SPJ workshop: inspiring video training
Tuesday, November 11th, 2008Throughout October and November, Western Washington SPJ has been hosting its fall continuing education series. On Nov. 3, Seattle PI breaking news reporter Casey McNerthney taught the video workshop.
McNerthney went over some basic tips about video from his personal experience. It is worthy to note that he does not have any fancy equipment and all of the software he shared is free. In this realization lies the value of his training: You don’t need expensive equipment. Anyone can do this.
His equipment/tools:
- Canon Powershot
- Windows Movie Maker (WMM tutorials on YouTube, or iMovie)
- A computer for editing, nothing too fancy
Most importantly is the attitude he brings to every story. McNerthney said he bought his Powershot about a year ago. Since then he appears to interview most, if not all, of his subjects with his Powershot running. His reason for videoing everything: “Sometimes daily stories turn into something big.”
(Note: I record audio of almost every interview I conduct. Not only does it help me keep quotes straight, I also have the option of using the audio later for a multimedia project. Obtaining audio in this way requires no extra effort on my part and I can only imagine if I had a small video camera with me all of the time, it would be just as easy.)
He shared one particular example of video he shot recently, about a crane operator who helped police nab a fleeing fugitive:
McNerthney talked about what shots you need to get if you’re going to record your interviews. Check out the crane video. It only takes a few seconds to get b-roll (the flavor shots of the crane in the middle of the story).