What if Stephen Soberbergh did journalism? Apple talk by Knight Batten Winner David Dunkley Gyimah

What if Stephen Soberbergh did journalism?

If the evidence of his involvement in Citizen Four is anything to by, it would be memorable, perhaps entertaining, and above all cinematic.

With a 100 hours of video being uploaded to Youtube every minute, there’s good reason to do cinematic video — you stand out from the crowd.

Ask a focus group of young people, as I have done through academic research, about any piece of video/film they remember and invariably they’ll name a fictional film.

There’s something about cinema.

Journalists coil with opprobrium at the thought. At the least it’s naive — cinema is fiction and once we fictionalise journalism we’re in Alice in Wonderland territory.

At best, the two are immiscible. Good heavens is this a real journalist writing this gumf.

At Apple in a week and a bits time I’m looking to push this gumf out with a supertanker. The popular manifestation of cinematic journalism is Vice.com, and there’s a health warning attached.

Vice will joined by many others — lining up in new academies and the corridors of Youtube readying themselves for online dominance. It’s a warning to traditional broadcasters. [read How Vice became the voice of a generation].

Existing, somewhat antiquated, theories around journalism are feeling the squeeze as a pragmatism in digital that’s shaping new provisional theories soars.

The issue of cinematic has been a perennial one, eschewed by the news establishment in the past in defence of their industry. The web changed all that. Journalism can still berate this pretentious cousin, cinematic journalism, but it’s the audience, er, steward!

That doesn’t necessarily mean the audience is right, even if they’re dragging the advertisers with them, but academic research shows they’re onto something — particularly from a creative movement within videojournalism.

If you can make it down to Apple, I hope you won’t be disappointed. Some of the definates so far include short films on what NBCs President of News makes of cinematic videojournalism.

How Robert Drew created Cinematic journalism in the 1960s. And an interview with one of the UK’s fiest videojournalists Steve Punter — who sadly passed away last year.

BTW When film journalism was first conceived it was cinematic, then something happened ☺

David Dunkley Gyimah was one of the UK’s first official videojournalists. His worked for the BBC and Channel 4 News. He’s a recipient of several awards. His doctorate, a six year global study covers the impact of cinematic journalism. You can find out more about his talk here.

How to get your PhD and avoid the PhD struggle

My supervisor Deveril who has been behind me helping me to shape a new understanding of videojournalism and news has written a post about how to get a PhD. I thought I would share it with you. You can read my response below.

Dr Deveril

Getting the thesis supervision right – avoiding PhD struggle

It is a sad ‘fact’, based on what I’ve seen over the years, that many PhD researchers are not receiving the kind of supervision they need. Writing a thesis is only part of a wider set of processes of research, but it is one that needs to be handled carefully so as to ensure the researcher doesn’t crack under the strain.

From being misdirected to being neglected by a supervisor, a researcher can be wrongly led by their most important ally in the PhD struggle — but why is it often characterised as a ‘struggle’? It doesn’t have to be. It can be treated as any other long term project and be planned and managed and made enjoyable. It will still present challenges to most — as it should — but fun intellectual challenges rather than those born out of frustration and hopelessness.

I think I have helped a number of PhD researchers to realise their thesis through simple steps such as ‘milestoning’ their writing, critical debates around ideas, engaging with their ideas and helping them to focus their research question. Additionally, I enjoy close-reading, and teasing out issues in the writing process that create blocks.

From fixing grammar to expanding on pertinent ideas, the role of a supervisor and reviewer of the writing should be that of a constant guide — from beginning to end of the research and writing. And often it is early on that the problems develop, only to become large-scale obstacles later on.

I advise the laying of firm foundations — or if further on in the process, the stripping back and re-laying of the foundations to the process. Identifying the issues and fixing them so that the researcher can realise their potential can occur at any stage, but fostering good habits and following best practice is important, the sooner the better.

Working with media, cross-disciplinary artists
I have worked with researchers in the media, cross-disciplinary artists, performance experts, and designers. Each one is different. Each has different needs. I treat each person individually, and talk with them as much as possible about their requirements, their difficulties and their preferences.

I like to become as engaged in the work as possible, and act as a close observer of their activities. Recent Internet tools such as Google Drive are great for allowing a concerted effort and on-the-spot commenting and fixing of minor errors — thereby saving, potentially on hours of tedium later on.

A thesis is a researcher’s own work, but it often comes out of a collaborative or group process; it depends on the support networks built around it; the communities the researcher is part of. Having someone who is with you each step of the way, or someone who can engage with you at crucial times, is often a missing part of the process.

Please contact me:

@DrDeveril If you feel that I might be of some help, contact me. Each case is considered according to a number of criteria, and discussions would need to be had before any work was carried out. Of course, I can make no guarantees of PhD success, but I can help with certain things like getting your writing back on track, tidying up arguments and structure, and scheduling your writing.