Careers in Video/Film

[sbaldwin]

Hi Everyone!

I'm totally 'green' to the film/video industry and have a very broad, somewhat vague question.

Assuming that video is the medium, how much overlap is there among the different professions that rely on video?

For example, do film students ever become photojournalists or visa versa? Do journalism/TV production students ever become cinematographers? Does the guy or gal operating the camera for the nightly news affiliate go to film school or some other training facility? What about the people who shoot TV commercials and/or sporting events...where do they go to learn??

Thanks in advance for your input. I literally have no knowledge of the industy and hope to at least get some bearings on what's what.

Shannon

 

[Kim Welch]

People learn where they learn

People learn where they learn

I am not really sure of your questions but i know these kinds of questions are significant to those interested in visual arts. Also, and most understood by me is that People learn where they learn and in ways that best fit what they have been given in life.

I was fortunate enough to go to the 20th century Fox studios and see Roy H. Wagner, ASC, working on the House series. Roy never went to Film School from what I understand and learned from taking entry level jobs and working in the industry. There is an intern on the set of the House that Roy is mentoring. She is actually one of our previous workshop attendees. She is learning everyday on the set and I am sure she will be a great cinematographer. She is very furtunate.

I think it all depends on what you want to do, what you can pratically do and or what you can afford to do in some cases. Most people that do this have a passion for it. You can learn from hanging out in the library reading every issue of the American Cinematography magazine from the first publication and reading books like David Mullen, ASC, did when he wanted to learn and then go to film school after the fact or you can go to film school directly or not go to film school at all. So you see you can go about it in many different ways and if you have a passion for the business you will find a way.

This is the part I am not sure of but I have thoughts. Although there are many basic similarities in the TV journalism and filmmaking I think the basic differences particularly in comparison with feature film are huge and it would take a book or two to go into those differences.


Most important I think are elements of telling a story with sub text that are much different. This is a deep area that books are written about. In TV journalism it is more of a textual narration and interview process with natural motion photos of events in process. TV journalism is not a made up of elaborate sets and well thought out scenes telling a story in the same emotionally evocative way you find in a feature film. If you are talking about TV as in series shows. Then I would suggest buying a book or two from our book store!

Kim

 

[laurent.a]

Historically, as news gathering were shot in film, camera operators were the same people. It was just a personal carreer that made one or another work for motion pictures or news gathering.

Of course, the fact that most of the news reels and corporate films were then shot on video since the 80's made more specifically video operators work for tv, corporate and news, while film was basically used for features, series, short fiction films, documentaries etc.

Some cinematographer began working in film for news reels and then became motion picture operators. Raoul Coutard did, for instance.

In France, a news cameraman has to have a press card and first be a journalist. They use video as a writer would use a pen. They are not necessarly good for shooting fiction film then.

Though I had a film and fiction background first, I was also interested in journalism and had the opportunity to work as a cameraman reporter for TV along the years. I also worked a lot for TF1, the first european channel as both a camera operator and cameraman reporter.

I followed a course in the 80's and I remeber I was the only one there who was an operator who wanted to learn tv journalism. all the other were journalists who wanted to learn tv journalism and camera reporting.

 

[sbaldwin]

Thanks to Kim and Laurent! Both answers were insightful and helpful.

I'm a still photographer considering a formal education in either film or video journalism. I fully understand the fundamental differences between the two, but I'm trying to think a few steps ahead and consider which one might provide the broadest education.

You see, for me, it's not so much that I have a passion for either film or broadcast television. For me, the passion is visual storytelling. Given I'm not exacly sure where the education will take me, I'm trying to make sure I make the right education decisions--I could be equally satisfied telling stories on the nightly news or on the big screen, so to speak.

It appears that a flim student could cross over into some other form of video work more easily than a journalism student could enter into the film industry.

 

[laurent.a]

It appears that a flim student could cross over into some other form of video work more easily than a journalism student could enter into the film industry.

I think you got a point !

 

[Brad Hoover]

You say you have a passion for "visual story telling". It seems to me that story telling in a narrative film sense is at the opposite end of the spectrum from journalistic storytelling.

Narrative films are all about manipulating (I don't mean that in a negative sense) the audience into seeing, hearing and feeling the things you want them to through the creative use of direction, lighting, camera angles and movement, art direction, sound design, and of course, editing.

Journalistic storytelling, on the other hand, is (or should be) all about NOT manipulating the audience. It's about letting the participants of the event tell the story and the journalist be the conveyor of the story to the audience without reinterpreting it through any of the techniques used in narrative film.

From my point of view, although both narrative film and journalism both utilize image capture mediums, whether it be film or video, they require completely separate educational approaches. I don't see how a film program designed for a narrative approach to filmmaking could prepare someone for a news gathering career and vise versa.

Of course this is all just my opinion and as such should be taken with a large grain of salt.

Brad Hoover
Educational Director,
Blue Ridge Motion Pictures
www.blueridgemotionpictures.com

 

[DerekEastham]

I agree with Brad in principle about what the difference between film & journalism is/should be...

But at the same time I just wanted to add that even through all their differences... Journalists are still telling a story... visually, auditorially, emotionally, etc.

So... either way, at its base, they both are mediums for storytelling.

 

[Manuel Marino]

Hello, I'm not an expert like you... since my field is audio industry, but I'm beginning to move in your industry as well, so I'm trying to learn all I can from you 8)

By the way... your explanations are very interesting and very qualified... I've got a question about the two "ways".

Documentaries could be considered a kind of compromise between the two?

I'm not an expert, so it's just a question from a newbie

 

[BigBeaner]

I think you can do and cross over to whatever you want despite your degree or major.

Most films schools have it all to offer, you can for instance be an audio/radio major and still be required to fulfil media arts studies, then after class go off and make a movie with an upperclassman or part of a student run organization, then go off and take photos or write an article for the college newspaper. It's really up to you and majors/minors none of that really matters. I'm a new media major and I've actually worked and used film more than most of the film students. Do what you want. Some schools you can mix and make up your own major.