Backpack journalists use tripods on a limited basis, as this allows us greater mobility and less intrusiveness. So learn how to turn your body into a tripod. Turn your left hip toward your subject. With your left hand as a base holding the camera, tuck your left elbow into your left rib cage just above […]
To maximize the effectiveness of your backpack journalism tools, learn how to hold the camera properly. Use the left hand as a base upon which the camera rests. Keep your fingers of the left hand free to manipulate switches, buttons and focus/zoom rings. Grasp the camera firmly with the right hand. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPVk08kRg8w.
http://www.youtube.com/get_player
My Broadcast Documentary class progressed this week from the “pre-production” to the “production” stage, and students have begun to take out the Sony EX-1 cameras to execute their projects. As I expected, a number of students are unsure about these machines, a natural reaction to any device so multi-faceted and complex as this one. But, […]
http://www.youtube.com/get_player
NOW on PBS has nominated “Afghanistan: The Forgotten War,” and “Nurses Needed” for national Emmy Awards. I produced both of these stories in 2008. The Afghanistan piece, in particular, is a prime example of how the “backpack journalism” model is revolutionizing the field of visual communication on television and on the Internet. Few media outlets […]