WASHINGTON, DC, 27 August 2012 — Ursula Casabonne produced, shot, narrated and edited this video at our August 16-19, 2012 Video Journalism Workshop With Backpack Journalist Bill Gentile. An employee of the World Bank, Ursula is seeking ways to integrate video storytelling skills into her work.
You can see Ursula’s video on YouTube HERE.
In the video, you can see the workshop’s use of character as well as “Dramatic Arc” concept in this video. Ursula uses her character as a prism through which she tells the broader story of the women’s health center. And she uses her character’s trip to pick up baby cribs as the dramatic story arc, or story spine, around which she wraps basic information about the center.
Character and dramatic arc are two key concepts that we stress at the Video Journalism Workshops. They are part of the foundation of visual storytelling.
Ursula was just one of a handful of highly talented and motivated participants in the recent workshop, which are intensive, four-day immersions in the craft of “backpack video journalism” defined as character-driven television/web productions with hand-held digital cameras by a single practitioner. The workshops cover the gamut of this storytelling craft from the genesis and shaping of story ideas, to shooting powerful images that drive the story, to the capture and use of sound, to script writing, narration, and editing. These workshops are appropriate for beginners with some experience as well as existing practitioners who desire to sharpen their skills or acquire new ones. We welcome photojournalists, print and video journalists, aspiring documentarians, filmmakers and independent storytellers.
The workshops are suited for beginners with some experience as well as more seasoned practitioners who want to sharpen their skills and acquire new ones. We welcome photojournalists making the transition to film and video. Print journalists seeking to expand their skills will find the workshops particularly useful. Broadcast journalists accustomed to the technology and techniques preceding today’s hand-held digital cameras will find that the newer equipment delivers a more immediate, intimate version of visual communication than their predecessors. Video journalists, documentarians, filmmakers and independent storytellers who want to expand their skill set and learn from one of the pioneers in the field also will benefit from the workshops. You must be at least 18 years old to attend.
To learn more about them, see http://videojournalismworkshops.com.