Some of the strongest stories that ever make air or the Web rely exclusively on pictures and sound, with no reporter track. Putting a great nat sound story together isn’t easy. If the result is to be more than just…
You’ve heard it before: avoid backlight, hold the camera steady and for goodness’ sake, don’t zoom! But sometimes, telling is less effective than showing. This short piece from Videomaker does a good job of showing what doesn’t work, as well…
Our text, Advancing the Story, details strategies for solo journalists who need to shoot their own stand ups. One approach involves using your light stand as a stand-in for your body as you frame your shot. Bob Kaplitz of the consulting…
Multimedia journalism is a lot like baseball, the way the Tom Hanks character describes it in the movie A League of Our Own. “It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it.” But with practice and…
Let’s say you’re already pretty good at the fundamentals of visual storytelling. You’ve mastered the camera, you understand lighting, and you’re capable of shooting sequences and capturing crisp natural sound. What else do you need to know to tell great…
The best TV photojournalists I know shoot with their ears. They capture great sound and they use it throughout their stories. KARE-TV’s Jonathan Malat is one of the best in the business, but he says it took him a while…
NPPA editor of the year Shawn Montano of KWGN-TV in Denver knows what it takes to craft a great visual story, even in a hurry. “I like to milk a shot for everything it has,” he says. “If I can…
The best photojournalists often talk about “moments” in their stories–specific shots or sounds that highlight turning points or discoveries. Scott Jensen, director of photography at KTUU-TV in Anchorage, Alaska, is a master of the “moment.” Jensen is this year’s winner…
Back in the old days when I worked at CBS News, the standards manual clearly prohibited the use of music in news stories unless it was captured at the scene. If we did use music, we had to show the…
Finally! A newspaper editor has acknowledged that “still folks” can actually learn something from TV photojournalists. And he’s done it in public, no less. Colin Mulvany, the new multimedia editor for The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Wash., writes on his new…
