online and broadcast video - the differences ?

Uber blogger Dave Lee asks the question:

"What’s the difference between online and broadcast video?

Plenty, I’d say, but judging by some of the online video published by even the biggest news companies, I’d hazard a criticism that no-one quite knows what should be in a good online video."

And then goes on to ask whether say the Piece to Camera should be dropped.

Here are my thoughts:

TV has a few aids that are a part of its language that I wouldn’t throw away online. e.g. the cutaway, V/0 and PTC.

But new times require new ideas.

The PTC/stand up still has value, particularly in a crowded media space where brand value is important. That’s primarily one reason broadcasters use PTCs in their reports.

Online it may be more of a necessity.

However, what’s up for grabs is how one transforms the PTC to avoid looking like The Batman and here’s where video journalism offers something distinctive.

Couple of years ago Mark Norman from the BBC picked up Circom’s first VJ award.

He was in Iraq, when a missile exploded in his vicinity. At a skewed angle, on the floor, rough and ready, he fired off a PTC.

He captured the moment well. It was an appropriate piece of reportage to convey his fears.In such circumstances I’d like to think many would do the same.

Then there’s Andy Toft, now at Setanta Sports, whose use of the PTC at his previous outfit captured the zeitgeist.

Changing Media Language

If we look at how the language of film making has moved on to stay relevant, it leads one to ask fundamental questions about TV and TV News making.

So for the creative video journalist there’s room to exploit.

The loose rule is to justify what you’re doing.

However one caveat. Video journalism is not a one-size-fits-all.

What it is on the web or TV is an expressive language e.g. gonzoism, or I whisper auterism at telling a story creatively.

Online Video to On TV - Making the Online video transition to TV

Going from Online to TV - that's the dream of Filminute.com and they're inching closer to it

Almost every media company, newspapers now, hold out the hope that their videos will make compelling watching and break viewing records.

But the holy grail, at least now, is still getting access to the TV screens.

Current.TV sorted that out as part of their growth strategy.

Online is still the long tail

Where once upon a time, broadband was the outback, strategically within a number of broadcast corporations, it's become the ground for the added extras.

Some time ago I spoke wrote for journalism.co.uk that "Broadband's capacity offers scintillating innovation, it would be a shame to waste it"

"Television Networks and publishers eager to enter and go beyond Web 2.0 are using it as a repository for repeats. At best meeting the need from 'cash rich, time poor' audience. At worst just plugging a nuisance gap: 'what do we do with this all this capacity?"

Today, the loose theory is using broadband to conjure up new shows that can be used to work a potential audience. It's still about eye balls and now those blog comments can be used to craft the show: television by committee or is that the wisdom of crowds.

In time I believe the newspaper industry will be marshaled by their own visual agencies; a suped up Press Association gearing their products for cable, Net TV and various other outlets to amortise their videos.

There is money there, someone's just got to be build the agency and find the buyers.

Online to onTV
Filminute demonstrate how with compelling content, the move looks more than feasible.

Last week I worked with its one of their executive editors to design a look and feel around their existing content: 25 one minute films, which have courted publicity from Wired and Variety and played at a purpose-built cinema in Selfridges - unheard of.

[Part of Filminutes running order used to construct the programme from Vancouver]

For the first show, the links came from the sharp looking Presenter Peter Shinkoda from Vancouver and Exec producers Sabaa Quao in London and John Ketchum in Bucharest.

The above link to the show is Not the final broadcast version which was attempting to resolve technical film issues between cameras shooting NTSC and PAL.

A small team of fantastic producers from notes discussed with Sabaa pulled together their shoot - all in a day and the tapes were sent over.

I shot three segments with Sabaa in London within Selfridges - half a day including the outline of the show. And then a day of editing.

The hold up - day or so - came from sourcing appropriate music.

But the result is, you can see on Adobe's Player platform - something that you could imagine on television, with behind the scene extras on each film maker in the competition.

With the amount of video and specialists within newspapers etc, this surely has to be part of THEIR strategy, at least in a manner of making money from their assets.

I'll post a longer how to including some of the problems involved with NTSC and PAL shooting on viewmagazine.tv,

Tomorrow - creating adverts with one person crews, video journalism