Minimata, Japan, by W. Eugene Smith
Long before I started shooting video I shot stills.
I had picked up the skills studying photographer at Williams College, in Williamstown, Mass., under the great Howie Levitz.
When I graduated from Williams, I received a Watson Foundation Fellowship that allowed me to spend the next three years traveling around the world photographing.
When I moved to video in the 1980s, my background and all my experience was from stills work. In fact, one of the things that frustrated me them most was that most of the TV cameramen I dealt with had little regard for the visual composition of the stories or the power of the image.
I have always had a great attachment to still photography, and so it was with a great degree of sadness that I read the following on EPUK:
Has the time come to take photojournalism off life-support? After nearly 25 years in the business, agency director Neil Burgess steps forward to make the call.
There is no question that photojournalism, as a way to make a living has pretty much ceased to exist for almost everyone.
But now, what does the photojournalist do with their skill set?
In the course of running my training bootcamps, I have come across my fair share of professional photographers trying to make the transition to video. Most have great eyes. Their problem is in their storytelling skills. Video, unlike stills, requires more than just the ability to capture great images (and some of these guys are just stellar. The very first VJ I ever trained was David Kennerly, who is certainly world class).
I learned my own video skills and the techniques I teach not from television and film classes, but rather from still photography, Life Magzine, and in particular, the work of W Eugene Smith, the photojournalist who invented the photoessay for Henry Luce at Life.
Many years ago, I came across a book entitled W Eugene Smith and the Photographic Essay.
This book published by some of Smith’s best-known photo series: things like Country Doctor or Spanish Village, but then, on the facing page, the book also published Smith’s contact sheets. Now, this is something you hardly ever see, but the contact sheets allowed me to see inside Smith’s brain and understand how he looked at a room and a shooting situation. Almost without fail, Smith shot in sequences – close up on the hands, on the face, the wide, the over the shoulder – the same sequences I use and teach in the bootcamps.
Because of his sequential shooting Smith was able to construct linear photo essays for Life that told a story.
Life was the most popular magazine the world has ever seen, largely owing to what Smith had invented. It was television before television. But of course, what Smith had also unleashed was the sense of linear and powerful storytelling. And the text helped a lot.
National Geographic is no different, except the photography is a bit less directed as storytelling per se, as opposed to illustrative, and thus the text becomes all the more important.
Great magazines like Life or Nat Geo were weaves of text and photos that worked together to both capture the imagination and deliver a story.
The greatest weakness that great photogs have when they move into the realm of video is that their storytelling skills are weak. They depend far too much on the images (which are quite good) to convey a story. This generally does not work, or if it does, it requires far too much work on the part of the viewer to ‘get’ the concept.
Let me give you an example that came over the transom this week.
[vimeo]http://www.vimeo.com/14335928[/vimeo]This is the work of Sam Morgan Moore, an extremely talented British photographer who is making the transition to video. As you can see, he has a spectacular eye. (And he shoots without a tripod).
Sam sent me his first attempt at telling a story in video:
[vimeo]http://www.vimeo.com/10654563[/vimeo]The shooting, as you can see, is painfully beautiful. As a photographer, Moore at his best is in a class with Smith. But when it comes to ‘telling the story’ Sam has relied on sound bites from the people he has interviewed, laced together as VO to try and drive a kind of narrative here. This does not work.
It does not work because it is disjointed. It doesn’t tell me a story. It doesn’t drive the story along in a compelling way.
If Sam had spent the day at the Sheep farm and then come home to his wife covered in wool clipping, dripping sweat and excited by his experience, she might have said, ‘how was your day?’
And he might have responded, ‘I had one of the most unbelievable experiences of my life today”?
(so far, so good)
And she might say.. “what happened?” leaning in and ready..
And he would then reply, ‘just a second’ and turn on a tape recorder filled with soundbites from people he had interviewed.
How long do you think that would hold his wife’s attention?
A minute? 20 seconds?
How long before she would turn to him and say ‘what the f**k is the matter with you? What happened? Talk to me?”
I have the same feeling watching his film.
Talk to me!
Tell me a story.
Tell me what I am looking at. Who are these people? What’s with the sheep? What’s going on here?
Tell me a story.
The pictures do it great in so far as they go. I might even like to hear a bit from the sheep farmer or his wife or whomever, but first and foremost I need you to TELL ME THE STORY.
This requires narrative.
Just like in Life Magazine with W Eugene Smith and all the other Magnum photographers.
I need the writing.
I need the narrative.
Sam’s video is good in so far as it goes, but it does not go anywhere near far enough.
Video is about pictures, but it is also about writing, text, narrative, music, graphics, editing. It’s a rich tapestry of all these things, all working together.
The pictures he’s got (and I would say the editing also). But what I need her, what the story cries for is a well constructed narrative.
Just putting up the shots and the soundbites and essentially saying ‘OK, I’ve gotten you this far, now your figure it out from here’ is not good enough.
The potential here is enormous.
What he needs is narrative and storytelling that is commensurate with the quality of his shooting.
If he can do that, then he’s really got a winning formula for success.. and just the kind of thing that everyone will want to buy.
6 Comments
Eric B September 08, 2010
Bill,
Great post. I said many years ago (and was quoted as saying) I get more viewing one FRAME often – – than I do watching 1:30 of video TV news. One frame often times captures more. Why is that? You nailed it… it freezes a moment in time. Viewers, however have the opportunity to look at that one moment over and over… as long as they wish… to let it sink in… where they can appreciate a number of things (content, craft, creativity. etc…)
Video moves. At the speed of life. And yet, video allows us to also capture moment – natural sounds, natural moments, and edit them together, creating video journalism. It is definately a different ball game with different rules. Done correctly… it can also be very powerful.
The best video journalists… have definately taken their photography skills… of composition, color, light… and combined it with their producing/storytelling skills, audio, editing, skills and talents… to create video stories.
Two differnent animals.
One thing I am trying to get across is this “notion” that video journalism has just arrived…Michael mentions Travis Fox, etc… Well… video journalism, great video journalism has been practices for decades. It is now, that still photographers have been forced to move into video that there is this renewed interest in the practice of it. There is a very very rich history of video journalism…
Bill Gentile September 06, 2010
All,
Photojournalists have difficulty making the transition to video partly because they’ve spent so much of their professional lives striving to capture what Henri Cartier-Bresson called, “decisive moment.” It’s the moment that encapsulates, embodies, or tells the entire story. For photojournalists, there is no beginning. No middle. No end. That moment in time IS the story.
I spent most of my early days as a journalist making pictures for United Press International and, later, for Newsweek Magazine. So I’m familiar with the trap that we photojournalists often find ourselves in. I was fortunate, however, to have had the opportunity (or the financial necessity) to write. I spent my early days as a freelancer making photos but also writing and editing stories for UPI, as well as writing and reporting for ABC and NBC radio. So I developed a sense of “story” that extended beyond that decisive moment.
Most photojournalists are not that fortunate and Michael is right about the difficulty that so many of our colleagues have in making the transition. But their glasses are half full. What Michael refers to as “video journalism” and what I call “backpack journalism” are rooted more in the tradition and skill sets required for documentary photojournalism, than the 6 o’clock news.
The best photojournalists come to the new craft with an understanding of light, the absence of light, form, composition and motion. They understand how to make powerful images, these being the engine inside of visual communication.
This is not to say that transiting from the decisive moment to the dramatic arc is easy. It is not. But, given the skills they’ve acquired along the way, photojournalists bring a visual foundation to the craft that many others do not.
Good luck,
Bill Gentile
Eric B September 04, 2010
Sam,
Your photography skills (and talent) definately are evident! I am a critical person by nature, and often times the good things get brushed over. I have spent decades viewing and critiquing video journalism, so it is easy for me to pick a video apart. The good thing… is that you DO bring a photographers mind/heart/eye to your video stories. Composition, color, creativity, and an eye for quality really, really are something most television news photographers have either ignored, forgotten, or are not able to deliver – due to demands by producers. Definately take your photography attitude… and move into video journalism. The viewer does appreciate quality aesthetics. Just try to find the deeper stories… and it will all come together. Have FUN!
sam morgan moore September 04, 2010
I thank you both for taking the time to comment on my first steps
It is most helpful in the development of my skill from stills photographer to motion camera operator and maybe VJ
Hopefully viewers can see that the background in stills brings a visual strength to the work, the story telling and sound need more development for sure
Eric B September 03, 2010
I went back and watched the Sheep Shearing video.
What we see is very common among video journalists. The emphasis is on the video, not the journalism. Video journalism involves skills and talents. Skills take time to learn and perfect. Once a person learns the skills of shooting, getting audio, interviewing, and editing, then they can spend more time on their talents… and focusing on the content of the storyline.
The more a video journalist matures, the more their skills and talents can be used to produced more focused, relevent stories. Beginners tend to pick simple visual stories to hone their skills on. We all do it. “Maker” stories are usually the first “types” of stories worked on. People make things. People sheer sheep. These types of stories have “visual” beginnings – happy sheep in a pasture – then somebody does something to “make” something else. In this case… wool. It is a process that involves a number of “sequences.” I did stories on toy makers, golfers, and many more (set to music of course… another common trait of the beginning video journalist.) Music, I learned after many years, is a crutch. Certainly it can be used, and effectively, but natural sounds and moments are much harder to create emotion or feeling. Music does the job fast and easy… but it is like artificial sweetener. (Coming from a musician.)
Remember, Video journalism is the closest thing to reality there is. Once we “add” music and artificial sweeteners…. it moves further away from “reality” and into “drama.” In some cases, that is fine. Sometimes a mixture of reality, journalism, and art/music, can be valuable. Creativity has value… when it’s truly creative.
When we learn visual storytelling, we are more focused on “how” to do it.. often more than we are on “what” the content is. Once we learn how to follow action, and structure a story visually (as well as the mechanics of editing) then a video journalist can expand into more specific, focused storylines. I advise videojournalists to look for the “story within the story.” Once you think you have found a story…. then look deeper. Focus and find the story within the story you think you are shooting.
Anyway… I like to critique stories… as you might tell. And we should always watch, critique, and allow our work to be critiqued by others. It is the best way to learn and get better! I loved the pictures in the Sheep story. It took me to another place and another time… which is what video journalism does. Have a great day… in your world…where ever you are.
Eric B September 02, 2010
Great analysis! Right on the money. Video storytelling is an art form. Craft. Creativity. Commitment from a beginning to and ending. And content rich with natural sounds and moments… that are focused and meaningful. Add on top of that …. great composition, color, light, aesthetics… and you can have some outstanding video journalism! Nothing better. Nothing.
Video journalism is the closest thing to reality there is.
And if you add your personal touch, it can make reality… better. (Or at least more enjoyable to watch.) Of course not all video journalism is meant to be enjoyable, per se. The “power” of video journalism is great. It can inform, motivate, or entertain. Many possibilities and much potential.
There are a number of outstanding examples of video journalism over the past decades…. artistic… and powerful…. I have seen them. They should be archived as early examples of video journalism. Video journalism is not “new.” It is only new to those still photojournalists… who are being forced to move into video (technology.) Anyway… a powerful post…. which lays it down straight. Great video journalism involves much more than great visuals! Content. Craft. Creativity. Commitment. Storytelling is where a person applies his craft, creativity and commitment to content. The most common form of storytelling is narrative… with a beginning, middle and ending. It has characters. But not all storytelling must fit into that mold… there are creative ways as well…. Keep teaching.. and keep learning.