1st Edition

Video Journalism for the Web A Practical Introduction to Documentary Storytelling

By Kurt Lancaster Copyright 2013
    168 Pages
    by Routledge

    166 Pages
    by Routledge

    As newspapers and broadcast news outlets direct more resources toward online content, print reporters and photojournalists are picking up video cameras and crafting new kinds of stories with their lenses. Creating multimedia video journalism requires more than simply adapting traditional broadcast techniques: it calls for a new way of thinking about how people engage with the news and with emerging media technologies. In this guide, Kurt Lancaster teaches students and professional journalists how to shoot better video and tell better stories on the web, providing a strong understanding of cinematic storytelling and documentary production so their videos will stand out from the crowd.

    Video Journalism for the Web introduces students to all the basic skills and techniques of good video journalism and documentary storytelling, from shots and camera movements to sound and editing—as well as offering tips for developing compelling, character-driven narratives and using social media to launch a successful career as a "backpack journalist." Shooting, editing, and writing exercises throughout the book allow students to put these techniques into practice, and case studies and interviews with top documentary journalists provide real-world perspectives on a career in video journalism. This book gives aspiring documentary journalists the tools they need to get out in the field and start shooting unforgettable multimedia stories.

    Introduction: What is Documentary Journalism?  1. Difference in Style: Documentary Journalism vs. Broadcast News  Interlude: Interview with Bill Gentile: On Backpack Journalism  2. Finding a Story and Shaping the Structure: Starting with Character in Jigar Mehta's The Recession Proof Artist  Interview with the Renaud Brothers: Becoming a Documentary Journalist  3. Shooting the Image: Composition and Lighting in Travis Fox's Narcorridos and Nightlife in Mexicali and Crisis in Darfur Expands  Interview with Ann Derry, video director, The New York Times: Short Video Documentaries  4. Writing a Script from Interviews: Icarus Refried: A Pro-Creative Process  Interview with Jimmy Orr, Deputy Web Editor, The Los Angeles Times: The Most Important Journalists  5. Editing for Rhythm: Travis Fox's Redefining China's Family: Women  6. Getting Clean Audio and Crafting a Sound Design--an Audio Workshop with Philip Bloom, Travis Fox, and Wes Pope  Interlude: The Importance of Blogging and the Watchdog Reporter: From an interview with John Yemma, Editor, The Christian Science Monitor  7. The Blogging Journalist: Travis Fox and the MexiBorder Stories  8. Conclusion

    Biography

    Kurt Lancaster is the author of DSLR Cinema: Crafting the Film Look with Video. He is an associate professor at Northern Arizona University where he teaches digital filmmaking and multimedia journalism in the School of Communication.

    "Lancaster's writing, interviews, and real-world examples will give you a great launch pad for advancing your work as a documentary journalist." --Brian Storm, Founder and Executive Producer, MediaStorm, mediastorm.com