Multimedia Storytelling @ MediaStorm
Thursday, September 2, 2010, from 3-5 pm, at Palais des Congres
The digital age is giving photojournalists extraordinary new ways to report and distribute stories. We have a greater level of authorship and an unprecedented opportunity to reach a global audience. How can the long-form, in-depth visual storyteller satisfy both their journalistic and financial needs in this environment?

Join Brian Storm, Founder and Executive Producer of MediaStorm, to see how some of the top photojournalists have redefined their storytelling capabilities to include audio and video reporting and an eye toward publication in multiple media.

Multimedia Projects by MediaStorm
Friday, September 3, 2010, from 10-2pm, at Caserne Gallieni
Multiple projects will be screened. Walter Astrada’s project about violence against women in India will be shown for the first time at 11am and Walter will be there to answer questions. This project was made possible by The Alexia Foundation.

Safe travels to all attending the festival this year.

Diana Ortiz spent over half her life in prison for a crime she committed when she was a teenager. Now 45, she has turned her life around and works to help other inmates rebuild their lives. Exodus is her story.

The MediaStorm Multimedia Workshops in New York City are intensive, hands-on educational experiences in advanced multimedia storytelling.

Over the course of a week, participants work in three-person teams, reporting and editing in collaboration with a seasoned multimedia professional to produce a multimedia project for distribution across multiple platforms.

We will be holding one more MediaStorm Multimedia Workshop in 2010:

• Workshop Eight: November 13-19, 2010 – Application Deadline: Wednesday September 15, 2010

Go here for additional information on our workshops, and to apply.

Drew Jordan is currently finishing his graduate project to fulfill a Master’s degree in multimedia at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.

Since completing his B.A. in Photography at Webster University, St. Louis, in 2005, he has worked across a wide spectrum of media environments. From producing design/multimedia projects for non-profit organizations around the country to working as a contributing photographer for several publications in New Zealand and Australia, his wunderlust has provided for a very rewarding freelance past. It also led to a stint as a goat herding cowboy in Australia.

With interests in editorial, photojournalistic, and design practices he does not aim to specialize in one but rather meld disciplines to enjoy several ways of storytelling as a whole. Some of his recent clients include Amnesty International, MTV Africa, and Randomhouse.

AJ Maclean is a producer, photographer and current Master’s candidate from Syracuse University in Photography and Multimedia. His particular interest is stories that deal with the fundamental connections and interactions we all have or seek to have with each other.

He is recently coming off of a fellowship with News21, a Carnegie and Knight Foundations educational journalism initiative. As one of 11 national fellows he produced multimedia related to an in-depth investigative project regarding transportation safety in the US.

Previously he has been published in USA Today, ESPN online and Maxim Magazine among several other publications. His experience comes from being a newspaper staff photographer outside of Washington D.C. and in southern Wisconsin where he also received his bachelor’s degree in Contemporary Information Technology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Over this five-day course, attendees will participate in a collaborative, fast-paced, hands-on overview of what it takes to produce successful multimedia projects. They will work closely with MediaStorm producers and interactive designers to learn the essential elements of multimedia post-production, project organization and storytelling concepts.

There will be intensive business-oriented discussions as well, critiquing aspects of developing business models that support multimedia and interactive storytelling. Attendees will leave the workshop with an understanding of all the areas they need to create a comprehensive multimedia plan and to educate others on the approach.

If you are interested in attending the Workshop, please see the site for more information and application instructions. Application deadline is November 1, 2010. If you have any questions, please contact workshops@mediastorm.com.

Prior to joining MediaStorm, Pam Huling owned Gaslight Media Consulting, LLC, with clients in Switzerland and New York City. She currently serves on the Executive Board of EZArchive, Inc. and Our Favorite Moments, which are online subscription-based cloud services for consumers. As the former Director of Photo Services at Discovery Communications, Inc., the #1 non-fiction media company in the world, Huling oversaw more than 400 photo and multimedia shoots each year on location around the world, the licensing of millions of dollars in stock content and the management of more than one million media assets. Pam Huling has a background in art and music, holding a degree in graphic design and a Bachelor of Music in bassoon performance from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. She received a scholarship to attend the Conservatory at the age of 17.

Tim McLaughlin is a photographer, multimedia documentarian and educator. Prior to his move to MediaStorm, Tim was the Director of Multimedia at the Maine Media Workshops and Maine Media College in Rockport, ME.

Originally from Louisville KY., McLaughlin earned his masters of fine arts from the University of Florida and a bachelors from Centre College, but owes a great deal to the two years he spent at Western Kentucky University. Tim has worked with the Eddie Adams Workshop, the Rocky Mountain News, the Mountain Workshops and most recently shot a film for the Rotterdam Film Festival.

See our Gear Guide.

Once at the center of the U.S. economy, the family farm now drifts at its edges. In Iowa, old-time farmers try to hang on to their way of life, while their young push out to find their futures elsewhere. Driftless tells their stories.

 
Times of Crisis was nominated in the New Approaches to News & Documentary Programming: Current News Coverage Category.

In Times of Crisis, Reuters charts 365 days of global financial upheaval to see how lives have changed as a divergent world embarks on an era of historic challenge.

 
Surviving the Tsunami: Stories of Hope was also nominated in the New Approaches to News & Documentary Programming: Current News Coverage Category.

Combining imagery by Reuters photojournalists with eyewitness testimony and interactive graphics, Surviving the Tsunami reveals the strength of the human spirit in the face of catastrophe.

Winners will be announced on Monday, September 27, in New York City. See the Emmy Award website for a full list of nominees.

To tackle this question it’s first necessary to understand a few things about codecs.

Shooting video is a very intensive digital capture process. It requires cameras to capture lots of information in a short amount of time. To handle so much raw data, most cameras need to compress what they capture. A codec is essentially a compression scheme, a way to encapsulate so much material into a containable format.

Standard DV footage, for instance, uses a compression scheme referred to as the DV codec. Similarly, HD footage — 1080i60, 1080p, etc. — uses the HDV codec.

Codec takes its name from “encoder” and “decoder” since your computer must now decode the encoded file during playback.

When you create a new sequence in Final Cut, you are building what will become a new movie. Thus, you need to define what kind of codec you’ll be using when it’s played back. This is where you need to decide if ProRes 422 is the proper choice.

The answer is actually quite simple.

If you will be using only one kind of video in your project, HDV 1080p for example, then you should use 1080p’s native codec, HDV, for your sequence. If you’re using only DV footage, set your sequence codec to DV.

On the other hand, if your project includes more than one format — both DV and HDV material for example — then you’ll need to set your FCP sequence codec to ProRes 422.

The ProRes 422 codec is so powerful that it can contain two or more other codecs within it, without requiring extra rendering. It’s a truly remarkable ability.

For a technical description of how to set up your sequence’s codec, see Tips from the MediaStorm Final Cut Pro workflow.

In Final Cut 7, the latest version, Apple introduced three new flavors of 422. About 90 percent of the time, you’ll use the standard ProRes 422. But if you’d like more information on the other options, see Final Cut Pro 7. Expanded ProRes Family.

Finally, if you’re unsure of your file’s codec, open it in QuickTime, then use the shortcut key command-I to open the application’s Movie Inspector window.

There you’ll see all kinds of metadata including the clip’s length and file size as well as the codec it uses.

30. Leave Me from Daros Films
Fictional films can have great impact. – Brian Storm

31. Bugs! from Ryan Enn Hughes
Wicked. – Brian Storm

32. UP THERE from Jon
Gorgeous short film, shot as part of The Ritual Project sponsored by Stella Artois. – Jessica Stuart

33. The Future of Publishing
A good example of why you should watch pieces until the end. Thanks to Michael Croan for the tip. – Brian Storm

34. Prison Valley by Pilippe Brault & David Dufresne with Upian for Arte
“Prison Valley” in Colorado includes more than 36,000 inmates in 13 prisons. The web documentary is a state-of-the-art showcase of in-depth, rich media reporting from Brault and Dufresne, innovative concepting and sublime implementation by Upian and bold support from Arte. – Brian Storm

35. Q&A from StoryCorps
Touching animation produced by StoryCorp of a 12-year-old boy with Asperger’s syndrome interviewing his mother. Suggested via @dnklatt – Eric Maierson

36. True
A riff on the original “Wassup?” Budweiser ad premiered a few weeks before the election of Barack Obama. – Brian Storm

37. Cane Toad – What happened to Baz?
This tasteless narrative about poisonous “pests” with suspect language is not for everyone so don’t watch if you are squeamish. – Brian Storm

38. GREEN PUG RECYCLES!
A sophisticated actor shows us how it’s done. Thanks for the link Stokes. – Brian Storm

39. Pixels by Patrick Jean The popular video games of the 80s get their revenge on New York City. – Brian Storm

40. BIG BAG BIG BOOM from Blu
The new wall-painted animation by BLU is a stunning masterpiece of animation – Eric Maierson

41. Hayaku: A Time Lapse Journey Through Japan from by Brad Kremer
Another stunning using of the the time lapse technique. – Brian Storm

42. Iceland, Eyjafjallajökull – May 1st and 2nd, 2010 from by Sean Stiegemeier
I always seem to link to time lapses. But this one of the Icelandic volcano is pretty special. – Eric Maierson

Iceland, Eyjafjallajökull – May 1st and 2nd, 2010 from Sean Stiegemeier on Vimeo.

43. A Breach of Faith in Haiti from by Shaul Schwarz and Julie Platner
The coverage at 4:45 is harrowing. Amazing bedside manner for Rose Mika at 8:45. – Brian Storm

44. Moments from Everynone
The arc of life. – Brian Storm

45. “The Last 3 Minutes” from Shane Hurlbut, ASC
Another arc of life piece. Short films are surging. So much creativity out there and now we have access to it as well. – Brian Storm

See previous installments that are Worth Watching.

The Ian Parry Scholarship 2010 deadline has been extended to Friday 9th July 10am (UK Time). Applications are digital. FTP instructions and application forms are available from www.ianparry.org

The Ian Parry Scholarship is designed to award young photojournalists with a bursary that will enable them to undertake a chosen project and raise their profile in the international photographic community. The Scholarship is aimed at traditional or contemporary photojournalism and photographers with strong story telling capabilities.

Ian Parry was a photojournalist who died whilst on assignment for the Sunday Times during the Romanian revolution in 1989. He was just 24 years old. The Scholarship was set up by Aidan Sullivan and Ian’s friends and family in order to build something positive from such a tragic death.

The competition is for photographers on full-time photographic courses or who are 24 years or under. The prize is £3,000 towards an assignment, a commission for Save The Children plus £500 for runners up.

Visit The Coal War site to find out more about the film. You can also check out (and support, if you’re so inclined) their campaign for funding to finish the film on Kickstarter:

Chad’s work on the topic of mountaintop removal has also included Leveling Appalachia, a project for Yale Environment 360. Harvard’s Nieman Storyboard recently published a story on the project: Chad A. Stevens on choosing sides and choosing stories: two approaches to mountaintop removal mining

The Caregiver by Chad Ziemendorf/MPW 61, 2009

David Alan Harvey who photographed MPW19, in 1967 has said, “The Missouri Workshop was a watershed experience in my life. It was the single most important experience that I had in my early twenties that pushed things forward for me from then on. I use that Missouri philosophy every day of my working life now at both National Geographic and with Magnum.”

MPW has documented small town America for six decades, shaping the working methods of more than 2,000 photographers from around the world. Guided by some of the world’s leading photographers and editors, participants are challenged to develop both their researching and visual storytelling skills.
 

Sedalia by Donna Coveney/MPW32, 1980

Check out the Web site for more background information on the Workshop and for the downloadable application.

Faculty this year will include: Dennis Dimick, National Geographic executive editor, Randy Cox, senior editor for visuals at The Oregonian, Lois Raimondo, former staff photographer at the Washington Post and now teaching at West Virginia, Kim Komenich, former staff photographer at the San Francisco Chronicle and now teaching at San Jose State, MaryAnne Golon, former director of photography at Time magazine and now photography editor and media consultant, Randy Olson freelance for National Geographic, Melissa Farlow, freelance for National Geographic, and others. The Missouri Photo Workshop is sponsored by the Missouri School of Journalism, with significant support from Nikon Professional Services and the Missouri Press Association Foundation.

“When I came back from the Workshop to my job at the Los Angeles Times I felt so energized and confident…I felt like I could find stories anywhere and get the job done,” said Beatrice de Gea who photographed MPW56 in 2004.

We hope you will apply or tell a photojournalist friend who you think would be interested.

MPW62 will be held in Macon, Missouri September 26 – October 2.

To find a function’s shortcut, enter a keyword into the Help>Search field window. You’ll see all of the menu items that contain the word ‘reveal.’ Use the down arrow key to select Reveal in Finder.

A large blue arrow points to the item under the View menu.

Notice that there’s no shortcut key to the right of the menu. This indicates that Apple has not assigned a default keystroke to this task.

Not to worry. Final Cut provides a straightforward method for customizing your keyboard with new shortcut keys.

Choose Tools>Keyboard Layout>Customize or Option-H.

Final Cut launches the default keyboard layout window.

This tool illustrates each of Final Cut’s shortcut keys with an icon on the respective key. Note the tabs on top for modifier keys (command, option, control, etc.).

To the right of the default keyboard layout window is a series of expandable menus. Each contains a Final Cut function, an icon, and for some, a keyboard shortcut.

In the search box above this menu, type ‘reveal,’ You’ll see a number of results. At the bottom of the list is Reveal in Finder.

To create a custom shortcut, you’ll need to drag the function onto the keyboard. First though, click the lock at the lower left of the window in order to amend the default settings.

In most cases, you’ll want to add the function to an unused key combination. In my example, I wanted to include the F key, as Reveal in Finder is a form of ‘find.’

Sorting through the tab, you’ll see that in the control-option pane the F key is empty.

Simply drag the function from the left side of the keyboard layout window onto the right-side key.

Place the icon on the F key.

Lock the window again, and you’re good to go.

Now, when I want to find out the source location of a video or photograph, I just select the clip then use the custom keystroke control-option-F, and a Finder window will open, revealing the file.

The same workflow can be used for just about any Final Cut function that doesn’t use a default keystroke.

Tell us your favorite custom keystrokes in the comments.

MediaStorm Launches Redesign
We’ve made it easier for you to find the information you need in our Publication, Client Services and Training Opportunities.

We hope you’ll take time to explore the site. A few highlights:

• We added more functionality and content options to the home page.
• We created a new video player with detailed information about each project.
• We added full screen playback and higher quality video encodes.
• Many of our projects are now available for embed on your websites and blogs.
• Our projects can be filtered by type, client, and workshop.
• Contributors, workshop participants, and staff now have dedicated pages.
• We expanded our blog, store, awards, link to us and resource sections.

Airsick: An Industrial Devolution by Lucas Oleniuk

Created with 20,000 photographs and a haunting soundtrack, Airsick: An Industrial Devolution plays out like an unsettling dream. Toronto Star Photographer Lucas Oleniuk examines our addiction to fossil fuel — and its consequences.

Three Women by Eric Maierson

Three Women is a fictional film about women in pain, struggling to make sense of their lives. It is a series of stories reduced to their emotional essence.

MediaStorm Multimedia Workshops
Our next workshop will be held November 13-19, 2010. The application deadline is September 15, 2010.

The MediaStorm Multimedia Workshop is an intensive, hands-on educational experience in advanced multimedia storytelling, where participants work in a team to take a story from concept to publication-ready in a week.

Check out our past workshop stories, learn more about previous participants, or apply now.

Michele Asselin, participant in the March 2010 workshop, had this to say about her experience:

“On the first day of the MediaStorm workshop I understood how much was lacking in my work, by the last day I understood how much was possible. I never would have wanted to make this transition without their guidance and I have no doubt that I have learned from the best.”
 
 

The Eddie Adams Workshop is an intensive, four-day, tuition-free workshop that takes place in Jeffersonville, New York. Each year 50 students and 50 professional photographers with three years or less experience are chosen to participate based on their portfolios. These photographers work in teams to complete projects with award-winning photo editors and photographers. Awards given each year include a scholarship from Nikon, a one-week internship at The White House, and generous prizes from numerous industry sponsors.

This year’s Workshop will be held October 8-11, in Jeffersonville, NY. Check out the site for more info and the application form.

Jennifer is a director, producer, and writer. She has worked on programming for WGBH, WNET, the Discovery Networks, and independent productions. Most recently, she directed and produced Sun Come Up, an independent documentary about environmental refugees. It premiered at the Full Frame festival and is currently making its way around the U.S. and international festival circuit. Prior to this, she co-produced a science special – the final installment of an Emmy-nominated 20-year project for WGBH/NOVA, and she produced a medical series for Discovery. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from Wellesley College and a Master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University. Her projects have been supported by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, Chicken and Egg Pictures, NYSCA, and the Friends of Horticulture.

Much has been made of the iPad’s functionality, and its limitations. But there’s little actual documentation on the best way to encode for this device, particularly from Apple.

The following steps outline MediaStorm’s compressions settings for web-based iPad playback. That is, this is our best practices for creating H.264 QuickTime files for the web.

To begin, open Compressor.

(Note: If you don’t have Compressor, part of Final Cut Pro Studio, you can also use QuickTime Pro 7, available from Apple for $29.99.)

In Compressor’s Settings window (command-3), click the plus button on the right side. Choose QuickTime movie.

A new custom setting will appear in your window named Untitled QuickTime Movie.

Double click it to open the settings in the Inspector window.

In the Name field, rename the setting. Make sure to include the descriptors QuickTime, H.264, and the file size, and data rate, which we’ll discuss presently.

In the Encoder tab, select the Video: Settings button.

Use the following settings:

Compression Type:
Chose H.264.

Frame Rate:
Select the same frame rate as your QuickTime file.

(If you are unsure of your frame rate, open your movie in QuickTime Player 7. Open the Inspector window [command-I] and press play. Your frame rate, or frames per second, appears next to FPS).

Key Frames:
Select Automatic and check Frame Reordering. (Technical note: Frame Reordering creates an H.264 Main profile, distinct from the Baseline profile necessary for iPhone encodes.)

Compressor Quality:
Compressor Quality will not be available as you’ll need to restrict the Data Rate.

Data Rate:
Restrict the Data Rate to 1500kbits/sec.

The iPad will playback video up to 2.5Mbps. Increased data rate increases quality, but it also increases file size, which can make for a poor play .back experience.

Based on our testing, 1500kbs is a good compromise.

Optimized for:
Set to Download.
This is the best setting for a progressive download. The file will start playback immediately, rather than waiting for the entire file to download first.

Encoding:
Set Encoding to Best Quality.

Back in the Encoder tab of the Inspector select the Audio: Settings button.

Use the following default settings:

Format:
Choose AAC.

Channels:
Choose Stereo (LR).

Rate:
Choose 48 kHz.

Render Settings:
Choose Best quality.

MPEG 4 AAC LC Encoder Settings:
Choose a Target Bit Rate of 320.

Return to the Encoder tab of the Inspector.

In the Streaming section choose Fast Start – Compressed Heading. This allows your file to be viewed as soon as it begins to download.

Select the Geometry tab of the Inspector (second from right).

For 16:9 files, type 768×432 in the Frame Size windows. Choose Custom 16:9 from the pull-down window. The iPad can play back files as large as 720p (1080×720). Here too, though, increased dimensions make for larger files and take more time to download.

768×432 is a good compromise and does not look excessively degraded when viewed in full-screen iPad playback.

For 4:3 files, type 576×432 in the Frame Size windows. Choose Custom 4:3 from the pull-down window.

For more information on how to maximize your processor speed when compressing, please check out the Qmaster section of the pdf Setting Up Final Cut Pro for Canon 5D Mark II Video on the MediaStorm submissions page. You’ll find additional information on compression there in the resources section.

Additionally, for extensive technical information on the H.264 codec, see Jan Ozer’s streaminglearningcenter.com/ and the white paper Encoding H.264 Video for Streaming and Progressive Download, which helped in the research of this article.

Have iPad encoding tricks you’d like to share? We’d love to hear from you in the comments.

Shreeya uses storytelling to bridge human divides and shed light on media dark issues. She spent 7 months reporting the effects of psychological trauma in gangs and their victims. She’s written about life along the poverty line in New York, investigated the transparency of oil revenue flows in developing countries and reported on socioeconomics in Israel and the West Bank for The Carter Center. Shreeya won the 2010 Foreign Press Association Award for her dedication to international journalism.

In addition to Shreeya’s work, she has helped produce several shows at CNNi in New York, CNN-IBN and CNBC-TV18 in India. At The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, she helped develop social media outreach to conflict zones.

She was raised in India, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Vietnam, Bangladesh, and the foothills of the Indian Himalayas. She holds a M.S. in Journalism from Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism, which gave her honors. She has a B.A. in Politics and International Affairs from Brandeis University, where she pursued an activist agenda as the school’s first foreign student president.

Interested in interning with us? MediaStorm accepts interns throughout the year, in multimedia production, design, motion graphics, and/or programming for web. The deadline for our fall 2010 Internship is June 15, 2010. See our site for more information.

Qualifications: The successful candidate will be a proven leader with news, video and web experience. He or she must have an extensive, accomplished journalism career in multimedia storytelling (including expertise in still and video photography), strong communication skills, a collaborative nature and organizational skills. An understanding of news presentation in multiple platforms and commitment to storytelling is essential.

Action: Send resume, letter of application and digital portfolio to Duchesne Drew, Managing Editor for Operations, Star Tribune, 425 Portland Ave., Minneapolis, MN 55488 Questions? Send an email to ddrew@startribune.com

This is a workshop for seasoned storytellers who have professional multimedia experience and are looking to further expand their multimedia storytelling capabilities. Applicants should have a working knowledge of audio recorders, video and still cameras and non-linear editing software.

This is not an introductory workshop. Participants will be working at a fast-paced professional level, moving from story concept to a completed multimedia story in 6 days.

We will be holding two more Advanced Multimedia Reporting Workshops in 2010:

• Workshop Seven: July 17-23, 2010 – Application Deadline: Sunday May 16, 2010
• Workshop Eight: November 6-12, 2010 – Application Deadline: Monday September 13, 2010

Projects from previous workshops are available here.

“For so long I have been wanting to learn the tools and process behind the making of a multimedia piece. In one intensely packed week, with very little sleep, I truly believe I/we learned what it takes to bring storytelling to a new level. It was a wonderfully collaborative process that will forever inform my work. What an inspiring week that I urge others to experience.”

- Gillian Laub
Workshop Participant, Take Care

 
 

“I have not been this inspired about photography and photojournalism in almost ten years.

[MediaStorm] shares all of their cutting-edge awareness of how photography, audio, and video can work together, and you leave them feeling that you can take your work to a whole different level. I’m already thinking of things differently, trying to stretch beyond simply assembling still pictures to tell a story, and wondering how video and audio narrative might breathe some life into projects of my own.”

- Mary Beth Meehan
Workshop Participant, Close to Home

 
“To spend a week with the best people within the industry of multimedia production, the staff and teachers at MediaStorm, has been my best workshop-experience ever. From the pure journalistic storytelling to the technical aspects of producing a complex multimedia production I felt I developed a concrete platform to work and improve my multimedia storytelling on my own… Learning new ways to gather journalistic material also gave me new inspiration within the still photography field – and one thing is for sure: There is nothing comparable to this workshop.”

- Jan Johannessen
Workshop Participant, Johnnie Footman

If you have any questions, email us at workshops@mediastorm.com, or go here for additional information on the workshops, and to apply.

Formed in the memory of Pierre and Alexandra Boulat by friends and family after the death of Alexandra Boulat in 2007, the Association seeks to keep the spirit of father and daughter alive through making their work available to the public and creating an annual grant to a photographer and sponsoring the education of young photographers.

This 8,000 Euro grant will be awarded to a photographer covering a social, economic, political or cultural issue in a journalistic manner to “produce a story that has never been told but that the photographer cannot find support for within the media.” The grant will be awarded this fall at Visa pour l’Image in Perpignan, France.

For more details and to download the application form, go here: http://www.viiphoto.com/association.html

For the last three years he has served as a multimedia photojournalist and staff photographer at Getty Images. Some of his clients include the Discovery Channel, History Channel, A&E, The Travel Channel, AOL.com, MediaStorm and MSNBC. His images of various news and political events have run in newspapers and news magazines around the world and he is currently a featured photographer with Reportage by Getty Images.

During his time at Getty he received numerous awards for his multimedia stories from both the National Press Photographers Association and Pictures of the Year, a Webby for Individual Documentary episode and a national Emmy nomination for New Approaches to Documentary Storytelling.

After graduating in August 2004 with a B.A. in photojournalism from the University of North Texas, he was named College Photographer of the Year and also received an Award of Excellence as Newspaper Photographer of the Year in the POYi competition.

In 2005, Rick joined the Dallas Morning News as a staff photographer where he was one of the first still photographers to take on learning the craft of video journalism. During his time at the Morning News Rick was named one of the top 25 up and coming photographers in America by the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University and was also a part of a Pulitzer Prize winning staff for the Morning News’ coverage of Hurricane Katrina.

The 14th Annual Webby Awards today named MediaStorm’s Driftless: Stories from Iowa by Danny Wilcox Frazier as the winner in the Best Editing/Online Film and Video Category.

MediaStorm will be honored at a star-studded ceremony hosted by B.J. Novak of NBC’s “The Office” on June 14th in New York City. On June 15th, fans will be able to watch the ceremony at the official Webby Awards YouTube Channel. A full list of both Webby Awards and People’s Voice Awards winners can be found here.

Hailed as the “Internet’s highest honor” by The New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, including websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile websites. The Webby Awards is presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a 650-person judging academy whose members include Martha Stewart, R/GA’s Chief Bob Greenberg, David Bowie, Arianna Huffington and Twitter’s Biz Stone.

“The Webby Awards honors the very best of the Internet,” said David-Michel Davies, executive director of The Webby Awards. “MediaStorm’s achievement is a testament to the skill, ingenuity, and vision of its creators.”

The 14th Annual Webby Awards received nearly 10,000 entries from over 60 countries and all 50 states.

Founded in 1996, The Webby Awards are known worldwide for its famous five-word speech limit. Past Webby Award winners — and their speeches — include Al Gore (“Please don’t recount this vote”), Beastie Boys (“Can anyone fix my computer?”), and Stephen Colbert (“Me. Me. Me. Me. Me.”)

MediaStorm producer Eric Maierson will be speaking about multimedia production at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio on Wednesday May 5th at 8:00 p.m.

The event will take place at Mitchell Auditorium, Seigfred Hall on the 5th floor.

The talk is free and open to the public.

If you’re in the neighborhood, come by and say hello.

The ideal candidate would have experience in teaching or curricular design and a background in designing multimedia for journalism and/or strategic communication Web sites. Familiarity with common computer programs used in these endeavors – including Flash or HTML5, Web-design programs and audio-video editing programs – is essential. Familiarity with still and video cameras and other devices used in producing such media also is needed.

Screening of applicants will begin April 26, 2010, and continue until the position is filled. Applications must include a letter of interest, a resume and a list of references. Applications may be sent electronically (preferred) to hardte@missouri.edu, or by mail to Elizabeth Hardt, Staff Assistant to the Dean, Missouri School of Journalism, 120 Neff Hall, Columbia, MO 65211. If sending the application electronically, please send as a Word or PDF attachment with candidate’s last name as title. Please reference position number 100100.

The University of Missouri is committed to cultural diversity and it is expected that successful candidate will share this commitment. MU is an Equal Employment Opportunity/ADA institution and encourages applications from women and minority candidates.

Online Film & Video

Category: Best Editing

• Driftless: Stories from Iowa by Danny Wilcox Frazier

Category: Documentary: Individual Episode

• Driftless: Stories From Iowa by Danny Wilcox Frazier
• Leveling Appalachia, a co-production with Yale Environment 360

Check out the other nominees and get your votes in for the People’s Choice Awards. (Of course, we’d love it if you voted for us!)

Apple
Final Cut Pro Support – Apple’s repository for Final Cut white papers as well as troubleshooting information and how-to documentation.
Final Cut Studio Resources – Apple’s comprehensive list of support and resource links related to Final Cut Studio.
Apple Final Cut Studio Discussion – This is the best place to turn when looking for answers to very specific technical problems.

Final Cut Video Training
Lynda.com – The fountainhead for all video training. This subscription-based site offers extensive classes on all of Final Cut Studio’s applications; a great place to learn the basics.
Ripple Training – Ripple Training sells both DVD-based tutorials as well as screencasts that are downloadable via iTunes. They offer a number of free tutorial downloads as well. Ripple Training’s Compressor 3.5 Apple Pro Video Series is excellent.

Larry Jordan
If you use Final Cut, you should be paying attention to Larry Jordan. He is the guru. Jordan offers a number of web resources including an excellent and free monthly newsletter that’s brimming with tips, product reviews and reader-assisted troubleshooting.

Jordan’s website also has a rich archive of tutorials on just about every element of Final Cut.

Finally, while you can still find his older screencast instructions at lynda.com, Jordan now offers shorter, more focused video tutorials for sale on his own site. Many of these titles focus on a single tool or effect, and several are offered as free downloads.

Final Cut Blogs
Ken Stone – Arguably the most comprehensive Final Cut blog on the web, Ken Stone’s offers extensive and thorough documentation on just about every aspect of FCP, as well as reviews of both editing products and training DVDs.
Los Angles Final Cut Pro User Group – A rich site devoted to the FCP community in L.A. Features notes from the group’s meetings, reviews, forums and a directory of members.
I’m Not Bruce – A great collection of short tips and useful information about using FCP. Updated frequently.
Final Cutters – This blog aggregates FCP posts from across the web and focuses on editing-related products.
FCP Daily – A daily blog that includes lots of FCP tips and tricks as well as product news.

@fcpkeystrokes – My personal Twitter account, posts one FCP shortcut per day.

Apple General
The Unofficial Apple Weblog – Updated numerous times a day, this site offers some tutorials but is primarily focused on Mac and iPhone-related products and analysis.
Mac Rumors – One of the most respected and accurate sites to predict what’s developing in Cupertino. A must-read on days when Apple releases a new product.

MediaStorm
Finally, MediaStorm offers a number of free Final Cut resources including the PDFs Tips from the MediaStorm Final Cut Pro Workflow and Setting Up Final Cut Pro for Canon 5D Mark II Video.

Also, feel free to check out the tutorial section of our blog.

Your Suggestions
Did we forget something? Please share with us your favorite Final Cut and Apple sites in the comments. Thanks.

That’s why it’s important to have redundancy. For every drive you use, you should always have a backup.

At MediaStorm, we keep our system software–the OS and all applications including Final Cut Pro–on a drive named A. The media for our projects reside on a B drive. We have a duplicate of each that is backed up religiously.

A gets backed up to A_backup; B to B_backup.

For that task we use SuperDuper! from shirt-pocket.com. The application copies the entirety of the drive to it’s respective clone. In other words, you are mirroring the whole drive, not just backing up specific folders.

SuperDuper’s! one window interface is quite simple.

Simply choose the drive you’d like to back up from the Copy pulldown menu and the backup destination from the to: menu.

Choose Backup – all files from the using pulldown menu.

At the bottom of the window, selects the Options… button.

Choose Smart Update from the During Copy menu. This option is the fastest. According to the SuperDuper! manual, smart updates will update any files on your clone drive, new or old, that do not match the primary drive. It will also remove any files on your clone that no longer exist on the original.

Finally, at the bottom of the window, SuperDuper! offers several options once the backup is complete. Shut Down Computer is a useful choice.

Since we generally run the application at the end of the day, this option allows us to start the backup right before we leave. Just make sure you are logged out of all other applications first.

Backing up is essential. The best way to make sure it’s part of your daily workflow is to find a simple solution like SuperDuper! Until you’ve made using it a habit, leave yourself a Stickie note so it’s the last thing you see before shutting down.

Drives are going to fail on you, it’s just a matter of time. The question is, when that happens will you have a backup ready?

Industry leaders, including Brian Storm, Tom Kennedy, Tony Deifell, Scott Anger, Brent Friedman, John Gauntt, Russell Sparkman, Dan Lamont, and Leif Utne, will be looking at questions such as:

• What’s the best visual journalism experience for the audience?
• What are the best methods for reaching the audience?
• What do we need to create to take advantage of capabilities in new delivery platforms?
• What are the best methods for producing visual journalism?
• What’s the best economic model for enabling visual journalism creation?
• What opportunities are there to earn livelihoods as visual journalists?

In addition, Brian Storm will be holding a one-day MediaStorm Multimedia Storytelling Workshop on May 28.

This one-day workshop provides an overview of multimedia storytelling approaches while engaging participants in discussion about the most appropriate ways to create a multimedia story. Through real-world examples, Storm will share tips and techniques to improve reporting and editing and discuss the most effective tools for specific jobs.

This workshop is designed for anyone interested in multimedia storytelling, no experience is necessary. We will be looking primarily at multimedia methodology and theory. This is not a workshop to learn how to use your new audio recorder. It’s a workshop where you will be asked to look deeper, into the when and why of different storytelling techniques and approaches.

Visit the website to register for the Bootcamp or the Workshop.

Brilliant animation with 222 t-shirts. – Eric Maierson

21. Scenes From a Ruined Boulevard
Imagine if the most populated and economically active street in your town was totally destroyed. The concept and imagery of Maggie Steber and the innovative technical execution of The New York Times interactive team provides a unique look at Grand Rue in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. – Brian Storm

22. The Sandpit by Sam O’Hare
Sometimes you feel like an ant when you live in New York City. The anthill doesn’t always feel this beautiful. – Brian Storm

23. Slate V – If Filmmakers Directed the Super Bowl

I’m not much of a football fan, but I would be if Werner Herzog directed it. – Eric Maierson

24. macro kingdom byclemento.
Great visuals, great sound effects, great graphics. -Eric Maierson

25. Last Minutes with ODEN by phos pictures.
Saying goodbye to the dog who taught you to love. This one wrecked me. – Eric Maierson

26. Charlie Brooker - How To Report The News
A satirical look at the standard news package. Cuts pretty close to the bone. Some language NSFW. -Eric Maierson

27. Drift from mustardcuffins.
Another example of blurring the lines between still and video. – Brian Storm

28. Sony make.believe by Jessica Sanders
Jessica Sanders created this touching commercial about her life as a filmmaker and coming from a filmmaking family. Thanks to Danny Goldfield for the link. – Brian Storm

29. Scary Mary
A classic example of how editing can change meaning and why the use of music needs to be handled with such care. – Brian Storm

Take Care by Gillian Laub, Henrik Björnsson, Elena Ghanotakis, and Laura Varma
Virginia Gandee’s brilliant red hair and dozen tattoos belie the reality of this 22-year-old’s life. Inside her family’s Staten Island trailer her caregiving goes far beyond the love she has for her daughter.

Close to Home by Mary Beth Meehan, Michele Asselin and Maria Finitzo
Roxanne Pickering is a Brooklyn resident bound by family and economics to live near the Gowanus Canal, a polluted waterway recently declared an EPA superfund site.

Johnnie Footman: New York City’s 90-year-old Cabbie by Jan Johannessen and Charlotte Oestervang
Johnnie Footman, 90, may be the oldest cabbie in New York City. His age limits his time in the cab, but he remains young at heart carrying a cigar in his mouth, a fake spider around his neck, and a cap reading: “Old Dude made of Achey Breaky Parts.”

The MediaStorm Advanced Multimedia Reporting Workshops in New York City are intensive, hands-on educational experiences in advanced multimedia storytelling.

Over the course of a week, participants work in three-person teams, reporting and editing in collaboration with a seasoned multimedia professional to produce a multimedia project for distribution across multiple platforms.

We will be holding two more Advanced Multimedia Reporting Workshops in 2010:

• Workshop Seven: July 17-23, 2010 – Application Deadline: Monday May 3, 2010
• Workshop Eight: November 6-12, 2010 – Application Deadline: Monday September 13, 2010

Go here for additional information on the workshops, and to apply.

After the earthquake on January 12, over one million people were displaced from Port-au-Prince to the rural areas, where they have minimal or no access to clean, safe water. One-third of the nation lacked access to safe water before the quake; now, the situation is devastating. As the rural communities continue to swell, so does the risk of deadly waterborne diseases. In the coming months, charity: water plans to raise $1.3 million to serve more than 40,000 people in 11 of these areas with clean, safe drinking water. 100% of the funds raised will directly fund water projects on the ground.

You can help: watch the video, visit the UNSHAKEN site, learn more about the issues they’re facing, and help spread the word.

Job Posting:

The Los Angeles Times is seeking applicants for a year long paid internship. We will consider recent college graduates who have appropriate photojournalism experience.

The photographer can expect to work on a variety of both daily and longer term assignments throughout California. Additionally, the photographer can expect to work with editors to include audio and video components with their stories.

Please send a letter, a resume and a link to an online presentation of your work to photointern@latimes.com.

Update 4/20/2010: This position has been filled. Thanks to all who applied!

More from Luceo:

Luceo is united in a common belief that, through these times of change, the still image continues to be relevant. We believe that history extends beyond the news-cycle, and that ordinary people and personal struggle are avenues through which we can explore the bigger issues facing our world. It is with this purpose that we have created the Luceo Student Project Award.

Luceo Student Project Award:
Luceo also believes that developing photographers need support. To advance this cause,
they have created the Luceo Student Project Award. This award will be disbursed annually to a talented student photographer in support of a significant and developing body of work.

This year’s recipient will receive $1,000 along with mentorship for the project from one Luceo member.

The deadline for receipt of applications is 11:59pm EST May 15, 2010. Finalists will be
announced in late May. A select panel will judge from the ten finalists and the winner will be
announced in June.

You can find out more about Luceo, their Student Project Award, and the Luceo Images Project Fund – another new initiative to help members fund personal work – at their site.

Keynote speaker, Brian Storm of MediaStorm, will join an incredible line up of speakers: Rick Smolan/Against All Odds, Ilise Benun of marketing-mentor.com, Allen Murabayashi of PhotoShelter, Caitlin Jewell of Silverscape, Nancy Andrews/Detroit Free Press, Lou Jones, Ian Ginsberg of VII Agency, Dane Howard of vuvox.com and others. Click on the links at www.aspp.com to read about our speakers and sessions.

The registration fees for this 3-day event is only $495 for ASPP and PACA members, and $590 for sister organizations. You can now register at the ASPP site.

A one-day Trade Show will be the kick-off event on Thursday 15th, and display tables are still available for $150. During Trade Show hours on Thursday, PACA is providing a demonstration of their newly launched pacaSearch. This mega meta-search engine is setting a new standard for stock image searching. The event will be open to the public too, so a great opportunity to showcase your products and services to a local audience as well as attendees. To register for the Trade Show, go here.

The Omni Parker House Hotel is in downtown Boston, and is offering us a special room rate of $199, from April 12 – 18. Click here to book your room at the hotel.

If you sign up for the Reinvention Weekend before March 15th you will be eligible for a drawing for a complimentary 12-month membership in ASPP (or extension of your existing membership). In addition, for all attendees, ADBASE will be raffling off an amazing annual regional subscription to ADBASE, with a value of $695.00. This raffle will take place on Friday morning, but you have to be present to win.

Internships are paid and not for credit.

Ideal candidates can start as soon as possible and are able to commit to 3-5 days, 20-30 hours per week over the course of 4–6 months.

Primary Duties:
Interns will assist the Photo Department in researching and sourcing archival and current content, building photo galleries, scanning, retouching and performing other tasks not yet specified. TIME provides unique opportunities for it’s interns to become deeply involved with ongoing projects and upcoming content.

Applicants should be employment ready, self-motivated, detail oriented, and able to remain focused on long-term assignments.

Skills Required:
An passion in and familiarity with current and historical news events, proficient with Photoshop; strong retouching ability; keen visual sense; articulate; able to work independently; able to learn quickly; possess a positive, can-do attitude. Prior web experience is a plus.

Please direct cover letters and resumes to Skye Gurney. The subject line should read “TIME Photo Intern”. No phone calls, please.

Company/Project Description: The New Yorker is a weekly magazine with a signature mix of reporting on national and international politics and culture, humor and cartoons, fiction and poetry, and reviews and criticism of books, movies, theatre, classical and popular music, television, art, and fashion.

Position Description/Breakdown: The New Yorker is looking for a multimedia producer who can handle pre-production, planning, logistics, shooting, editing video and audio, and posting the final product online. And would have aptitude with a mini DV camera. Experience with Final Cut Pro required. Knowledge of Pro Tools, Flash, blogging software or other CMS a plus. Must be able to juggle multiple projects, meet tight deadlines, uphold journalistic standards, and work well with others.

Application/Submission Instructions: Please submit a resume and cover letter, and links to previous work to Blake Eskin with “multimedia producer” in the subject line.

Position Title/Role: Multimedia Producer

Type: Freelance

Start Date: March 15, 2010

Salary / Rate: TBD

Benefits Information: None

The Creative Director is responsible for designing sophisticated and engaging visual multimedia and interactive stories and supervising the work of others, staff and freelance. More specifically, the Creative Director will develop and refine visual design concepts, participate in web interactive concept definition, present her or his work to different teams, participate in critiques, manage production, and align himself or herself with the company’s overall goal of creating high-end interactive multimedia stories across all platforms for corporate, government, non-profit and publishing clients.

The ideal candidate will be have strong visual design skills, design research skills, an innovative approach that breeds new thinking, a strong understanding of graphic design (type, color, layout, composition, motion graphics), a current understanding of the Web evolution, trends and current approaches, an understanding of Web technology, and an ability to work collaboratively. A deep appreciation for great interactive design and a good sense of humor are required.

Duties & Responsibilities

The Creative Director will:

• Conduct Design Research

  Participate in conducting trend, design, competitive, and qualitative research and presenting relevant findings to peers and managers, gather relevant data and capably represent his/her point of view.

• Create Initial Design Explorations

  Develop directions that reflect new, fresh and exciting approaches, a clear organization of information, and the willingness to take risks. The senior designer is expected to develop a broad range of interactive stories, and present his/her work with both confidence and adaptability. Working quickly and iteratively is a must; SRM is a very-fast paced environment. The Creative Director should have an understanding of information architecture so that information and interactivity is incorporated in a clear and engaging way for the user.

• Refine Designs and Present them

  Create rapid and compelling prototypes of interactive stories using paper, images, Flash and other tools.

• Apply Problem Solving Skills

  The Creative Director must have strong problem solving skills and be able to overcome barriers that stand in his/her way. A ‘can do’ attitude is a must; the designer will constantly need to find ways to overcome challenges and solve problems.

• Create Static and Animated Solutions

  Employ an understanding of Flash, CSS, DHTML and other client-side design and technology solutions in order to create innovative and compelling content that leads the industry in engagement, collaboration and fun-factor.

• Present

  Must present his/her work well and defend it in both small and large meetings. Strong persuasive skills and an ability to influence are required.

• Flexibility and Collaboration

  Must be flexible, and challenge-oriented, able to excel in a fast-paced environment. Must have strong collaborative skills and be able to accept and thrive on good direction from other sources. Must bring a spirit of teamwork to their projects.

Job Qualifications

General Skills:

• Outstanding creative, visual design, and technical skills
• Strong communication skills and client orientation (including interaction with teams and other departments)
• Excellent people and project management skills
• Expertise in negotiating with other functional areas as well as externals

Specialized Skills:

• Thorough understanding of Graphic Design and Web Design
• Conceptual research and design skills
• An ability to create Photoshop comps of stories, web pages and more
• Expert knowledge of CS4 (with an emphasis on Photoshop and InDesign).
• A working knowledge of Flash and HTML is a plus
• Experience in animation a plus.
• Strong working knowledge of creative team dynamics
• Strong working knowledge of corporate team dynamics
• Skilled in communicating constructive criticism while inspiring

Experience

• Candidates will have at least 4 years of visual design experience

Education

• A Bachelors Degree or advanced degree in Graphic Design or other related areas from an Arts College or accredited University

Please send resume and salary requirement to jimgaines@storyrivermedia.com

Tim Matsui is a multimedia journalist whose recent work focuses on human trafficking. He is a past Blue Earth Alliance Project Photographer and a recipient of grants from the Open Society Institute, Fund for Investigative Journalism, and King County 4Culture. Tim earned a bachelors degree in journalism, with a minor in geology, from the University of Washington. He is the founder a 501(c)3 non profit using documentary multimedia to create dialog about the lasting effects of sexual violence. Tim co-founded the Travel and Outdoor Photographer’s Alliance and organized several state-of-the-industry panel discussions with leading photographers and editors. The World Affairs Council regularly invites him to speak with international visitors hosted by the US Department of State.

Tim will be spending the next couple of months in Brooklyn with MediaStorm, but is usually based in Seattle where he lives with his Brazilian sweetheart, Luciana, a six year-old boy skilled in the art of Lego battles and ninja moves, a princess of a cat, and a tail-less clown fish not named Nemo.

Interested in interning with us? MediaStorm accepts interns throughout the year, in multimedia production, design, motion graphics, and/or programming for web. The deadline for our fall 2010 Internship is June 15, 2010. See our site for more information.

Here’s how to set up a one-frame fade as your default audio transition:

Open the Effects window (command-5). In the Audio Transitions folder, note that one of the transitions has a line beneath it. The line indicates that it’s the default transition.

If you have not previously changed the fade time, you’ll see ‘00:00:01;00′ in the length column. That’s a default time of one second, zero frames.

Highlight the number in the length column and enter ‘1′ (just the number, no quotes). Then, press return.

Your default transition time should now be set to one frame.

Sometimes though, due to a Final Cut bug, you may find that when you now select an audio edit point and add the default transition (option-command-T), the fade remains at one second.

To fix this, right-click Cross Fade (0db) and select Set Default Transition. The default line now appears beneath that transition.

Next, repeat the procedure back on the Cross Fade (+3db). Right-click the transition and select Set Default Transition.

Now, when you select an audio edit point and apply the default transition (option-command-T), the fade will be one frame.

Additional quick tips: to change the time of an audio fade that’s already been applied to the timeline, right-click on the fade and select Duration. In the pop-up window, enter your new desired time.

In Final Cut 7, if you select the entire audio clip and apply the default transition, an audio fade will be applied to both sides of the clip.

The Festival offers photographers and its industry a fantastic 3 day program and features events such as talks by veteran photographers, portfolio reviews given by experts in the industry, exhibitions, screenings, workshops, daily live shooting stations and an industry symposium for all to attend and listen to renowned industry leaders talk about the current trends, issues and debates concerning photography today.

The Awards ceremony showcase is for the first time open for the everyone to attend and will deliver a visual journey through many diverse genres of photography.

The festival organizers have kindly offered our readers a 15% discount on all tickets for the Festival and Awards ceremony event. Tickets start at £15 – £30 and portfolio reviews start at £60 for 3 sessions.

Confirmed leading industry participators this year are photographers Nadav Kander (UK), Bohnchang Koo (Korea) and Pablo Bartholomew (India), Chloe Limpkin (UK) (Photo Director of Harpers Bazzar), Aidan Sullivan (UK) (VP of Getty Images), Bill Hunt (USA) (Co-Founder of Hasted-Hunt Gallery), Trisha Ziff (Mexico) (curator and filmmaker), Zelda Cheatle (UK) Curator and Portfolio Manager of Tosca Fund, Roberto Koch (Italy) (Publisher of Contrasto and Founder of FORMA), Monica Allende (UK) (Picture Editor of the Sunday Times Magazine), Mark Sealy (UK) (Director of Autograph – the Association of Black Photographers), Michelle Dunn (USA) (Co-Publisher, Aperture Magazine; Editor-at-Large, Chronicle Books), Grant Scott (UK) (Group Brand Editor of Imaging for Professional Photography and Photography Monthly magazines), Scott Thode (USA) (Freelance Curator and Picture Editor), Sue Steward (UK) (Photography Critic, Writer, Radio Broadcaster and Photo Editor), Adrian Evans (UK) (Director of Panos Pictures Agency), Adrian Boot (UK) (Music Photographer and co-founder of www.urbanimage.tv), Jonathan Torgovnik (USA)(Photojournalist and Founder of Foundation Rwanda), Idris Khan (UK) (Artist) and many more to be announced.

For discounted tickets, visit the Festival website, and use promotional code SWPA15.

The website for the Festival will offer you additional information about the program and continuously update as they confirm new events and participators.

Effective immediately, the IMF has an opening for a full-time contractual multimedia storyteller. The position requires an experienced individual capable of producing photographs, video and audio using Adobe and Final Cut Pro applications to tell compelling stories concerning the work of the Fund.

Specifically the position requires capturing and acquiring content and composing stories for distribution to the Internet and Worldwide news media outlets. Some international traveled required. Full benefits provided. All tools provided including a recently constructed HD broadcast capable Multimedia Center.

Send inquiries and include contact information to Phughes@imf.org.

The News Entrepreneur Boot Camp is designed for 20 competitively selected digital entrepreneurs with great ideas for community news and information initiatives in the public interest. The boot camp will be held May 16-21, at USC Annenberg. Deadline for applications is February 19, 2010.

The Transformative Leadership Institute is looking for people who are already positioned as the new leaders of news and information in the community interest. They are looking for leaders from major established news organizations that are transforming themselves and also for news entrepreneurs who are reinventing models for news and information. You can nominate yourself, or anyone else you feel is qualified for this program. The final list of fellows will be named in May. Deadline for nominations is March 31, 2010.

You can see a full list of upcoming seminars and workshops at their site. If you have questions about either of these opportunities, you can contact Vikki Porter, Director of KDMC, at vporter@usc.edu. For updates and announcements on new programs, you can also check them out on twitter: @kdmc.

Internships are paid and not for credit.

Ideal candidates can start as soon as possible and are able to commit to 2-3 days, 14-20 hours per week over the course of 4–6 months.

Primary Duties:
Interns will assist the Photo Department in researching and sourcing archival and current content, building photo galleries, scanning, retouching and performing other tasks not yet specified. LIFE provides unique opportunities for it’s interns to become deeply involved with ongoing projects and upcoming content.

Applicants should be employment ready, self-motivated, detail oriented, and able to remain focused on long-term assignments.

Skills Required:
An interest in and familiarity with current and historical news events, as well as celebrity culture; knowledge of LIFE Magazine; proficient with Photoshop; strong retouching ability; keen visual sense; articulate; able to work independently; able to learn quickly; possess a positive, can-do attitude. Prior web experience is a plus.

Please direct cover letters and resumes to Liz Ronk, liz_ronk@life.com. No phone calls, please.

Megan is a recent graduate of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, where she obtained a B.A. in Photojournalism and Psychology. She also studied for a semester in London through the SUAbroad program with a concentration in photojournalism. Megan spent her summer in Uganda, documenting the conditions of the families left in the Tegotatoo IDP camp resulting from a 20-year civil war and producing a multimedia project for Every Child Ministries. She has interned with The Muskegon Chronicle, and externed with The Post-Standard.

Interested in interning with us? MediaStorm accepts interns throughout the year, in multimedia production, design, motion graphics, and/or programming for web. The deadline for our fall 2010 Internship is June 15, 2010. See our site for more information.

The conference begins on Thursday April 15th with a one day trade show (tables still available), and then will continue with 2 days of great sessions. Brian Storm is the keynote speaker and will also join a panel to discuss thought-provoking insights into the new paradigms for our industry. Be inspired by thought leaders, story-tellers, and community service activists. Lend your voice to the critical discussions between the different segments of our industry. Learn from the experts how to use social media and web tools to enhance your business. Even receive free career make-over sessions.

Speakers will include Rick Smolan, Ilise Benun of marketing-mentor.com, Allen Murabayashi and Andrew Fingerman of PhotoShelter, Caitlin Jewell of Silverscape, Nancy Andrews of Detroit Free Press, Ian Ginsberg of VII Agency, Lou Jones and others. Program details are available at the ASPP site.

PACA is our conference partner in Boston. During Trade Show hours on Thursday, PACA is providing a demonstration of their newly launched pacaSearch. This mega meta-search engine is setting a new standard for stock image searching.

The registration fees for this 3-day event is only $495 for ASPP* and PACA members, and $590 for sister organizations. Registration is open, so mark your calendar and start making your plans to be there now! For sponsorship opportunities, contact cathy@aspp.com

The weekend will take place at the beautiful and historic Omni Parker House Hotel in downtown Boston. We have arranged a special room rate of $199 per night (not including taxes) for all Conference attendees from April 12 through April 18. Please visit their site for immediate online reservations. But hurry! The cut-off date for accepting reservations into our room block is Thursday, March 25, 2010.

For more information contact Cathy Sachs, Executive Director, ASPP.

The career path for many of today’s journalists is merging with entrepreneurship. Journalists who once covered topical, feature and investigative news for established newspapers are becoming independent publishers of specialty blogs and hyperlocal community news site. These sites fulfill an important role in the emerging news and information landscape.

Powerful and easy to use Web publishing tools make creating quality online news sites easy and affordable. These new tools are allowing individual journalists and community journalism to flourish as part of the evolving news eco-system.

The Knight Digital Media Center at the University of California Berkeley is offering an innovative new training workshop for journalists who have or are actively seeking to venture into online community or specialty news publishing. The Web Publishing for Independent Journalists Workshop will provide journalists with the hands-on training and tools to get started with an online publishing enterprise.

Participants in the Web Publishing for Independent Journalists Workshop will receive training on:

• Setting up and maintaining a WordPress blog
• Establishing a brand
• Shooting good video and video editing
• Using Photoshop to prepare images for publication
• How to sell advertising
• Data visualization at the community level
• Basic Mapping and Data-driven Maps
• Using social media to develop and engage with audiences
• SEO and Google Analytics

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Wednesday, February 17, 2010

WHO SHOULD APPLY: Journalists who have already begun or are in the process of launching an online news venture.

HOW TO APPLY: An online application form and instructions are available at: http://multimedia.journalism.berkeley.edu/training/

To fill out the application, you’ll need to register at the site (and confirm that in an email link). By registering, you’ll be able to save your application and return later to edit, update or complete. The application includes questions about your contact information and your proficiency in various equipment and software, as well as a statement of interest by you, a letter of recommendation from a colleague who knows your professional work, and a resume summary of your journalism experience.

If you have any questions, please contact Alisha Diego Klatt, KDMC program specialist, at aklatt@berkeley.edu or (510) 642-3892.

9. The Third & The Seventh by Alex Roman Simply stunning visuals. Play it full screen. – Eric Maierson The Third & The Seventh from Alex Roman on Vimeo.

10. Black Passport Stanley Greene’s transition from a fashion to conflict photographer. – Brian Storm

11. Roping the Wind by Nacho Corbella We loved working with Nacho at the MediaStorm Advanced Multimedia Workshop. It’s great to see his latest project, a very elegant production. – Brian Storm

12. William and the Windmill A young man in Malawi with an inspired idea. From the dynamic duo in Toronto. – Brian Storm William and the Windmill from Randy Risling on Vimeo.

13. Visura Magazine Celebrating one profilic year of publishing. – Brian Storm

14. Timelapse movie: The Alps — part II (night) by Michael Rissi Breathtaking stop timelapse of the skies. Astronomers rejoice. – Eric Maierson Timelapse movie: The Alps — part II (night) from Michael Rissi on Vimeo.

15. Follow the Money Where does your money go when you pay at the gas pump? Talking Eyes Media and LeftChannel’s new animated video,”Follow the Money,” takes you on a fantasy voyage through the pipelines back to the source of the oil reserves. – Brian Storm

16. Sweet Dreams by Carol Guzy Touching multimedia project, and Carol Guzy’s story that accompanies it is not to be missed- super intimate look at the connection between a journalist and a subject, turned friend. -Jessica Stuart

17. Interviews 50 Cents The unique combination of Ray Farkas’ visuals and Alex Chadwick’s questions. – Brian Storm

18. THE COAL WAR by Chad A. Stevens Give. Save. A Mountain. – Brian Storm

19. Think Different Wishing Apple the best of luck for their product launch tomorrow. – Brian Storm

Thanks to everyone who commented and added suggestions on our last round of projects, we’d love to keep hearing from you, please tell us about any notable projects that shouldn’t be missed in the comments!

It’s that simple and that difficult.

People tell me they want to produce work like MediaStorm. You can. Yes, we are fortunate to work with many incredibly talented photographers. But the storytelling techniques we use in our work are not revolutionary. They’re the same techniques described by Aristotle in his Poetics, 2000 years ago. What’s different is that we work our stories. We watch and re-watch literally dozens of times, replacing soundbites, removing the inauthentic, rearranging, restructuring, often for weeks at a time. Sometimes it feels endless but in the end, it works.

And it can for you, too.

When I produced Driftless by Danny Wilcox Frazier I worked more hours than I thought I could. But I did. And in the end, I became a better editor for it. And the same applies to you, if you put in the hours.

Malcom Gladwell once famously proclaimed that you need 10,000 hours of practice to become a superstar.

Start. Now.

I want to compose my own music. I’m not a musician. A teacher, in fact, once told me I had no rhythm. But I’ve been taking piano for the last six years with that goal in mind. I don’t know if I’ll get there but I know for sure that I won’t if I don’t try. So I practice every morning for twenty-minutes.

Regardless of your discipline, the rule remains: practice, a lot.

In 1986, I bought a copy of Talking Heads Stop Making Sense. As much as the music, what stuck with me all these years were the words that surrounded the CD insert like a frame. They said, and I’m paraphrasing, “If you are an artist it is work. If you are a painter it is work. If you are a writer it is work.”

If you are a multimedia producer it is work.

Sometimes I think that we forget that work does not have to be drudgery. If you love what you do, then work can be an act of love.

All right, enough preaching. Go practice.

Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism today announced the 2010 winners of the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards. MediaStorm is honored to be the first web recipient of a duPont Award, for Intended Consequences, by Jonathan Torgovnik.

From their site:

In painfully intimate interviews photojournalist Jonathan Torgovnik explores an unfathomable question: can a mother can love a child born out of rape. The women profiled in this haunting multimedia presentation were caught in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, when mass rapes resulted in the birth of an estimated 20,000 children. It spotlights an issue which had not been as widely covered as other war crimes in Rwanda, and is the first Web-based production to win a duPont Award. The women speak simply about their brutal experiences, their isolation and suffering, and the way forward. The producers made excellent creative choices that contributed to the impact of the reporting without resorting to sensationalism.

The duPont Awards, administered since 1968 by Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, are considered to be the most prestigious broadcast journalism awards and the equivalent of the Pulitzer Prizes, which are also administered at the Journalism School. Selected by the duPont Jury for excellence in broadcast journalism, the award-winning news programs aired in the United States between July 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009. The honorees will be presented with silver duPont batons at a ceremony held at Columbia University on Thursday, January 21, 2010.

Congratulations to all of the winners, there’s some really amazing work in there. You can see the full list at the duPont site.