Lots of Inspiration for Visual Journalists

Richard Koci Hernandez has posted his list of 25 books every visual journalist should have on their shelf, on his MultimediaShooter.com blog.

(To which we'd humbly add Photojournalism: The Professionals' Approach, 6th edition.)

He's also posted a glorious roundup of treats, Featured Work: Curated, Must See, Visual Stories. Many of these videos and multimedia stories have similarly been showcased here on KobreChannel.com -- a combination of great minds thinking alike, and the cream always rising to the top.

The selections are worthy of your attention, and will give you plenty to look at and enjoy this holiday weekend!

How to Shoot & Edit a Video Sequence

Here's a short video tutorial that demonstrates how to plan and shoot a series of shots and assemble them as a storytelling sequence.



You can find free helpful video tutorials behind the HOW TO tab on KobreGuide.com.

When to Zoom and When Not to Zoom (Part 2)

Here’s a short video tutorial on when to zoom the lens, and when not to zoom, when you are shooting and editing a short video sequence.



You can find free helpful video tutorials behind the HOW TO tab on KobreGuide.com.

Zoom Shots and How to Avoid Them

Here's a short video tutorial on why zoom shots are usually unnecessary and undesirable. It shows to produce and edit a video sequence with and without a zoom shot.



You can find free helpful video tutorials behind the HOW TO tab on KobreGuide.com.

KobreGuide & KobreChannel Hit 500

This week KobreGuide and its accompanying blog KobreChannel mark individual milestones.

They've each surpassed the 500 mark.

Launched in October 2008, KobreGuide now showcases more than 500 video and multimedia stories. KobreChannel has similarly published more than 500 blog items -- most of them still surprisingly timely.

You can browse KobreGuide by CHANNEL or TOPIC. If you've got a little extra time, peruse our "GOT AN HOUR?" section for longer videos.

What many don't yet realize is that we archive hundreds of our best stories behind that HALL OF FAME navigation tab.

As always, we invite your feedback and suggestions -- and especially recommendations for excellent videojournalism we can share with our viewers.

Oh, and while we've got your attention -- be sure to join our KobreGuide Facebook Group. And don't forget to follow us on Twitter!

BBC Multimedia: The Long Way Home

Volcano-induced air-travel paralysis has been splendidly captured in a BBC audioslideshow, The Long Way Home, ingeniously produced by Paul Kerley.

The blend of stunning images and soundbites are cleverly set to the beat of REM, Sinatra, Pat Benatar, Dwight Yoakam, and more, underscoring the comic preposterousness of the whole messy situation.

Watch it here.

(Cyberhat tip to Guy Kawasaki's Alltop.)

clp.ly Can Clip & Re-Post Web Pages

What is clp.ly (pronounced "KLIP-lee") ?

clp.ly is a tool that makes it easy for users to clip and repost original content. It brings quotes and reposts to life and does it while maintaining the visual integrity and intent of the original publisher with correct attribution and links back. In addition, clp.ly provides analytics for publishers on how their content is being used, what context it’s placed in, and how it's being consumed. The clip maintains its intended form, enhancing the reader’s visual experience and understanding of the original content. Each clip carries attribution and a link back to the originating site.

clp.ly CEO John Pettitt asked members of the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) for "feedback and thoughts on how to make the product as photographer friendly as possible."

It's a web clipping and quoting service, a one-click way to make a low resolution screen grab of the top part of a web page that's easy to repost in email or on a blog. It will automatically add a backlink for proper attribution and track where the clip is reposted and how many people view it. clp.ly also has a quoting feature that does something similar with quoted text.

The overall idea is that more and more people are 'curating' the news [and] not really adding much. This gives them a tool to make their posts more compelling while at the same time encouraging the reader to visit the original sources by only providing part of the page at a low resolution. Think of it from a user's standpoint as a tool for fair use.

From a publisher's standpoint it's a way of driving more web traffic. Put a 'clip-this' story button on a page, and people can repost it in a way that carries branding and context, with correct attribution, that drives traffic back to the source and provides analytics on what is being clipped and which parts of a story are being quoted.

One of my concerns in building it is that a thumbnail of a photo is still a photo, and while the law is on the side of fair use, I'm still a photographer and so sensitive to the issue.

Here is a clipped page from the NPPA site (http://clp.ly/Lw4+)that illustrates the issue and here is a demo blog with some posts (http://heythisisinteresting.blogspot.com/)

We tried it ourselves, and here's what KobreGuide.com looks like:

Clipped from: http://clp.ly/L2k by clp.ly

LINK:
http://clp.ly/showclip/61bc5820f765184dee89ac53a06457fd-1268708270

... and here's what our KobreChannel.com blog looks like:

Clipped from: http://clp.ly/L2s by clp.ly

LINK:
http://clp.ly/showclip/8ec820ff82a705022526f28269a212ee-1268708334

"So," asks clp.ly CEO John Pettitt, "what do you think? Is there anything we can do to make it more photographer friendly?"

Thoughts?

Video: Why Local TV News is Bad for You

Here's a good short video summary of the scathing report we shared this week about the paucity of anything resembling "local" or "news" in local TV newscasts.

It's from Martin Kaplan, director of USC's Normal Lear Center, which conducted the unprecedented analysis of more than 11,000 stories aired by eight Los Angeles TV stations last summer.

There are many conclusions one can draw from this study, and plenty of blame to spread around for the failure of local TV stations to meet their obligation to keep the local citizenry informed in the markets where they hope to keep their FCC licenses.

On the bright side, we see big opportunities here for independent videojournalists to fill in those widening gaps, and to cover the city-government beats that TV newscasts have blithely abandoned ... so that they can instead free-associate about car chases from their gas-guzzling helicopters.



Also look here.

5 Tips for Making Better Video Stories

Documentary filmmaker Robb Montgomery (right), who produces video workshops around the world, offers "5 tips for making better video reports" on his blog.

Here's the gist of the tutorial:

1. Beg, borrow or rent a better microphone.

2. Lock your camera down.

3. Maintain eye contact with interview subjects.

4. Film for sequences.

5. Study the classic arc of storytelling.

For details, go here.

Video: How to Report the News

Two years of broadcast journalism courses distilled into two minutes.

Ethics for Videojournalists

What are some of the ethical issues facing videojournalists? How do they compare to ethical considerations confronted by print reporters and photojournalists?

As technology advances, there are an infinite number of ways that reality can be altered. Take the conundrums that still photographers encounter when capturing a single moment, and multiply that by 30 frames per second!

We're looking for specific examples of dilemmas that videojournalists have encountered while shooting and editing stories.

If a subject requests a "re-take" in order to give a more coherent response to your interview question, do you comply? Under what circumstances? Do you let the audience know?

In what situations is it OK to edit out of chronological sequence?

To what extent should you "direct" the action, or create more cinematically or dramatically appealing situations?

Is it ever acceptable to re-create a moment or situation or verbal exchange that your camera missed? If so, when?

Please share with us your experiences and questions -- hypothetical and real -- whether producing or watching video stories.

Does your organization have a separate set of ethics guidelines for videojournalism? Whose job is it to enforce them? Are they available to the public? (Can you email us a copy?)

We're starting a conversation about videojournalism ethics at the KobreGuide Facebook Group (click the "Discussions" tab), so please join us.

Photo Magazine to Aid Haiti Quake Victims

Several world-class photographers, including Mary Ellen Mark, are donating the use of their works to create a special edition of a magazine that you can buy as a fundraising effort to provide medical and disaster relief to Haiti. All proceeds will be donated to the International Red Cross.

The title “Haiti: Onè Respe” comes from a traditional Haitian greeting meaning “honor and respect.”
The photography magazine is made possible through the Magcloud print-on-demand service to benefit victims of the recent earthquake in Haiti.

The project is spearheaded by San Francisco photojournalist Lane Hartwell, one of our former students:

“The news of the disaster in Haiti deeply touched me, both as a person and as a photojournalist. I wondered what I could do to help, and spoke with my friend and colleague Peter Pereira, who had the privilege of shooting in Haiti in November 2009. The idea began with his essay, but others quickly came forward with generous contributions and before we knew it we had a magazine. We started on the morning of the 13th and had it available before midnight on the 14th."

This 40-page special issue is available at magcloud.com

84 Websites Where You Can Watch Videos

Here is an annotated list of 84 Websites where you can watch videos online, courtesy of Step to Tech.

Most of them don't qualify as (or even aspire to) videojournalism, and we can't even guarantee that all the videos are any good -- though there are plenty that merit your attention.

But with each passing day, we can't help but observe that -- despite all those dire predictions that nobody has the time or patience to watch video on their computer screen -- all signs point to the fact that, for whatever reason, millions of people are somehow finding the time and patience.

A New News Platform: Google's Living Stories

Those Google geniuses are at it again. Take a look at Living Stories, "a new, experimental way to consume news, developed by a partnership between Google, the New York Times, and the Washington Post. You can read the same reporting and analysis that you expect from the Times and the Post, delivered on a highly interactive platform."

One video is worth 10,000 words:



Happily, these Living Stories include visual elements, including slideshows and video.

Read the behind-the-scenes story on the creation of Living Stories, and let us know what you think. Once it's fleshed out to incorporate more topics, is this something you plan to use? Why or why not?

Yahoo's Do's & Dont's of Online Video

We're cheered by Paid Content's optimistic outlook on Web video, in today's report by James A. Pitaro, vice president of media at Yahoo!

He prefaces his advice to video producers, in "The Do’s And Don’ts Of Creating Original Video," by noting:

Today, web video has mainstreamed. Three-quarters of Internet users, or 47% of the U.S. population, now watch video online. Videos streamed in September totaled 11 billion, up 24% year over year. Web-original video content is making up a bigger chunk of this consumption and has quietly become a viable business model for many online distributors.

As a result, new Internet companies focusing on video are emerging every day, and many existing businesses are transitioning to a video-intensive model.

Though he's focused on original drama, see if you can find ways to take his advice and apply it to nonfiction videojournalism stories:

You need more than just a good idea: Identify something that is not just a good idea, but a good idea for the Internet -- something that takes advantage of the medium.

Track your audience: If researched and developed correctly, your program should be virtually foolproof because it will deliver the right content to the right user at the right time on your site.

Get sponsors involved early in the creative process: Partner with the advertiser starting with idea conception and co-develop your program.

Be fast: Regardless of genre, web content must be timely.

Don’t spend a lot of money: Yes, it is possible to produce high-quality content without breaking the bank if you hire seasoned professionals and offer them some creative freedom and license – a somewhat novel concept in the entertainment business.

Read the whole report here.

Video WTF: Free Answers to Your Questions

Video WTF is a new communally-minded open-source Website where you can ask -- and answer -- any question about video cameras, editing, production, publishing, promotion, whatever.

It's collaboratively moderated, and you can dive in and participate without even registering. And it's free!

(Though your first question might understandably be: For a site that aspires to mainstream acceptance, why the potentially controversial and off-putting name?)

Topics range from how to bid on a video project or construct a business proposal for a Web series, to hardware/software recommendations, to infinitely more technical considerations.

(We're encouraged because Video WTF is brought to you by the same folks who created Miro, a high-quality open-source, non-profit HD video player and podcast client that hands-down beats what most newspapers out there are using. You can download the free software to view and publish video. They've also recently launched Miro Community, which enables you to create your own private multi-source YouTube for free -- a boon for colleges and PBS affiliates.)

Have a video whose length or file size exceeds the limitations of YouTube or Vimeo? Use Video WTF to ask for pointers to alternative video sharing sites. Or to help others by sharing your knowledge.

A relatively inexpensive lavalier (Azden WMS-PRO Wireless Microphone System for $160) was generously recommended to us by a KobreChannel reader, but sounds too good to be true at that price, and so we just asked Video WTF users if they have heard feedback about it, or personally encountered any drawbacks (e.g. static).

Similarly, our new Kodak Zi8 does not zoom smoothly or silently -- a glitch with just our video camera, or a flaw in the model? We asked Video WTF denizens for their experiences.

We look forward to sharing their responses with you.

Oprah Follows Up on 7-Year-Old Schizophrenic

KobreGuide originally showcased the Los Angeles Times' heartbreaking video story, A Place for Jani, about a family struggling with the extreme challenges of raising a spirited daughter, then 6, with severe schizophrenia.

In July, we noted that the L.A. Times had updated the story, but lamented that it was only a text report, and not a followup video.

Oprah Winfrey picked up on the story and traveled to California to meet Jani Schofield, now 7, and her family for a remarkable show that aired this week, which you can now view online.

LINKS:

* 'Jani' on KobreGuide

* 'Jani' on KobreChannel

* Jani on 'Oprah'

NPR's Scott Simon on the Art of Storytelling

YouTube has been adding more instructional videos to its Reporters' Center, since we first reported on it back in June.

They come from a variety of authoritative sources and cover a broad array of topics, including how to distribute and promote your video stories once you've completed them.

Still, some of the best are from the top pros, such as NPR's Scott Simon, who shares some timeless tips on the art of audio and visual storytelling.

Highlights:

1. A story ought to have a point. Not necessarily a moral or a lesson or even a punchline. But always a point.

2. Give people telling vivid details they can recall when telling the story to others.

3. Beginnings must capture the audience's interest.

4. Stories must be told in short breathable sections.

5. Speak conversationally. (Avoid long dependent clauses.)

6. Don't be afraid of new storytelling technologies. Use them.

7. Have fun. If you enjoy making surprising discoveries, that will communicate to your audience and keep them coming back.

But let Scott tell you himself...



Visit YouTube's Reporters Center to view dozens of other journalism-themed instructional videos.

Bookmark This: Journalism About Journalism

If you're looking for journalism about journalism, Alltop's "Journalism" page is your one-stop destination, with links to the top 5 daily stories at nearly 100 top online publications and blogs that cover every aspect of journalism.

From the Columbia Journalism Review to Editor & Publisher and Poynter, they're all here.

Mouse over each link, and an internal popup provides the first few sentences of what awaits at the destination, enabling you to better decide if it's worth clicking.

If that selection is still too overwhelming you can slim it down for your own use, by creating your own MyAlltop page. That, in fact, is Alltop's strength -- selectively aggregating quality content, and providing a self-controlled filter to prevent information overload.

MyAlltop enables you to create a “personal, online magazine rack” of your favorite websites and blogs. You can create a personal collection from over 32,000 information sources—if you’re interested in something, we probably have it covered.

You'll even get your own customized URL -- http://my.alltop.com/yournamehere -- that you can share with others.

We’ve subscribed to thousands of sources to provide “aggregation without aggravation.” To be clear, Alltop pages are starting points -- they are not destinations per se. Ultimately, our goal is to enhance your online reading by displaying stories from sources that you’re already visiting plus helping you discover sources that you didn’t know existed. In a nutshell, Alltop is an information filter to help you find your nuggets of gold.

If you're looking for the Web's best videojournalism, then of course KobreGuide is still your single best online destination.

10 Tips for Still Photogs Who Shoot Video

Scott Bourne offers 10 tips for still photographers who are making the transition to video, on his Photofocus blog. He admits he's a relative novice himself to moving images.

Ever since I got my hands on the Panasonic GH1 I’ve been shooting more and more video. It’s fun! But I’m also reminded that I am NOT a seasoned pro when it comes to shooting video. I have some advantages over the guy/gal who’s just starting out, but I still need lots of practice.

I’ve been studying some books, watching some training videos and listening to lectures at my local college. I’ve developed a few tips that I use to get better video and I’ve started a checklist that I will use to help improve my video capture skills. Maybe it will be helpful to you too.

It's all good basic common-sense advice -- use a tripod, make sure you capture good audio, shoot a variety of closeups and wide shots, etc. -- but of course there's a good reason we need to hear those basic lessons over and over, since they're the ones that are most frequently ignored.

Hie thee to Photofocus and pick up your 10 free tips.