CARACAS, Venezuela, 4 May 2012 — Students attending my Backpack Journalism Workshop in Caracas, Venezuela, view the results of their first day at the workshop. Today we focused on the basics of the visual storytelling language, the vocabulary, and the progression from clip to sequence to scene to story. Below, students work on their projects.
CARACAS, Venezuela 2 May 2012 — Friends and relatives of prisoners inside the notorious La Planta Penitentiary in Caracas maintain a presence at the prison gates to ensure those inside are not transferred to facilities far from the capital. Prisoners inside rioted on Monday 30 April, sparking a 10-minute gun battle and speculation that authorities […]
WASHINGTON, DC, 7 April 2012 — We now are accepting registration for the May 17-20 Backpack Journalism Workshop in Washington, DC. Click HERE for information on how to “Engage. Embrace. Empower” with visual communication. My workshops are intensive, four-day immersions in the craft of “backpack journalism” defined as character-driven television/web productions with hand-held digital cameras by […]
WASHINGTON, DC, 28 March 2012 — I was one of a handful of judges at the Defense Information School (DINFOS) during yesterday’s “2010-2011 DoD Visual Information Production Awards” competition. We spent the day reviewing and voting on dozens of videos submitted for the competition. I had the opportunity to meet and speak with professionals in […]
WASHINGTON, DC, 24 March 2012 — I tell participants of my Backpack Journalism Workshops that they have to understand their cameras before they can make those cameras do on tape or on a digital platform what the students “see” in their mind’s eye. Part of this is understanding how the glass works. Yes, the glass […]
WASHINGTON, DC, 24 March 2012 — Registration is open for the second “Backpack Documentary Expedition: Nicaragua,” scheduled for 12-23 July 2012. Bill Gentile accompanies participants to the Central American nation of Nicaragua for an immersion in the process of documentary filmmaking. Participants follow American volunteers working with the non-profit organization, “Bridges to Community,” in the […]