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 […]
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, […]
WASHINGTON, DC, 29 October 2012 — Here’s my most recent “Essential Video Journalism Tutorial by Bill Gentile.” It’s titled, “What’s In Your Backpack?” You can watch it HERE. Although my focus is visual storytelling, equipment and the proper use of equipment are important components of our craft. I’m not a “gear head,” but if you […]
WASHINGTON, DC, 6 October 2012 — This piece is a Portuguese-language economic story that my wife and I produced during fall semester 2011 in Cuba. It was recently distributed by Yahoo! TV BRASIL. You can see the story HERE. Finding and cultivating outlets for distribution of material is one of the greatest challenges that we […]
WASHINGTON, DC, 27 September 2012 — Register today and guarantee your place at the 6-9 December Video Journalism Workshop With Backpack Journalist Bill Gentile in Washington, DC. See http://videojournalismworkshops.com. The Video Journalism Workshops With Bill Gentile are intensive, four-day immersions in the craft of “backpack journalism” defined as character-driven television/web productions with hand-held digital cameras […]
WASHINGTON, DC, 23 September 2010 — This film depicts the real reason we journalists do what we do. It is titled, “Dentro del Solar,” or “Inside the Solar.” In Cuba, a “solar” is a public housing unit, or tenement, and Solar del 11 is one unit in Havana portrayed in a film of the same […]