Speaking on Camera with Roberta Baskin:
“You need your butterflies”
1. Sit up straight
2. Define your space
3. Avoid up-talking (takes away from authority). Use inflection but without taking away from yourself.
4. Breath and space is crucial.
5. Stay quiet when doing interviews. Sometimes space is good and can fill-up things.
6. Get Flip-video for less than $150.00. Great for blogs. Check it out HERE:
7. Don’t wear white, no stripes, no big jewelry (no dangly earrings). “When in doubt, throw it out.” No scarf. Voice should have color and energy. Avoid Black….can do weird things to the camera
8. Over-modulate (within reason).
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Multi-Media Training: Live Blogging with Elizabeth Daza
Multi-media Training/JAWS 2008
Three Quick Tips for Multimedia Stories on the Web:
1. Knowing what is a multi-media story. (not the same text of the story in two
media elements…there is MORE to it!)
Examples: Showing Chinese consumerism by touring stores, etc.
2. The web IS NOT television. (Examples: A story for National Geographic on the
last-known hunter-gatherer tribe where photos were a bit raw. It’s OK for
things to be raw.
3. Learn to drive people to multi-media. Think about teaser lines…gives them
things that they cannot see…until they hit the website. “See the Greenest
House on Earth.” “The Cost of Raising an Olympian”
Shooting Video with Elizabeth Daza (MSN Money):
Major Dos and DO NOTS
1. Always white balance…program camera to register people in the room…regardless
of the lighting of the room. (Panasonic 3Chip Camera/DVH)
a. Tell the camera WHAT IS WHITE.
b. Zero in on something white and tell the camera… (read manual about making
this happen)
c. Make sure it is registered
2. FRAMING
a. Key for all web work. Make sure there is not TOO much headspace, etc.
b. Man on the street interview: Focus in, zoom in on the person speaking to the
reporter. It is fine if reporter is off-camera.
3. FOCUSING
a. Zoom in all the way and THEN FOCUS. Then zoom out. Your picture will then
be focus despite the zoom…..WOW.
b. This only works if your subject is in one-place…no movement action. If you
are doing movement shots, use the auto-focus.
4. MICs
a. ALWAYS remember to do an audio check.
b. Make sure you HAVE audio. Make sure you adjust audio levels that way. Read
your manual.
c. Never go in the red.
d. If there is an internal mic, think about whether you want to disable this mic
(if you are using a lav). Some of this can be edited post-shoot but not
always…. Sometimes the camera will understand these two audios and convert
them into two channels.
5. GAIN
a. Know your gain function. This can open the camera’s sensitivity to
light….allowing that more light comes into the frame.
Three Quick Tips for Multimedia Stories on the Web:
1. Knowing what is a multi-media story. (not the same text of the story in two
media elements…there is MORE to it!)
Examples: Showing Chinese consumerism by touring stores, etc.
2. The web IS NOT television. (Examples: A story for National Geographic on the
last-known hunter-gatherer tribe where photos were a bit raw. It’s OK for
things to be raw.
3. Learn to drive people to multi-media. Think about teaser lines…gives them
things that they cannot see…until they hit the website. “See the Greenest
House on Earth.” “The Cost of Raising an Olympian”
Shooting Video with Elizabeth Daza (MSN Money):
Major Dos and DO NOTS
1. Always white balance…program camera to register people in the room…regardless
of the lighting of the room. (Panasonic 3Chip Camera/DVH)
a. Tell the camera WHAT IS WHITE.
b. Zero in on something white and tell the camera… (read manual about making
this happen)
c. Make sure it is registered
2. FRAMING
a. Key for all web work. Make sure there is not TOO much headspace, etc.
b. Man on the street interview: Focus in, zoom in on the person speaking to the
reporter. It is fine if reporter is off-camera.
3. FOCUSING
a. Zoom in all the way and THEN FOCUS. Then zoom out. Your picture will then
be focus despite the zoom…..WOW.
b. This only works if your subject is in one-place…no movement action. If you
are doing movement shots, use the auto-focus.
4. MICs
a. ALWAYS remember to do an audio check.
b. Make sure you HAVE audio. Make sure you adjust audio levels that way. Read
your manual.
c. Never go in the red.
d. If there is an internal mic, think about whether you want to disable this mic
(if you are using a lav). Some of this can be edited post-shoot but not
always…. Sometimes the camera will understand these two audios and convert
them into two channels.
5. GAIN
a. Know your gain function. This can open the camera’s sensitivity to
light….allowing that more light comes into the frame.
International Panel: Tips from Q&A
On Finding an Interpreter
From Lois Raimondo:
1. Go to local English classes and observe the stars in the class.
2. Learn from your interpreters (cultural norms and customs). Encourage individuals to "tutor you" on local customs.
From Lois Raimondo:
1. Go to local English classes and observe the stars in the class.
2. Learn from your interpreters (cultural norms and customs). Encourage individuals to "tutor you" on local customs.
Sahar Sarshar gave us some tips on how to tell stories of international women -- locally and globally
- Get to know the culture you're covering and show them that you care and understand their everyday life --- then find the stories that will inspire and motivate them.
- Research is key.
- Take what you present to your audience seriously
- Find stories that can work across cultures and bridge the gaps across the globe.
Sarshar showed us a 30 second clip of an animation bumper VOA created for the Iranian New Year that showed a woman, Ms. Spring, who is so magical she can make the sun shine and flowers bloom with a snap of her fingers.
Here is the Web site for Voices of America.
The women in Paola's book are her partners
She asks them their most interesting stories, interviews them in their first language and only works with women interpreters.
She records all of her interviews, transcribes the work and forms the chapter, and then sends the draft back to the partner in the other country and asks them to correct facts, spelling, etc.
That process has yielded some changes, but surprisingly, not many fact changes, she said. She also has the publisher give the women a copy of the book and allows non-profit organizations to use the photographs she uses in the books.
"it's an interesting collaborative system that really works for this type of project," she said.
She asks them their most interesting stories, interviews them in their first language and only works with women interpreters.
She records all of her interviews, transcribes the work and forms the chapter, and then sends the draft back to the partner in the other country and asks them to correct facts, spelling, etc.
That process has yielded some changes, but surprisingly, not many fact changes, she said. She also has the publisher give the women a copy of the book and allows non-profit organizations to use the photographs she uses in the books.
"it's an interesting collaborative system that really works for this type of project," she said.
Paola Gianturco has written a number of books about women's issues and their triumphs
Celebrating Women
Women who light the dark
Viva Colores
She's telling us about her travels -- and the stories in places like Zimbabwe,, Vietnam and Morocco where women use poetry to bring attention to childhood rape, who use puppets to talk about issues of domestic violence and a theatre group that showed illiterate women the impact of new laws that helped to ensure women were treated the same way as men, respectively.
Celebrating Women
Women who light the dark
Viva Colores
She's telling us about her travels -- and the stories in places like Zimbabwe,, Vietnam and Morocco where women use poetry to bring attention to childhood rape, who use puppets to talk about issues of domestic violence and a theatre group that showed illiterate women the impact of new laws that helped to ensure women were treated the same way as men, respectively.
Honor Killings
Lois Raimondo is showing us photographs from her story on honor killings.
A man gouged out his wife's eyes and sliced off her nose because she wouldn't give him a divorce. Raimondo was at the courthouse when the woman went to trial against her husband. The man, in chains, is shown smirking in one of Raimondo's photos.
His response to how he felt about what he'd done?
"She offended my honor, so I 'm proud of what I did."
The police he was with patted him on his back.
The story ran on the front page of the Washington Post (I'm trying to find the story online) and Raimondo said she felt sick about it and wanted to tell a story about the complexity of honor killings and the people involved.
A man gouged out his wife's eyes and sliced off her nose because she wouldn't give him a divorce. Raimondo was at the courthouse when the woman went to trial against her husband. The man, in chains, is shown smirking in one of Raimondo's photos.
His response to how he felt about what he'd done?
"She offended my honor, so I 'm proud of what I did."
The police he was with patted him on his back.
The story ran on the front page of the Washington Post (I'm trying to find the story online) and Raimondo said she felt sick about it and wanted to tell a story about the complexity of honor killings and the people involved.
International Panel: Live Blogging at JAWS 2008
Not able to make it to NH? Here is the latest from JAWS 2008.
International Panel:
Lois Raimondo (Staff Photog/Washington Post)
Paola Gianturco (Documentary Photog/Author)
Sahar Sarshar (Voice of America videographer and video/radio, Iran Channel)
First up:
Lois Raimondo:
Lois brings us pix from a piece on honor killings in Pakistan. Focusing on one assault of a woman in a rural village, Lois is able to attend the trial conducated by triabl leaders.
"All they wanted was choice." Lois visits a shelter for women and girls.
One young girl is the daughter of a drug-addict father and an imprisoned mother. Another woman is taking shelter from her husband after having an affair. "We are all sisters here," she says.
Next pics show women praying, mutilated women (usually by their husbands), sleeping one on top of another, playing. Another picture tells the story of a woman who had her masters in psych and had a baby....no husband came, no parents came. The hospital staff called the police and she was taken to the shelter. The baby then got sick and eventually died due to neglect. Its mother was very depressed and unable to speak when Lois arrived.
A woman who was raped by her father and bore his two children. Put into the shelter since she had two children out of wedlock.
In summary:
1. honor killings and what is going on.
2. what surrounds this issue. how do women survive? how can we tell the stories of what happened?
Paola Gianturco (Documentary Photographer/author)
Paola was truly affected by Beijing's Conference on the Status of Women. She left her life in business writing and took a one-year sabbatical to look into the life of women in the developing world. Ironically, this all came about as the result of reading an article in The Economist.
First pic: First book looked at women's artisans. Paola has now published various books....the second project arose from the first. As she was packing her camera in Gujarat (India), a woman approached her to offer access and understanding to a festival honoring a goddess. Second book then looked at festivals around the world that honored women. Seventeen were included but there are hundreds more. Together these festivals illustrated something interesting....women were honored for very different things (from reproductivity to warrior-like behavior).
Third book was about the people of Guatemala.....individuals (men, women, and children) rebuilding their lives after the bloody civil war.
Fourth book about women helping others....women helping others with the things that make life dark. Documented 123 women's groups in 15 counties.
Africa: One case in Zimbabwe....the issue of child rape. The new NGO "Girl-Child Network," has 4000 members ages 6-16. These young girls and women wrote poems about these issues....communities were mobilized after hearing of their experiences.
Vietnam: Women healing each other after abuse and domestic violence.
Morocco: Feminists have been working for 25 years to change the family code. Efforts were brought to a halt by Islamist women. King announced changes were momentous including some of the following.
1. men can only legally marry one wife
2. women must agree to be married AND divorced
3. women must inherit the same amount, not half as men.
Issue is that illiterate women don't know of these changes. One woman made it her mission that they be informed. She hired television actors to perform short pieces about these incredible developments...
Slovakia: Roma women facing discrimination. Grant-making organization funds their own projects. One includes a pre-school for Roma children since most Roma children are sent to state schools for the mentally disabled.
Brazil: Life after the favela? Life outside the favela? One woman provides education and arts classes for children in the favelas.
India: How do women and children work for their families? Photos follow children as they work on trains, platforms, etc. Another woman works to bring education to those who would normally only have time to work. Kids are taught hygiene, proper nutrition. Result is that 5000 children have transferred into public school as the fourth grade level.
Please feel free to contact those groups/festivals featured in the books. Check it out at the 'Celebrating Women' website.
Good source is Kavitha Ramdas (?) "Global Fund for Women," now the largest org in the world that gives funding to groups fighting for human rights of women and children.
Work methodology: (paraphrased, obviously) I consider that women in my books are my partners, not subjects. I explain exactly what I'm doing...I invite them to tell THEIR most interesting stories, stories that interest them the most...this can create moving results. I invite women to speak in their own language and use only female interpreters. This sometimes gives me people (interpreters) I'm not very confident about, quite frankly. The chapters are then drafted and sent back to the actual women to be re-read (in translation). This has given rise to very few corrections....(i.e. the correction of a medicinal plant in Ecuador, the spelling of Cameroon to Camerun). All of these techniques lead to a thoughtful collaboration.
International Panel:
Lois Raimondo (Staff Photog/Washington Post)
Paola Gianturco (Documentary Photog/Author)
Sahar Sarshar (Voice of America videographer and video/radio, Iran Channel)
First up:
Lois Raimondo:
Lois brings us pix from a piece on honor killings in Pakistan. Focusing on one assault of a woman in a rural village, Lois is able to attend the trial conducated by triabl leaders.
"All they wanted was choice." Lois visits a shelter for women and girls.
One young girl is the daughter of a drug-addict father and an imprisoned mother. Another woman is taking shelter from her husband after having an affair. "We are all sisters here," she says.
Next pics show women praying, mutilated women (usually by their husbands), sleeping one on top of another, playing. Another picture tells the story of a woman who had her masters in psych and had a baby....no husband came, no parents came. The hospital staff called the police and she was taken to the shelter. The baby then got sick and eventually died due to neglect. Its mother was very depressed and unable to speak when Lois arrived.
A woman who was raped by her father and bore his two children. Put into the shelter since she had two children out of wedlock.
In summary:
1. honor killings and what is going on.
2. what surrounds this issue. how do women survive? how can we tell the stories of what happened?
Paola Gianturco (Documentary Photographer/author)
Paola was truly affected by Beijing's Conference on the Status of Women. She left her life in business writing and took a one-year sabbatical to look into the life of women in the developing world. Ironically, this all came about as the result of reading an article in The Economist.
First pic: First book looked at women's artisans. Paola has now published various books....the second project arose from the first. As she was packing her camera in Gujarat (India), a woman approached her to offer access and understanding to a festival honoring a goddess. Second book then looked at festivals around the world that honored women. Seventeen were included but there are hundreds more. Together these festivals illustrated something interesting....women were honored for very different things (from reproductivity to warrior-like behavior).
Third book was about the people of Guatemala.....individuals (men, women, and children) rebuilding their lives after the bloody civil war.
Fourth book about women helping others....women helping others with the things that make life dark. Documented 123 women's groups in 15 counties.
Africa: One case in Zimbabwe....the issue of child rape. The new NGO "Girl-Child Network," has 4000 members ages 6-16. These young girls and women wrote poems about these issues....communities were mobilized after hearing of their experiences.
Vietnam: Women healing each other after abuse and domestic violence.
Morocco: Feminists have been working for 25 years to change the family code. Efforts were brought to a halt by Islamist women. King announced changes were momentous including some of the following.
1. men can only legally marry one wife
2. women must agree to be married AND divorced
3. women must inherit the same amount, not half as men.
Issue is that illiterate women don't know of these changes. One woman made it her mission that they be informed. She hired television actors to perform short pieces about these incredible developments...
Slovakia: Roma women facing discrimination. Grant-making organization funds their own projects. One includes a pre-school for Roma children since most Roma children are sent to state schools for the mentally disabled.
Brazil: Life after the favela? Life outside the favela? One woman provides education and arts classes for children in the favelas.
India: How do women and children work for their families? Photos follow children as they work on trains, platforms, etc. Another woman works to bring education to those who would normally only have time to work. Kids are taught hygiene, proper nutrition. Result is that 5000 children have transferred into public school as the fourth grade level.
Please feel free to contact those groups/festivals featured in the books. Check it out at the 'Celebrating Women' website.
Good source is Kavitha Ramdas (?) "Global Fund for Women," now the largest org in the world that gives funding to groups fighting for human rights of women and children.
Work methodology: (paraphrased, obviously) I consider that women in my books are my partners, not subjects. I explain exactly what I'm doing...I invite them to tell THEIR most interesting stories, stories that interest them the most...this can create moving results. I invite women to speak in their own language and use only female interpreters. This sometimes gives me people (interpreters) I'm not very confident about, quite frankly. The chapters are then drafted and sent back to the actual women to be re-read (in translation). This has given rise to very few corrections....(i.e. the correction of a medicinal plant in Ecuador, the spelling of Cameroon to Camerun). All of these techniques lead to a thoughtful collaboration.
International Panel
Good Morning!
The first of two morning panels is about to get underway here at the JAWS Fall Symposium. The session, an international panel, will discuss how "international issues are being covered at home, how hard it is to pitch international stories related to women, women reporting overseas and how to find -- and best tell -- the untold stories of women overseas."
The panelists are:
Peg Simpson, freelance writer from D.C.
Paola Gianturco, documentary photographer, author
Lois Raimondo, staff photographer The Washington Post
Sahar Sarshar, videographer for voice of America, and video/radio for the Iran chanel.
We're having a little trouble getting all of the technology in the conference room set up, but things should begin shortly.
The first of two morning panels is about to get underway here at the JAWS Fall Symposium. The session, an international panel, will discuss how "international issues are being covered at home, how hard it is to pitch international stories related to women, women reporting overseas and how to find -- and best tell -- the untold stories of women overseas."
The panelists are:
Peg Simpson, freelance writer from D.C.
Paola Gianturco, documentary photographer, author
Lois Raimondo, staff photographer The Washington Post
Sahar Sarshar, videographer for voice of America, and video/radio for the Iran chanel.
We're having a little trouble getting all of the technology in the conference room set up, but things should begin shortly.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Greetings from New Hamphsire!
Welcome! The Journalism and Women Symposium annual camp is about to begin in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.
We've got a great program lineup with panels on multimedia, reinventing ourselves, science/environment/technology reporting, the 2008 election and more. We've also got two great keynote speakers, Cleveland Plain Dealer columnist Connie Schultz and Drum Major Institute for Public Policy Executive Director Andrea Batista Schlesinger.
We'll be liveblogging the sessions. Fish also may twitter* from some of them via fishnette (that's her twitter logon). And we'll be using the easy Flip video camera for the two keynote addresses, with video available later Saturday or sometime Sunday in the members-only section of the JAWS Web site.
*On twitter: It's microblogging/text messaging/super live coverage. Posts are limited to 140 characters (that's actually less than a text). To follow and/or post, you go to the twitter Web site and sign up. Then select folks to follow... During the conventions, for instance, Poynter aggregated reporter posts under the name DNCjournalists - search for it, click to follow and you can see all those posts.
If you have questions about all this, add a comment or e-mail sandrafish(at)comcast.net
We've got a great program lineup with panels on multimedia, reinventing ourselves, science/environment/technology reporting, the 2008 election and more. We've also got two great keynote speakers, Cleveland Plain Dealer columnist Connie Schultz and Drum Major Institute for Public Policy Executive Director Andrea Batista Schlesinger.
We'll be liveblogging the sessions. Fish also may twitter* from some of them via fishnette (that's her twitter logon). And we'll be using the easy Flip video camera for the two keynote addresses, with video available later Saturday or sometime Sunday in the members-only section of the JAWS Web site.
*On twitter: It's microblogging/text messaging/super live coverage. Posts are limited to 140 characters (that's actually less than a text). To follow and/or post, you go to the twitter Web site and sign up. Then select folks to follow... During the conventions, for instance, Poynter aggregated reporter posts under the name DNCjournalists - search for it, click to follow and you can see all those posts.
If you have questions about all this, add a comment or e-mail sandrafish(at)comcast.net
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