THE ONE MAN BAND REPORTER

What shooters should do to avoid the chop

Steve Mort — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 02:21:48 +0000

Here is a link to an article I just finished reading in GOOD Magazine.

It's another piece on the inevitable decline of the photo/videojournalist. The author is talking about photographers who just take photographs, or videographers who only shoot videos.

To make the point that photojournalists are going the way of the dinosaurs, the piece quotes a memo from Jack Womack, CNN's senior vice president of domestic news operations in which he outlines some more layoffs among the ranks of the network's shooters:

"We looked at production demands, down time, and international deployments. We looked at the impact of user-generated content and social media, CNN iReporters and of course our affiliate contributions in breaking news. Consumer and pro-sumer technologies are simpler and more accessible. Small cameras are now high broadcast quality. More of this technology is in the hands of more people. After completing this analysis, CNN determined that some photojournalists will be departing the company."

The article goes on to explain that CNN is laying off shooters because it is "receiving so many photo submissions via its user-generated iReport platform." This is clearly the case. In a breaking news medium, getting pictures from the field fast is paramount. The iPhone 4 can shoot HD pictures, but when pulling in stills or video from the public, quality isn't even that important. You have to get the visuals on the air immediately.

The problem is, then what? When the breaking news has happened and the public turns to CNN or another network to get some coverage, context or analysis, the broadcasters will, at some stage, require photo or videojournalists (professionals) to pick up where the public left off. Viewers of TV news will eventually need more than shaky, grainy video, or poorly framed stills. Plus, not all news is "breaking." Don't expect someone with an iPhone to go out and shoot a feature for you.

While news organizations will, undoubtedly, require fewer video/photojournalists, they will require some. The article quotes Darrow Montgomery from Washington's City Paper: "If the metric is to get the best, most telling, evocative picture of a given situation, and to be able to do that repeatedly, then the professional will win almost every time."

But video or photojournalists are their own worst enemies sometimes. They are, at least in part, responsible for their own demise. The article above quotes a former news shooter, now a wedding photographer: "Photographers need to figure out what exactly separates them from pedestrians with nice cameras." This could not be more true, especially when it comes to video.

There is a pervasive sense of misery among videojournalists who just shoot video. They feel they're doomed and that there is nothing they can do about it. But in fact there is something they can do about it. They have to learn some new skills to compete, it's just that simple. It's true that you're not going to be able to compete with a member of the public with an iPhone that is in the right place at the right time. But a photographer or videojournalist will stand a much better chance of keeping their job if they're able to do more than just shoot. The way of the future in television or online video is the shooter who is a reporter, writer, editor and producer as well.

I hear a lot about quality declining with the rise of the one-man-band reporter. But that rise is just the way it is and people should get used to it. I also hear people say things like "I'm too old to learn all this new stuff." I believe that anyone who thinks that way deserves to lose their job. One-skill specialists who look down on the one-man-band reporter may feel a sense of superiority, but that's not going to get them far when they get a pink-slip.

The answer to the challenge of figuring out how video/photojournalists should "separate themselves from pedestrians with nice cameras" is to learn how do be a reporter, editor or producer too. Learn some new tricks. Make yourself as valuable as three people. If you can't or wont do that then you are "going the way of the pterodactyl."

Spanish-language TV grows, advertisers hold back

Steve Mort — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 00:34:35 +0000

This week I'll be wrapping up a story on the Spanish-language television market in the United States.

It's a segment that is growing at a very fast rate, and more Hispanic broadcast and cable nets in the US are producing their own programming, instead of simply buying in content from production houses in Latin America.

On set filming Mi Corazon Insiste - the latest home-grown telenovela from Telemundo

But many advertisers remain to be convinced of the power of the Hispanic dollar. Spanish-language TV commands a much higher proportion of the overall US television audience than ad spending would suggest.

I'll be visiting the studios of Telemundo in Miami to examine this phenomenon, and how America's shifting demographics are changing the broadcast landscape. Look out for the story from AFP TV.

Steve Mort - US correspondent, Miami

Space coverage beyond the shuttle

Steve Mort — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 21:37:32 +0000

Today, as a correspondent with responsibility for covering America's adventures in space, I'm reporting on NASA's latest exploratory endeavors.

The US space agency today launched a spacecraft from the Kennedy Space Center here in Florida destined for Jupiter. It's unmanned, of course, but it's hoped it'll provide valuable scientific data on how the first planet in our solar system was formed. This, in turn, could be very useful in discovering more about the origins of our own planet.

Here's an audio report I filed a little earlier for Australian Independent Radio News

According to my reporting, many space policy-makers - as well as officials within NASA itself - see this kind of exploration as the key to NASA's future now that the space shuttle has gone. Sure, private companies are working on taking Americans back to the International Space Station within the next few years, and NASA has the long-term goal of manned flight to the Moon, Mars or an astroid. But the real nitty gritty of space exploration and scientific discovery is often done far away from the media glare and the glory of manned programs.

I hope to cover this aspect of the space program more in the future, with a focus on the huge challenges NASA faces, not only in terms of its budget, but also in terms of focus, direction and mission. It's a big-budget agency. Scruitiny of it should not go away just because the shuttle is now history.

This election will be broadcast in HD

Steve Mort — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 20:13:01 +0000

Reporters are constantly in the field these days gathering pictures of the various Republican candidates/potential candidates in the 2012 Presidential election.

Videojournalists are now called on to shoot HD footage of the main contenders on a regular basis, mainly for library purpouses, as primary season draws inexorably closer.

With more broadcasters than ever before requiring pictures in high-definition, the coverage of this general election will be one of the first I've shot almost entirely in HD.

Writing a key skill for solo video journalists

Steve Mort — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 18:22:03 +0000

For video journalists, the art of shooting great looking video is often the number one priority. Sometimes the traditional elements of journalism can be sidelined.

For me, when producing a story for a TV client, writing a good script should be one of the most important aspects of doing a standout job. It's often going to be the first tangible thing the client sees of your story. Assuming there is some sort of script editing process, they'll see your words before they see your pictures.

The most critical part of news writing is the lead - the top line! In the document below, Judith Smelser of NPR affiliate WMFE gives a great overview of lead writing.

For veteran reporters who have come from a background of focusing on writing and producing, learning the skills associated with shooting and editing is key. But for younger reporters who have cut their teeth with video cameras, the subtleties of journalism - whether it be writing, law or ethics - can easily be overlooked.

Learn how to write a strong script and you'll be a better all-round reporter.

Making the MOS-t of shooting vox-pops

Steve Mort — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 22:30:46 +0000

Shooting M.O.S. (Man On the Street) is something you'll often have to do as a video journalist. M.O.S., sometimes called vox-pops from the Latin 'vox populi', is also one of the more difficult tasks when working solo. You'll often be working in a crowd and will need to be ready to get people's comments very quickly - negligible set-up time.

Here is a list of ten points I put together that I think are important to remember when shooting M.O.S. in the field:

1 - Use a tripod. M.O.S. shoots look really dreadful when you're trying to hold a camera in one hand and a mic in the other while looking the interviewee in the eye.

2 - Because you are using a tripod, try to pick a location where you do not have to move around too much. Pick an area to shoot with plenty of foot traffic. It is best if you can get people to come to you, rather than having to carry your camera and tripod to a different spot each time.

3 - Select a significantly different backdrop for each M.O.S. It will look strange if the background is the same each time, but the person on camera is different. Remember, you will probably be editing these together into a sequence. You can often achieve a different backdrop just by swinging the camera around.

4 - Be mindful of the sun in the sky. Cloudy days tend to be easier… the light remains constant so the temperature of the shot doesn't fluctuate between interviewees in your M.O.S. sequence. Otherwise, try to pick an area of shade where the background isn't too bright either.

5 - Use a wireless lav microphone that you can pin on someone quickly. If you are trying to hold a microphone in front of the interviewee, it'll be very tough to ensure they remain in frame because you will need to be in front of the camera too. If you use a wireless lav, you can clip it on them and stand where you can see the viewfinder. You can also have the subject stand further away from the camera, allowing you to make more use of the full range of the lens, achieving more depth to the shot. In addition, make sure you hide the cable connecting the mic to the transmitter unit by either framing it out of the shot, or tucking it under clothing.

6 - Try to frame each person approximately the same. It doesn't matter if some are framed slightly tighter than others. But if you have a mix of super-wide and super-tight shots, it will look very disjointed when you edit them back-to-back. If you are shooting in a high enough definition format, it's possible to adjust the framing in post-production by cropping and zooming.

7 - Mix the direction that you have the interviewees looking - some camera-left, some camera-right. When you edit your footage together, you should alternate between left-looking and right-looking shots. This will help guard against jump cuts. You can also make use of functions such as Final Cut Pro's 'flop' tool to reverse shots if necessary. However, be very careful to take note of anything framed in the shot that would be inaccurate when flipped, such as writing.

To help illustrate this point, here is an example of M.O.S. I gathered at the recent NBA Finals in Miami for AFP Television. The vox-pops are part of a sequence of shots sent out to AFP client broadcasters. This is my own upload with my own lower-thirds. If you wish to see additional footage from the shoot, you can do so here.

8 - Make sure you color balance your camera before you start shooting. If you shoot in auto-mode you may end up with soundbites with wildly varying color balances. This, of course, varies according to which camera you are using. Save yourself time in post-production by setting your camera values ahead of time. Setting picture profiles for cloudy or bright days can save time.

9 - Get the name of your subjects on tape. Use that to set audio levels. People have dramatically different tones of voice and speaking volumes. You don't want to boost your levels for a quiet speaker, then end up with distorted sound for the rest of your shoot.

10 - Never take your eyes off your camera. You're in a busy place. Never trust anyone you don't know around your gear - not even for a second.

Video tutorial on shooting interviews

Steve Mort — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 18:59:42 +0000

There aren't many good websites that take solo videographers through, step-by-step, the best ways to set up and film an interview.

Filming interviews while operating on your own is always a tricky proposition, particularly if you're looking to achieve depth and distance from the camera.

Dr Lisa Mills - Assistant Professor of Film at the University of Central Florida - has put together a series of video tutorials for students involved in a project to collect stories from military veterans.

Below is a grab from one of my recent interviews. I chose it because I filmed it in a hurry on a tight deadline. It illustrates that, with a few very simple steps, you can make your interviews look polished without very much pre-production.

As Mills describes in her instructional videos, you need to chose somewhere with appropriate natural lighting, space to achieve depth, and a background that isn't boring but, at the same time, does not detract from the interviewee's words.

Her pointers are basics for beginners, but certainly worth watching if you're new to the game.

Mills teaches documentary film-making at UCF. You can check out her YouTube channel here

Recording media - which do you prefer?

Steve Mort — Mon, 02 May 2011 23:06:52 +0000

I recently made the switch between mini-DV tape and XDCAM solid state SxS cards.

While I thoroughly enjoy shooting with the Sony EX3 camera, there is something about not having a tape in my hand at the end of a shoot that makes me nervous. Am I the only person who has this feeling?

As a solo video journalist, I'll often be working while carrying cards in my pocket with footage on them that I have just shot. That makes me a bit concerned.

Then there is the archiving issue. Shooting in HD formats such as XDCAM EX results in very large video files. When shooting on tape, archiving wasn't such a big deal - you could just put your tape in a library.

Now with a disk - not only do you have to back up your footage at least a couple of times - you use up astonishing amounts of space on your raid drive to archive each story you shoot.

I'm interested in how my fellow one-man-band reporters view the move from tape to digital file recording media.

Creating and editing a setpiece interview

Steve Mort — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 23:04:04 +0000

When you're a solo videographer there are often occasions when you'll want to create the impression of a two camera interview but with only one camera.

Here is a short explainer on how you can achieve this fairly easily. There are certain things you'll need to do during both the shooting and editing phases in order to create a professional result.

When shooting a "two-camera" interview with just one camera, you need to be mindful of the following things:

1) Shoot the interview subject without moving the camera too much during questions. You may want to cut to the interviewee to cover edits to the questions.

2) That being said, you can put in some smooth pushes and pulls during questions and answers, but make sure you practice before rolling. You don't want to mess it up and miss an important answer.

3) When the interview is finished, get a wide shot of the interview scene with the interviewer talking and interviewee listening. This will be useful for editing especially if you don't have a reverse with a re-ask of a question you want to include (see point 5).

4) When the interview is finished, make sure you get a reverse shot. Do not cross the axis, ie., if the subject is looking camera left, the interviewer must be looking camera right.

5) If you are cutting an extended interview you will need re-asks. The interviewer should re-ask as many questions as possible during the reverse.

6) You should get a selection of listening shots from the interviewer - ideally some tight on the interviewer and some wide with the shoulder of the interviewee in frame.

7) When you are tight on the interviewer during the reverse, make sure it's framed so the shot matches the framing of the interviewee. For example, it will look strange if you constantly cut from a very wide shot of an interviewer to a very tight shot of an interviewee or vice versa.

8) Remember to bare in mind what aspect ratio your final project will be in when you're shooting, and frame accordingly.

9) Ensure that when you move the camera to get the reverse that you check the white balance. Make sure the lighting and white balance for answers and questions matches.

10) If possible, use wireless microphones. Less cables will make it easier to move your camera to get the reverse. It will also make the scene look much tidier when you get your wideshot.

11) Try to match the audio levels for both interviewer and interviewee. This will save time in the editing process. It's also useful if the audio tone - including room tone - and quality is the same. It will be much more apparent that you are editing together two recordings if the ambient sound in the room is different.

12) You may need to adjust the background for your reverse shot, especially if you're in a small space. You made the background for the interviewee look good, so you need to make sure the background for the interviewer looks good too.

Now to the editing process. Take a look at this interview I edited in Haiti: Malcolm Brown was the videographer.

In this video you will see I have deployed several techniques.

1) Use listening shots of the interviewer, but not too many. Try to use these cutaways to break-up long answers or to cover edits. Don't over use them otherwise they become distracting.

2) You don't necessarily have to cut to the interviewer when a question is asked, assuming you had both the interviewer and interviewee wearing mics. If the question is very short, for example, you don't have to. Use your judgement. If it's a particularly important or long question, you will probably want to use that re-ask.

3) Use L-cuts (split edits). You'll see I use these on several occasions to keep the flow of the edit going. Here's a good definition: LINK

"Sometimes called an L-cut, a split edit is a transition from one shot to another, where the picture transition does not coincide with the audio transition. This is often done to enhance the aesthetics or flow of the video. For example, a conversation between two people can feel like a tennis match if you always cut the audio and video at the same time. A split edit allows the audience to see the reaction of the person doing the listening, or the aftermath of speaking, rather than simply the act of speaking."

4) It's important to be very organized in laying out your timeline or sequence when you've shot an interview and reverses with just one camera. Place your raw interview into your timeline and then grab your questions and place them in chronological order, either at the end of the timeline or in a new sequence. If your re-asks were not in order, you do not want to make the mistake of cutting a question and answer together that do not go together.

5) If you're on a wideshot where the person talking is facing away from the camera, make sure the audio matches the movement of the mouth convincingly. Pick wideshots where mouth movements, head movements and hand gestures coincide with what is being said.

6) Don't try to be too clever. You'll save yourself time and the possibility of making a mistake the less edits you include.

Keeping your skills honed: Don't always fly solo

Steve Mort — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 22:33:31 +0000

One of the unfortunate side effects of working on your own is that the only person you have learn from is yourself! Of course, you can watch stories that other solo video journalists have produced and try to compare their work to yours. Learning from other people's mistakes is always better than making your own errors. But who can point out the good and bad parts of the other person's story? How can you learn what is good and bad without guidance from someone more experienced?

The best experience is doing. While doing, the best way to learn is from other people who have done it before. If you're working on your own all the time, who do you learn from? How do you get better? Sure, you can read blogs and forums about video production, watch other people's work and so on. But none of that is a one-hundred percent replacement for getting knowledge from a professional with lots of experience.

A one man band reporter/solo VJ, by definition, performs many tasks involved in TV news on their own with no help from someone else. Learning to combine these skills is a skill itself. That is a skill best learned by working in close quarters and talking with other solo VJs. But the best way to improve your skills in the individual fields (eg., shooting, editing, sound recording, writing etc) is to work with specialists in those fields.

This last point brings me to the thrust of this post. Once you've taken the leap towards being a one man band reporter, I think it's still critical that you maintain your involvement in more traditional methods of making TV news. Just because you are now a proud backpack journalist doesn't mean that's all you should be doing. Don't be afraid to accept work as a shooter only. For example, if someone else is doing the reporting, you have the opportunity to be more creative with the camera and editing. You also have a chance to work with another reporter and maybe pick up some reporting tips. On the other hand, if you have the chance to use a shooter for one of your reports, observe how they operate, and see if there are some camera tricks you can add to your own arsenal.

It's a liberating experience to occasionally work with a greater focus on a smaller number of tasks. I would recommend it to any one man band reporters: work with others when possible and try to hone your skills in each individual discipline when doing so. At the end of the day, I think it'll make you a better solo VJ.