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Education
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Strike up the one-man band
May 7, 2004
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by John W. Owens, Ph.D
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I have colleagues within the musical theater program here at the University of Cincinnati who are always on the look for “triple threats.” When I first arrived here at the College-Conservatory of Music in 1999, I didn’t have clue what that term meant. A colleague released me from my ignorance by explaining that a triple threat was a person who could sing, dance, and act. A trip threat can do it all on the stage — and good ones are hard to find. Now the concept of a triple threat can be applied to broadcast journalism.
“One-man band” reporting is becoming more commonplace within the television news industry. This new “solo journalist” is being asked to shoot, write, and edit their own stories, rather than depending on separate personnel in photography and editing.
What’s driving this change? Some point to media consolidation and the push for efficiency in a corporate environment. In small markets, this type of reporting has been necessary for some time because of the lack of personnel. Another key change agent has been the proliferation of high quality, compact digital technology that enables one person to carry all of their essential tools into the field.
No matter the reason, this trend is here to stay and offers some unique challenges to educators. How do we prepare aspiring television journalists for this new era of one-man band newsgathering?
Tool Time
The typical solo journalist is operating in a completely digital world from start to finish. Thomas Nybo, a contributing reporter for CNN, filed reports from Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He shot video with a tiny Sony mini-DV camcorder, transferred the video to an Apple laptop by IEEE-1394, edited the footage with Final Cut Pro, and transmitted the package back to CNN via satellite phone.
For one story, Nybo was able to accompany U.S. paratroopers as they conducted a night drop over Iraq. There was no room for multiple reporters on the flight, and he was given the only available seat. “I shoot the shots of them jumping out, I shoot my stand-ups just before they jumped out, and then I’ve got four hours to load the video into my PowerBook and edit as we’re flying,” he explained. “So I have a completed package once I touch down in Italy.”
Dr. Roger Heinrich, assistant professor of electronic media communication at Middle Tennessee State University, doesn’t have the ratio of cameras to student that he would like in his broadcast journalism classes. However, he encourages students in earlier prerequisite courses to acquire their own digital camcorder in preparation for news production. As a result, 14 of the 17 students in his news production course have their own cameras — a high percentage no doubt helped by the falling costs of digital video camcorders.
Editing software often falls into the category of “do the best you can.” Various titles are being used between journalists and educators, with Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere being the most popular. If your budget is tight, you may want to consider Apple iMovie or Pinnacle Studio 9 as a nice entry point for desktop nonlinear video editing.
Once students have the digital tools at their disposal, it becomes very important that they develop proficiency with those tools. According to Dave Sirak, news operations manager for WFTV in Orlando, FL, “It’s important for them to learn every aspect of the technology — and that’s everything from the computer to the camera. They now have to be involved in every aspect of it, whereas before they didn’t have to worry about shooting or editing.”
Students must also have a strong foundation in production aesthetics and technique. Adam Balkin, technology reporter for NY1 News, a 24-hour New York cable news operation that features one-man band reporters, appreciated a course he took in still photography while he was a student at Penn State University. “I think it helped more than anything I learned in my video journalism classes,” he recalled, “because with still photography you learn all the principles ... filling the frame, the rule of thirds ... how to make a pretty shot.”
And don’t forget about teaching the importance of audio in the field. For example, in an interview, never give up control of your microphone. Most people on the street know nothing about proper microphone technique, so be sure to hold it for them.
If the presence of a mic flag is not important, then use a lavalier microphone to capture sound during an interview. A properly placed lav can control the source-to-mic distance, which is the most common cause of poor audio capture. Also, pay close attention to the capturing of natural sound for B-roll footage. Remember that the sound serves to maintain continuity throughout the package.
Practice What You Preach
Once students are comfortable with the gear and software, it then becomes important to assign them specific exercises that allow them to practice being self-sufficient journalists. Obviously, asking students to complete projects entirely on their own is the best practice. However, there are some specific tips you’ll want to consider when creating additional class exercises.
Denise Dowling, an assistant professor of Radio/TV at the University of Montana’s School of Journalism, knows that sometimes her students won’t always have a partner in the field to help them frame their standup. “We tell them to use their light stand almost as a dummy,” she said. “They’ll set their light stand up to their height and frame it up as if the top of the light stand was their head.”
Balkin also thinks that exercises related to stand-ups are important because that often is the most difficult shot to get when you’re on your own. He recommended putting something on the ground, such as a pen, where you want to stand and set focus. “Then I take a wide shot, hit record, and then go stand by the pen,” he continued. “I then look to see if there is anything on a building or something on a sign that lines up with the top of my head, so that I can frame properly exactly where I’ll be. Then I go back and zoom in on that point.”
Nybo suggested flipping the display screen on the camera so you can see it from in front of the lens. Over the years, he’s found that his best stand-ups tend to be the ones that are more tightly framed.
For interviews, Dowling tells her students to set the camera up and step to the side, so the subject maintains eye contact with you and doesn’t look directly into the camera. This technique puts added importance on properly framing the shot, so Balkin recommended firm instructions to your subject. “Tell the person you’re interviewing, ‘Keep your feet planted ... do not move ... if you move you’re going to cut your head off and screw up the whole story.’ You have to be cognizant of that the whole time, “ he advised.
Having students shoot in a variety of lighting conditions will also prove to be a valuable educational experience. For example, ask students to do a stand-up in the sun, in the shadows, with a dark backdrop, and with a bright background. This practice will help them learn how to properly expose a subject.
Terrific news stories do not have to be the product of a separate reporter, photographer, and editor. Solo journalism is not a flash-in-the-pan phenomenon, so students who are prepared to work independently in the field will have a competitive advantage when they enter the workforce.
“The foundation for good television journalism is always going to be compelling pictures, stories that are memorable, and information that serves the viewer,” said Sirak. “Anything under that umbrella, no matter how it’s technically accomplished, is going to be good.”
John W. Owens, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of electronic media at the University of Cincinnati.
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