There are a couple of new thoughtful entries in the debate stirred up by the decision not to award first place in an NPPA web video competition. (Following the links in the posts I’m about to link to will give you all the background you need.)
From Chuck Fadely comes this:
There is plenty of room on our websites for both narrative storytelling video and for ten-second clips that show what something looks like. The problem comes when we turn what should have been a ten-second clip into a two-minute story. We need to develop an institutional knowledge of what stories make good video.
As I’m gently leading my students into the barely unexplored world of newspaper video (I still can’t get over how weird that phrase is to an old ink-in-the-veins guy), one of the concepts I’ve hit on is breaking video down into two categories: story-showing and storytelling. I can use the story-showing aspect — Chuck’s 10-second clip — to teach camera, editing and seeing skills. They can play there and sharpen their video literacy and their skills before moving on to tackle the additional, difficult challenges that come with storytelling.
Meanwhile, Andy Dickinson has a post that should be read by all involved in the sometimes rather heated debate over newspapers, TV, video and quality. His conclusion bears repeating here:
Leave your egos and your distribution medium at the door and bring your skills and understanding to the table. We are doing something different and we are all learning along the way.
They may be too rational an idea for some of those who have dogs in this fight, but I sense there are a lot of folk out there who are genuinely excited about new possibilities. I know I’d love to see online video journalism from talented TV folk, where they can be cut lose from the constraints of the tightly planned and controlled local newscast. It is, after all, the medium they’ve dedicated themselves to learning well and deeply.
RELATED: While I’m on the subject of video, here are some links to some other recent video storytelling posts. The Devil Came on Horseback is a frustratingly short but well done video report from Darfur (UPDATE: As Rikki points out in the comments, it’s only a trailer for a full-length piece.); Visual Editors passes along The five Es of online video production; and in an An open post to newspaper execs and editors about video, Andy Dickinson pleads with newspaper execs to give the newsroom the time and training — not just the tools — to bring video into the newspaper mix.
TAGS: VIDEO, JOURNALISM, NEWSPAPERS, TV, NPPA
[...] Original post by Mark [...]
Have you seen the full film The Devil Came on Horseback? I think you’ve only watched the trailer.