WASHINGTON, DC, 13 JUNE 2013 — I gave a presentation at the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) on backpack video journalism to 21 working professionals visiting from the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. What an incredible group of motivated people eager to learn of new ways of practicing our craft.
I showed them a film I made years ago about a prison in Alabama. They were astonished at the access that I enjoyed while making the film. I explained that my access was partly a function of the fact that I used a small, pro-sumer camera that the prison officials found completely inoffensive.
WASHINGTON, DC, 6 June 2013 — This is a film conceived, shot, written, narrated and edited by Diego Silva, one of the participants in my recent Video Journalism Workshop for the Thomson Reuters Foundation in Guatemala City, Guatemala.
A story about a classical radio station and its employees in Guatemala City, the title means, “The Sound of the Time.” You can watch the piece HERE.
What a pleasure it was to work with these Guatemalan storytellers. It reminded me, once again, of the proper use of the tools that too many of us take for granted.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, 29 May 2013 — Reporters, photographers and editors gather for my presentation on backpack video journalism. I was pleasantly surprised at the receptiveness at Prensa Libre, one of the largest circulation papers in the country. Many of the employees here seemed open to the idea of working the craft.
I’ve been in Guatemala conducting video journalism workshops for the Thomson Reuters Foundation and for Nancy McGirr’s Fotokids.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, 29 May 2013 — Participants in my video journalism workshop focus on their final projects for the event. We’re on script-writing now, and shortly will be touching on narration.
The workshop is hosted by Nancy McGirr’s Fotokids, a non-profit she started in 1991 that uses the visual arts and technology to break the cycle of poverty.
(Photos by Bill Gentile.)
Below, we watch some of my previous work.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, 27 May 2013 — Jessica, one of nine Fotokids participating in my video journalism workshop, watches films being made during the five-day event. As we transit from the “pre-production” stage into the “production” stage of the workshop, I’m deeply impressed by the tenacity of these young people. By their thirst for knowledge and their grace in pursuing it.
They seem to remember everything I’m teaching them. Concepts with which they probably have very little familiarity. The Controlling Idea. Dramatic Arc. Formal and Informal Interviews. The Six-Shot System. Interview techniques. Video portrait. They get it.
Founded in 1991 Nancy McGirr’s non-profit aims to break the cycle of poverty through training in visual arts and technology.
This is the second workshop I’m conducting here. The first was funded by the Thomson Reuters Foundation and hosted by Fotokids. It included about a dozen professional journalists working here in Guatemala.
(Photos by Bill Gentile.)
Above, Fotokids watch their fruit of their labor.
Above, Nancy McGirr oversees the workshop.
Above, Fotokids working together.
Above, Gaby consults with Nancy.
Above, Nancy at her desk.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, 24 May 2013 — My video journalism workshop in Guatemala City ended with a group dinner of the professional journalists who participated in the event. They all produced terrific pieces, some of which I’ll be posting here, on my Facebook page, and on my YouTube and Vimeo channels. The workshop was sponsored by the Thomson Reuters Foundation and hosted by Nancy McGirr’s Fotokids.
What an honor to work with, and to help empower, these young journalists, and to pass onto them some of the knowledge and skills that I’ve been fortunate enough to acquire over the years.
I begin another workshop here on Sunday, this time with Nancy’s Fotokids.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, 23 May 2013 — With the end approaching for the video journalism workshop in Guatemala City, the journalists attending the event bear down on their final projects. The workshop is sponsored by the Thomson Reuters Foundation and hosted by Nancy McGirr’s Fotokids.
It’s such an extraordinary pleasure and honor for me to be able to work with these young journalists, and to pass onto them some of the knowledge and experience that I’ve been fortunate enough to acquire over the years.
I begin another workshop here on Sunday, this time with Nancy’s Fotokids.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala, 21 May 2013 — Here are some shots from the video journalism workshop today, the second of our five-day event. Today is the first day of Production. Students headed out this morning to begin constructing the visual foundations of their 3-5 minute documentaries.
Yesterday we covered the visual alphabet, the Six-Shot System, character and informal interviews. When the students returned from the field today, we critiqued their work, then dove into formal interviews, dramatic story arc and script, among many others.
The workshop is funded by the Thomson Reuters Foundation and hosted by Nancy McGirr and her Fotokids.
Above and below, students review their own work.
WASHINGTON, DC, 18 Mau 2013 — There are just 16 days left to SAVE $100 on the June 6-9 Video Journalism Workshop in Washington, DC. Use Promo Code BGENTILE to register at https://videojournalismworkshops.com.
You will learn to:
Articulate story ideas.
Capture powerful images and clean sound.
Recognize and cultivate dramatic story arcs.
Conduct compelling, in-depth interviews.
Write powerful treatments and scripts.
Narrate stories.
Edit for maximum impact.
Join the visual revolution! Join us in June.
Best regards,
Bill Gentile
WASHINGTON, DC, 18 May 2013 — I address students and faculty at the Universidad Arturo Michelena (UAM) in Valencia, Venezuela, early this week.
I got back last night after a one-week trip to Venezuela, where I met with students and working journalists to discuss backpack video journalism and the technological advances that have made the methodology possible. I visited Barquisimeto, Valencia and Caracas and, as during previous visits, came into contact with wonderful young students eager to practice the craft of communication.
Sadly, and unlike my trip to Panama the previous week, I found Venezuela more polarized and more volatile than ever. Both trips are part of a multi-national tour that I’ve put together this summer. The Panama and Venezuela trips were funded by the U.S. State Department.
Tomorrow I head to Guatemala, where I’m conducting a video journalism workshop sponsored by the Thomson Reuters Foundation. (See http://www.trust.org/course/?id=a05D000000FIFPcIAP). I’m conducting another workshop this month in Guatemala, scheduled for the last week of the month and sponsored by longtime colleague and friend Nancy McGirr and her non-profit, Fotokids. (See http://www.fotokids.org). In June I head to London where I’m conducting a workshop for Thomson Reuters. (See http://www.trust.org/course/?id=a05D000000FJssUIAT).
Above, reviewing student work at UAM. Below, autographing handouts.
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