ABSTRACT

As newspapers and broadcast news outlets direct more resources toward online content, print reporters and photojournalists are picking up video cameras and crafting new kinds of stories with their lenses. Creating multimedia video journalism requires more than simply adapting traditional broadcast techniques: it calls for a new way of thinking about how people engage with the news and with emerging media technologies. In this guide, Kurt Lancaster teaches students and professional journalists how to shoot better video and tell better stories on the web, providing a strong understanding of cinematic storytelling and documentary production so their videos will stand out from the crowd.

Video Journalism for the Web introduces students to all the basic skills and techniques of good video journalism and documentary storytelling, from shots and camera movements to sound and editing—as well as offering tips for developing compelling, character-driven narratives and using social media to launch a successful career as a "backpack journalist." Shooting, editing, and writing exercises throughout the book allow students to put these techniques into practice, and case studies and interviews with top documentary journalists provide real-world perspectives on a career in video journalism. This book gives aspiring documentary journalists the tools they need to get out in the field and start shooting unforgettable multimedia stories.

chapter |5 pages

Introduction

What is Documentary Journalism?

chapter |10 pages

Differences in Style

Documentary Journalism versus Broadcast News—A Comparative Analysis of a Similar Story at CNN versus the New York Times

chapter |23 pages

Finding a Story and Shaping the Structure

Starting with Character in Jigar Mehta's “The Recession-Proof Artist”

chapter |31 pages

Shooting the Image

Composition and Lighting in Travis Fox's “Narcocorridos and Nightlife in Mexicali” and “Crisis in Darfur Expands”

chapter |16 pages

Conducting Interviews and Writing a Script

A Workshop with “Icarus Refried: A Pro-Creative Process”

chapter |26 pages

Editing for Rhythm

Travis Fox's “Redefining China's Family: Women”

chapter |13 pages

Getting Clean Audio and Crafting a Sound Design

An Audio Workshop with Philip Bloom, Travis Fox, and Wes Pope

chapter |21 pages

The Blogging Journalist

Travis Fox and the Mexican Border Stories