatest Hits (May '09)

Here are the most frequently viewed KobreGuide.com video stories during May 2009 (below).

Please note that you can visit all of our 250+ archived video stories by visiting our "Hall of Fame" section.

Interestingly, many on this list below were originally showcased in previous months, and have proven enduringly popular.

Pit Bulls: Companions or Killers?

Conjoined Twins

Bolivia's Women Wrestlers

Hungry: Living with Prader-Willi Syndrome

One Man Brand: The Naked Cowboy

Class Dismissed

Driftless: Stories from Iowa

Race in the Race

Skateistan

Dirty Car Art

My Daughter the Terrorist

Little Rock Nine

Boy with the Incredible Brain

Trapped: Mental Illness in America's Prisons

85 and Still Kicking

Now's a good time to catch up on the ones you might have missed the first time around -- or enjoy an encore viewing!

Free $3,500 Advanced Multimedia Workshop

This may be the single best videojournalism training opportunity ever offered.

MediaStorm, which just today won its fourth Webby Award (see below), is inviting applicants to fill eight slots in its next Advanced Multimedia Reporting Workshop, in New York from June 20-26. Here's the best part: citing "the tough economic climate and the critical need for multimedia training," the $3,500 tuition will be waived.

Caveats: "This is not an introductory course. Students are responsible for their own travel, room and board. Reporters are expected to have a high level of competency with still photography, and be familiar with audio and video techniques. Editors are expected to be comfortable in Final Cut Pro."

Over the course of a week, participants will work in three-person teams, reporting and editing in collaboration with a seasoned multimedia professional to produce a multimedia project for distribution across multiple platforms. Each team will produce a professional-quality, ready-for-publication multimedia story.

Applications are due no later than Friday, May 15. Participants will be selected based on the content of their applications, which can be found here. To see work produced in previous workshops, see MediaStorm's Workshop site.

Be sure to visit the MediaStorm channel on KobreGuide.com . The popular video stories "Naked Cowboy" and "An Apollo Legend" were produced during MediaStorm workshops.

KobreGuide: Top 20 for 2008

For your viewing pleasure, an encore presentation of the most popular stories on KobreGuide this year. Enjoy!

One Man Brand: The Naked Cowboy (Mediastorm)
The Girl in the Window (St. Petersburg Press)
The Fire Within (Los Angeles Times)
India's Fast Lane to the Future (National Geographic)
Odetta: The Last Word (New York Times)
Railfans at Fullerton Train Station (Los Angeles Times)
Stonehenge Photosynth (National Geographic)
Crawford (Hulu)
Bolivia's Women Wrestlers (National Geographic)
Seeds of Peace: Catherine's Secret (Washington Post)
Break Dancing Phnom Penh Style (New York Times)
Air Car (Discovery)
Scream Bloody Murder (CNN)
Hard Times (Washington Post)
Empowering Women in Afghanistan (New York Times)
Pit Bulls: Companions or Killers? (Detroit Free Press)
The Bottom Line (Dallas Morning News)
Boomtown: The Sin City Story (Las Vegas Sun)
The Apollo Legend (Mediastorm)
Gertrude Baines, 114, Votes (Los Angeles Times)
Acid Attacks (New York Times)

The Naked Cowboy's Girlfriend

We've seen video stories before about The Naked Cowboy, the brash country singer who found fame by serenading otherwise unshockable New Yorkers in the heart of Times Square, adorning his buff physique with nothing more than his Texan hat, boots, and briefs that are obscured by his strategically positioned customized guitar. This story's different. It's told by his girlfriend.

The musical Wicked cleverly spins The Wizard of Oz from the Wicked Witch's perspective. Playwright Tom Stoppard won early fame from his crafty retelling of Shakespeare's Hamlet from the perspective of two minor players, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. And now the same "alternate perspective" principle is applied to this gleeful Reuters piece, One Man Brand. Never mind what it's like to be famous for singing in your underwear. What's it like to be the gal who's romantically involved with him? Surprises, and humor, abound.

Reuters senior staff photographer Lucy Nicholson, Reuters head of visual projects Jassim Ahmad, and MediaStorm producer Bob Sacha are to be applauded for their "alternate perspective" approach. The project emanated from the first multimedia workshop conducted by MediaStorm, Brian Storm's fabled multimedia production company. Naturally you can watch a behind-the-scenes video about the making of their Naked Cowboy video, right here.

It should inspire multimedia journalists to ask, "What other voices and perspectives can help tell my story in a fresh light?"