Jeff Achen is an interactive media strategist for GiveMN.org.  He recently wrote a column for Quill magazine on using still cams for video storytelling.

1.  Use a tripod.  Ah, a piece of advice near and dear to our hearts.  Achen says handheld video should be a last resort. 

2.  Shoot in sequences.  Achen says that, “Just as in still photography, good video is a series of snapshots and details.”  He suggests going for wide, medium and close shots and holding each for 10-15 seconds while shooting.

3.  Use your ears.  This may be the most challenging task for a still photogrpaher who’s usually not focused on the sound at a scene.  Achen says it’s important to “get close”  to the source of the sound.

4.  Use depth of field.  Here’s where the DLSRs offer an advantage over Flip cams and other low-end video cameras. 

One of the reasons you’re seeing professional filmmakers and videographers pick up the new video-enabled DSLRs is the versatility that Canon, Nikon and other pro lenses allow in depth of field.  As in photography, the manipulation of depth of field is a trademark of a true pro in the video realm.  Use your fastest lenses to get stunningly shallow depth-of-field shots of details and close ups.  Don’t be afraid to use shallow depth of field on interviews, too.

5.  Lock exposure.  Achens warn that DSLRs can be “tricky when it comes to exposure.  They may be set to automatically adjust, which results in distracting flickers in your video as the exposure adjusts in response to the slightest change in your field of view. ”  He suggests setting your shot and then using the AE lock.

6.  Let the action be the action.  This is standard, but solid advice — Achen advises against overuse of pans, zooms or camera motion.

7.  Learn to conduct interviews.  Ok, so this isn’t really a video shooting tip, but Achen also suggests that still photographers need to practice asking questions of the people they’re covering, so they’re able to tell better video stories.

The truth can be painful, can’t it? In doing a search for the video, I also stumbled across a couple of more serious resources on this topic that I thought were worth sharing.

So have a laugh, but then take a minute to learn a little, too!

Meeks Mixed Media How-To

E-How How-To

Here are some tips from experienced photojournalists on how to produce compelling nat sound stories.

Know your story

• Know what your story is about and why it should matter to viewers. Having a clear focus helps you decide what kind of sound (and pictures) you need to tell the story. “The sounds you record and the interviews you conduct are your only tools when you hit the edit bay,” says photojournalist Tim King, formerly of KATU-TV in Portland, Ore.

• Think story structure from the start. Your story needs to introduce the issue and the people involved, explain it, and demonstrate its resolution. Listen for sound that will give you a strong ending to tie up your story. “Within the first few seconds of your story get the subject to tell you the basics,” says former NPPA president Dave Wertheimer, “who they are, what they do, what is going on, where are they, and–most important–why. The ‘why’ is the emotion and the ‘what’ is the set up.”

Capture the sound

• Put a wireless lav on your subjects and let them get used to it. Soon, they’ll forget they have it on, and what they say will be much more natural.

• Get close with a shotgun mic to pick up crisp natural sound that will connect the elements in your story and move it forward. Or place a lav mic on anything that makes noise. Photojournalist Stan Heist, formerly of WBFF-TV in Baltimore, has put microphones on everything from door hinges to dumpsters.

• Carry and use a separate audio recorder to pick up “wild sound.” Photographer John Goheen says he’ll often leave a recorder rolling on the announcer or m.c. of an event while he shoots the action. This “play by play” sound can help in the edit.

Interview differently

• Break the “rules” and ask double-barreled questions. Example: Who are you and what are you doing? “It’s an easy way to introduce the subject and the story,” says photojournalist Bryan Barr, formerly of WBFF in Baltimore. It’s also a good way to get responses in complete sentences, containing complete thoughts, which Goheen believes are essential for nat sound stories.

• Don’t ask questions, make observations. Instead of asking, “How much damage did the storm cause to your home?” try saying, “Wow, what a mess!” People tend to respond as they would in a conversation, instead of providing one or two word answers.

• Seek active sound in multiple locations. Talk to people while they’re doing something, and repeat your questions at several locations. “This gives me more options later in the edit room,” says photographer John Goheen.

• Get more sound than you think you need. Goheen often conducts a more formal sit-down interview at the end of the shoot in a quiet location, just for audio purposes. This gives him additional sound he can use V/O.

• Don’t be afraid to look like a moron. “If you ask someone to re-explain something, they will usually be a lot more descriptive,” says Barr. Playing dumb also elicits sound you’ll need to construct your narrative. “Make sure that you ask stupid questions,” says Wertheimer. Go ahead and ask what the score is and how much time is left in a game, even when the answer is obvious, because you need that information on tape.

Put it together

• Log all of your tape and sound before beginning to edit. Create a story outline, and put your sound in order. What would work best at the beginning, in the middle and at the end?

• Listen to your story without looking at it. Beware of “implied content”–information you know because you shot the story, but that viewers won’t.

• Share before air. Have your favorite reporter or producer screen the story to see if you’ve accomplished your goal. “They weren’t there, and if the story makes sense to them, you did it,” says Barr.

When you put it all together, a nat sound story can be just as informative as a narrated package and, sometimes, even more engaging. See what you think of this collection of nat paks shot by photojournalist Jordan Arseneau while at WCIA-TV in Champaign, Illinois:

Sourced from: NewsLab

“Do as much research as possible about what visuals are available,” Farrell said.  He routinely goes online and makes multiple phone calls before shooting the first frame of video.

Farrell also encourages shooters to spend more time thinking about the shots they need, going so far as to make a shot list before heading out the door.  That list should include ideas about the types of shots you will be looking for:

• Wide/establishing shot – Farrell describes this as a shot to “situate the viewer” to show us where you are.
• Medium shots – these take you “closer to the action” and draw you into the story.
• Close ups/extreme close ups – these shots provide the “telling details” of a story.  Farrell says, “You don’t have to say someone is old if you can show his gnarled hand.”  He also says close ups will “save you in the edit” as they help you transition between sound bites and other elements. 

Farrell also points out that “audio is 70% of video,” meaning it’s critical to telling a visual story.  He suggests you ought to outline the audio you want to get too, and not just interviews.

“Natural sound is what adds texture to the scenes you shoot,” Farrell said.

He encourages visual storytellers not to think about “getting b-roll,” rather they should be thinking about creating sequences.

“What is the arc of the story – beginning, middle, end - and what are the visuals or interviews that show those points in the story?” Farrell asks.

He recommends beginning shooters pick up a copy of the book, “Bare Bones Camera Course for Film and Video.”  Farrell recently demonstrated the book’s three-point lighting technique to a group of Ole Miss journalism students.

For Farrell, the research, the visuals and the audio are all equally important. 

“You’re gathering string, taking pieces of the story and weaving it all together.”

“Especially if you’re working in journalistic video right now, the doors are kind of open,” Farrell said.  “It’s unlike the nightly news where there is sort of a rigid model that works – a stand up, b-roll, interview – it’s very formulaic.  I think what we do at the Times is often a miniature documentary.”

For one of his pieces, Old Man of the Mountains, Farrell flew to Washington state, collected archival footage and created a piece that comes close to the five minute mark.  But Farrell says video online does not have to be long-form to be effective.

“Sometimes just a snippet of sound from an interview can enrich the audience’s knowledge of whatever the subject is,” Farrell said.

He sees many newspapers really changing their attitudes about multimedia.

“I think newspapers are starting now to think of their readers as an audience,” Farrell said.  “They’re no longer just consumers of newspapers.  The paper is no longer just a paper; they’re a news organization with audio slide shows, photographs, video, interactive graphics.”

Farrell says those changing attitudes have created an environment for experimentation.  For example, he likes the way that stills and video can be combined to capitalize on the strengths of each.

“There’s nothing like looking at a person and hearing them tell you their own story,” Farrell said about video.  “It’s also important to see them in their place, sometimes a still photo does that better than video, so it can work well to meld the two.”

Farrell says some of the most exciting things he sees going on with video involve interactive graphics.  He described a project for which the Times created “almost a searchable PDF,  posted alongside a video.”  In the case of a presidential debate, Farrell says you could search the word “freedom,” for example, and the word would be highlighted in the text and at the same time, you would be linked to the exact places in the video where the candidate mentioned the word.

“Then there’s another layer which is analysis of the debate by seasoned political reporters,”  Farrell said.  “So beyond the technology is this melding of years of political knowledge mashed up with exciting use of technology, but at the end of the day, it is good storytelling.”

Later this week Advancing the Story will post more links to Farrell’s work and tips for how to tell good video stories.

Andrew Fitzgerald oversees the online news efforts for Current TV. His view on video for the Web was echoed by the AP’s Kevin Roach and YouTube’s Olivia Ma. All three took part in RTDNA’s “Video-Free-For-All” webinar.

One of the fundamentals expressed is that the Web is changing audience expectations for video online or on the air. These days users and viewers seem to be more accepting of lower quality video, if it’s truly compelling. As one speaker put it, “It comes down to what camera you have in your hand at the time the news is happening.”

Case in point is the video shot by a bystander as demonstrators set up a barricade in Iran back in June.

Roach, who runs all U.S. based news operations for the AP, says they’ve found tremendous value in posting raw video online and says there’s no more waiting for the next newscast to get great video published.

“It’s really simple, first wins,” Roach said.

Camera quality

The panelists also reinforced the notion that inexpensive cameras are a major boon to news organizations, referring to $200 dollar Flip cams as “an insurance policy.”

Roach told the story of a “text-only” AP reporter who had the presence of mind to stop at a Radio Shack to buy a Flip camera on her way to track down South Carolina’s governor, Mark Sanford.

“Having a Flip cam in every reporter’s hands is not a bad idea,” Roach said. “And while you’re it, the GM and every engineer should have them, too.”

Roach says that if the subject matter is strong enough and you have “the only shot that exists, it’s acceptable.”

Cameras mentioned include:

• Flip camera      $150-$250
• Canon HV30    $1,000
• Sony Z1U           $3,500
• Sony EX1           $7,000

Sharing video

The speakers also questioned the wisdom of news organizations that refuse to share their video. 

“Right now, the AP video player is on 2,000 sites and that number continues to grow.  It’s not about getting people to your Web site,  it’s about discovery,” Roach said.  “A good chunk of our video is on YouTube.  We get more than 50 million streams a month, and the ads go with it.  Even if the video is streamed on another site, AP gets the ad revenue.”

News manager for YouTube, Olivia Ma, said local newsrooms that share their video on YouTube are also reaching audiences they ”might not otherwise have access to.”

In addition, Ma described a new service called YouTube Direct.  According to Ma, the service will provide local newsrooms an easy way to create assignments and solicit content from users.  No launch date was mentioned, but it sounds like something worth checking out.

Bob Kaplitz of the consulting firm of AR&D has created a short video explainer of the technique, along with an example of how a small camera, such as a Flip or the new Kodak Zi8, can be used to shoot a stand up or a cutaway of yourself, even when you’re all alone.

Another good idea is featured in this stand up from Darren Brown in Oklahoma City.  By placing his camera on the ground and angling it up slightly,  Brown gives us an interesting perspective on a stand up that would otherwise be pretty dull.  He also walks into the shot to create movement.

Kaplitz has several great posts on visual storytelling topics, including why it’s important to open with your best video and how lots of tight shots can help make up for a lack of video sequence opportunities. 

We’d also love to hear your own ideas for shooting creative stand ups when you’re in the field alone.

As the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention and photographer Russ Roca say he needs to have wide angle options on his cameras.  So, he modified the Flip.

I bought a cheapie wide-angle lens adapter kit made for more sophisticated camcorders (the one I bought was made by Sunpak). The wide angle lens kit I bought came with a series of step-down rings. I took one of the rings and roughed it up with sandpaper (from a patch kit) and super glued it to the front of the Flip (be sure to glue it so you can still remove the battery cover!). This gave the front element some threads so I could screw on the wide angle lens!   

Roca says the set up has the added benefit of mitigating the small camera shake as well.  Check out the story he shot with his souped up Flip and thanks to Jeff Cutler for tipping us to this idea.

Take a look at the finalists for the category of  Online Video Journalism, Small Site:

• AARP Bulletin Today, Journey to Remember
• AARP Bulletin Today, What Will Happen to Andy?
• Danny Wilcox Frazier, Produced by MediaStorm, Driftless: Stories from Iowa
• Hank Wilson, No Snitching, No Suspects

In the large site category, things aren’t really any better, though at least ESPN is a television network:

• ESPN.com, You Tube Baby
• Slate V, The Power Recap
• Washington Post Digital, Fashion Week in New York City
• Washington Post Digital, Seeds of Peace

So, what’s up with this?  I asked long-time photojournalist turned Web expert Rich Murphy.  Rich oversees the Web site for WTTG in Washington, DC.

“Could be that TV (web) journalists are still more used to the traditional awards and stick to what they know to enter,” Murphy said.  ”Most TV web sites are still reliant on re-purposing what is produced for the broadcast side.  Not many TV stations web producers have the time or freedom to go out in the field to do original reporting.”

Photojournalist and author of the News Videographer blog, Angela Grant says newspapers, in particular, may be trying harder online.

In the past few years newspapers freaked out because their print revenues were declining, and they decided to try to make up their losses using the Internet. So they pushed their employees to innovate online and to work hard to develop web skills. This caused newspaper web sites to get better and better. This caused newspaper reporters and photojournalists to experiment with online video, and by now they’ve had a good chunk of time to polish their skills. When they want to enter contests, they think immediately of online-  or Internet-focused contests.

Now it’s your turn – what’s happening here?  Is it that TV stations aren’t entering or is it that they’re not creating unique and compelling online video?  Maybe a little of both?  Let us know.