“Re-Pete After Me”

I can’t say enough about my Flip camera. Check out the ad I did for a rental property I have in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico. The entire shoot was done with my Flip cam, which is the size of a cigarette pack.

I ran across this item on Michael Rosenblum’s blog...CNN is going “all-platform.” The cable news network is doubling its domestic news-gathering presence by assigning VJs to 10 additional cities across the country. One “all-platform” journalist (VJ) will be assigned to each new city (Columbus, Denver, Houston, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Raleigh-Durham and Seattle) and work, not from a bureau, but from local TV affiliates.

So, you’ve acquired the necessary production skills to become a video journalist and now you’re asking yourself, “But how do I make any money being a VJ”? It’s not easy. There’s not a lot of freelance work out there. But, all is not lost. You can apply the same skills in producing “advertorials” or ads for the web. Small to medium size businesses are catching onto the concept of having a video marketing presence on their websites. Here’s a link to a couple I produced: (1) Pooper Scooper (2) City Council woman.

We’re happy to report that OnQCo has been discovered in Japan. Mayumi submitted her first video for critiquing. She is a vjU subscriber. Mayumi had planned on attending one of our workshops in California, but found the cost of travel to be to hard on her budget. When we began offering video training tutorials online at vjU, Mayumi jumped at the opportunity. She is a work in progress — we’re working on some of her audio issues, but in time, with the help of our critiques, I think she’ll become a first rate VJ.

Michael Rosenblum keeps posting clips of Newark Star Ledger clients who’ve completed his vj boot camp that reflect the glowing deficiency in his training; copy reading. The displayed works of John O’Boyle and Scott Lituchy have many positives — decent shooting and editing, excellent use of natural sound, but the narration is strictly “3rd Grade.” Everything about these two stories is professional accept the narration. Copy reading is as important to good video journalism as any element. Both John and Scott need to see the “Inflection Doctor,” and quick. Learning how to stress key words wouldn’t hurt either. Because I care about the evolution of the VJ model — why else would I have put out my OnQCo shingle in lieu of my country club membership — I’m offering free access to my talent performance tutorials to anyone who is struggling with copy reading. Just contact me at 650-207-2623 or pete@onqco.com for details. STOP READING BADLY.

Print journalists with video cameras will rule the Internet soon. While TV news operations continue to simply re-purpose their product for the web, print journalists are turning to video with a better understanding of how it works online. Print journalists are augmenting their writing with video. The Washington Post has trained 185 people to shoot and edit video. Today’s top story on Beet.tv is about how cheap video cameras transforming the print news industry. On the flip side — pardon the pun, the post also mentions Kara Swisher of D/All Things Digital, the digital arm of the Wall Street Journal using a Flip Cam for her blog. Unfortunately, what I saw was Kara abusing the Flip Cam. Get you to a laptop with Final Cut Pro, Kara. There is no place online for child’s play when you’re supposed to be a professional.

The biggest shortcoming I’m seeing among newly trained/converted VJs, is reading copy at a professional level. You can write like a pro but if you can’t read it well (using proper inflection and intonation and stressing key words) you’ll sound like an amateur. Case in point. On is blog, Michael Rosenblum sings the praises of rookie VJ Andre Malok of the Newark Star Ledger on his first published video. The story about the re-location of 10 bears is for the most part, pretty good — excellent writing, decent video capture, nice pacing….but, the copy sounds like a bored parent reading Goldylocks to half-a-sleep kids. That story would have been killer, were it not for the narration. Think of being a VJ like you would a major league pitcher. In the big leagues you need a good fastball, breaking ball and changeup. If you don’t have all three you’re likely not going to stay around long. A good VJ needs to excel in each of the components of video journalism — shooting, writing, editing, producing and performing. It’s a must

Major league bloggers like Jeff Jarvis, to the overly ambitious blogging soccer mom can stand to benefit from this device. It’s called a Flip Cam. It can record up to an hour and it comes with a built-in USB stick so you don’t need any wires to get video to your computer editing software. Al Tompkins of the Poynter Institute first brought this to my attention as he showed the world how he blogged from the recent RTNDA convention in Las Vegas. If I were a newspaper editor, every one of my reporters would be required to carry one of these.

Okay, my putting stroke sucks. I stabbed it, okay? These cameras sell for $149. I got mine at Best Buy. Have fun playing with your Flip Cam.

Off on a production shoot in remote area…now, back to the grind.

Checked out Amanda Congdon’s new Internet gig. The former Rocketboom star, who quit to go mainstream with ABC News, is working down the 24-second clock of fame and is dangerously close to having the buzzer sound on her career.

Viewed Michael Rosenblum’s off-the-wall video on JK Rowling and TV. Ironic that VJ guru’s on-camera image is so backlit you’d swear and amateur was shooting it. Practice what you preach, Michael.

Words you’d like to be able to say. “My son/daughter is a video journalist.
Words you like never to have to say. “He/she works for TMZ.

Some advice to print reporters making the conversion to video for their paper’s online product (see SF.Gate). Five minute stories appearing in a box that’s half the size of a pack of smokes is not prudent. Click STOP! Shorter is better 2:00 max. The Internet viewer has a short attention span.

Since I brought so much equipment for our “Going Solo” session at this year’s RTNDA, I drove my Jeep to the convention from Northern California. As I viewed Las Vegas in my rear view mirror at 5:30AM Wednesday, I assembled some thoughts on the 3-days I spent there. Dr. Mona Khanna, our volunteer VJ got all B’s for her production skills — shooting, editing, copy readying, talent performance. A gentleman in the audience who trains VJ’s in Afghanastan ripped her pretty good for poor con

tent. Rightfully, so, her end product on the pluses of social networking lacked focus and strong content. From a production view she got good marks for a well paced product. Dr. Mona was great to work with and I suspect, will turn up one day soon as a major player in TV medical news. College students were the biggest draw at the session. From their comments and following a live copy reading exercise they demonstrated a pretty good grasp of how their skills need to be honed before taking that first job. The majority felt they were getting the proper training at their respective colleges and universities. Disappointing was a next to nothing turnout by news directors. It appears they are still in denial. Sorry they all didn’t get to see the 5-minute video on the all-VJ news operation we featured from KOHD-TV in Bend, Oregon.  A good number of young people from the session stopped by afterward for more info on our announcement of the Break Room. All wanted to know how to get their demo reel up in lights for news managers to view.