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Backpack Journalism With Leopoldo Castillo at Venezuela’s Globovision

CARACAS, Venezuela, 23 March 2011 — “Alo Ciudadano” is arguably the most popular program on Venezuelan television. Host Leopoldo Castillo and I discuss backpack video journalism during an interview on his show. (Photos by Tom Mittnacht.)

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American University Students at San Francisco Ocean Film Festival

PAWLEYS ISLAND, S.C., 9 March 2011 — A film made by two American University students with whom I traveled to the Galapagos Islands has been selected for screening at the San Francisco Ocean Film Festival. Mark Petruniak and Chris McMorrow are heading to California to attend the show of “La Pesca Vivencial,” which they shot […]

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Backpack Video Journalism at International Center for Journalists

WASHINGTON, DC, 1 March 2011 — I conducted a Backpack Journalism Workshop for eight new fellows at the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) in the nation’s capital prior to their departure for assignments overseas. During the all-day workshop, we discussed Controlling Idea, Dramatic Arc, the ABCs of the visual language, character-driven documentary and other components […]

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Yin/Yang of Backpack Video Journalism

WASHINGTON, DC, 26 February 2011 – The technological advances driving the revolutionary model that we refer to as backpack video journalism enable a single practitioner to exchange ideas and information as never before in the history of mankind. But there is a dark side to this methodology, which empowers lone practitioners to document and disseminate […]

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The Technology-Driven Revolution

WASHINGTON, DC, 23 February 2011 — I got a query this morning from a person inquiring about my “Backpack Documentary Expedition: Nicaragua,” coming up this summer. She was concerned that her lack of experience with new digital cameras might be a stumbling block on the journey. Here’s part of my response: “The methodology that we […]

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Backpack Documentary Expedition: Nicaragua

WASHINGTON, DC, 9 February 2011 — The “Backpack Documentary Expedition: Nicaragua,” is a 10-day immersion in the craft of character-driven documentary making. We follow American volunteers with a leading U.S. non-profit to the Nicaraguan town of Ticuantepe, just outside the capital of Managua. For me, it’s not just about teaching backpack video journalism, or documentary. […]

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