2nd Edition

Videojournalism Multimedia Storytelling for Online, Broadcast and Documentary Journalists

By Kenneth Kobre Copyright 2024
    392 Pages 698 Color Illustrations
    by Routledge

    392 Pages 698 Color Illustrations
    by Routledge

    Videojournalism: Multimedia Storytelling for Online, Broadcast and Documentary Journalists is an essential guide for solo video storytellers—from "backpack" videojournalists to short-form documentary makers to do-it-all broadcast reporters.

    Based on interviews with award-winning professionals sharing their unique experiences and knowledge, Videojournalism covers topics such as crafting and editing eye-catching short stories, recording high-quality sound, and understanding the laws and ethics of filming in public and private places. Other topics include:

    • understanding the difference between a story and a report

    • finding a theme and telling a story in a compact time frame

    • learning to use different cameras and lenses—from smart phones to mirrorless and digital cinema cameras

    • using light, both natural and artificial

    • understanding color and exposure

    The second edition of this best-selling text has been completely revised and updated. Heavily illustrated with more than 550 photographs, the book also includes more than 200 links to outstanding examples of short-form video stories. Anatomy of a News Story, a short documentary made for the book, follows a day in the life of a solo TV videojournalist on an assignment (with a surprise ending), and helps readers translate theory to practice.

    This book is for anyone learning how to master the art and craft of telling real, short-form stories with words, sound, and pictures for the Web or television.

    A supporting companion website links to documentaries and videos, and includes additional recommendations from the field’s most prominent educators.

    List of Contributors

    Preface

    Acknowledgements

    Chapter 1 Telling Stories

    Chapter 2 Teasing Out a Theme

    Chapter 3 Successful Story Topics

    Chapter 4 Finding a Story

    Chapter 5 Producing a Story

    Chapter 6 Selecting a Video Camera

    Chapter 7 Controlling Focus and Exposure

    Chapter 8 Selecting the Right Lens Length

    Chapter 9 Looking for Light and Color

    Chapter 10 Recording Sound

    Chapter 11 Shooting a Sequence

    Chapter 12 Moving the Camera/Lens for Visual Variety

    Chapter 13 Conducting an Interview

    Chapter 14 Writing a Script

    Chapter 15 Editing the Video

    Chapter 16 Editing Workflow

    Chapter 17 Facing Ethical Dilemmas

    Chapter 18 Staying within the Law

    Index

    Biography

    Ken Kobré is Professor Emeritus at San Francisco State University where he headed the photojournalism/videojournalism program for 30 years. Kobré has been producing documentaries for broadcast outlets and NGOs for 23 years. His documentaries have been shown on PBS, France 5, and other international outlets. His textbook Photojournalism: The Professionals' Approach, published by Focal Press-Routledge, has been the widest-selling text on photojournalism in the world since 1980.