tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60190663078463667482024-03-07T15:56:29.405-05:00NewspaperVideoMaking newspaper pictures moveChuck Fadelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15458703354783258851noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6019066307846366748.post-16426869800616599212010-06-10T16:14:00.003-05:002010-06-10T16:23:47.823-05:00New site for NewspaperVideo<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIMadyuR0mx4V_RsTeMO8BzctAixJyN5fwRCtXWXHdM5_68dr-WqBR7ZRdUlPejrnoPA1-Gj7mHwtuOf-S8PLy00MnbhLSUwAK3zlSXim7eB_Kk2iYKQ0AvhZQNhWW39pPOm_VdJ88xIn4/s1600/newspapervideo+blog+snapz.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 229px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIMadyuR0mx4V_RsTeMO8BzctAixJyN5fwRCtXWXHdM5_68dr-WqBR7ZRdUlPejrnoPA1-Gj7mHwtuOf-S8PLy00MnbhLSUwAK3zlSXim7eB_Kk2iYKQ0AvhZQNhWW39pPOm_VdJ88xIn4/s320/newspapervideo+blog+snapz.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481258698940613490" /></a><br /><br />I've started a new site at <a href="http://newspapervideo.com/blog">http://newspapervideo.com/blog</a> to get info on news video, storytelling, Final Cut, video editing, web video and all the other things that photographers and journalists need to know to do video.<br /><br />Check out posts on<a href="http://newspapervideo.com/blog/2010/06/how-to-speed-up-your-video-workflow/"> workflow</a>, <a href="http://newspapervideo.com/blog/2010/06/what-video-camera-to-buy/">camera selection</a>, and <a href="http://newspapervideo.com/blog/2010/03/the-shovels-havent-filled-the-grave/">storytelling</a>.Chuck Fadelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15458703354783258851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6019066307846366748.post-81631258887616003842008-07-25T12:22:00.004-05:002010-06-10T16:27:52.290-05:00New site for Newspaper VideoUPDATE, June 2010: This is old news now, since Ning is shutting down many community sites. I've moved my blog over to http://newspapervideo.com/blog now - Chuck<br /><br /><br /><br /><small><a href="http://newspapervideo.ning.com/xn/detail/u_1zsm5ovkolb6a">View my page on <em>Newspaper Video</em></a></small><br /><br /><br />I've started a site where newspaper video folks can share and comment on each other's works. Check it out!Chuck Fadelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15458703354783258851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6019066307846366748.post-72014946427268622942008-05-10T13:21:00.008-05:002010-06-10T16:32:22.861-05:00Canon Vixia HF10 (HF100) Review<a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 15px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-08229783659341273 visible" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/wfPvX9WiebU&hl=en"></a><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 15px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-08229783659341273 visible" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/wfPvX9WiebU&hl=en"></a><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wfPvX9WiebU&hl=en"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wfPvX9WiebU&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-style:italic;">UPDATE, June 2010: AVCHD is a mainstream format now and you can read about editing workflow here - <a href="http://newspapervideo.com/blog/2010/06/how-to-speed-up-your-video-workflow/">http://newspapervideo.com/blog/2010/06/how-to-speed-up-your-video-workflow/</a><br /></span><div><span style="font-style:italic;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-style:italic;">UPDATE, LATE 2009: OK, a year and a half after I wrote this review, a lot has changed in the editing realm. Most newish computers with current software, like Vegas or CS4 on the PC or any of the Mac's editing programs, can handle AVCHD with no problems now. The current version of this camera, the HF200, has some subtle but real improvements in handling and controls and is a great little camera. - Chuck</span><br /><br />I'm playing with a loaner <span style="font-weight: bold;">Canon Vixia HF10</span> camcorder, which is nearly a twin to the <span style="font-weight: bold;">HF100</span>.<br /><br />This is a cool, sexy camcorder and the lust factor for this critter is way high.<br /><br />But try as I might to love it, it just ain't happening for me.<br /><br />First, the good stuff:<br /><br />* It's tiny -- smaller than a Coke can.<br />* It has mic and headphone jacks<br />* It has a decent lens and decent image stabilization<br />* It uses readily available SDHC flash cards<br />* The image is great<br />* It has manual controls, including exposure and audio (YAAAAYYY!!!)<br />* It takes 37mm filters and accessory lenses<br /><br />The bad stuff:<br /><br />* The file format, AVCHD, is hard to edit<br />* There's no viewfinder, only the lcd screen<br />* Built-in mics, like many camcorders, are very susceptible to wind noise<br />* Standard battery life is short: 40-50 minutes<br />* Have to take it off tripod plate to change battery; the latch is on the bottom<br />* Manual controls are through a fiddly joystick and nested menus<br />* It has a mini hotshoe that won't take any standard mics or accessories<br />* Ergonomics are crummy<br />* No firewire<br />* Headphone jack defaults to AV and you have to switch it via menu every time for playback (but it stays put in record mode)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">HOW TO EDIT AVCHD</span><br /><br />This is a tiny high-def disk-based camcorder that shoots full HD at 1920x1080 and can also shoot several lower bitrates at 1440x1080 -- but it won't shoot standard def.<br /><br />The HF10 is an AVCHD camera with 16gb of memory onboard and it also uses SDHC cards. (A similar model, the HF100, only uses cards, with no built-in memory.)<br /><br />The AVCHD format is an extremely highly-compressed mpeg format. You need a really powerful computer to do anything with the files.<br /><br />I use Macs and on that front, you need an Intel Mac running Final Cut Studio 2 upgraded to at least 6.02. iMovie 08 is also supposed to work with the files. If you have a G4 or G5 Mac or are using Final Cut 5 to edit with, you're out of luck -- you can't even look at the clips. (A program called Voltaic will let you very slowly convert the clips, though.)<br /><br />I couldn't find anything in our office on the PC side to open the files. Premiere Pro (cs3 production suite) won't touch them, nor will Windows Movie Maker nor Windows Media Player. The HF10 comes with Pixela software, but I can't install outside software on our office computers, so I have no idea how it works.<br /><br />If you've got the horsepower and the right programs, though, editing is pretty cool. You put the card in a reader and open "log and transfer" in Final Cut 6.02 and *boom* the thumbnails are there in a list instantly. You can scrub through and preview the clips but then you have to ingest them, which even on a 3ghz Mac Pro with 8gb of memory takes a little more than real time. Overall, it's a little quicker than tape, though, 'cause you can choose just the clips you want. I think you need the whole card folder structure to do the log and transfer, so you can't just drag the media files out of the deeply-nested "stream" folder.<br /><br />When you ingest, Final Cut converts them to ProRes files, so a 15mb file on your sd card suddenly becomes 250mb on your computer.<br /><br />The 1440x1080 files will play ok on a timeline along with HDV files, but you'll need to render when you output because they don't match exactly.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">ERGNOMICS</span><br /><br />One of the biggest drawbacks is the handling of this camera. The record on/off switch is in the standard thumb position on the back, which would be fine if it had a viewfinder. But there's no secondary top-mounted record button, so you can't cradle the camera to hold it steady and still hit the button on the back. If you hold it with the grip and your thumb on the button, you have to hold it away from your body and it waves around like a California earthquake. There's no Lan-C jack to add a release, either.<br /><br />The lcd screen is pretty good, except in sunlight. The controls are on the lcd screen, and you use a combination of push buttons along the bottom and a five-way joystick at the left of the screen. You toggle the joystick to select a menu item and then push it in to execute. (It works better than the HV20 joystick but is still fiddly.) The manual controls for exposure and audio are just like the HV20 - and are still a little difficult to figure out until you've used them a lot. There aren't any zebras to check exposure and the focus is also controlled through menus, so you'll use autofocus all the time.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">MISCELLANEOUS STUFF</span><br /><br />You'll definitely need a few of the $100 higher-capacity batteries for this puppy. The stock battery is puny. You'll also need to buy class-6 (fast) SDHC cards to get the full HD video quality. But the lower bit rate settings are still pretty good, and will work with slower cards, even though it gives a warning when you put one in the slot, which is located under the lcd screen.<br /><br />It has a standard 1/4-20 tripod socket, but no locator pin hole so you can't use tripod plates with fixed locator pins. You have to remove the tripod plate to change batteries.<br /><br />The camera can't be used for live video because it doesn't have firewire, only USB. If you want to use the camera connected to your computer via USB instead of a card reader, it MUST be plugged into the ac power supply - so you're in trouble if you're in the field and forgot your card reader.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">BOTTOM LINE</span><br /><br />The handling of this camera is too awkward for news use unless you have more patience than I.<br /><br />If you've got an Intel Mac and Final Cut Studio 2 and LOTS of disk space, this is a cool little camera. You could put together a tiny travel kit with a macbook pro and a small mic kit and a tabletop tripod that would all fit in a laptop bag.<br /><br />Just make sure you can edit the files with your computer.<br /><br /><br />(In the video review, the audio is from the HF10: wide shots using the built-in mics; long shots using an Audio Technica ATR35s wired lavalier mic, which costs all of $25. Video of the Vixia was shot with a Canon XHA1. Still pictures from a Canon S3is.)</div></div>Chuck Fadelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15458703354783258851noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6019066307846366748.post-19086438382126117792008-03-04T18:45:00.003-05:002008-03-04T18:50:35.794-05:00FromDistance - Tools for Agile, Mobile ReportersOne of the companies pitching their wares here in Belgium is the Finnish company FromDistance. They make software for mobile phones (Nokias, of course, they are in Finland,) which allow reporters to post text and video directly from cell phones into their content management systems. <a href="http://www.fromdistance.com/includer.php?cat=1&subcat=2&lang=1"> Check it out. </a>Chuck Fadelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15458703354783258851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6019066307846366748.post-73331424645722435502008-03-04T17:49:00.004-05:002008-03-04T18:08:23.987-05:00Sign Of The Times: UNHCR Begs For Coverage<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZQnei3k8UZ6w-EFEzOjcKm7csiVqZu3EJxBytHEsRpVJKiMEZA7NhR_u6RNvsMc6gwtoSywZG3BMEQoRs4tDQlxxgR_HShdOcrTRyYXNVwCDbYPsGkW4U-3rcW2syUD40IzpaSDrAmWI0/s1600-h/dna2008_logo_small.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZQnei3k8UZ6w-EFEzOjcKm7csiVqZu3EJxBytHEsRpVJKiMEZA7NhR_u6RNvsMc6gwtoSywZG3BMEQoRs4tDQlxxgR_HShdOcrTRyYXNVwCDbYPsGkW4U-3rcW2syUD40IzpaSDrAmWI0/s200/dna2008_logo_small.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173649717938405938" /></a><br /><br />At the DNA2008 Video Journalism conference in Brussels, I was approached by two different media relations reps from the United Nations High Commissioners for Refugees who were virtually begging for coverage of refugee issues. Mainstream media has cut back so much that big stories go uncovered these days.<br /><br />The UNHCR media folks have set up sites that we can download video from crisis situations that we can use for our stories. And they're eager to make their staff-produced video coverage meet professional video standards, both in quality and ethics. I felt bad for these guys; they obviously had a passion for the cause but newspapers don't care any more.<br /><br />The media site for UNHCR is at <a href="http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/media?page=home">http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/media?page=home </a>Chuck Fadelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15458703354783258851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6019066307846366748.post-19936130445158197422008-03-04T17:29:00.003-05:002008-03-04T17:47:31.305-05:00DNA2008: Newspaper Video Will Die in 2008<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZQnei3k8UZ6w-EFEzOjcKm7csiVqZu3EJxBytHEsRpVJKiMEZA7NhR_u6RNvsMc6gwtoSywZG3BMEQoRs4tDQlxxgR_HShdOcrTRyYXNVwCDbYPsGkW4U-3rcW2syUD40IzpaSDrAmWI0/s1600-h/dna2008_logo_small.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZQnei3k8UZ6w-EFEzOjcKm7csiVqZu3EJxBytHEsRpVJKiMEZA7NhR_u6RNvsMc6gwtoSywZG3BMEQoRs4tDQlxxgR_HShdOcrTRyYXNVwCDbYPsGkW4U-3rcW2syUD40IzpaSDrAmWI0/s200/dna2008_logo_small.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173649717938405938" /></a><br /><br />In a panel inspired by Andy Dickinson's <a href="http://www.andydickinson.net/2008/01/02/2008-predictions-newspaper-video-will-die/">New Year's Predictions blog posting, </a> by the same name, Dickinson, myself, and Michael Rosenblum discussed what it takes to make video work at newspapers.<br /><br />You can <a href="http://chuckfadely.com/content/dna2008/video_will_die_dna08.mp3">hear part of the panel, </A>but not all of it as I was bitten by tech problems while sitting on the panel and unable to monitor the recording. Let this be a lesson: multitasking and multimedia do not mix.<br /><br />Don't get the wrong idea: none of us were predicting the death of newspaper video. However, we all agree that bad decisions by management at newspapers could put it on life support.<br /><br />I made the point that publishers need to think about the back end before handing gear to staffers -- content management systems that can embed video with stories, servers that work, players that don't piss off viewers, and tagging that Google can find. It sounds easy but very few papers are doing even these basics.Chuck Fadelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15458703354783258851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6019066307846366748.post-66747066756736996992008-03-04T17:05:00.004-05:002008-03-04T17:28:09.292-05:00DNA2008: Brand Value Through Video<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZQnei3k8UZ6w-EFEzOjcKm7csiVqZu3EJxBytHEsRpVJKiMEZA7NhR_u6RNvsMc6gwtoSywZG3BMEQoRs4tDQlxxgR_HShdOcrTRyYXNVwCDbYPsGkW4U-3rcW2syUD40IzpaSDrAmWI0/s1600-h/dna2008_logo_small.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZQnei3k8UZ6w-EFEzOjcKm7csiVqZu3EJxBytHEsRpVJKiMEZA7NhR_u6RNvsMc6gwtoSywZG3BMEQoRs4tDQlxxgR_HShdOcrTRyYXNVwCDbYPsGkW4U-3rcW2syUD40IzpaSDrAmWI0/s200/dna2008_logo_small.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173649717938405938" /></a><br /><br />I was drafted at the last second to be on the "Brand Value Through Video" panel at the DNA2008 conference in Brussels. On the panel was Michael Rosenblum, Andrew Creighton, Chief Executive, Vice Europe; and James Montgomery, Editor at FT.com.<br /><br />The ever-so-dull Financial Times has equally dull video of talking heads -- which fits their brand image precisely.<br /><br />Creighton's http://VBS.TV site is really innovative. Look at their player window -- it's a real 3-d room in which they sell product placement on the objects in the room -- the shelves, pictures, etc. They're covering world-wide stories with a small staff with a youth market orientation.<br /><br />You can listen to a recording of the session to <a href="http://chuckfadely.com/content/dna2008/video_brand_panel_dna08.mp3">hear my comments</A> on my paper's branding practices with video.Chuck Fadelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15458703354783258851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6019066307846366748.post-53299460827391095302008-03-03T18:18:00.008-05:002008-03-03T18:52:07.191-05:00Can Video Save the Print Industry?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZQnei3k8UZ6w-EFEzOjcKm7csiVqZu3EJxBytHEsRpVJKiMEZA7NhR_u6RNvsMc6gwtoSywZG3BMEQoRs4tDQlxxgR_HShdOcrTRyYXNVwCDbYPsGkW4U-3rcW2syUD40IzpaSDrAmWI0/s1600-h/dna2008_logo_small.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZQnei3k8UZ6w-EFEzOjcKm7csiVqZu3EJxBytHEsRpVJKiMEZA7NhR_u6RNvsMc6gwtoSywZG3BMEQoRs4tDQlxxgR_HShdOcrTRyYXNVwCDbYPsGkW4U-3rcW2syUD40IzpaSDrAmWI0/s200/dna2008_logo_small.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173649717938405938" /></a><br /><br />A panel discussion today at the Digital News Affairs 2008 video journalism conference in Belgium attempted to answer the question: Can video save the print industry?<br /><br />Moderator Richard Gizbert from Al Jazeera International speaks with:<br />Edward Roussel, Digital Editor, Telegraph (U.K.) Media Group;<br />Bas Broekhuizen, Editor, Volkskrant TV;<br />Charles de Broede, Online chief Editor, de Telegraaf;<br />Adriaan Bouten, Sr. VP and Chief Information Officer, McGraw-Hill;<br />and Joris Van Heukelom, CEO, Ilse Media<br /><br /><a href="http://chuckfadely.com/content/dna2008/Can_video_save_print_dna08.mp3">You can hear the hour-long discussion by clicking here.</A><br /><br />Many of the panelists agreed that the culture in a newspaper's executive suite was the biggest stumbling block to video. And the difficulty in selling ads is a problem. There is some optimism that targeted advertising in video will be profitable.<br /><br />But how to achieve success was still an unkown. Charles de Broede from de Telegraaf advocates for live streams and more of a TV model, while Joris Van Heukelom of Ilse Media says to give up the head of the long tail to broadcast and put your resources in the long tail of searchable video.<br /><br />Adriaan Bouten noted that their business-to-business subscripton videos on construction techniques were doing well financially but that biz-to-consumer video was not.<br /><br />Apparently, the question of whether video can save the print industry is not an easy one to answer.Chuck Fadelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15458703354783258851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6019066307846366748.post-22891582626062131472008-03-03T17:28:00.004-05:002008-03-03T17:43:39.945-05:00Newspapers Can Make Money from Video<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZQnei3k8UZ6w-EFEzOjcKm7csiVqZu3EJxBytHEsRpVJKiMEZA7NhR_u6RNvsMc6gwtoSywZG3BMEQoRs4tDQlxxgR_HShdOcrTRyYXNVwCDbYPsGkW4U-3rcW2syUD40IzpaSDrAmWI0/s1600-h/dna2008_logo_small.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZQnei3k8UZ6w-EFEzOjcKm7csiVqZu3EJxBytHEsRpVJKiMEZA7NhR_u6RNvsMc6gwtoSywZG3BMEQoRs4tDQlxxgR_HShdOcrTRyYXNVwCDbYPsGkW4U-3rcW2syUD40IzpaSDrAmWI0/s200/dna2008_logo_small.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173649717938405938" /></a><br /><br />I spoke today to Ernest Bujok, the manager of the <a href="http://www.concentra.be/">Concentra Media</a> group's video and radio operations.<br /><br />Concentra Media, a chain of newspapers in Belgium, bought cable television stations and turned them into the most profitable part of their business.<br /><br />Rather than trying to convert their newspaper newsrooms, they use separate staffs in a separate building, using VJ's to cover local news and events.<br /><br />While the newspapers are running at six percent profit, the television stations are running at 30% profit.<br /><br /> <a href="http://chuckfadely.com/content/dna2008/ernest_bujok_concentra.MP3">Click on this link to hear the whole seven minute interview.</A>Chuck Fadelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15458703354783258851noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6019066307846366748.post-68219980277266187822008-03-03T17:04:00.012-05:002008-03-03T17:17:07.940-05:00Concentra Award-Winning Video Journalism<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDPCpis7m8vCkzxe71gk12HfIrXKJbxZuZLI63BhcThK_6pdFFPWLqH6krcYDlxaOhmMW5rzUAXd4tSlgFTBY8GPm8FmwEz-0ZuhdDtpAQZUO_FdaB1joP4eWG2bgpDOOoua8L4QIegKj8/s1600-h/dna2008_krogstad_winner.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:10px 10px 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDPCpis7m8vCkzxe71gk12HfIrXKJbxZuZLI63BhcThK_6pdFFPWLqH6krcYDlxaOhmMW5rzUAXd4tSlgFTBY8GPm8FmwEz-0ZuhdDtpAQZUO_FdaB1joP4eWG2bgpDOOoua8L4QIegKj8/s200/dna2008_krogstad_winner.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173641630514987554" /></a><br /><br />At the DNA 2008 conference the winner of the Concentra 10,000-Euro prize for solo video journalism was announced tonight. The winner was Idar Eduin Krogstad, from NRK Østafjells (Norway). His winning piece, entitled "Night Watch", is a look at the lives of nurses at a nursing home and can be seen on the <a href="http://www.theconcentra.org/en/nominees/2008/idar-eduin-krogstad/">Concentra </a>site.<br /><br />Krogstad holds his statue of Tin Tin the Belgian comic hero as he accepts the award:Chuck Fadelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15458703354783258851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6019066307846366748.post-3501491861491659142008-03-03T16:10:00.017-05:002008-03-03T19:19:42.728-05:00Video Journalism: A "500-Year Storm"<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3y0W4Pou0tvn7gxdDKNCQDKkhrnjr4mlAITbZh5jFTZSDJR9Yc9IcJ7RK71hPz7Iu_0xFqCfM05-u4Ty_PfT3O8VuFaDRzFs70VgPD8YJF5qpgMnmJCvypnFt3JdOp4a4h4TBn0mixS-Z/s1600-h/dna2008_logo_small.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3y0W4Pou0tvn7gxdDKNCQDKkhrnjr4mlAITbZh5jFTZSDJR9Yc9IcJ7RK71hPz7Iu_0xFqCfM05-u4Ty_PfT3O8VuFaDRzFs70VgPD8YJF5qpgMnmJCvypnFt3JdOp4a4h4TBn0mixS-Z/s320/dna2008_logo_small.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173636115776979442" /></a><br /><br /><br />I am in Belgium for the Digital News Affairs video journalism conference<br /><br />Michael Rosenblum, who trains VJ's and produces TV shows, gave the opening remarks at the DNA 2008 Digital News Affairs conference in Brussels, Belgium today. Michael is a well-known evangelist for the one-man-band VJ model, hailed by some as a visionary and reviled by traditional television crews as someone who is trying to kill TV.<br /><br />He talked about the coming storm in the news industry, a storm which will be brought about by new technology putting the means of producing television into the hands of anyone.<br /><br />"In the world of journalism and technology ... we are headed for the 500-year storm. There is a giant tidal wave out there."<br /><br />"500 years ago Gutenberg brought the printing press to bear. Gutenberg thought the printing press was about making cheaper bibles and so did everyone else. But that's not what it did. What the printing press did; it put the ability to publish in the hands of anyone who wanted to try, and that changed the world."<br /><br />"The invention of the printing press... brought about the world of a free press, which is what we live in today." <br /><br />"We don't live in a world of print; we live in a world of video and online. And these little cameras, and these laptops; these are the Gutenberg printing press of the 21st Century."<br /><br />"They make it possible for anyone with an idea to publish in the most common medium in the world... <br /><br />"This technological storm is going to wash away most of what we understand today and replace it with something entirely different. Whether you participate in it or are taken away by it, is entirely in your hands. But it is going to come."<br /><br /> <a href="http://chuckfadely.com/content/dna2008/rosenblum_keynote_dna08.mp3">Click on this link to hear the whole 25 minutes of the speech.</A><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUZnYaGLFAfn2Y7z5V9BbSP93Xbm0Z5KJXXztr4oaSV94ivqYVdUNPC0WVtbCOZQeiGIy89YPxwXC7Tl1XABlFgbUhmgeatvhFX3QUs_W5UPiNgVVooQedMgpQrZ8l9qMey0dnmHLQhIv4/s1600-h/rosenblum_dna2008.jpg"><img style="float:center; margin:10px 10px 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUZnYaGLFAfn2Y7z5V9BbSP93Xbm0Z5KJXXztr4oaSV94ivqYVdUNPC0WVtbCOZQeiGIy89YPxwXC7Tl1XABlFgbUhmgeatvhFX3QUs_W5UPiNgVVooQedMgpQrZ8l9qMey0dnmHLQhIv4/s200/rosenblum_dna2008.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173637060669784578" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />Michael Rosenblum <br />(photo by Chuck Fadely)Chuck Fadelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15458703354783258851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6019066307846366748.post-84612046324709663222007-11-29T21:39:00.000-05:002007-11-29T21:53:56.277-05:00Gear recommendations<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL29RorlhFmf-ZWj2nACYUVVvk3iy_6Qv4T0jT2h3zR3yILFgEtPlyKFpr_KdAk2f0ArwJcu6E7EunHyHoXZV3voYEOyMN-hLfhOx2Gxs1H6IXS6H-U9r701vePS19_d4caEjZ-TmUFdOv/s1600-r/XH_A1_profile.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij6DV8ca27zjFOEPKIAe7kvSJc8CUjmaVY3zhJGBmgwvT8H7Nvp9L69uDrAqRQnmmf9xbiihiKrzgfLniJHYlP7P7kIrjLh3_H7Ap_Xxi3w0LE5UhGcpRibjIVU8tmExF1sIjMjFDa_3az/s320/XH_A1_profile.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138459141140451650" /></a><br /><br />Here's what I use that's essential if you're going to be doing video as your full-time job and you give a s__t about the results:<br /><br />* XHA1 with 4 BP970G batteries (I've never exhausted even one - you could go for a week non-stop on four)<br />* Sennheiser ME64 mic with K6 module and right-angle 18" xlr cable and Ricote softie wind muff and xlr "y" splitter and various xlr cables<br />* Sennheiser EW100 G2 ENG wireless kit from B&H with lav mic, EV stick mic and plug-on transmitter (look at the Sennheiser site to pick which freq range won't conflict with uhf tv stations in your area.)<br />* Canon VL-10Li II light (uses camera batteries)<br />* Sachtler DV-II tripod (actually I use a Cartoni, but we have several of these and they're ok for a cheap tripod - only $1k!)<br />* Porta Brace bag, whose model number I don't know, 'cause I inherited it from our defunct creative services department<br />* Petrol rain cover<br />* Lowel Rifa Pro 44 light kit and Impact dimmers<br />* Shure E2C earbuds and Sony MD7506 headphones<br /><br />I can't emphasize enough how important the mics are -- this list gives you three different mics which will cover 80% of your assignments well and let you get by on the rest. If your budget is limited, get the mics first and a cheaper camera.<br /><br />I also can't emphasize enough how important a decent tripod is. You can get by with a Libec $400 tripod, but that's the least you can spend, I'm afraid.<br /><br />I've got the Canon wide angle but never use it anymore. Another of our videographers depends on it and never takes it off the camera. Your mileage may vary.<br /><br />This adds up to a scary amount of money, I'm afraid, but compared to the TV world it's cheap.Chuck Fadelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15458703354783258851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6019066307846366748.post-7594666282846904842007-10-29T07:18:00.000-05:002007-10-29T07:23:21.701-05:00Remember the Basics While Shooting Video!A plea I wrote to our less-experienced shooters, whose footage I have to help edit:<br /><br /><br />This is a gentle reminder to remember the basics.<br /><br />First, the point of daily video is to get it on the web asap. We need to shoot, get into the office, and get it out with speed in mind.<br /><br />So remember your training:<br /><br />Get your narrative A-roll. Pull someone aside and get them to explain what happened in one minute or less. Make sure it matches your B-roll.<br /><br />Shoot transitions: Get in front of the action, plant yourself, hold the camera steady and let the action come into the frame and then go out of the frame.<br /><br />Shoot sequences: Wide medium tight . Beginning middle end . Getting ready, action, reaction.<br /><br />Shoot details and closeups.<br /><br />Audio that goes into the red is unusable. Wear your headphones! <br /><br />God gave us tripods for a reason.... If you don't have a tripod, use your camera bag, a table, a tree, a post, ... whatever is steady.<br /><br />Pre-roll and post-roll. We gotta have a little tape before someone starts talking. Also waste a minute of tape when you load the camera (shoot closeups of your assignment sheet; future editors will thank you!)<br /><br />Keep your finger off the zoom! Use your feet! Hold your shots steady for ten seconds. Count it off!Chuck Fadelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15458703354783258851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6019066307846366748.post-60485141434695312112007-09-05T23:37:00.000-05:002007-09-05T23:42:47.190-05:00In their own words: Times-Picayune photo staff's Katrina coverage<embed style="width:400px; height:326px;" id="VideoPlayback" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=3989911357450927172&hl=en" flashvars=""> </embed><br /><br />From the New Orleans Times-Picayune, a very powerful look back at how their staff felt while covering Katrina.<br /><br />Produced by the Times-Picayune's Danny Bourque.<br /><br />It's a must-see if you work for a newspaper. It explains why we do this job.<br /><br />BRAVO!Chuck Fadelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15458703354783258851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6019066307846366748.post-12574922538138312442007-08-14T23:12:00.000-05:002007-08-15T23:21:37.469-05:00HD video from still cameras -- Kodak Z1275 and Canon TX1<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/XMDCijIFdhM"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/XMDCijIFdhM" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><br />I clamped three still cameras together and tried out their video functions today.<br /><br />Two of them are new and capture HD 720p high-def video. The Kodak Z1275 just came out and the Canon TX1 is still an infant. They both are small, Elph-sized cameras that take both stills and video.<br /><br />The third camera was the Canon Powershot S3is, which shoots 640x480 video.<br /><br />Both of the HD cameras have problems with video -- the Kodak's image stabilization is worse than useless and can't be turned off. It actually makes the video jump around. The Canon TX1 jumps in and out of focus. Both are too small and light to hand-hold steadily.<br /><br />The S3is actually makes the best, steadiest video. And even though it's video is lower resolution, it looks better.<br /><br />The Kodak shoots mp4 Quicktime .mov files which are one fourth the size of the .avi files from the Canons.<br /><br />All three are pretty good still cameras. I love the 16:9 aspect ratio you can set on the Kodak and TX1. I don't like the almost-but-not-quite square format of the 4:3 aspect pictures you get with the S3is. <br /><br />The Kodak actually has a useable 1600 iso setting that I think breaks new ground for small point-n-shoots. Unfortunately AA batteries only last about 15 minutes in this camera.<br /><br />I clamped all three cameras on a c-stand arm and synched them up in post. You're hearing all three audio tracks at once, though mostly what you're hearing is the S3is -- it has the best and loudest audio of the three. I know you can't tell much from this video, but trust me, the HD from these cameras isn't ready for the big screen yet!Chuck Fadelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15458703354783258851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6019066307846366748.post-91821160654659100522007-07-17T19:27:00.000-05:002007-07-17T19:29:34.552-05:00Roanoke reporter videoI recently spoke at a University of Florida seminar and it is posted on Mindy McAdams' blog at:<br />http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/2007/newspaper-video-experts-what-theyre-doing/<br /><br />I’d like to point out that I may have given a wrong impression in describing Roanoke’s videos.<br /><br />I characterized their video efforts as low end, mixed with photographers’ high-end video. <br /><br />Rather than using point-and-shoot cameras as I said, they are using decent mini-dv cameras in their newsroom and have brought in outside training for their reporters to make sure their quality stays high. The video I showed during the presentation was not typical of their report.<br /><br />I was trying to differentiate between Roanoke.com’s deliberately not-like-TV approach to video and the TV-on-the-net approach of their sister company, HamptonRoads.tv. I was trying to point out the very different approaches taken by different papers in the U.S., and made it sound like Roanoke doesn’t do quality work. Nothing could be further from the truth. (In my defense, I was trying to avoid mentioning that paper in California that I usually pick on…. )<br /><br />I did not highlight some of the great and sophisticated reporter’s work (such as http://www.roanoke.com/multimedia/video/wb/120830 (High School graduate takes big steps))that they’re doing in Roanoke on a regular basis, so I left the impression that they’re only doing low-end. They aren’t. Roanoke is doing incredible work in multimedia. Their day-in and day-out multimedia coverage of Virginia Tech athletics is a model for our industry and is something I regularly point to as the way it should be done.<br /><br />If this sounds like I’m sucking up to Seth Gitner and his work at Roanoke, you’re right. He’s doing things right there and I wronged him when I shouldn’t have. In this era of ever-tightening budgets and reduced resources, Roanoke still manages to produce quality work on a daily basis.<br /><br />My apologies.<br />Chuck FadelyChuck Fadelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15458703354783258851noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6019066307846366748.post-27898680099247789842007-06-20T23:27:00.000-05:002007-06-21T00:00:32.919-05:00It's Not About GearSeems like every time I open my mouth about spending money for good gear, people get upset.<br /><br />But I'm not advocating spending a bunch of money to equip reporters with good gear. Not at all. That's a waste.<br /><br />I'm advocating spending a bunch of money to train some staffers to be full-time video professionals. And if you're going to do that, then equip them with decent video gear. Doesn't matter if they're photogs or reporters. Pick the visually literate people who can tell stories and who get along with technology.<br /><br />It'll take at least three months to get them up to speed if you already have video pros aboard who can train them. It'll take a year if they're learning in a vacuum.<br /><br />Creating compelling stories in video is hard.Chuck Fadelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15458703354783258851noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6019066307846366748.post-87346597982615068992007-06-08T01:08:00.001-05:002007-06-14T13:13:23.605-05:00The Great Video Gold Rush -- a reality check.The publishers have sighted gold in them thar video player hills.<br /><br />All the newspaper people have piled into the wagons and are heading west toward Video, in the hopes of striking it rich. Imagine! Those pre-roll ads get higher rates than banners! Let's do video!!!! The rush is on!<br /><br />Someone on the internet said you can do video with a point and shoot! Let's give our staffers the cheapest video cameras we can buy and send 'em out. We'll be rich!<br /><br /><blockquote>Well, folks, circle the wagons around the campfire here and lets have a little chat.</blockquote><br /><br />This video stuff ain't easy nor cheap. No matter how many well-intentioned bloggers tell you all you need is a $89 camera and the will to do it, the reality is far different.<br /><br />It takes good audio gear, reasonable video gear, modern computers, and most of all, time, to produce intelligible video for the web.<br /><br />So many papers have staffers struggling along with antideluvian computers and too many assignments to ever cover in a day.... and now corporate says they have to do video, too! I feel for you, brothers....<br /><br />Since newspaper people have apoplexy at the thought of TV budgets, where a camera costs $25,000 - not including lens or battery -- I'll try to make an analogy with something most newspapers are familiar with: photos.<br /><br />Most newspapers have photographers with pro Canon or Nikon gear to shoot the majority of their display pictures. Sure, even the big papers use the reporter's point-n-shoot mug shots when necessary. And when the plane crashes into the shopping mall, I guarantee the picture you'll use will probably be some amateur's coolpix shot -- because they were there, and your photog was in south county for the garden league meeting.<br /><br />But no respectable paper intentionally makes a habit of putting crappy pictures on their section fronts. They have staff photographers with $15,000 worth of still gear to go make an image out of something that's news but not really visual. That's a staff photographer's job: make something visually interesting from nothing. You're paying them to see things you don't.<br /><br />And the reason you pay them weekly weakly, is that readers value good images. Pictures rule. They're what readers look at first. Photographers, for all their A.D.D. and dyslexic faults, draw readers. They're worth it.<br /><br /><blockquote>After decades of experience with photo departments and visual professionals, here's the strange place we've landed:</blockquote><br /><br />The internet audience is growing and you want your staff -- from the janitor all the way up to the M.E. -- to contribute to the web product. Video! Let's do lots of video! There was some guy at the publisher's association meeting who said all you need is a point-n-shoot; let's get 'em for everyone. How 'bout the photogs? Nahhh, they care about silly quality.... we won't ask them about doing video... We'll get the web people and reporters to do video.<br /><br />So the reporters start doing video. All of a sudden the story they used to be able to write blindfolded, in five minutes while doing the office football pool, takes 'em six hours of work to get the video into their computers, figure out why Movie Maker keeps crashing -- I've got 128 megs of ram, fer krissake! -- and finally re-compress the file into the right size on the third try.<br /><br />And the web people? Well, they don't have a problem figuring out Movie Maker, but gee, maybe that video they just finished should have said something about the three dead or maybe included someone besides Crazy Joe who likes to pretend to be the mayor. Oh, wait, that was the managing editor's video? Oh, no problem then....<br /><br />A few months of this and the landscape starts to change at papers. Gee, why don't our videos get as many hits as LonelyGirl15?<br /><br />All of a sudden you're moving someone over to edit video because it takes so long and gosh, the publisher says he can't understand a word in any of those videos... maybe we need a better mic. But some corporate flunky type who was at the ANPA meeting with the boss has decided what gear you're getting... after all, his cousin does dog show videos.<br /><br />Sheesh, people, get a clue!<br /><br /><blockquote>Ok, cowboys and cowgirls, here comes the sermon:</blockquote><br /><br />VIDEO IS MAGIC! It's the most f'ing wonderful thing on the internet. YouTube feeds millions of videos per day to your former readers. Video is an emotional medium that grabs the viewers by the throat and makes 'em weep, laugh, and scream. Video appeals to an audience way beyond your literate readers in the 65+ demographic. The boss did say we need to capture younger readers, right?<br /><br />Does your reporter video fit into that "magic" category? Does your 'random' video make you weep? (It makes me weep, but not because of the story...)<br /><br />If you haven't reached this point yet with your video program, here's the important stuff you need to know:<br /><br />Video storytelling is technically difficult; extremely time-consuming, and takes talented people and expensive gear. A good video story can appeal to a huge audience. And will keep appealing over time.<br /><br />Video clips, on the other hand, can be done by almost anyone with a point-n-shoot. We're talking the video equivalent of a page 4B traffic accident brief. A video clip appeals to the 17 people who were affected by the wreck (unless it's a porn starlet).<br /><br />Remember way up above when I was talking about your photogs doing the section front pictures while you used the reporter mug shots on page 6B? That's a concept you should be able to wrap your minds around. Hey, maybe the same philosphy applies to video.... maybe you should have a core group of video pros to do the display stories and let the reporters and citizen journalists do the potholes and car wrecks.<br /><br />Here's the bottom line: to get good narrative video, with clean audio, that is engaging to the viewer, requires a full time video person, who has spent a year learning all the technical stuff about audio, cameras, and video editing programs. It takes about $10,000 in video and audio gear and another $10k in computer and software. And it takes a willingness to display that video far and wide over an extended period of time to get hits that build over time. Oh, and the technology is not stable, so you'll need to replace everything before the depreciation's done.<br /><br />Who makes a good videographer? You've probably got a couple on staff. Great story-tellers with the timing of a comedian who are technically savvy, visually literate, and quick learners. Invest in them, they're worth it.<br /><br />And why should you go to all this expense and trouble? Because video is magic. Oh, and also because the local TV station is finally figuring out that you're eating their lunch. They're gonna kick your butt in video soon, along with 3,472 other outlets on the web who want to come steal your local advertisers from you. You better figure this video stuff out soon.<br /><br /><br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://media.miamiherald.com/static/media/flvplayer_embedded.swf?file=http://media.miamiherald.com/smedia/2007/06/07/21/chicken_busters.source.prod_affiliate.56.flv&autostart=false"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://media.miamiherald.com/static/media/flvplayer_embedded.swf?file=http://media.miamiherald.com/smedia/2007/06/07/21/chicken_busters.source.prod_affiliate.56.flv&autostart=false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><br />(A bit of video magic by Candace Barbot and Ricardo Lopez / the Miami Herald)Chuck Fadelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15458703354783258851noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6019066307846366748.post-73957750874093114232007-05-19T00:01:00.000-05:002007-05-19T00:12:26.643-05:00Change is in the airBill Gates in the Seattle PI:<br />"On television: "This is a subject I think about a lot, because it was actually about a little over 10 years ago that Microsoft first got involved in this idea of changing TV from being a simply broadcast medium to being a targeted medium (through its IPTV initiative). ... In order to have this be targeted, you cannot send it over the airwaves. There's just not enough capacity to broadcast thousands and thousands of different video feeds. And that's where the Internet comes in. The Internet is now cheap enough that the idea of having every household in America watching a different video feed has become practical. There's some infrastructure improvement that that implies. Actually, that's very much under way. ... It's a dramatic change in TV. ... Broadcast infrastructure over these next five years will not be viewed as competitive. The end-user experience and the creativity, the new content that will emerge using the capabilities of this environment will be so much dramatically better that broadcast TV will not be competitive. And in this environment, the ads will be targeted, not just targeted to the neighborhood level, but targeted to the viewer. ... We'll actually not just know the household that that viewing is taking place in, we'll actually know who the viewers of that show are, and so it's a very rich environment."<br /><a href="http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/microsoft/archives/115076.asp">Seattle PI: Todd Bishop's Microsoft Blog</a><br /><br />------<br /><br />I lived through the linotype-to-typesetter revolution in newspapers. I watched the paste-up artists walk out the door the last time. That entire floor of our building, once an incredible beehive of frenzied activity, is still like a tomb, 20 years later -- because the computer rooms that replaced hundreds of jobs are sealed off and refrigerated like the morgue.<br /><br />That kind of paradigm change is happening again with video. As you TV guys argue big camera vs. small, professionalism vs amateur, penny pinching vs. quality, the world is bypassing you. YouTube is feeding 200 million videos a day. That's 2 with eight zeros after it.<br /><br />As we speak, probably a thousand photographers and reporters at newspapers across the country are figuring out how to use a video camera. Already newspapers outpace television in online video revenue. <br /><br />But both newspapers and local tv depend on local advertising -- and that revenue model is shifting even faster than camera technology. It ain't about mass market anymore. It's about targeted publication. And small targeted advertising to niche audiences won't support my newsroom nor yours. Everything will change. <br /><br />The question is, how fast?Chuck Fadelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15458703354783258851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6019066307846366748.post-84018196409484159922007-04-18T21:42:00.001-05:002007-04-18T22:38:57.589-05:00News from NABI didn't make it to NAB, the huge broadcast trade show, but am eagerly following the announcements from there.<br /><br />Perhaps the biggest news for us online video folk were the competing announcements from Microsoft and Adobe. Microsoft is introducing a new media player, Silverlight, and Adobe is announcing the Adobe Media Player. Both are for web video and both will change our world. <br /><br />From <a href="http://www.streamingmedia.com/article.asp?id=9549">StreamingMedia.com,</a> "Major announcements this morning at NAB 2007 from both Adobe and Microsoft find each one vying the lead in the ever-more-lucrative online video market. Adobe announced its Adobe Media Player, a standalone video player that gives Flash Video DRM for the first time, while Microsoft introduced Silverlight, a cross-platform, cross-browser media and application delivery plug-in."<br /><br />Also announced at NAB, the Associated Press Online Video Network, with the ability to upload local content to the AP player, is no longer a beta product. From their press release, via <a href="http://www.lostremote.com/2007/04/17/ap-online-video-network-adds-local-content-uploads/">LostRemote.com,</a>: "With its initial year growth reaching 45<br />million unduplicated unique visitors, AP has completed beta testing and<br />today announced the next phase of its Online Video Network (OVN), which is<br />based on MSN technology. The release of the local contribution module<br />enables AP OVN affiliates to leverage AP breaking news video and national<br />advertising sales managed by Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions. In<br />addition, affiliates can add local video and generate revenue from local<br />advertisers."<br /><br />And from the Radio Television News Directors Association panel on News 2.0, Michael Rosenblum says to burn down the television stations:<br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/P6E4fxHc33M"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/P6E4fxHc33M" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><br />If you're a masochist, the whole 64 minute panel discussion, including Amanda Congdon, is on <a href="http://www.blip.tv/file/201859/">Blip.tv</a><br /><br />The other big news is from Apple: Final Cut Studio 2.0. Mix formats on a single timeline. Pro color grading. Flash files output from Compressor. It's awesome. So's their trailer:<br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/V2y8YPq5QA0"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/V2y8YPq5QA0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>Chuck Fadelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15458703354783258851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6019066307846366748.post-89444644297478698922007-03-21T23:49:00.000-05:002007-03-21T23:56:18.575-05:00Stunt JournalismI'm off on a blogging adventure. Check out <a href="http://miamiherald.typepad.com/unlikely_passage"> Unlikely Passage </a>.<br /><br />The video on the blog is mostly from a Canon S3is which makes great pictures but produces really unuseable sound. This trip is a test of technology -- I'm testing a Sprint Rev A USB modem which works great for sending video.Chuck Fadelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15458703354783258851noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6019066307846366748.post-64864035553197709092007-03-10T15:32:00.000-05:002007-03-13T23:19:54.364-05:00Good Newspaper Web Video"Where's the good newspaper web video?" I'm asked.<br /><br />Some of the best newspaper video is not just video but a mix of video, stills, graphics and words. Some of the best is narrative; some not. Here's are links to some cool stuff:<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/video/">Dallas News </a>is doing some great work and is well along in converting all its still shooters into video shooters. They do good stuff almost every day. But their Katrina anniversary package is very moving: <a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/photography/2006/katrina_anniversary/"> A Year after the Heartbreak </a> shows that David Leeson understands that video - even when done with stills - is an emotional medium. Also check out <a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/spe/2006/yolanda/"> Yolanda's Crossing </a>. Dallas' Leeson has some of their good stuff on iTunes podcasts: <a href="itpc://rss.mac.com/davidjleeson/iWeb/Best/Podcast/rss.xml">Best Of</a>, which includes <a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/VideoPlayer/videoPlayer.php?s=y&vidId=110950&catId=342">Moments 2006</a>, which is still on their site along with <a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/longterm/stories/122406dnwebvideo.3ac03dbf.html">Leeson's blog</a>, which lists a bunch of good video. Whew!<br /><br />Tom Van Dyke at the Chicago Tribune did this <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBjpyKWaZ2E"> weather feature </a> on one of his first outings with a new video camera - and instead of trying to do TV, he found a great character: <br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZBjpyKWaZ2E"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZBjpyKWaZ2E" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><br />(And why can't I embed video from any newspaper sites?)<br /><br />Everyone knows about Travis Fox at the Washington Post, but they've got some other great talent: <a href=" http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/video/2007/01/09/VI2007010900786.html"> Drumline </a> by Preston Keres has the rhythm. And <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/video/2006/06/01/VI2006060100940.html">Justin's Got Game</a> is a good hoops story by Pierre Kattar.<br /><br />Stephen Crowley at the New York Times (who's only been at it a year) has done some cool stuff with reporter Charlie LeDuff on their series <a href="http://nytimes.com/ref/us/album_index.html"> American Album </a>.<br /><br />Roger Richards at the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot edited and produced <a href="http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=119151&ran=68678"> My Favorite Child</a>, a moving story about the lasting effects of institutionalizing a child with Down Syndrome.<br /><br />And some newspaper video doesn't have a frame of video in it: <a href="http://alt.coxnewsweb.com/palmbeachpost/photos/accent/tj/tj.html"> Train Jumping </a> from Gary Coronado and writer Christine Evans at the Palm Beach Post isn't video but has nat-sound driven narrative. <br /><br />At the opposite end of the spectrum, Richard Koci Hernandez and Dai Sugano and the rest of the staff over at the San Jose Mercury News are pushing the envelope with their interpretive video, and though there are sometimes rough edges it's always fresh: <a href="http://www.mercurynewsphoto.com/2007/03/08/friday-night-7-bamboo/"> Friday Night: 7 Bamboo, </a> a karaoke bar story by Dai Sugano is very different from what we're used to and Richard's solo production of <a href="http://www.mercurynewsphoto.com/train/"> Red Hot Rails, </a> a Flash/video/still examination of the explosion of railroad traffic due to increasing imports, is great. And <a href="http://www.mercurynewsphoto.com/2007/02/09/the-extreme-south-west/"> The Extreme Southwest </a> is art, as is Richard's essay on the <a href="http://www.mercurynewsphoto.com/season/seasons.html"> the Seasons</a>.<br /><br />Lest we forget our friends up north, the National Post produced <a href="http://video.canada.com/VideoContent.aspx?10883&vc=1&popup=1">Eastside Blues</a> as their very first attempt at video. The Toronto Star's Bernard Weil has a little more experience and has a good <a href="http://www.thestar.com/videoGallery/default?movieURL=http://media.thestar.com/video/Skater640x360flx.flv&movieRatio=normal&id=1">Skating</a> video.<br /><br />UPDATE: <br />The Detroit Free Press is also doing some good work covering the military and Iraq: <a href="http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061226/VIDEO01/103120127">The Christmas from Fallujah video by Dave Gilkey </a>. And <a href="http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060924/VIDEO01/111250001">the first Michigan Band of Brothers video</a> of their training in the Mojave Desert before their deployment to Iraq. They also covered a Marine <a href="http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061119/VIDEO01/61119002">funeral</a>, covered by two shooters (in the same video) in Iraq and Michigan. (Needs Firefox on a Mac.)<br /><br />Sonya Doctorian at the Rocky Mountain News has done a lot of good stuff, including <a href="http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/other_spotlight/article/0,2777,DRMN_23960_4828753,00.html ">A Sister's Gift </a>.<br /><br /><br /><br />Please, dive into the comments and add some more!Chuck Fadelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15458703354783258851noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6019066307846366748.post-66462464577827370632007-03-09T10:54:00.000-05:002007-03-09T11:24:55.157-05:00What standards should newspaper video have?The judges' decision to withhold awards from some web video categories in the <a href="https://www.communicationsmgr.com/projects/1296/default.asp"> NPPA Best of TV Photojournalism </a> contest has caused a lot of <a href="http://commonsensej.blogspot.com/2007/03/should-online-video-be-held-to-tv.html">discussion</a> about what we're doing in the industry and what standards we should have.<br /><br />Looking beyond the abrasive tone (TV photog/<a href="http://lenslinger.blogspot.com/ ">blogger</a> 'Lenslinger' and new media guru Howard Owens are having a Jerry Springer moment over on Howard's <a href="http://www.howardowens.com/2007/new-standards-needed-for-judging-online-video/"> blog </a>) the point that Stewart Lenslinger Pittman is making is not that TV and still SHOOTERS are different, but rather that video and still SHOOTING is different.<br /><br />The actual points that Lenslinger brings up are valid: He says that the contest judges' decision to withhold awards in some online categories "seeks to establish a standard of visual storytelling that transcends outlet, medium or format.... (consumers) don't want to struggle to understand anything - not in a 500 channel, infinite website world." And he says "With fewer time restrictions and a ubiquitous delivery method, the newspaper industry can indeed rewrite the book on video news. No one's demanding your fare be as slick (and vapid) as what we churn out on the evening news, but it must be clear, clean and easy to follow." Howard Owens generally argues that video can be used as a facet of a story -- and it doesn't have be THE story. Once you edit out the vitriol, both sides are perfectly reasonable positions. <br /><br />Contests always represent lofty ideals. The contest winners, still or video, are what we should aspire to. Reality is always different. No one can produce contest-winning work on every assignment if they're doing it daily.<br /><br />Very few people at newspapers have a grasp of how vastly different narrative video is from what they're used to doing. Good video storytelling is emotional and temporal. Newspaper editors try to avoid emotion and seek to capture information at a particular point in time. Newspapers' stock-in-trade is providing facts and figures -- something video is ill-suited to provide. <br /><br />The web is a great publishing platform because story telling can take almost any form. Words, graphics, tables and charts, videos, stills, and who knows what else. But most newspapers have not yet learned how to choose which format to use with which stories. Video is new and novel for newspapers. But stock market tables, after-the-fact police blotter items, and check-passing banquets shouldn't be covered in video. We shouldn't be focusing on doing the video equivalents of 1/2-column mugshots.<br /><br />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. Contests can point us toward that goal.Chuck Fadelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15458703354783258851noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6019066307846366748.post-74568884658614821662007-03-05T23:40:00.000-05:002007-03-12T03:56:26.071-05:00Who says web video has to be short?Ya gotta love the internet.<br /><br />On Google Video, a minute :43 of Anna Nicole being <a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4710671211021505216">sleazy </a> is trailing in page views to <a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4312730277175242198">conspiracy </a> theories at an hour and 49 minutes.<br /><br />Of course the anti-immigration folks have 14 minutes of <a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4094926727128068265"> numbers</a>.<br /><br />All three have over a million and half views.<br /><br />And here I thought 90 seconds was the key to web video.....<br /><br />That any of these three are in the "most popular" category is scary. Notably absent from any of the video popularity lists is anything resembling journalism.<br /><br />Of course, they're way behind the five million views of <a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7866929448192753501"> another </a> conspiracy video that's an hour and a half long. (This one disturbingly opens with a notice that the material in the video is stolen ("contains unlicensed footage.."))<br /><br />But really, we're in a hurry after all: witness the six and half million views of a 13-second <a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8922875251875301807">panda sneeze</a>: I guess there's some virtue to brevity.<br /><br /><embed style="width:400px; height:326px;" id="VideoPlayback" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=8922875251875301807&hl=en" flashvars=""> </embed><br /><br />Of course, while we're on the subject of long videos, you can learn a lot about editing from watching eight minutes of crazy Russian climbers:<br /><embed style="width:400px; height:326px;" id="VideoPlayback" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=515642196227308929&hl=en" flashvars=""> </embed><br />Pay attention to the transitions here -- how they get from one scene to another. No, not the stupid pixelation thing, I'm talking about the way they let the action go out of the frame. This one's got over 11 million views.<br /><br />And finally, the sports video <a href="http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=type%3Asports%20OR%20genre%3Asports"> category </a> is filled with long, half-hour plus videos.<br /><br />So what's better? Long or short?Chuck Fadelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15458703354783258851noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6019066307846366748.post-64034227806936971652007-02-26T08:38:00.000-05:002007-02-26T08:42:37.067-05:00Red HotsRichard Koci Hernandez of the San Jose Mercury News put together a great multimedia package about the resurgence of rail traffic due to increased imports. It's a package that really breaks away from the newspaper mindset that a lot of us have. He did both the video and the Flash for <a href="http://mercurynewsphoto.com/train/"> "Red Hot Rails." </a> <br /><br />Unfortunately, the newspaper mindset still rules the Mercury News web site template. A day after it was published, you can't easily find it there. <br /><br />What's up with that?<br /><br />If your staff produces something great that will draw traffic over time, make an effort and put it out there for the world to see! Many of the newspapers I look at regularly do the same thing -- hide, fritter away, and lose great content. And worse, the special projects are in Flash and don't get search engine traffic.<br /><br />Shortly after "Final Salute" won the Pulitzer, it couldn't be found on the Rocky's site. Good stuff on our site disappears after 24 hours. At least Dallas' Katrina and 'Yolanda's Crossing' packages are still on their photo/video page.<br /><br />C'mon people - the web's not a broadcast medium!Chuck Fadelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15458703354783258851noreply@blogger.com2