Tag Archives: video journalism

#followjourn – @JohnDomokos/video journalist

Who? John Domokos

Where? John is a video producer at the Guardian

Twitter? @JohnDomokos

John is a video producer and founder member of the video team at the Guardian. He discussed online video journalism at news:rewired – media in motion. A live blog of the session can be found here.

Just as we like to supply you with fresh and innovative tips, we are recommending journalists to follow online too. Recommended journalists can be from any sector of the industry: please send suggestions (you can nominate yourself) to Rachel at journalism.co.uk; or to @journalismnews.

#followjourn – @viewmagazine David Dunkley Gyimah/videojournalist

Who? David Dunkley Gyimah

Where? Knight Batten and international award-winning videojournalist. He also produces online magazine viewmagazine.tv.

Twitter? @viewmagazine

David will be speaking about online video journalism at news:rewired – media in motion, Journalism.co.uk’s conference on the latest trends in digital journalism.

Just as we like to supply you with fresh and innovative tips, we are recommending journalists to follow online too. Recommended journalists can be from any sector of the industry: please send suggestions (you can nominate yourself) to Rachel at journalism.co.uk; or to @journalismnews.

#media140 – Get messy with mobile journalism, says Adam Westbrook

Quantity over quality – that needs to be the mindset for mobile journalists, UK online video journalist Adam Westbrook said today at the #media140 conference in Barcelona.

While there are similarities between video journalists and mobile journalists, being the latter, by its nature, is about being in a particular place, he said, and the ability to get information out quickly, and in volume.

You need the drive to be where the story is and once you’re there to get as close as you can. You’re not restricted to being close to the action. There is also the mindset of speed … You have to have an ‘always on’ mindset, always carrying your gear with you and always be looking for a story. Switch on and get your phone out and get some coverage straight away.

Because mobile journalism is still so new, you also need to be very willing to experiment. This runs across all spheres of journalism. It is about getting messy, in a way, there is no roadmap, there is no path.

Westbrook opened his presentation with the great example of UK journalist Alex Wood and his colleagues’ coverage of the G20 summit in 2009, despite being kept in a containment area. Unlike the mainstream media, unable to get their tapes out of the area, Wood’s team were able to connect to wifi and report on what was happening using their mobiles.

They sent Tweets and uploaded photos from their phones. For Alex and his colleagues its became quite a landmark moment for their journalism. Because they were mobile they had the advantage over the mainstream media. It really shows the potential that mobile journalism has.

Another practical advantage was illustrated in a photo Westbrook showed next, of a broadcast team filming an interview with numerous members of crew, a camera, autoprompter, lighting and “miles of cable”.

In comparison, the typical mobile journalism setup consists of a camera which doubles up as a phone, a high quality microphone, a mifi connector and a small tripod, he said.

Technology has allowed mobile journalism to happen as it does. Also the infrastructure has improved, there’s wifi in more places and high speed broadband.”

So what could the future hold for mobile journalism? Westbrook’s ideas were:

  • Location based news
  • Geo-tagging
  • Mobile moving mainstream
  • More citizen reporting

BBC News launches collaborative multimedia project based on British soldiers

A collaborative project between the BBC’s video-on-demand team, online graphic designers, journalists, newsgathering reporters and the BBC News channel was launched on the BBC News website yesterday.

The special multimedia report, ‘Life with the Lancers’, follows a year of filming with four Army soldiers from the Queen’s Royal Lancers regiment.

They were given cameras to gather video-diary material, took stills as well, and talked to BBC correspondents at different stages during the year about their experiences. The Army’s combat camera team also provided material.

In a blog post discussing the report editor of the BBC News website Steve Herrmann said the aim was to understand what the daily experience of UK troops serving in Afghanistan “in more detail than headline news reports allow”.

YouTube and National Geographic launch video competition

YouTube and National Geographic have partnered to launch the ‘Planet Inspired’ competition. The project calls for short film entries highlighting environmental issues which can be made using original content, or with footage filmed by National Geographic reporters.

The most original entries will be voted on by the YouTube community, and the winner will receive a National Geographic weekend photography workshop and $1,000 gift card from The North Face.

Bloomberg offers free TV training for budding broadcast journalists

Budding video journalists and future news presenters can apply for free TV production training as part of Bloomberg’s Broadcast Volunteer programme.

Applications are being accepted until 18 August for a September start and are open to anyone aged between 18-25, not in education, employment or training. Bloomberg advertise the programme as providing:

Eight days of intensive training in TV Production and Broadcasting skills plus three top-up sessions.

At least 80 hours volunteering at Roundhouse Studios in September and October 2010, putting your skills into practice by supporting Roundhouse TV and Film projects and documenting Roundhouse events.

Great work experience to put on your CV.

See more here…

iPhone 4 a ‘serviceable web video camera in breaking news situations’

Len De Groot, from the Knight Digital Media Center, has a useful first-hand account of using the iPhone 4 for reporting news.

Having taken his new iPhone out with him at lunch to put its tools to the test, he agreed it would prove a valuable tool for reporters.

Suddenly, the iPhone can be a serviceable web video camera in breaking news situations or unplanned interviews. It allows you to shoot and edit video, add lower thirds and titles and upload directly to the web.

It will not replace professionals and professional equipment, however. It fits into “the best camera is the one you have on you” category.

In his post he discusses his experiences of audio quality, uploading a full HD video to quicktime and then getting the clips onto youtube and vimeo as viewing platforms.

See the full post here…

Related reading on Journalism.co.uk: iPhone 4 developments herald a mobile future for news

Burma VJ film nominated for ‘Best Documentary’ Oscar

CNNGo.com reports that ‘Burma VJ’ is among the nominations for best documentary in this year’s Oscars.

Recently featured on Channel 4, Anders Østergaard’s film documented young video journalists during the 2007 uprisings led by Buddhist monks in Myanmar. From the Channel 4 website:

Armed with small handycams, the Burma VJs stop at nothing to make their reportages; their material is smuggled out of the country and broadcast back into Burma via satellite and offered as free usage for international media.

The whole world has witnessed single event clips made by the VJs, but for the very first time, their individual images have been put together with Østergaard’s sparingly-used reconstruction to tell a riveting story which offers a unique insight into high-risk journalism and dissidence in a police state, while at the same time providing a thorough documentation of the historical and dramatic days of September 2007, when the Buddhist monks started marching.

Other Oscar ‘Best Documentary’ nominations include ‘The Cove’; ‘Food, Inc,’ ‘Which Way Home’ and ‘The Most Dangerous Man In America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers.’