Training scribes to shoot

I spent the day in a class on how to train reporters to shoot video, learning a lot in the process.
The trainer was Chet Rhodes, the assistant managing editor for news video for washingtonpost.com. Basically it better prepared me to give an introductory course in shooting video to even the greatest Luddite among us. ("This is Mr. Battery,...") And it was nice to realize that we're ahead of many news shops in getting video online.

Some highlights:
Why video now?

• YouTube is hugely popular, has popularized videos online.
• technology makes it possible
• It's a great storytelling medium
• It will happen anyway - don't let Google get there first (YouTube is planning to create local video channels, which is scary.)

The Post's strategy for video has two aspects: reporter-shot video and video shot by photojournalists in the print newsroom or videojournalists who work for online. He focused on the reporter-produced material, which the Post's web crew edits and posts.
The material coming from the photo department or the website is more of the high-end visual report. Reporters shoot -- but usually do not edit -- the two-minute interviews with newsmakers or the cute widdle penguin chick.
Rhodes said some of the best work is in the middle, the overlap.

The Post has 6 video journalists at website, 140 reporters trained in shooting video with a dozen more trained each month. (they have 800 in print newsroom, 90 in online newsroom, which is really separate, a different company than the paper.) Also print photo desk has a multimedia component.

Under the reporter model:

• back office video staff to edit and publish. (post has 3 video editors)
• focus on training
• uses small inexpensive cameras (7 in newsroom, IT techs issue them, now taking them to bureaus) these are the kind we've found are not usable for most breaking news assignments
• can generate lot of content.

The reporter training:

• need to overcome technical training challenges (assume they've never done video before)
• must be useful
• needs to be short, less than 1 1/2 hours
• provide clear examples
• use as opportunity to show wide range of visual storytelling possibilities (teach them about the site)

Video benefits the reporter cause it can capture color for a story, allow for quote checks, adds depth to web package. The easiest web thing for a reporter to do is to take video.

Editing own material teaches shooting skills better, but is very time-intensive. I talked to him about this. While the learning curve of having reporters learn to edit their own video is steep, at the end of the process, you'd be ahead of an outfit where only a few people can edit the stuff.

He had a very specific but basic training regimen that I'll inflict, er, share with the team when I get back.

Next thing is something on the future of news at the CBC headquarters, which should be interesting.