From the website: “At War” is a documentary film shot and directed by Scott Kesterson, who spent a year embedded with US forces in Afghanistan. The film is produced and edited by David Leeson, Pulitzer Prize recipient and currently Executive Producer – Video and New Media for The Dallas Morning News. The film is subject-driven storytelling, allowing the truth of the moment to speak in the tradition of ethical still photojournalism. At War explores the timeless nature of war and conflict, and ultimately challenges us to look at ourselves as beings filled with love and hate, fear and courage, passion and chaos.

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From the Barefoot Workshops website:

CONTENT
This 2-week delta workshop is designed for new documentary filmmakers who want to launch their careers in film and television documentaries or for those with experience in some aspects of filmmaking that are looking to expand their skill, understanding and mastery of the whole process. producers, cinematographers, editors and writers with narrative experience who are considering working in non-fiction filmmaking are also encouraged to enroll. This workshop is ideal for working professionals who want to develop important skills, which will allow them to work with other filmmakers.

In this unique workshop, students will explore every aspect of documentary filmmaking. Cinematographer, Chandler Griffin, will help you develop an understanding for the visual structure, style, and production requirements of a wide variety of documentaries along with storytelling and the art of writing and directing. This will include laying a visual foundation by spending many hours exploring how light, composition, and emotion make up the image. Many different lighting techniques and styles will be covered. Chandler will also be covering all editing demos using Final Cut Pro. Using case studies along with student’s ideas, the goal of the course is to provide an intense overview of the art of documentary productions. Every student will learn how to evaluate non-fiction ideas, create their own ideas and develop an understanding of documentary film aesthetics and the storytelling process.<

THE PROGRAM
The workshop meets formally 6 days each week. There will be lectures, screenings, presentations, technical demos, a review and critique of all dailies, supervised editing sessions, discussion of documentaries, and individual meetings with the Chandler. The workshop combines lectures and presentations with supervised and formal instruction in production laboratories (camera, lighting, sound, editing), shooting on location, transcribing, screening and discussion of current and classic documentaries, meetings with visiting filmmakers and written assignments. Students will write and develop proposals for future projects.

PRODUCTION
The workshop will break into groups with each group producing a completed 7 to 10 minute piece shot on digital video and edited with Final Cut Pro. Students will meet and scout their subjects and write treatments and outlines to guide their production. from there they will conduct interviews, tape B-roll and coverage for a sequence, record sound and take their material into post-production. There they will be instructed in creating first an edit on paper, then on the computer, where after assembly into a final edit, they will color correct, mix sound and add titles to their finished work. The projects will encompass the diversity of documentary styles and allow the individual the chance to problem-solve by learning to work as a team.

PRESENTATION
On the last night of the workshops the documentaries will be screened for the community to enjoy. The filmmakers are encouraged to invite family and friends. Because of the full support of The Mississippi Film Commission, documentaries produced with Barefoot Images are automatically accepted for a special screening at the Crossroads International Film & Video Festival in Jackson, Mississippi, and students are encouraged to submit to other festivals around the world.

Chandler Griffin/Barefoot Workshops
917-385-9343
chandler@barefootworkshops.com
Brooke Bassin/Barefoot Workshops
Brooke.bassin@barefootworkshops.org

At War is a documentary film shot and directed by Scott Kesterson, who spent a year embedded with US forces in Afghanistan. The film is produced and edited by David Leeson, Pulitzer Prize recipient and currently Executive Producer – Video and New Media for The Dallas Morning News. The film is subject-driven storytelling, allowing the truth of the moment to speak in the tradition of ethical still photojournalism. It explores the timeless nature of war and conflict, and ultimately challenges us to look at ourselves as beings filled with love and hate, fear and courage, passion and chaos.

He quotes a Pew Research Center for the People and the Press study that found the Web audience is “… younger and better educated than most Americans and far more dissatisfied with their country’s news media.” Many people are pointing their browsers overseas to British online media outlets that give them the content they desire. He also quotes Joseph Epstein who states that Wired magazine now defines a new word, “… ‘egocasting’ as ‘the consumption of on-demand music, movies, television and other media that cater to individual and not mass-market tastes.’ The news, too, is now getting to be on-demand.” Reaching that micro audience as multimedia producers is another aspect of our job that should be explored. How we define a “micro” audience and how we tailor content to reach as many people as possible within that structure will be an interesting exercise.

I like how Rutten finishes, with the hope that some type of “hybrid” publication, “… in which an online edition that’s focused mainly on breaking news and service works in tandem with a print edition whose staples are analysis, context and opinion.” The challenge is to make sure that the multimedia stories we produce are quality in-depth pieces that help showcase and explain the human condition. Here’s an excerpt from Rutten’s article:

“Sooner rather than later, the newspaper you’re holding in your hands will be very different from what it is today. Different in what way is the fair and obvious question. The honest answer is that nobody knows for certain, but the odds are it will be a hybrid publication in which an online edition that’s focused mainly on breaking news and service works in tandem with a print edition whose staples are analysis, context and opinion. The former almost surely will have a lot more video and interactivity than it does today; the latter will have to be much more thoughtful and far more intensely and carefully edited. It’s a difficult — though not impossible — transition, and the scandal of cable news’ failed transformation provides a cautionary example. As Fox and CNN demonstrate to the rest of the news media, it’s possible to save your financial skin and forfeit any claim on respect.”

OJR’s ‘five guide’ to do-it-yourself website usability testing
Use these steps, and these forms, to test how readers will react to your new multimedia project or website design.
By Laura Ruel and Nora Paul
You’ve put months of work into a special multimedia project. The time-consuming processes of creating and editing text, audio, photos, video and animated graphics has been arduous, but rewarding. You’ve learned more about Flash programming and debugging than you ever intended. And now that there’s an end in sight, you are more than ready to get the package online and out of your life. Enter the spoiler — the person who utters the words “usability test.” “Why bother?” you think. The site works, you know that. You’ve been showing it to your newsroom colleagues along the way. You’ve listened to their feedback. You’ve made changes you thought were necessary. What more could you learn? What more? How about 80 percent of the problems with the package? How about architecture flaws you never considered? How about the differences between a good design and a great one? -more

About JayCut: Development of the advanced technology that makes JayCut’s online video editing possible began early 2006. In December 2006 a technology demonstration was put up on the Internet. It attracted quite a lot of interest, both from users and newspapers, and movies of everything from parties to gardens were created. In February 2007, the company JayCut AB was founded. In May 2007 closed beta testing of the beta began, and in June 2007 the open beta was launched.

Submission Guidelines
To submit a story for publication in American-Journal, send a copy to the editor at the address on this page. Stories must be written in AP Style, demonstrate clean prose and fit within the mission of American-Journal to be considered for publication. We reserve the right to refuse any submitted material. Prospective slide shows must have audio and be created by the photographer before submission. Sufficient background information on the show must be included. Submit shows to the photo editor at the address on this page. Prospective photo columns must be written in AP Style and be clean and concise. Images must meet professional standards and not be digitally manipulated in any way other than what is considered to be acceptable in the photojournalism community. Submit shows to the photo editor at the address on this page. – more

Buffalo Rising is a colorful CJ site run by a company called Hyperlocal Media. Their motto is “Local matters”, which tells you a lot about their focus. Buffalo Rising is described as using “hyperlocal content produced by a team of contributors to market the city to itself–to remind people why they live there.” They cover Buffalo, the second largest city in New York – which has a population of 250,000. Buffalo Rising has 7,000 registered users, they get a little over 24,000 visits every weekday and serve 250,000+ pages/weekday. – more

’10 That Do It Right’ No. 4: ‘The Roanoke Times’
By Jennifer Saba July 12, 2007
NEW YORK Every summer, E&P selects its “10 That Do It Right” from the nation’s daily and weekly newspapers. This is by no means a “10 Best” list but rather a hat tip to a variety of publications which have, through excellence or innovation, shown the way in one area or another, such as news coverage, circulation, design, diversity or online. Today we continue spotlighting this year’s picks (also available for subscribers on this site in the Print section). The fourth selection, The Roanoke (Va.) Times, follows.

Mark Glaser’s 10 Reasons There’s a Bright Future for Journalism

1. More access to more journalism worldwide.
2. Aggregation and personalization satisfies readers.
3. Digital delivery offers more ways to reach people.
4. There are more fact-checkers than ever in the history of journalism.
5. Collaborative investigations between pro and amateur journalists.
6. More voices are part of the news conversation.
7. Greater transparency and a more personal tone.
8. Growing advertising revenues online.
9. An online shift from print could improve our environmental impact.
10. Stories never end.

This is an excellent read from Henry Jenkins. The book makes excellent points on the change in power structures between producers and consumers. Media power is no longer just in the hands of those with a printing press and a platform.

From the Introduction: Don’t expect the uncertainties surrounding convergence to be resolved anytime soon. We are entering an era of prolonged transition and transformation in the way media operates. Convergence describes the process by which we will sort through those options. There will be no magical black box that puts everything in order again. Media producers will only find their way through their current problems by renegotiating their relationship with their consumers. Audiences, empowered by these new technologies, occupying a space at the intersection between old and new media, are demanding the right to participate within the culture. Producers who fail to make their peace with this new participatory culture will face declining goodwill and diminished revenues. The resulting struggles and compromises will define the public culture of the future. -more

In a recent piece by Alex Iskold on “The Physics of the iPhone” on Read/WriteWeb, which is a follow up to a recent article, Iskold says that:

“The iPhone is not only a breakthrough handheld device, it is a device that brings a mesh of digital and physical to the masses. Apple achieved it by turning a phone (and ipod, video player and more) into software that creates a life-like experience, but also adds a digital lightness and playfulness. It is likely that we are going to see more devices that let us interact with information in this way.”

Iskold is right on target in that we will see more and more devices that can bring the viewing public the rich multimedia content we produce. Thinking about how we can brand our content, get it to the consumer, and continue to create meaningful stories with new technologies should be part of our future conservation.

In this interview by the Online Journalism Review’s Sandeep Junnarkar of Ted Anthony, the founding editor of AP‘s new asap multimedia news portal, Anthony talks about how the new portal was staffed and the importance of visual communicators to the entire process. “I have always believed that the visual specialists in the newsroom are as pivotal and as insightful if not more so than the word specialists,” Anthony said.

Reconceiving storytelling at the Associated Press
Q&A: Ted Anthony talks to OJR about how the AP is trying, through its asap portal, to meet the needs of readers who want to access information in different ways.
By Sandeep Junnarkar

Ted Anthony has played many roles for The Associated Press, from national correspondent to China news editor. Most recently in 2005, the AP tapped him to be the founding editor of asap, its multimedia news portal.

We were looking for people who were flexible in their storytelling–and by that I mean people who wouldn’t say, we don’t do things that way. Too many news organizations in today’s world are populated with many people who say, we don’t do things that way. Those people are not going to be doing things at all if they keep up that attitude. We have to be willing to acknowledge that there is a certain core group of values and skills that we have, but that beyond that we are in this brave new world and we have to be able to think critically about how a story should be told and whether a story will resonate, will echo if it’s told in the best way. I really was aiming to hire people who are willing to say, “okay, we will not be bound by convention.” -more

The Future of Citizen Journalism
By Rory O’Connor July 3, 2007 (Excerpts)
No one should still wonder about the possibility, much less the efficacy, of ‘citizen journalism.’ But, more importantly, we should ask if more participation and better information will make us happier. Can ordinary citizens actually function as journalists? Or, as many in the mainstream media would have it, is journalism some sort of priesthood of professionals who venture, Moses-like, to mountaintops and then return to deliver the news as divinely revealed truth to the rest of us earthbound mortals?

Oh Yeon-ho set the stage with his welcoming message, which accurately noted, “The question looming large is increasingly less about ‘digital opportunity’ and more about how we can best manage the abundance of content, Web platforms and user participation” now pouring forth. Oh also laid out “a host of pressing issues” including the need to balance user-created content with editorial accountability, as well as to identify business models to sustain citizen journalism during an age of ever-more rapid commercial and technical transitions and unclear revenue models.

… can citizen journalism really change the world? Many skeptics still doubt it can even change the news industry, and still question, despite much evidence, whether ordinary citizens can really function as journalists. But why not? After all, I’ve been a professional journalist for decades — yet I never took a course in it, received a license for it, or even got anointed on high. So here’s my advice — if you don’t like the news, report some of your own! -more