Poor man’s notes from NPPA

Another report from NPPA Immersion Workshop. Apple is featuring a link to an article about the workshop written by Donald R. Winslow, here.

At the Summit blog, there is a great link to audio tips, by two of the best audio slide show producers around, check it out here.

Finally, if you want my 'brain dump', keep reading. It is just a strange list of observations and snippets from the speakers. Some of it makes no sense, but I think that's kinda fun! It leaves it up to you to do some thinking, rather than have me preach to you. Enjoy!

 

Notes From Day One of the NPPA Multimedia Immersion workshop:

we have an obligation to do better journalism.

pick the right tool for the job.

the skill is editing the story — all the things you do as journalists are more important than technical skills.

how we put things together is a very important skill

how are we gonna improve storytelling?

what tool?
how to present our story?

new tool palette: with audio, the subject get to tell their own story. as journalists we are not telling OUR stories, we help people tell THEIR stories.

gathering ambient is as important as the interview.

sense of place take me to the place. time travel.

under pressure to do everything, which one do i shoot when? possibilities are endless the argument has no answer.

perceptive sequencing.

It’s a common and accepted process/practice to edit video out of time.

single event is history are images not video.

text is still important.
effective design. more critical.
interactivity key tool for the younger audience passive to active viewer control how view and experience your story = programming.

standards = ethics don’t change we have just added more layers.

no budget to hire the people we need = learn correctly, lots of practice.

annoying = forget about the long journey to be where we are now as journalists.

audio storytelling is an art form. jim @ msnbc

yeas refining the skills set.

easy equipment does equal to do.

hold everything to the same standards.

not skilled yet = sucks = practice = respect = learn what’s good. IMPORTANT!!!!!! learn what’s good……!!!!!!! RESPECT>

problem with online journalism we don’t know our audience anyone with a connection is our audience. make one up, make it challenging younger perspective.

sophisticated storytelling

you can’t do it all. you need a team, journalism is a team sport.

what do we need? understand the tools. in order to produce and know the capabilities of the medium.

visual journalist are leaders. sound slides great first step we need to move forward take the next step.

figure out what programming can do because it has a lot to do with what storytelling can do.

students don’t believe there’s anything they can’t do. Stay the student.

global messengers special olympics package from UNC.

right here, right now, i feel i am as i want to be.

oh to be a student again!!!!!!!!!!!! so many choices, UNC, OU…..WK

AUDIO

environmental portrait = interview

put a mic in their face and talk? everybody’s been photographed but not interviewed with a microphone in their face.

close connect put gear down you connect to people with mic in face

ask questions in groups….what’s your name and what do you do for a living?
transport your listeners.

play to the strength of the moment, if the band is playing press record, if the light is fading take the images and interview later.

audio moments = photographic moments = same thing.
audio exposes the faults in an acoustic environment? something you might notice with your eyes is exposed by the mic.

pros/cons of lav mic

PRO– frees you up

CON–give up control

how long do you let someone babble?

report with your camera first, look and listen as you gather images and think about what your question will be?

cell phones off, not vibrate, interference.

HEADPHONES!!!!!!!!!! enough said. they are like the viewfinder of your camera.

stack the questions, it gets them talking….

Video Tips for still photogs

everything can be a tripod

fill the frame

faces tell stories, shoot tight.

Only move to follow action or reveal something, Otherwise don’t move.

anticipate action.

think of your next shot as you are shooting.

don’t shoot close-ups from across the room, get close.

try to avoid pans and zooms.

think like a picture editor

ethics

you do not have to be literal? the audio is not and should not be treated as a caption.

common sense, look at the whole, not each part.

audio ethics is the new challenge.

RTNDA has a code of ethics.

if you told your readers what you’re doing, would they be ok with it?

keeping it as pure as you can.

take pic gather audio later? video different than ass?

same time + same event = sound from the scene.

it’s the small things…… is it unethical?

translate with authenticity the observation you are making. objective is BS it’s all subjective

how close and faithful can you represent the moment you chose to make.

be fully faithful to your experience.

how transparent can we represent to our audience what we do.

intention?

lots of decisions.

are stories are a deception of time.

fatal flaw is making it a little better, that’s when you cross the line.

i’m not worried about the big issues. it’s the little things like the whale blubber that kill us.

we want answers! we want people to say it’s unethical!

edit audio interview guidelines…..

music as a way to force emotion. not good.

music is manipulation.

user generated content forces of to be more experimental, blogs force of to be more personal.

one word answer transparency, telegraph it. the genie is about of the bottle.