Backpack Journalism Blog

WASHINGTON, DC, 14 January 2013 — I just received a copy of my Essential Video Journalism Field Manual. It’s now available on Amazon. I’ll be using the text this semester in my Backpack Documentary class at American University.

WASHINGTON, DC, 14 January 2013 — Here’s the flyer to announce the screening of our latest documentary, “Through Their Eyes,” about one group of AU Abroad students in Cuba during fall semester 2011. The film is a visually rich tour of the island from the students’ perspective. It also documents the profound transformation that each student experiences during the journey.

For those of you in the Washington, DC, area, we hope you can join us.

WASHINGTON, DC, 12 January 2013 — I returned last night from an 11-day video assignment on gangs and the evangelical church in Guatemala. I documented the work of Robert Brenneman, of St. Michael’s College in Colchester, Vermont. Brenneman is the author of, “Homies + Hermanos: God and Gangs in Central America.” He returned to Guatemala this month to follow up on interviews with former gang members. The assignment was for American University’s (AU) Center for Latin American and Latino Studies (CLALS).

I took with me two cameras, one of the Panasonic HMC150s that we use at AU, and a Sony Alpha77, pictured here. Sony loaned 15 of the Alpha77s to AU’s School of Communication in support of our Backpack Journalism Project. I’m particularly glad that I took with me one of the Sony cameras. It turned out to be a critical component of the backpack video journalism toolbox that I took with me to Guatemala. Especially when I was out at night making video of Brenneman and some of the other subjects associated with the project, I was delighted to have a camera that was not as obtrusive and obvious as one of the conventional hand-held video cameras.

I still have reservations regarding any HDSLR’s sound capability, but I was surprised at how well this camera performed. I’m still not ready to rely exclusively on one of these for an entire project, but I now appreciate how critical they can be when used in conjunction with a more traditional tool.

GUATEMALA CITY, 5 January 2013 — JournalismDegree.org has named my Backpack Journalism blog as one of the top 20 on the web for journalists. In an announcement issued this week the organization said, “Bill Gentile is the pioneer of ‘backpack journalism,’ a term that describes the mapping of emerging techniques and technologies for visual storytellers. The Backpack Journalism Project at American University’s School of Communication is Gentile’s child, and he conveys a special care for this project’s integrity.”

You can see the entire list HERE.

WASHINGTON, DC, 29 December 2012 — Here’s the front and back cover of my Essential Video Journalism Field Manual. Bruce Jones of Boston, MA, has done a terrific job of designing not only the cover but the entire manual, as well. We’re going through final edits now and the manual should be available on Amazon by the end of the coming week.

It’s been a long haul, but we’re nearly there.

WASHINGTON, DC, 10 December 2012 — I gave a presentation on coverage of military affairs at the Inter-American Defense College at Fort McNair in Washington, DC. In attendance were representatives of military and police units from across the hemisphere. I spoke specifically about how technology has changed the way we cover military and police activities. The core of my presentation was all about backpack video journalism.

(Photos by Bruce Jones.)

WASHINGTON, DC, 19 November 2012 — This is the trailer of our upcoming film, “Through Their Eyes,” about six American University students who studied in Cuba during fall semester 2011. You can watch it HERE.

We get to know this diverse group of students as they explore Cuba. Each changes in subtle but profound ways as the result of the time spent on the island — forbidden to most Americans because of the decades-old economic embargo against the Castro government.

I spent the entire four-month fall semester 2011 with the students, teaching my “Photojournalism and Social Documentary” class. They took four other classes, but from Cuban professors. I filmed the documentary during my time there. My Cuban-born wife, Esther, produced much of the film, as she accompanied me on the trip for about two and a half months. In so many ways, this film embodies the methodology that we refer to as “backpack video journalism” that I introduced at American University’s School of Communication in 2007 and that has become so popular ever since.

Especially now, as the Obama administration loosens restrictions on travel and trade to Cuba, and as the Cuban government opens its doors to economic change, this film and the students’ experiences are more timely and more pertinent than ever.

The official release of the film will be announced soon.

– Bill Gentile
November 2012

HAVANA, Cuba, 3 November 2012 — AU Abroad student Robyn Schowengerdt takes aim with a new Sony Alpha 77 camera on the way to a photo expedition in Old Havana. Sony loaned 15 of the cameras to American University’s School of Communication because of its Backpack Journalism Project, which I launched two years ago. (Photos by Carlos Ernesto Escalona Marti.)

Robyn is one of eight AU Abroad students studying this semester in Cuba. I visited the island from 1-6 November to meet with students and their Cuban instructor, Carlos Ernesto Escalona Marti, who is the teaching my “Photojournalism and Social Documentary” course.

I built the course as a first step in the progression from photojournalism to video journalism.

Above, Radhika Raman makes a photo while a bus nearly runs over me.

Above, I point the way to some photo opportunities. From left to right are Mary Benman, Karina Marquez, Robyn Schowengerdt, and Radhika Raman.

Above, doing what teachers do.

Above, Robyn takes aim at the peanut man.

Above, the peanut man.

Above, lining them up.

Above, “Let’s see.”

Above, from the ground up.

– Bill Gentile

November 2012

HAVANA, Cuba, 3 November 2012 — Students enrolled in my “Photojournalism and Social Documentary” class of AU Abroad’s semester in Cuba head out in a 1950s “maquina” for a photo expedition in Old Havana. I had the opportunity to spend time with the students as they enter the final lap of their fall semester here, and begin work on their photo stories/essays. Photos by Carlos Ernesto Escalona Marti.

Above, a close-up shot of our vehicle’s dashboard.

Above, Radhika Raman at the ready with her camera.