Newspapers Can Make Money from Video

I spoke today to Ernest Bujok, the manager of the Concentra Media group's video and radio operations.

Concentra Media, a chain of newspapers in Belgium, bought cable television stations and turned them into the most profitable part of their business.

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.

While the newspapers are running at six percent profit, the television stations are running at 30% profit.

Click on this link to hear the whole seven minute interview.

Concentra Award-Winning Video Journalism

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 Concentra site.

Krogstad holds his statue of Tin Tin the Belgian comic hero as he accepts the award:

Video Journalism: A "500-Year Storm"

I am in Belgium for the Digital News Affairs video journalism conference

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.

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.

"In the world of journalism and technology ... we are headed for the 500-year storm. There is a giant tidal wave out there."

"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."

"The invention of the printing press... brought about the world of a free press, which is what we live in today."

"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."

"They make it possible for anyone with an idea to publish in the most common medium in the world...

"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."

Click on this link to hear the whole 25 minutes of the speech.





Michael Rosenblum
(photo by Chuck Fadely)

Gear recommendations

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:

* XHA1 with 4 BP970G batteries (I've never exhausted even one - you could go for a week non-stop on four)
* 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
* 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.)
* Canon VL-10Li II light (uses camera batteries)
* 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!)
* Porta Brace bag, whose model number I don't know, 'cause I inherited it from our defunct creative services department
* Petrol rain cover
* Lowel Rifa Pro 44 light kit and Impact dimmers
* Shure E2C earbuds and Sony MD7506 headphones

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.

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.

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.

This adds up to a scary amount of money, I'm afraid, but compared to the TV world it's cheap.

Remember the Basics While Shooting Video!

A plea I wrote to our less-experienced shooters, whose footage I have to help edit:


This is a gentle reminder to remember the basics.

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.

So remember your training:

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.

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.

Shoot sequences: Wide medium tight . Beginning middle end . Getting ready, action, reaction.

Shoot details and closeups.

Audio that goes into the red is unusable. Wear your headphones!

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.

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!)

Keep your finger off the zoom! Use your feet! Hold your shots steady for ten seconds. Count it off!

In their own words: Times-Picayune photo staff's Katrina coverage

From the New Orleans Times-Picayune, a very powerful look back at how their staff felt while covering Katrina.

Produced by the Times-Picayune's Danny Bourque.

It's a must-see if you work for a newspaper. It explains why we do this job.

BRAVO!

HD video from still cameras -- Kodak Z1275 and Canon TX1

I clamped three still cameras together and tried out their video functions today.

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.

The third camera was the Canon Powershot S3is, which shoots 640x480 video.

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.

The S3is actually makes the best, steadiest video. And even though it's video is lower resolution, it looks better.

The Kodak shoots mp4 Quicktime .mov files which are one fourth the size of the .avi files from the Canons.

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.

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.

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!