Video Journalism Book - first draft

THE NEW NEWS MAKERS



Mark Jones, a veteran 20 year news man now working for KRON4 Bay Area News Station, San Francisco summed it up: traditional news making is anachronistic.

Most new outfits trawl the newspapers looking for news, then depending on how detailed the newspaper has covered the subject, they'll send a news crew out.

Funny, newspaper have never really taken credit for that. In the 50's with TV News becoming a main stay of the media landscape - many publishers originally laughed it off as a fad - newspapers had to adopt a different approach.

Many became more feature-led or weighted with commentary. They could no longer break stories in the way electronic news could. But what they still had was the nose for developing news features and putting specialist personnel into the field to nuture contacts.

TV borrowed the format of using specialists and also poaching talent from the publishing world. Video journalism gives newspapers the edge again. Out researching their story, they can film the construct. Meanwhile, the fight for news is taking a secondary turn.

Newspapers have always dabbled in video scoops. Now they can strategically combine it with their own online output. Note the Sun Newspaper's exclusive video scoop featuring the cockpit exchange between US A-10 tankbuster planes attacking a Britsih convoy on March 28 2003. They could then follow it up with exclusive articles, effectively keeping the spot light on them.

I find this all very fascinating and have done since sitting in my bunk bed days at boarding school where I wrote my first article for our college magazine on the Neutron Bomb. Does anyone remember the Neutron Bomb?

So finally, this weekend I completed my first draft of a chapter in a book I have been wanting to publish, but perhaps now believe I have some substantive material to commit to old traditional paper. " Oh yes you smell that? Do you smell that? books son. Nothing else in the world smells like that. I love the smell of books in the morning."

I will be posting samples online for you to comment and include your views hopefully in the finished product.

The book is part biographical within the context of media work, part "how to" and part about self-help, the unwritten word of working in the media - short cuts etc. I hope it in some way also helps invigorate those who might see themselves in my shoes. Aristotle said it in so many words: there's no such thing as special, other than aplying those hard grafting days. For me it's the hard graft, simplified for you.

Some of my former colleagues and students have been extremely gracious in acknowledging some of these and I will leaning on your wise words and counsel again. So please comment.

Here however are the chapters in the first draft annotated with what I believe they try to achieve.



VIDEO JOURNALISM BOOK

CONTENTS


VIDEOJOURNALISM
The beginning, middle and the end
Notes: This chapter is the thread - telling how VJ came to the UK, via Channel One, which I worked for. It looks at early working practises, going as far back as the 1900s and examples from the 1960s which I refer to as the victorian vjs. Then I chart how the BBC adopted Vjism. I interviewed Channel 4s executive in 2000 who lost out to being the first major company to adopt the format. I would in 2001 be invited to speak at the BBC managers conference in Birmingham. The chapers unveils all the techical and creative know how at shooting like a VJ, many from my own experience, with examples drawn from noticeable VJs and also my work with the Press Association, newspaper groups and lecturing Masters and MBA students.


THE LEGACY OF BBC and CHANNEL 4 PROGRAMME MAKING
BBC reportage to South Africa’s Through the Eyes of a Child.
Notes: BBC Reportage and Def II's Network were without question turning points in British current affairs creative film making in the late 80s, early 90s. Firstly, more importantly it was driven by youth telling stories about youth. Many of the styles and sleek ad-world creative look on British TV stems from what Reportage and Network 7 acheived. Not suprisingly, many of those who went through its revolving door are now big figures in the TV industry. I worked for Reportage in 1993 and that series run taught me more in TV making than a silver-haired man with brogues could. We made some mistakes but there was a strong formula. After Reportage I moved to South Africa and within two months was given a huge project: Through The Eyes of Child. I posted the pilot of the series on view magazine last week. BBC Reportage I believe was the perfect template for understanding the radical nature of video journalism. Simply, because Reportage under Janet Street Porter was radical. At WTN, which would become APTV, news driven primarily by pictures becomes the focal point - with an emphasis on how to quickly turn around copy and video. I hated and relished the job. Channel 4 News - where I spent 4 years freelancing offers an alternative insight to programme making to the BBC. Centralism Vs indeference. And then political programme making which is very structured. I had various stints working under Andrew Brown - the chancellor's brother. One of the progs I'll dissect was an audit I produced during the election weighing up what all parties had to offer.



RADIO PLAY
Radio, Podcasts and critically acclaimed BBC Radio 4’s First Time Voters.
My first love and my first point of contact with the media was when as a first year Applied Chemistry undergraduate I approached my local BBC station to become a freelance radio journalist. BBC Leicester is where I made all my mistakes. It's where also a roll call of British talent has emerged, which meant I was really learning from the best. Those included Julian Worricker and VJ Sharma who would set up Britain's Asian Network. Radio is pivotal. Sound is paramount. In video journalism, you're also the sound recorder. Radio's package - the term given to a feature - is the height of the podcast. Understanding the iambic penatameter nature of speech will make you a better radio features maker. My trajectory in the 90s was working for the BBC's london station co-presenting and produding a thursday one hour show, which was sandwhiched between an unknown Vannessa Feltz and Chris Evans. My peak though was a BBC Radio 4, 40 minute feature, called First Time Voters in which I would solicit the views of four South Africans voting in their first election. That feature played on BBC 4, The BBC World Service, then the chiefs of South Africa Radio heard it and bought it. It was played on the eve of their historic election - the only foreign feature played on SA Radio during their election run. Podcasting is the package with a few things to heighten the sense, which I talk about.

THE UNITED STATES OF AFRICA
Video Journalism on the Continent.
At last year's WeMedia conference that old chestnut arose. How will we help Africa's media? It's madness. A problem that exists could easily be handled with nothing more than training and the small video cameras. That's notwithstanding the ethics and system of rule in countries that may thwart reputable reportage. But in practical terms what networks like Ghana need is equipment. What they can't afford is the discriminatory high investments that comes with setting up a broadcast station. I was asked to be a consultant for Ghana TV on and off for three years. In a station that serviced the whole of the country, they had three beta cameras - only one was working and it was seconded by the president - and two editing mobile panels. One of the most ambitious projects on the continent was undertaken by a friend and ex-head of CNN. He wanted to know how easy it would be to produce the first international co-production between Ghana and South Africa. My idea was to use video journalism. The net result was Africa ( Ghanaian and South Africa journalists) producing their stories of interest. The chief executive wanted one good one hour programme. We came back with seven programmes. I was introduced to Nelson Mandela and was relayed a request from the president of Ghana. The programme had a huge impact bridging further ideas and collaboration between the two countries. After featuring Mccan Erikson's Herd Buoys - one of the most successful advertisers in South Africa - currently handling campaigns for the World Cup, they were invited to Ghana to adress government and industry. In this chapter I explain how we achieved what we did and why I believe Apple's broadcast solution is ideal for African broadcasters.


IDOCS - Interactive Documentary Evolution
In 2001 working at a Soho advertising company, a colleague and I hit on an idea of reproducing a documentary which was initially made for Channel 4. The Family took on a new life when it went online. It was an interactive documentary, which ( my first awards submission) netted us runner up in the Channel digital awards. Idocs comes with a formula that's replicable across any docs. Lennox Lewis' team saw it and asked us to pitch for their account. We lost in the final selection, but Lennox's team understood the combination of the web and video journalism, so asked me to join their outfit for the fight with Tyson. Videojournalism meant I could be discreet. And my web skillls meant at 3 in the morning after the fight I was writting copy for their news on Lennoxlewis.com.
The idocs formula was used to produce a series of online promos. Remember this is 2002 - and Flash was not well known
outside of the design community. Hillman Curtis who I stumbled upon in 1999 was my inspiration.
Idocs will deconstruct some of the promos made but also give a behind the scene look at being the only journalist in the world allowed into the Lennox camp. Sorry that's not meant as boastful, but Lennox's team turned down every media organisation imaginable and their PR team would ocassionally remind me. Maybe they revelled in the thought.
I still have with me original footage I haven't posted of filming on my super 8 mm inside the Tyson camp.


VJ’s VIABILITY
Pop Promos and Advertising
XTP, Kuyah, and Wars - 3 different projects but all of which pull on the techniques of video journalism. This is probably the starkest illustration of how versatile Vjism technique is. XTP is Cross Track Projection and the use of ads on London underground being trialled at Tottenham Court Road statoin.
Viacom UK contacted us at re-active.net and we devised 5 degress of motion showing how different movement could equate to a structured cost. Pop promos is an area I have dabbled in - again using structural form - to make an arduous process simple. Couple of weeks ago my nephew wanted a video, so in the space of 5 hours I taught him and he shot his first promo - not fully completed - but not bad. Advertising looks at one of the most high pressured campaigns I have been asked to front. CNN International reccommended me to a client who wanted an ad on air within 24 hours and was willing to pay for the premium. The bidding war that was sparked made me think whether journalism was really where I should stay working.
With no assets, no brief, no pictures, I had 18 hours to make it work. Here I deconstruct the production process. The ad made it on CNN International the next day.


NATO’S WAR GAMES
The reporting of war
A growth area for vjism - war corresponding. There have been many instances of personnel in the field as VJs, with modern figures as the BBC's Leithhead and the award winning Ruud Elmendorp. There have been casualties. Wars attract the media and many freelancers and I have been no exception. Photographers are at most risk and the transition to video journalism comes with risks as well, but photo journalists and video journalists share a lot in common. The skillset's are more or less the same. No coincidence then that Digital Photographer - by Dirk Halstead marries the two. Here I deconstruct work in Ghana with the US Special Forces training ECOWAS soldiers preparing for assignments in war-torn Liberia. I also look at an incredible excercise working with Nato as an editor-in-the-field. Video journalism and back pack journalism offer an immediacy to war and conflict reportage that is still unmatched in traditional broadcasting, barring the use of video-sat phones.

8 DAYS -
The making of the first VJs from Newspapers
*International VideoJournalism Awards, Berlin
This is the chapter more complete than the others and charts how to make long format features. 8 Days is the story of the UK's first newspaper journalists learning to become VJs. It won the international VJ awards in Berlin.


ACADEMIA
The Net and Digital Diversity
A critique in academia. What should be a lab for ideas has become a quality assurance excercise. No bad thing, but while we give students the basics shouldn't we also be seeking to to let them experiment and come up with models for the future? In the US when you look at the web, it's an eye raiser that a lot of innovation has come from students.

Our lack of innovation in the UK comes down to structure and a hierachy, where the system has little notion what huge potential lay ahead if they took the reigns off.

Podcasts, MUDs, Atavars, Second life in academia are to be welcomed. Innovation overall is unfolding, but there's too much inertia. Here I'm looking at a comparative approach to different countries including Ghana - with its high standards in university.

I'll also round up views emerging from Digital Hollywood's conference where I shared a podium on education in the 21st century. As a quality regulator within the Broadcast Journalism Training Council, I'll give my views on observations from universities around the country. Here Chatham House rules may apply.


VIEWMAGAZINE.TV
Mi2 Videojournalism - Shoot, Cut, Mix, Code, Publish 5 ways.
*Batten Awards for Innovation in Journalism, US
There are many things the media industry willl say can't be done. But we fail to remember that the media is still young and growing, particularly electronic media and the web. Execs will tell you what not to do. There will be hundreds of conferences this year extolling virtues of broadcasting, pubishing and the web.

Our role is to listen, deconstruct and see if we can build anew. An excercise I run in lectures is to randomly pick a site, a tv news show and show flaws. Often ideas are cross national. So being aware of different cultures helps. A masters student asked about the garish nature of Chinese web sites. I disagreed, the Chinese culture revells in bright primary colours ( reds).

Viewmagazine was another pet project asking what if. Its 1t took 1st place honours at the US Batten Award. I speak about website's becoming more televisual. That video would be key. That the language of reportage would change to incorporate aspects of zoo media. Here I walk readers through through viewmagazine's initial incarnation. How senior personnel believed it didn't have a chance . I also look at a number of new websites and what they're achieving. I'm fortunate here because the nature of viewmagazine attracts others who are breaking traditional practices that I can share them with you.


BROADBANDERS - TV’S DEUTEREONOMY
Next Generation Web and TV, the OuterNet and Video Hyperlinking
*WeMedia Felllowship, American Press Institute.
The future of the medium. Marshal Mculhan's future as I visualise it, Blade Runner, Minority Report et al. The clearest ideas thus far include video hyperlinking, the outernet and green screen second life.
I could write a whole novel here from my fantasising mind.


Your comments are duely welcomed.

Labels: BBC, Channel 4 News, hyper linking, outernet, video journalism, video journalist, videojournalism, videojournalist

Snow - End of Days

Global something - the view from my house resplendent in white cold satin, however tells me something is odd. Could it be that within a couple of years we wil be experiencing snow in april - good song title- or even july?

Do you think we ought to shift the celebration dates around? Christmas in what was once summer. How about doing something to ease global warming? Now that's an idea.

A recent report (link soon) raises concerns the web could, is, about to go under. It wasn't built for video. Sorry, my view - the web implode? That will never happen!

A catastrophic disruption of the web because we have too much video??? Well a few national security advisors might have something to say to telcos - "sort it out people"

If the net goes down the disruption to the world econmy.. Well . . .

Having said that the security services could "lease" lines to priority alpha services.

The net going under is the same debate, different content to the national grid, or highways failiing. This news is often designed as a catalyst to get people working, or set up a denial clause.

"Mr President, Prime minister I warned about this several times".

Creative people make videos, technicals design structure and capacity, and poilcy wonks devise wall gardens.

The people most to gain here, again the accountacts counting the cost and returns of new fail safe systems.

Nuclear threat
The threat of a nuclear explosion is real says a report by chatham house - the organistion I have been a member of foor 13 years.

Watching 24 brings it home. Their latest story line has several suitcase nuclear explosions set to go off.

Many security experts may well be thinking its not a case of if, but terrifyingly, when.

This is the end of days. Solutions?

Saying something by nothing

Aw shucks.. i'm tired!

Broadband - S** off

Big Brother in the news again, but this time one of its execs, Endemol’s (UK) MD of Digital Media, Peter Cowley lamenting how woefully the UK lags behind the US when it comes to made-for-broadband and mobile content.

Now as a programme maker myself who's sat in on a fair few commissioning soirees, there are obvious, small minded as they are, reasons for this.

So before I act out of character I'll say to this to the 2007 generation of programme makers "go yonder and use broadband"

Make those programmes, club together, become a tour de force. Find that job, but please do not foresake a frontier wide open to stake your claim because your employee of potential one thinks little of it.

Something I remember saying at the Front Line Club, you are the brand now, and woe betide anyone telling you you can't cut it. Because if you think differently and strongly about it there is a market ready to debunk that assumption.

So why we are lacking? Would you entertain the idea of a super Teso being built in your backyard if you were the only major super market in town? Those who get this would rather keep quite. Actually it's not even that. Many prog makers still see the Net/Broadband as a piddly little indulgence for geeks.

Hey did you see that girl swallow her eyeball and then place it back in on Youtube

er sorry where did you see that on the tube... that's disgusting @$^!!

No.. youtube

Ahh that!

Many execs will give short shrift, but you only have to look at figures like Kevin Sites, JD Lassica and Cairo Live which ranks in the top 20,000 in the world.. that's enormous traffic and power for an individual.

And the future we're entering is about personlisation. I don't say TV will die, but the more great content you see online (you're probably already spending a fair few minutes travelling the blog rounds), then the less time you have to make an appointment with TV.


Sheduled programming will come in for a pasting, so go to broadband and wreak professionalism. Viva la BB

Steady David!

Ohhhh noooo! Big Brother

I'm no cultural snob, nor is my lack of watching the most suucessful show on earth got anything to do with high brow-low brow, but that simply I just don't watch Big Brother and neither have I blogged it until today.

Watching Ms Goody on News of the World's (NOTW) interview yielded a couple of thoughts.

Should she be forgiven.. should she not is not what I'm onto here, but the footage of her crying.

Ms Goody is news, more so in her contrition state. There's many a headlines and newspapers to sell charting her come back, so NOTW will make a few bob from selling her film interview around the world, not to mention the newspaper interview (ah we'll see)

But the bit where she's breaking down and invoking the symapthy of viewers towards her children is a point many in her position would have made. And you have to feel for her, but the starkness of the edit smacks of some kind of cynicism to manipulate.

In part it's television news' failure for context and also for Ms Goody's PR team, which behind the camera will be be partly controlling what you and I see. There's too much at stake in cash signs and earnings for many attached to the Goody empire. The millionairess however would have final say.

Looking helpless with full blown tears tends to work, but this is a gamble. Ms Goody has already attracted attention as a master manipulator. She would have been aware of what she was up to in the BB House, even if you can attribute some of her antics to a lapse in judgement.

Had Shilpa been evicted, in her mind it would have probably vindicated the comments she meted out.

In the film Broadcast News William Hurt's character reveals how to cry on cue. No suggestion Ms Goody did so much, but remember she's got the editing say.

I'd like to see the footage after the interview camera stopped rolling, and if I was seriously demented, the conversation with her aides would go something like this

Goody: Was that alwrite?
Team: Yes, I think you nailed it
Goody: Wasn't a bit too much?
Team: noooo, I think you got the balance just right
Gooody: But you dont fink it makes me look stoopid or something
Team: We'd be the first to tell you
Goody watches footage: Yeah that's strong. I fink my makeup's running though?
NOTW: Thanks Jade, you were great. Ring you tomorrow to talk about the other things
Jade and team leave
NOTW team asked by others: So what do you think?
NOTW Team: Beeep, beeeeeep, beep she hasn't got a beeep beep beeeeep beep.

Expect a fair newspaper commentators to weigh in, firstly because they'll be running spoilers against the NOTW and how they judge what their readers want to hear, and secondly, this issue isn't closed as the UK's Race Czar Trevor Phillips is keeping the affair alive asking for heavy censure against the BB team and Channel 4's exec.

But you can bet BB will be back.. oh yeas!

Those to watch out for

Been enjoying looking at a range of work from extraordinary video journalists and multimedia gurus. Some I'm aware of Naka Nathaniel, bloody nice guy as well; JeJen Friedberg http://www.jenfriedberg.com/ David J. Leeson-pulitzer prize winner
Mindy McAdams- journalist & author and online journalism educator; Joe Weiss- developer of Soundslides, a multimedia authoring application; Cynthia O'Murchu www.wideopenmedia.co.uk; Ruud Elmendorp; Kevin Sites; and Rob Curly

Make it go away

"We've got to get back to basics. We've got to get back to basics. We've got to get back to basics".

A refrain I'm hearing more and more. A backlash to the new deal in a cyncial attempt to play out the last vestiges of our worth as old time journalists or that simply there's a fundamental flaw in the production of today's journos.

Like most things perhaps a bit of both. If journos can't write what good is a blog. If they don't know structure sod any multimedia wizzardry they're likely to produce. If you're an educationist I can hear you already: "here here!"

If you're outside of that, phlurh! What's the fuss about?

The exclusively mutual worlds of traditional vs new seem poles apart, yet in the ever revolving door of innovation one thing seems clear: an understanding of the foundations; the building blocks of journalism, that which provides us with a moral and ethical compass as well as a hearty understanding of how to tell a story.

Foundation came up as a talking point at the Broadcast Journalism Training Council meeting at the BBC. The BBC is soon to launch a scheme, still in draft phase so Chatham House rules, that will give a leg up to new journos entering the profession.

Meanwhile my podcast interview with City University's head of journalism, Adrian Monck reveals his thinking about how the basics influence everything else. Sort of guess what? All this new media stuff wil not do away with the fundamentals.

Its is the new black and I doubt we've heard the last if its universal utterance so early in the year. Only thing is will ex-Tory Prime Minsiter John Major be swept back into power. Seems his slogan is finally catching on

Podcast lectures for uni students

"A lecturer at a West Yorkshire university has abolished traditional lectures in favour of podcasts.
Dr Bill Ashraf, a senior lecturer in microbiology at Bradford University, says the move will free up time for more small group teaching."

This from bbc news

At the beginning of my teaching semester, I posted a blec ( web lecture) or Wele (A web lecture designed to be in the wiki format, though still some work to be done on the Wiki part). But it remains one of the most accessed pages from my logs.

It's probbaly not making my work any easier, but it is a transcript almost of the lecture I'm giving with various links for students. The pod has a much better ease of production, but , and these are issues students will likely grapple with.

1. Can it replace the lecture. No, but that's not what Dr Ashraf is saying
2. The quality of the lecture now resides on a new variable - how good is your pod. Other presentation skills come into play
3. What do the echelons of the university think about it?

"Your giving away trade secrets" is the refrain. On the other side of the spectrum, the University of Westmintser's out going vice chancellor, Dr Geoffrey Copland believes soon everything wil be open souce, and even podded - a direction that's been taken by the Open University.

At a Wiki Wednesday meeting in central london - a gathering of hard core wiki enthusiasts - I met a technician from Ravensbourne College who said they'd be using podcasts, so Dr Ashraf may not be the first, however certainly it appears to be the fiirst time it's been reported on.

I am hoping to catch Dr Asraf for a chat, if his inbox isn't full of requests which it probably is. Skype? Well yes except most unis firewalls don't allow skype penetration.

We'll get there. First few steps by Dr Ashraf. Giant leap follows.

James Brown is dead. Long live the JBs

Very sad news indeed. I never met the Godfather, but by proxy, like millions was touched. I hope to write a fuller article soon, digging into my vinyl collection from the King label and the whole fraternity of the jbs, Lynn Collins, Fred Wesley, Maceo whom I had one of my best interviews with.

"When Mr Brown turned round and waved his finger at you as if he were conducting, he was actually docking your wages", says Maceo Parker.

This is obviously not how the hardeest working would want to be recognised, but it's what I remember most from that interview. James Brown is dead. Long live the King (label). Long live the JBs.

The Law of Averages and Success

"So where would you like to be in ... say 5 years time?"

The clocks ticking away. Your palms begin to secrete even more. You're sitting opposite 3 figures. One's fidgetting with a pen, the other gazing at you as if you're about to confess a crime, and the interlocutor is waiting.

"I would like to be an editor"

There's a pregnant silence.

1 MINUTE EARLIER - DEJAVU
"So where would you like to be in ... say 5 years time?"

Clocks ticking. . .

"I would like to be a foreign reporter

Silence. .

OK PEOPLE CAN WE SCRUB THE TIMELINE BACK EVEN FURTHER I'M READY THIS TIME.

'So where would you like to be in ... say 5 years time, David?"

I don't ****ing know. What the **** do you think I am a futurologist. If I said I wanted your job. You'd think I was an arrogant a***. If I pitch myself any lower, you'll think I lack ****ing ambition, so where do I wanna be in 5 years. Truth? Doing something I love doing. Being successful at what I do.. Yeah, not because of you. But because of the hard work, I'm going to put in and the law of averages.

SILENCE

I walked out of the interview room thinking that's what I would really like to say, but I'm weak and feeble. My final answer was average. My clenched fist almost made it past my oesophagus.


There is ambition; what we love doing; drive; bloody mindedness; and the law of averages.

A loose assessment (1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8 seconds, there!) leads me to a conclusion - how we so easily misconstrue and become determinants at what they mean.

Ambition is good in the US. In the 80s it took on a more aggressive persona: "Greed is Good"- ala Wall Street's Michael Douglas' character.

In the UK ambition is to be left in the fridge with the half used can of beans. We all love doing something and working in the media has a high "I love my job quotient". But here too there are tacks on the floor. How much do I love you to want to stay on late and impress the editor who will remember my radiant chuckly reply when I spoke of drive, and combed my thoughts which screamed "Bloody mindedness".

We all want success: to be the best postman, most accomplished burglar, and a good journalist. And we'll do what we can legally to get there. But we're lumped into an ecosystem which rewards the antithesis to that we deem good character.

B****... HE IS A RIGHT W******
My diary shows I uttered those words possibly 1 trilion times in the beginning of my employ. Well actually I didn't but I must have heard it amongst the small gathering around the coffee machine.

There can be few professions in the world that are so personality driven, residing on ego ( in varying dollops) and insecurity.
And it's this unhealthy mix that is in part the daily catalyst to spring step to work to the sound of music, walk, then drag feet by midday.

But we love it. Many of us wouldn't do anything less. This is no place for shrinking violets my boss told me. Er what did he mean? I had no idea what he meant. Translation, if you can't shout about what you do, then no one will do it for you. Actually the more succesful ones are more tactful about how that's done. Oh yes and at some point you're gonna be loathed. Fancy becoming a manager?

Email 13.17 Sunday
As you know Jim there was a slight problem with the edit that carrie should have dealt with so we went back. Did you see that item on Ar** irrigation on Newsnight's newsbelt?

Inference: The sods working late again, post 10.30. No 11 that's when their newsbelt's on. Gosh how ambitious can you get? And look at the time of the email. **** off and die.

In part, the green mist could quite easily descend on me on these ocassions. But what was it that I/we felt envious about? Them or my lack of that killer "et tu brutus" stroke doing the same thing. I didn't want to

The web cohabits this wierd and wonderful world of contradictions. More so because of our abilty to interact, scrum and thwack that arrogant journalist/writer back in the face. Particularly joyous if it's the paper or journo you love to hate.

But as the new superstars of the web are showing, the old personal human traits so prevalant in the media are showing no signs of abating. One major differences is that this new group have had a rather meritocratic rise in blogospshere based on you, I and my pet dog sparky who would bark when he saw Amanda Congdon on Rocketboom.

No where would you like to be in say years; no where did you go to school; no er, we already have a person with a disability, ethnic background, er whatever in the workforce. This time it's me and you. Our blogs, the quality of them, our youtube videos, flick pics, sniper-edge pods say more about us than anyone could.

Yeeeeees, (i'm squirming) and No (very abruptly !)

Jon Snow on my reel produces the biggest reaction to this schizo-mania. Those who know me, will probably have guessed what it means, that when I sit down the chairs don't illuminate. Of the student's I know and have had the pleasure or working with, I can't imagine a more crass intro walking firstly into a lecture. Not because of what Mr Snow says, but by actually believing it.

C'mon...

But the Snow effect, a visual CV, the equivalent of those pithy comments for the paperback you're planning is a proxy vote of sorts, a short cut if you like Snow to cutting the author some slack, a grandfathering ping

Grandfathering?

Three pieces of advice passed to me, passed on. When considering a career into the media.

Find yourself a grandmother/grandfather - a mentor.

If your dad happens to be Michael Grade, mentor? They'll be coming to you? I was once paying a brief visit to the home of a very powerful TV exec. She sat me down with a cup of tea and begun to tell me about how I should work hard to get where I wanted and then segued into a tale of her daughter.

"Gosh she works so hard. She's just finished two attachments and even the Managing Director's are calling asking if she want to come back", she said gushing.

Yep, musn't be judgemental. her daughter probabaly did sit down to Gustav Holst's The Planets in Full Score, but it didn't seem illogical that the reason also her daughter was being pursued... you get it!

But grandfathers/ mothers have a place, and self belief as well. One of the professions I advocate to anyone/friends e.g. journalist aspiring journalist is to teach.

Because a) I'm finding I can shortcut all the ***p I went through by hopefully passing something on
b) the first time you stand in class you're as naked as the day you were born. If what you're saying doesn't make sense, watch out. Furthermore, there are no airs and grace in the lecture just what I refer to as the cauldron.

Everyone is equal, our respect reciprocated. It's an assymetric coms line, where often the more you're pressed, the more you learn about yourself. The more you learn about yourself, the more you want to push further.

I worked at so many outlets in my broadcasting career that I lost touch, and while a quick flash at my CV may look dandy, it's in part a card trick; huge highs followed by lows. In the UK in 92 I couldn't fnd work in the UK, so relocated to South Africa, ploughing townships and the most aweful places for a story. In 97 I emerged from an agency disillusioned and then like everyone else probbaly goes through badgered enough people to get work, in 2002 having dusted down the last year's general election, I begun to question whether this is what I really wanted to do.

And then I had a idea - viewmagazine.tv though it wasn't called it then. here's an early incarnation if you're interested.

The law of averages says this it's a big numbers game. The 5 percenters. The more we play in the field, the more we're likely to get the ball. Success is relative. Hah I was once touted in the Evening Standard as some doer. What i want to do is pay my mortgage. The law of averages says in this ecosystem where there's a lot of back/foreground noise, find something you're good at and keep doing it. The law of averages says it's a big bell curve, that only a few will make it, a large percentage of us will do ok and a small amount will... well.

The law of averages says those who work hard will be rewarded and the best reward is that which you like doing, whatever that is

I want my newsnight

So have your ever been watching BBC Newsnight and thinking I can do that. Well you can but Doh it's too late, at least this round to do anything.

Oh my Newsnight. . . er, yes, Oh My News . . . has you submitting to this bastion of British news your own take on events.
Sorry MAJIs and PGDipers, I missed this.

But it was brought to my attention by a journalist in South West Britain who I had the pleasure of coaching on the finer points of DIY TV.

This is an early piece, demonstrating her prowess as a young print journo turned video journalist . She shot everything her self.

Her email to me ff:

Hello david

Following my VJ training I made a very short film which was selected by BBC Newsnight... 13 films are on the Newsnight website and the 5 videos with most votes will be broadcast on Newsnight in January. Fingers crossed!

If you have time, it would be nice if you could watch my video and give me any construictive criticism (I know there will be a lot!). I hope you are not too disappointed. It is very much presenter-led which is unusual for me as I'm normally so shy but I hope my shots are ok, it was made in a day and a half!

My Video has been (re)named CARBON, it is number 7 on the page:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/2006/12/oh_my_newsnight_the_shortlist_1.html

Briefly; I had a week off and a trip to Poland fell through cause I was broke so shot it in a couple of days. Edited it at work with pinnacle (YUCK! finally got final cut pro on my mac thank goodness). Looking to move onto docs next.

Thanks
Alice

My reply... well now that's a job well done. Second real piece and makes it onto the deck of newsnight.. can't be bad.
Now for my offline chat with Alice.. er sorry, thank you but this is er a bit private..

p.s you could go vote for Alice or frankly anyone of the ones you think are good

er, X factor

It's pointless.Unavoidable. Despite slaving over my mac peering across the fields wondering how i'm going to cut my next film, on either side of the divide the din from the x-factor is proving a distraction.

I haven't heard much thus far. Am I really in a minority? But OMG for sheer songbirdness ( is that a word?) last week was good for me.

In a studio in central London, an audio specialists chuckles and fades up one of 12 buttons marked "drums", "vocals" . . and the rest.

When this track was first released it garnered such awesome reviews, you wondered what could better it. Well it betters itself. Marvin Gaye's" What's going on" stripped to its barebones in a surround sound studio is concert hall music personified.

Angels singing. Then slowly the mixer fades up thevarious data tracks, horns, etc. Sweet sweet music, but not to an industry last week clenching its first to move judgement on the retention of copyright past 50 years.

The reasons, livelihood of course but its also reminded me of a skewed debate at a digital media dinner. Call it the Mickey Mouse factor. Does copy/trade mark rights around this mouse encourage or discourage creativity?

Do current methods of retaining our creations spark new ideas or suffocate them? Is the mash up culture minor larceny dressed up as collaborations?

Me, I dunno.

But I am set on seeing how I get my paws on that Marvin track and . . . . listening to some real xfactor

The circuit

I exchanged a Q and A with Nelson Mandela and later shook hands in South Africa. I interviewed Moby in Wash DC; Fela Kuti proved alongside George Clinton to be the baddest interviews in London; and former head of the CIA James Woolsey provided a fascinating insight to me of his profession.

In Turkey diving 50m to WWI wrecks of Gallipoli, the ensuing interview with Ian Hamilton's grand nephew ( Ian Hamiton was the Commander in Chief of the campaign) was engaing to say the least.

Last week I added a further name. To many he floats on air. Similarly many of us will not know his name. He is Hillman Curtis. A Flash designer who in the late 90s revolutionsed an industry. To many in the design world he is one of the Masters of Flash and last Tuesday we spoke at length on camera, courtesy of Charles Amponsah from Reeltime productions behind the camera.

Why was I so enthralled? Hillman has now turned his hand to video and in a short space of time has reworked his aesthetic into something which could pull an audience to pay-to-view.

The ocassion was Flash on the Beach and the line up... well, honestly I was gratifed to be asked to present, looking at Next Generation TV. Thank you to everyone and their kind words afterwards.

If the highlight was Hillman Curtis, and Neville Brody, then Chris Orwig is someone I would like to package into a pill. Take one a day. Awesome presentation, indelible energy.

As the rest of the last couple of weeks go, it's been Digital Hollywood where I showed a short I made about how universities will shape up in he future; at the Front Line Club, Digital technolgy and the future was the theme; and a couple of articles here and there, and some great work from different cohorts of students.

I now feel the book I wanted to write is starting to write itself. Looking forward, we've only just begun. . . The strive towards a newer system to occupy the old wll feed my leftfield mind.

Our life

James rolled from his bed, Kate stared at the clock wishing some type of mystic gaze would freeze its progress.

Grey clouds materialising from the night, one the shape of a goose and her many goslings broke Sheryl's concentration on the island of Ayia Napa. Change of scene imminent she thought.

And then in this part of the hemisphere as if the world population of ants had, in unison, made that trill sound, barely audible, but magnified and dampened in the human hearing range sounds like computer bytes, ones and zeros at war, the world exploded.

7.00 - It's a beautiful Day ( U2 playing)

"Today's lecture will examine an aspect of Ferma's Theorem"
" Can we use people's genes to id them or what about their isp, when their voice protocol claims they want anonymity"
"An evaluation of journalism in 2009 showed the biggest spike in interest levels but also the most unsettling period of strikes and despair in the profession".

Tseeet tttt eeeek bleeepp!

" Hi james. Hi Kate. Hi to anyone joining us on quiet mode. My name's Sheryl I see some of you have opted for journalism and technology. I'm going virtual so if you want to join please switch on your green room so I can take you to the journalism zone".

Sheryl dance-all-night is a solo lecturer - a new breed of independent teachers gilded to the teeth with computer skills to teach online, inside the grid. It is an experience so far removed from the present that cohorts of the 2027 real world skills experience chortle at the crude methods used some 15 years ago.

2027: Tuesday/ second quad/inside the green zone/ grid 45...

James: " Ok I'm in.. sorry where are you.. ah see you!

The technology is so simple in its elegance that generations in the 20th century would have clamoured for its use. In 2015 digicorps companies started seling of green space - essentially virtual reality backdrops - so anyone with a tetra computer could buy, access their space and interact with anyone else given the right coordinates.

This is Second Life gone mad, but the real k.app is the input sensor attached to your ear and eye pod allowing you to experience whatever it is, wherever it is without having to leave your home.

Terra computers you could say rule the world. Imposing edifices- universities- a feature of modernity but born from the womb of early civilisation, where the Platos and Socates held court in designated ampitheatres with select groups worthy of the knowledge, are no more.

Welcome to the new world.

David Dunkley Gyimah writes: It's only fiction so steady on before I start getting hate mail, but this emerging world had me thinking after interviewing the University of Westminster's Vice Chancellor Dr Geoffrey Copland about the future of Unis after I'd been invited to speak about the subject at the forthcoming digital
hollywood forum.

What the VC had to say took my breadth away. You'll have to watch it to understand that my active imagination hasn't made up all of the above. The future for Dr Copland is students logging on to their courses via handhelds, devising their own curriculum, education has become open source - anyone and everyone can attend. . . and so on.

In a small way that's almost happening, Blogs and blecs have become an interesting guide for the class of 2006 to discover how their colleagues around the country are doing.

Victoria, James, David, Ruth and Rachel and their contact with Adam Westbrook firstly via blogs and then in person, plus some other interesting stuff they intend to do is the forerunner to
open source new transparency.

The virtual bit is my imagination gone silly again. I went into a green room last week and got viewmagazine as the backdrop. What emerged from conversations with the technical manager is that within a couple of months I should be able to walk down a corridor of pages and pull out links while having a live chat with users.

Ahh technology.

"Ping"
"Radio 4 . That's all from Sunday with me Roger Bolton. Join me next week on Sunday, untill then goodbye. . .

"I just had the wierdest dream about some future technobable stuff"

music journalism

There's only so much you can do on a PGDip course, but one area I have given some thought to is Music Journalism.

Today I got to clearing out some junk and trawled through one, then another, then. . . LPs. Yes those black plastic discs with tunes grooved in em.

Gosh despite my penchant for all things techy, my LPs are one vestige of yesterday that I can't shake. I can barely play em. My record players taking leave of of its functioning sense. Yes I could buy a new one, but nostalgia would rather have me admire the things.

Bobby Byrd, Lynn Collins, mostly of all James Brown's stuff from the 60s/70s/80s, Shalamer.... Shalamer ! Oh dear that brings back memories dancing at Soul Train

The heady days of music journalism: NME, The Face, ID, Blues and Souls, Paul Moss, Julie Burchill, Punk, The Smiths, Pogues, Chilli Peppers, Nirvana and you can fill in the rest.

It's not that anything worthy isn't happening at the mo. That's a **** nonsence. It's all relative. My mother would have me believe Bing Crosby turned water to gold.
,
Yep I'd be as much into Snow Patrol, Razorlight, Beyonce, Music undergrad Nancy Ginindza and at some time I'm looking forward to one of PGDip Journo Ruth Owen's gig. Maybe it's just that I can't go three days without food, sleeping in the same clothes and a bottle of Sam Miguel which lasts me just as much ( I don't really drink) in pursuit of toones, which leaves me bereft of feeling it...

But somehow I feel that living it breathing it ethos of music journo'sm has waned. Although George Skafidas', a 05 Masters student would beg to differ with this site, more than sounds

So how do we make this work and could it? Kienda Hoji - head of commercial music is all for it. His newly created Faculty Records - the only label within a uni is one reason why Music Journalism as a module makes sense. So what do we do next?
It's not up to me, but suggestions on a LP cover pushed under my door.

Long way up and a short fall down

Be careful what you do climbing the media ladder, cuz it could lead to an almighty fall down

Not as many articles this week on viewmag as I would have wanted to, but a busy week and even busier next, when I hope to introduce an aspect of the outernet onto view that had me jumping up and down like a three year old.

Thursday was interesting, the debate about technology and freelancing at the Front Line Club, chaired by CNN's Christiane Amanpour. Hoping to post this soon after some work on it. Name dropped a good friend into the debate, Riz Khan - a keen advocate of digital technology - and now one of the big names at Al Jazeera.

When I got home I emailed him and then what emerged from our emailings to and fro was a story he kept modestly quiet about. We spoke about technology and programme making while editing a programme about the Hajj one evening and he mentioned "Oh there might be an Al Jazeera international".

Might be!@$$%$% It now emerges he started it all... well AJ approached him and he sounded out a few people, got in contact with an old manager friend and the rest is history. Humility... If you've ever met Riz, you'd understand. He'd walk into a room unassuming and beam with an extended arm the words: "hello I'm Riz Khan".

The fact that he was interviewing Bill Gates or some president earlier makes no difference to his attitude and "joe-us".

It is a lesson indeed. As journalists, seen on TV or what have you, we are no different from anyone else. The shop keeper sells essential commodities, we sell information.

But as we walk throough the corridors of this profession, we meet those who believe themselves too worthy of anyone's presence other than similar celebrities. Ah well...

And so off to aerobics again and then back to finish off a chapter on my nameless book. Hello to you if we met at Front Line and a hearty thank you to those that organised it all

Will freelancer rule the broadcast world?

Will advances in broadcast technology lead to more and more freelance journalism? In a nutshell this is the debate being held at the Front Line Club today, which honours emerging talent through its Kurt Schork award.

Chaired by CNN’s inveterate broadcaster Christiane Amanpour this question is the low hanging fruit. There will be room to explore deeper questions, but the answer is unequivovcal: yes.

Why? Because the monopoly that consolidated broadcasting, particularly television engineered at its inception has finally been broken.

Historians will note how TV emerged more or less from the bowels of radio, which in turn was heavily linked to engineering firms producing the nuts and bolts of broadcast production and distribution.

It was and still is an incredibly highly politically charged medium, so only few, very few deep-pocketed, politically connected companies could afford to buy their way into the gathering and distribution of the message.

Manufacturing receiving equipment was a cinch; herein is the asynchronous relation in broadcasting that held back johnny-have-a-go.

The Net changes all that. The production of low cost cameras and editing gear changes all that. The ability to travel by air at monstrously low costs compared to the advent of air travel changes the scene; the allure of broadcasting and fame by proxy in journalism alters the mediascape; the deconstruction of media – a more televisual aware public as witnessed through citizen journalism - provides an understanding for changing times

Ironically, the debate comes as I’m emerging from intense contact with newspaper journalists turning to video journalism to up the content game. The BBC [no less than a DG team I'm told] sent a video journalism team to look at the Press Association and the programme I helped them set up.

More on that in a later blog. This programme may not necessarily yield more freelancers but undoubtedly there are increasingly more journalists in the field with the stock to become their own brand.

I have spoken about this in articles on viewmgazine.tv and I note that broadcaster and journalist Andrew Neil said that much at last week’s society of editors meeting.

We now have the tools to do just about anything: radio, TV. Web, . . . quinne media .

And a new generation of technologically fearless, multiskilled, journalists are emerging who will push their own brand if they can’t find work or the working conditions of employers appears Victorian.

There is a greater subtext to the debate by Institute of War and Peace Reporting held on the day when they're honouring Kurt Schork – a highly experienced journalists - and there are many other names that we must pay tribute to.

Comrades who have fallen in action by merely doing their job. More recently Martin Adler – another highly experienced freelancer was short dead in Mogadishu.

The absence of readily accessible broadcast news from some of the world’s most notorious hot spots is one good reason for skilled and unskilled freelancers to make the region their own. If anything it provides a steady stream of stories plus income and sates the appetite of the curious in peeling back the complexities of an area’s politics.

That much led me to South Africa in 1992, armed with a uher and sony recorder to report from among others Katlehong – then the world’s murder capital.

Award winning video journalist Ruud Elmendorp one of the industry’s most skilled journalist started life off as a freelancer 6 years ago reporting from Central Africa. Today , the calibre of his work has led to more clients taking his pieces, but he still freelances, and each time he’s out on a story he must keep his wits about him.

This raises deeper questions of security and safety. If more experienced journalists can find their life in peril, what more those just entering the profession equipped, yes, with modern day broadcasting equipemt – dv camer and alaptop.

Some organsiations provide cover for their bona fide freelance journalists. That's security awareness, insurance, bullet proof vests et al, but for every freelancer in the bossom of a network broadcaster, there are many clamouring to suckle.

The reality is simple. There are more journalists that jobs in are industry – 100,00 grads in total with only 20,000 jobs available in a year according to BBC network’s radio 1 – a station for the 15-35s.

It’s unlikely this number will improve as more centres of journalism set up. And so statistically speaking we can presumably expect more casualties. What can we do?

Does the industry need to get together to address this? That’s just one question that I’d be interested in hearing more about today.

Make her famous

Sitting on a train wifing, my mind drifts away from all things journalistic. C'mon - there is life beyond those borders. Nancy Ginindza - a talented musician comes to mind.

I abs love her music and have used its power to convey visuals from videos I have directed including a vastly downloaded vid on Iraq with photos by award winning Yannis Kontos.

So its simple, please make her famous. Because, well, one way or another she will be. Savour this.

+++

Meanwhile Shirley Thompson, a phenom composer has just reurned from Broadway scoring for Push. You can listen to the themes on her debut CD New Nation Rising which she's kindly let me use to mix with Yannis' reel for his award ceremony. go to viewmagazine.tv

The Tao of TV

About to post a video of me reporting on London's commercial TV Network. It's a finance and got me thinking about a myriad things.

This week the BBC held out an olive branch to newspaper publishers saying it would accept their footage, presumably alluding more favourably to "local TV"

The deal is this. The BBC with is division of video journalists has spotted a tier lower than regional TV to sell its wares. The same has been made of ITV.

Local TV is set to become a battle ground for eyes and advertising. The latter is something the BBC has no worries over, but that leaves local newspapers apoplectic with rage.

Eyes = advertising. The piece I'm posting says that much. Big sponsors now have music events firmly sowed into the corporate strategy. To have you brand flown across Glastonbury et al guarantees the ad team get the wink of approval from the CEO.

The newspapers have gone on their own offensive. Meanwhile ITN multimedia brand ( a quiet evolution) continues to grow and its online sites - localising their reach - are caching and pushing their assets.

So I'm back to video again. I'll deconstruct this for media students in the context of how video journalism may have approached this later. But meanwhile here goes. There's a bigger story in this.

Game Over - there's no such thing as broadcasting

A month ago I spoke about the erosion of singular disciplines, how the difference between broadcast and print student was soon to vanish. Was I a bit too prescient? The news this week is of a meeting of minds between the NCTJ and BJTC.

"The National Council for the Training of Journalists has said it is to work more closely with the Broadcast Journalism Training Council as the demand for multi-skilled, multi-media journalists increases". according to Hold the Front Page .

I was locked into lecturing at the time so could not attend the monthly BJTC meeting for which I am one of the members to report on this. But I'll be catching up with our secretary Jim latham et al to bring you greater detail.

Make no mistake this is a landmark moment - an irrevocable change to the media in defining what constitutes a newspaper journalist and broadcaster.

If you're a print student reading this. It's now the industry that's changing, not the imagination of those who pass you by in the corridors. Is this good news? You could easily argue course not, but it is change that's taking place.

007 and some

Casino Royale starts its rounds to flush out the fakes. 007 is the real deal and with a new Bond at the helm you can bet your last hand, movie bosses will be going big on this. So I wanted to know what the real intel chiefs thought. This interview was recorded before Casino Royale was slated but gives a good impression of the life of real 007 agents.

I appreciate EX CIA chief, James Woolsey, for giving me his time in Washington DC.

Meanwhile is it video journalism or not and what makes good vj - the debate apparently was a key issue at the Society of Eds meeting in Glasgow. I couldn't go but here's my 20 second take.

There is vjism by dint of one person holding a camera and then there's vjism that seeks to create a new lingua franca to that which dominates traditional TV. Put simply there are photographers and very good ones and there are photojournalists. One must capture the moment for the front page. The other attempts to contextualise a reportage with an appropriate shot. They're both snappers. There are VJs and Vjs - both do a job. I would like to think man with a movie camera ( geddit) is re-inventing/breaking rules.

What is this... ?

I had in mind today to speak to someone I have a lot of respect for after sharing a podium with him in the US last year. Naka Nathaniel works for the New York Times, as a Video Journalist /writer etc and is just about to set off to Dafur.

This time with his correspondent Nicholas D. Kristof, a columnist for The NYT they're providing a piggy back for NBC. Naka and Kristof have been to Dafur a number of times and its mightly encouraging to see that his newspaper continues to bring news of the region to its readers through Naka and Nicholas' efforts.

I started off recording the session with this contraption above. It is state of the art mp3 and if you've ever used a uher before this really is like way beyond anything.

Half way through however and the devices capture card gave up ( hahaha ) I hear you snigger. So we switched to skype and a nifty device called audio capture that allows you to record sound coming out of your mac. The free version only allows ten minutes a pop, but its worth a future investment.

So to the questions.. Naka talks about video journalism and a question being adressed by the Front Line Club about freelance journalism and the future.

Join in the debate nearer the time when I hope to put up a range of views forward for us to discuss.

Science woes

British Students shunning science screams the headlines. Notwithstanding the brilliant number of scientists in academia and industry, perhaps a more acute bit of navel gazing is required.

My first attempt to continue my science studies- a degree in Chemical Engineering - ended in tragedy. After three weeks on the course at a uni I won't name crammed into a class of 60 plus, with a lecturer who was so monumentally unispiring it was time to leave.

But the real worries was the p**s poor salaries on offer back in the 80s and I doubt its changed much. I'll post a feature piece I made for BBC Reportage, The Brain Drain.

Verdcit: many students, researchers were high tailing to the US where they receive more money and recognition.

Until somebody adresses this and the bias to business qualifications ( media is a belated fad) then the UK will continue to haemorrhage.

Incidently I did complete my degree in Applied Chemistry but by the time I'd got passed my second year, I'd already begun freelancng for BBC radio, realising the sciences and all the additional maths, integration, Newtonian mechanics, organic chemistry was not for me - as a career.

This morning I have just been looking at my notes from Uni on Nucleophilic attacks

5 am shadow

Busily putting some flesh on a discussion piece I'm writing for the Press Gazette and the piece more or less wrote itself emerging from my turn of last alpha sleep at 5

It's really annoying and happens quite often. The result you lay awake reading fluidily in your head the words of the article unfold. Go back to bed and you lose any connection with the other world and the crystallisation of your package.

Ah well.

6.00
Mmm I am making mischief. Now let it stew and return again for a stir. Not cricket to reveal its contents, so, er sorry can't say much. No it has nothing to do with D-Notices or offical this or that.

7.00
Quick look inside FTP of Viewmag. Any hope now of a few dark eye winks are kissed good bye. Something is happening with the traffic. It's 3000 up already and I have found some new interest from Taiwan. Hello there if you're reading this. Fat chance me thinks.

8.00
a friend has posted me the most exquisite site to look at http://www.marqmagazine.com/ Yum And now for the fun stuff. Answers on a post card what would you do to enhance it. Kevin drives and tests cars for a living. Don't sniff. Here he has the Aston Martin and then the Jag and then heavens knows what.

I once had him get this amazing car while a freelance at Channel 4 News. We wired the whole thing up courtesy of the ITN Q department and drove around London. I'll tell you what happened next some other time.

9. 00
Surely time for sustsenance. My thoughts cast to PGDip work. Look at the sites. Then MAJI - who are doing tele soon.

9.15 My Mac and I must end our liaison for the morning. there is a life out there, but before I put on my running shoes and get ready fot morning aerobics oh yes I l* o%^o k o86u4 t si887&%%^de and n@@@oti zz Zz Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Creative radio

So if you're an avid BBC Radio 4 Today fan, did you share in the moment of "quick pretend no one's listening" when they attempted to have morse code emerge from the bowels of their studio, only to realise that after a good minute plus, going on for eternity, the beep, beep, dooh, beeeeps was bordering on the Monty Python.

It was a great piece of original radio idea, but i guess the producer forgot to ask how long it takes to transmit a sentence. Answer, for ever.

So as Mr morse code is merrily clicking away, one can only imagine the studio manager and item producer, plus editor screaming " enough" tempting the presenter to try and find a natural break to intervene, which she did on a couple of occasions to no avail.

I bet they had an almighty laugh after the show.

Next week a man attempts to hold his breath for the world record, except the producers didn't realise that's eight minutes, 58 seconds.

Web Video

" Web video is hard to do, and even harder to do well. Many are dabbling, but if anyone has found a real business model to support quality visual journalism in the multimedia world, let us know"

This from, Jay DeFoore, writing for a well respected photo
journal.

So I posted a reply:

Dirck Halstead continues to clear a thorny path for many of us to peer at a future which attempts next generation TV.

My mantra after more than 10 years of professional small video camera use convinces me that video journalism of a kind that redefines television's compositional arrangment for news and docs will emerge from a photojournalistic stanza.

I use a photo from award winning photo journalist Yannis Kontos to instruct would-be videojournalists. "If you can tell or understand how Yannis captures this image" I say, "you're half way there".

Whether we choose to do video journalism is a question. Is it difficult? That needs qualifying. Nothing is ever easy to start off in our trade.

But the newspapers in the UK are having a go and I think I managed to deconstruct enough of it to take the sting away addressing one of the UK's most successful newspaper publishers.

Incidentally it's not the be all business model, but newspapers with VJs in the UK are now selling their footage to broadcasters which includes the BBC. Stranger things could happen.

London goes digital

It was a while coming. In 2000 Viacom UK contacted myself and colleagues to help them fashion a new kind of advertising. XTP would revolutionise the Underground. Our task was to visualise 5 degrees of motion. What?

Simple. On the one hand varying degrees of animation and movement would mean different revenues, but also equally important the implications of a moving ad on the Underground have serious health and safety aspects.

So we experimented with a few ads under the guidance of Viacom UK and came up with five ads pitched at Imagination's HQ. I'll be featuring an article on this on www.viewmagazine.tv with all the ads at the time and how we came to develop them.

The stills here are froma video where we developed the brief of sporting london. Jon Staton, former head of TV at Saatchi and Saatchi could find a helicopter at short notice of you wanted one.

In this case something less adventurous, we hired out some studios and I directed a couple of sports men and women in. We then comped that in After Effects

Gosh 22,000 visitors to www.viewmagazine.tv - and I have the Berlin awards to be thankful for that. I'm going to be posting some more stories from the awards soon. Tomorrow hope to be interviewing Naka Nathaniel about video journalism in expectation of a Front Line Club debate on technology and the future.

One of my closest mates from Medecins sans frontiere has brought over the most strangest looking device. You'll see it tomorrow. It is the future of podcasting and MP3 and looks like a stun gun.

And finally Westmins postgrad journalists are on the verge of something. But this is strictly Chatham House rules so that's all I can say

Spies within us

A sample of David's DNA mashed up


My family did no wrong, but the question is are we on the national DNA database? For within the realms of science fiction meets science fact we are project beta - the first use of DNA finger printing outside of a criminal case.

The first deployment of this forensic science was a criminal case. The second, and the fist time it was used to prove a custody case Sarbah vs Regina (the state) was my family.

So should this DNA print now exist in the police's vast ID bank. No! Do I know it exists there? No. In any case it shouldn't.

There is a wider debate fashioning and one that I remember from a conference in Leicester a decade plus ago featuring Baroness Warnock et al

You've been Goggled
Google surpassing ITV and Channel 4 News. Proof of the reach of the net ( some "@£%!! luddites are still dismissing it). There is a future waiting for us that melds tele, no video vision on the net and myspace + Current.tv is about to come closer to that.

That much I'll be writing about in an open discusion piece for the UK press Gazette in a fortnight's time

Bye bye brilliant Berlin

Absolutely barking ( British expression for mad).

They did everything possible on stage: cry, scream, brood, even **ck - though the particpants kept their clothes on. Peter my newest friend warned me before we entered. "Don't fall asleep".

How did he know? Visiting South Africa for the first time back in 1992 I was given the Vip treatment to a concert for the multi talented singer/ violinist Sibongele Khumalo. I fell asleep. My host's neighbour, one Cheryl Carolus would become South Africa's high commissioner to the UK and each time I bumped into her she would threaten to tell all. "How could you sleep through a stellar concert".

But in the end, here, it was my host on the verge of catching 40 winks. The production, oh sorry I should have have made that clear was called Baumeister Solness by henrik Ibsen and not a word of it was spoken in English but I had the time of my life.

I even, serendipity, managed to laugh in the right place. Ab-so-lu-tel-y barking mad. Essentially the production revolves around the expressions of architecture over a period, with a property magnate intertwinning his life around a myriad of wierdly wonderful people who change expression at the drop of a hat.

Frankly the actors must have been exhausted. I was just watching them. Ibsen, doesn't do gentile.

It's not the fist time I have walked into a production with not one iota of language reckoning.

In France once, I went to see Paparzi - a film about those exhaustive photographers who snapped away at the Late Lady Diana. As I neared the ticket collector her hand reached out in front of me. "You know zis is in French".

I must have "made in the UK" cattle-branded on my forehead. But back to Solness. Wow!

Apparently it's a new production in Berlin's theatre land by a director unafraid to take risks and bent on winning over new patrons. However when I looked around, more often than not I was in a room of bank managers and senior manageresses. Yes even the actors are bemused by the clientelle.

Later one of the lead actors ( Mmm my host Peter has good connections) would join us with his girlfriend, also an actor. We spoke about method acting and how he had five productions on the go on any one day. Does he ever forget who he's supposed to be I asked. "Nein, you never forget". Peter lives and breathes the acting profession and he was the most matter-of-fact person I had encountered in a long while giving blunt opinions on his fellow actors.

I won't betray his trust. It was a private chat and he was not to know that I have a prediliction for blogging, but wow, I'm glad at least he liked me enough to talk to me, cuz he could be a real so and so if he didn't.

So just as I had started off privy to German efficiency, so it ended that way. Bye bye brilliant Berlin - a city that boasts little about its offerings. Where money oozes from the cracks of new brand titles stores. Where young hip things take over the streets. Where all taxi drivers are bedevilled by the thought that they are Schumacher (Formula One) and must drive like a bat out of hell and where memories of pass-it-on will live with me for long.

For as I received my prize from winning in one of the videojournalism catergories I was handed a bouquet of flowers. Splendid! But what was I to do with it and I certainly had no intention of taking it back on a plane.

So as I walked through the foyer of the Park Inn, two ladies in their 60s gushed at the arrangement. It was in German of course, but it was the language of universal admiration, so I did what I'm gradually getting used to. I turned on my heel and handed it to one of them who blushed, accepted, and I acknowledged with a salute. Alas I did not enquire upon her name.

But it is good to receive and equally exciting to give.

suffer for art

Suffering for one's art has many examples of righteous dedication and film makers are by no means immune, nay, there are the best example of this syndrome. But today's film is reminder of the art of suffering in order to bring something special.

The evening was spent watching this year's nominations for the 3rd videojournaism awards - the biggest to date, with some 420 entrants from 42 countries.

The films scrolled by, in part because I paid a visit to the other side of consciousness. Yes, I'm certfiably mashed. But did have the presence of mind to pin my eye lids back long enough to take in a majority.

They're all superb - I'm not being political. A film on alzheimer's was too painful to watch. The wasting illness took my father and I remember the last moments all too vividly. Psychiatric patients in India abandoned by family and friends inspite of some recovering was too short. I wanted more.

Self flagellating voyerism had me sit through my own submission, 8 Days - a thoroughly wierd experience. It's the first time it's been outside my study in its entirety. People laughed.

Sabine, the organiser of this wondrous event asked whether they laughed at the right spots. I confess I never had any right spots, so it was nearly as new to me watching my film on the outside knowing that others were watching it as well.

12.00 and after another night of the long knives, once again my internal clock is beginning to shut down my body's control centre. Grrrrhh

But it's been a resourceful day, topped of with the screening, and a moment of genius visiting a Vietnamese restaurant which had me salivating to near dribbling.

The FILM
Sleeping Rough / Platte machen (WDR) - winner of the special prize of the jury is a must see film for many reasons. It has all the emotions packaged into a tight wrapper which explode slowly in the mouth.

As the name suggests, it's about homelessness, but the VJ team undertaking this story did not parachute in and out. They went through the pain and bitter cold nights with their subjects. It was intimate, open, frank, with at no time the any intruding of the journalists into the story.

It is a film you would want to make, but perhaps may think the cost a tad too high, for it snows, temperatures freeze over and the wretchedness of rough sleeping is evident. please watch this film.

See yer tomorrow

Calm before storm

Ok so it might have been a bit foolhardy of me. But the previous night we ( new found friends) went out for a drink and at 1.Oclock decided I needed to turn in.

"Right, go out there, turn left and keep walking for 15 mins"

Go out there and keep walking turned into 30 mins more like it, with my antenna radioing in on my surroundings and whether I was safe. Breaking my walking patterns - cadet boarding school taught me that much - created the illusion I was partially barking and lost - but I was assured I'd be safe and was, and actually really felt no different from traipsing down London at an equivalent time.

"But don't go further east" was a side caveat I won't forget. That's where the, er, yes, hang out.

This morning, distance again has been under cooked, but we're of to see Christoph Dowe - a political heavyweight blogger, who we find in good form organising an e-chat conference from his company and behalf of a e-learning and a couple of unis.

A young intern from Holland, Bas, catches my eye. At 21 he has a clear idea what interests him and how far he'll go for an internship. 4 more months lay ahead before he goes back to Holland.

What strikes one about East Berlin is the Bohemia; the cultural sashay of this vibrant part that we're in. Every turn is brand mania, commercialism e.g. Reebok, Pepe, Nike and a slew that are boutiquesh.

There's an upwardly mobile feel of the cafe society, blended with the ruins off the old Berlin. The architecture can hold you in awe.

But I'm here for the awards, not a spot of sight seeing. But it's been instructive nonetheless.

There is a hiatus at the moment, rooms being refurnished, chairs being prepped. A radio journo from DW has just interviewed me and for once I remember to slow down.

If you know how I talk you'll get my drift. Food, ah! Food. I'm famished but there is no shortage of what I'd like. A quick Falafal and humous. THere is a sizeable Turkish, Arabic community here, so I'm told.

Downstairs, an MD from one of the big networks is waiting to give me an interview. Can't keep him waiting.

real time blog

The Vj thing is taking off. That at least is the impression sitting in a 100 seater cinema room In East Berlin surrounded by Berlin's/Germany broadcast-media industry and a few invited guests.

The chap talking now and forgive my pregnant pauses ( you can't see them) is speaking in German and is being translated by a colleague, who is busily working away otherwise I'd ask her name ( shame on me)

The lights have now gone down, but what I could gather was that there is an appetite for change.

First film has a nice visual edit. It's a 2 camera combining the VJs cut and what looks like a digi-beta pro camera.

They're laughing; the audience. The film shows men in white coats playing milk urns like they were trumpets. Apparently the young inetrviewee on screen has a thick accent - drawing handfuls of laughter.

Second film - also visually arresting. Good quality and everyone is the room is engaged again. More laughter. Lots of fluid movement with the cameras - evidence that this is not traditional shoot.

Behind me is Ruud - a well known VJ who shoots out of Kenya and central Africa. Some really good stuff he generates. I have just done an interview which I'll post soon about freelance and technology. Interesting answer but then what would you expect from someone who has a firm command of the language of solojo and VJ technology.

Woops just had to stand uo to intro myself. Am I too brief, too long? :"

Back to film - more howls of laughter. Kate, a journalist at DW -is translating. Yes apparently this is Hillbilly ( derogatory!!) ie is if I've picked the rightt adjective.. accents way too strong, more laughter.

And now I'll watch some of the films myself.... laters. sign of 10.43 berlin time

Netisens to digiratis

Net's done. Sorry. PGDIP Journalism has gone through its two weeks run, with hopefully an inversion of the Rumfeld aphorism. ie there are some things we don't know, but there are some things we thought we didn't know, but do know now.

Should launch the sites fairly soonish and then get marks back to authors. But I say that frankly if you've built something you're pleased with and peers feedback the same thing, don't let marks be the pebble in the shoe.

Going to try something with the help of Howard Rheingold whose book Smart Mobs is a must read and PGDips/ Masters. There are about 3 discos going on regarding media thought.
a) Will technology force freelance future?
b) Will TV die and evolve as something new in the coming years. NB Tele - will anyone be teleporting vision, when it's ported through the net
c) What unis will look like in the future?

The idea is to attract a smart mob and in pyramidical fashion have the mob attract others. At various conferences I have attended such as We Media, the kind of event blogging in real time proves an appropriate sensor of the unfolding of time and opinions.

So hello Howard, PGDips et al

Meanwhile, we wait. . . actually I meant I wait refering to something else. An email that dropped by has me curiously waiting intrigued by a possibe reply. OK, so it read briefly from the FTSE company: "We would like you to come and speak to our leaders. . .".

But then I should know better from my own strictures: emails are very rarely returned swiftly, very rarely replied to first time, and then only when the recipient has the demands of needs = wants fulfilment in mind.

Speed lecturing

I believe we've borrowed an old word for an old subject and made it look new: speed lecturing. Masters and PGDips are handing in online assignments that has taken them all but two weeks to do from a standing start.

It's been like that for the couple of years I have been handling online, but this year we're building a wiki ( of sorts) with a number of preofessional bodies looking to link to the.

I'll be putting together an aricle about modular versus function versus solution learning at some time on viewmagazine.tv

My errant :) Mastes student who I'm superviding from another university The London College of Printing showed. She has a wonderful project which surfs the tide of Christian films and is now in the "innovative phase" - the Apprentice moment - to see how she can market etc, so we had one of those agency brain storming moments.

During my days as a broadcaster, I also worked for Jon Staton, the ex head of TV at Saatchi and Saatchi. He is now a mentor and dear friend and I'm grateful for the experience of ideas harvesting that he would take me through.

Apple UK had a very nice journalist pass by. Nicola and I spoke about many things, some of which I know I'm bound to have said the unsayable.

Look forward to seeing the piece which should go up soon.

Time to go carb up!

The new new journos

My niece has been doubling as my agent, hence in a couple of weeks time I am due to visit her school and speak to secondary school students.

It will be both exhilirating and illuminating.

At Council I have often spoken to our secretary Jim about talking to students about a career in journalism much earlier than the standard university/pos grd approach.

Much of the "Myspace" innovation is happening within the pre and secondary school cycle, which is where to win hearts and minds of how to translate online thinking to the new journalism.

My Experience
I remember by the time I had opted for a degree in Applied Chemistry, I'd already written for my college mag. I remember the piece well. It was about the doomsday scenario of a Neutron Bomb

I must have been about 13 with a night torch in my bunker at boarding school and it lit my imagination of fear.

But I had no mentor or supporters for journalism and lost the zeal for a couple of years.

A couple of years back at Ravensbourne School of Arts and Design, I was asked to look at a bridging course.

These are students, who perhaps would be on the phone, chewing gum, answering emails, playing itunes as you spoke to them - yes a bit like those hollywood films.

The one with Sidney Pottier comes to mind. (Who's Sidney you ask??)

The first day was fairly riotous, but I was given carte blanche so went to the camera stores and brought up two 40,000 pound cameras and handed it to them to take apart, then go outside for 40 mins and shoot.

They were gobsmacked. The room fell silent, then burst into a frenzy of activity.

Was I afraid I wouldn't see those cameras again? It did cross my mind.

At one school I went to whilst reporting at BBC Feature strand I had water, paper etc hurled at me. Unruly doesn't even come close.

By the time the students came back to the room, I had 12 disposal cameras ready. They were to shoot anything, bring it back and then we'd work the big cameras.

In the ensuing weeks we learned about vertog, Grierson and had a great time deconstructing modern media.

It came as no surpise then that three years later a media grad would call me up for an interview and a reference. Yes, a couple of them went to university.


Faking it. Wanting it
Nothing to do with me by the way, You've got to want this, I often say, because as exhilirating and exciting as this career choice is it's also one of the cruelest.

There simply aren't enough jobs to accomodate for the 80 percent of grads who want to work in the media, so if they want to work and succeed then it's worth knowing what's ahead.

Many students will go on to become huge names in the industry. There are three ballasts, no four to help you.

1. * Family connections - Has mum, dad, brother, niece worked here before?
2. * Background - What school, clubs, hobbies do you have? Who have you previously worked for?
3. * Bloody hard work ethic and passion - Who is the Shadow Chancellor? Who is General Sir Richard Dann?
4. * Good luck -serendipity, the law of averages, sods law, there is No such thing as luck you create your own

Some of these you can control I say. Others are out of your hands, but if I know now what I could have know back then then I know what I would be doing.

That's why I'm looking forward to talking to my niece's school. Because if nothing else their ferociously fearless attitude to the youtube culture, their passion for the mash and smash will teach me a thing or two.

That's why I do this, The search for that quid pro quo of satisfaction

Here for Postcode -young people learning film

-------
Dear David
Thanks for the postcode link found that to be a useful guide and will track down
the books on Television Production.
I begin slotting together a schedule for my young group and definitely, get them
to try out the 3:6:9 principle with interviews.
I will definitely be keeping an eye on the viewmagazine.tv site.
Yours,
Shurwin

------------
Hello Shuwin

Thanks for reaching out to me. And yes apologies re my site. Part of it the
pdfs are yet to be put in place. I'm afraid been a wee busy.
Sounds great what you're trying to achieve. I had a little bit experience with a group here http://www.mrdot.co.uk/post_code.html but truthfully I'm no expert. My own experience is that videojournalism has
such rigorous demands that the idea of being a one man/woman shooter making
films seems less demanding. I often tell my groups that they need to
understand Tv first before I then tell them to forget everything they've
learned.
Young people will then heckle back: Well sir, wots the point in that . . .
er,

In a nutshell to do VJ well today is to be a good photojournalist. That is a
photojournalist with a moving camera will technically make a good VJ. Good luck and do blog your exploits for all, me included, to read.
Cheers
David

----------
Hi David,

I first read about you and your innovative Videojournalist work in a copy of the Sony magazine " The
Producer", from either 2000 or 2001 and have been meaning to get in touch
or attend one of the many seminars, which examine and showcase the use of digital video, story documenting and reporting.
I was hoping to attend last years Black Creativity talk at the ICA and I was unavailable to make the Broadcast live show at the Apple stand to view the videojournalism presentation.

As your part of your site is still being developed I was unable to download the pdf for tips, innovations from the http://www.mrdot.co.uk/index.html site, but I did need to get in contact. I am planning to work on a few short documentaries and a youth project documenting the history and influence of reggae music in the UK.

Part of my reason of contacting you, is that I plan to run a video production workshop for young people and would like to incorporate some of the same techniques employed in video journalism, in a quick digestable format for this group of 15-19 year olds.

So as well as being media literate they can also learn about form and content are the any sites or reference areas you could direct me to where these techniques have been employed by young people as filmmakers or vj's.

I plan to use the work and lessons learned from this project to submit as case study material towards a skillset project link info is http://www.skillset.org/qualifications/diploma/

Yours,
Shurwin
Freelance media tutor

the blec - web lecture

The past, present and trend extrapolating into a future. In a 2 hour lecture, David Dunkley Gyimah explores media issues with Masters and PGDip Journalists.

This is the link to powerpoint deconstructed below and is not an easy hit in one sitting. The issues are kneaded, pummelled, looked at through often unconventional perspectives.

It is hydra which requires further attention, so please add to the comments for a republish.

web
lecture [blec] link here

Ramping

Could we be nearing a states where print journalism courses no longer exist? Near enough, if reports how unis are shaping their modules is anything to go by. So far they're hearsay, so need confirming. But something's going on. At Westmin, a multimedia studio is in the offing, with everything that may bring.

Ramping

Could we be nearing a states where print journalism courses no longer exist? Near enough, if reports how unis are shaping their modules is anything to go by. So far they're hearsay, so need confirming. But something's going on. At Westmin, a multimedia studio is in the offing, with everything that may bring.

Meanwhile, 18 doughty street

future of online

Been a couple of interesting days with the start of the postgrad online journalism course and visits by Bobbie Johnson, Technology Reporter, The Guardian and Dominic Tuohy formerly of the Editors forum.

Both were illuminating in assessing the future of online and providing fibre for a secondary debate about the role of Universities in supplying talent to the market.

Bobbie spoke about how important blogs were, particularly for any one wanting a look in at The Guardian. We looked at a future where journalists would earn their crust by acess per view. If you're a good reporter you'll attract a constituent in the same way a DJ can move with his/her fanbase, we'll get to a point when the question asked by the editor is: how many readers do you have?
Dominique spoke about the bottom up approach. Newspapers may not likely go under now but they were under threat. That whilst the buzz words are web 2.0 - share, talk, distribute - this was sloganeering for a raft of newspaper who hadn't yet made any decision to embrace new habits and tools.

The threat of change is something which attacks a basic human condition and a once predictable livelihood. Bobbie has a firm grip and utterly refreshing outlook as both a newspaper reporter and online writer and rolls together points often ignored, overlooked by many.

We should do this again I mused. Next time havee a whole class and become one of our visiting lectureres. I hope he accepts.

Post Armani

So I told what happened to me to the conference. They laughed. perhapes it was my histrionics.
Back home and i have had two interesting requests to become a panelist. Now putting the final toouches to the two programmes I'll be lecturing in at Uni.
Grrr Was supposed to have met Howard Rheingold, but we missed other. However, good news. Global Voices won the batten Awards. fab site, you really should take a peak. So who gets to spend the 10,000 USD and who keeps the award??
Feeling a bit restless at the mo. So much I should be doing that I'm not. Ho hum

Armani tragedy

So I'm asked" "anything in your bag, liquids etc
er, no
And then just as I'm turning into the departure gate I remember. I open my bag and in there, a 50 ukp bottle of Armani.
I pace up and down, realising the inevitable.
"Is there anyway I can get this on board", I ask the airline personnel.
No.
So what do you do. For 15 minutes I walk the length of the concourse looking out into the car park. Is there somewhere I can hide this and pick it up later. C'mon my niece bought this for me as a birthday pressie.
10 minutes to boarding and I still haven't found a solution and with all the scare over recent terror incident, my actions I fear may even arise suspicion.
Damn it. I'm about to throw a perfectly full bottle of expensive, sentimental eau de toilette away.
That's it. I storm outside to departures and home in on a 6 footer - a teenager.
His mum and brother eye me suspiciously.
"Dyou see this" I say. "I don't know you from a bar of soap", I add spraying myself, "but this here is about to go in the bin. Do you want it". I spray myself again. He nods vigorously and breaks into a smile. I have parted with my gift. As I turn way, I look back at him.
"what's you name? At least I have got to know your name?"
PJ.
And that was that.

10 things about Denmark - Arhus

Touched down at Billund airport - an airport unwrapped from a catalogue - pine and chrome - did someone say ikea
Roads very clean
Having dark hair def makes you stand out
The traffic lights count down to when its safe to cross
Everyone stops at the lights - no j-walking
The cheapest deoderant cost 16 ukp equivalent
Is everything so dear here.
The people are nice - they don't so that yikes you're invading my space when you go up to ask a question
The hotel I'm staying in apparently Madonna and her crew stayed here. No I haven't arrived.
The resturaunt where we had dinner serves food as if it were art, Delicious but you half feel guilty at destroying this culinary architecture
Tomorrow -

10 things I should have done before coming to Denmark

Good Will Hunting

confucius say. . . Perhaps I needed reminding. In one corner today's activity, a meeting with a high powered chinese delegation, which I intend to publish the VJ piece about this soon. In another corner, the good people in Denmark, whom I;ll be addressing next week on the onset of video journalism.

I'm currently putting the power point presentation together, and am quite enjoying. I went scurryng across the net looking for articles on video journalism only to find, er very little. So like Victor kaem, the bloke who likes razors so much he bought the company, I have written my own opus.

But then to another corner and this is something that I find difficult to keep mum about. You know, the person who puts pressure on you to attend a meeting. The result of which you're a bit ambiguous. Then calls another meeting, which you again break hell and high water to attend. Makes promises and then asks you to attend another meeting. You once again oblige. Then then make some nice-to-the-ear comments, pledge support for that which you discussed then Nada, nilch, none, zero, the big cahoot, raspery.

At this point you're searching around for some good will, cuz you're being stretched. Then the lights go one. You take a big pen and rub them out of your contacts book, and your karma is restored. Confucius' say.. should learn self-discipline, now that's good will hunting