The training aimed at an increase in the level of digital skills and learning how to use mobile tools in journalist activity, was conducted by journalist and television editor from Australia Ivo Burum and reporter from Norway Geir Ruud. The event was attended by journalists from printed and online media companies of the region, as well as those who traveled to the Lviv Region from the occupied territories, students, and teachers of journalism faculties of universities in Lviv and neighboring regions.
What is a linear plot structure? What mobile applications for video recording and editing, animation, and graphics (both paid and free) are the best for use in journalistic activity? All these questions became the topic of the workshop of journalist-trainers. Particular attention was paid to the technical aspect of video recording, in particular, which microphones are better for use in which cases, how to properly hold the smartphone and frame the shot, use natural and additional lighting sources, what should be the distance to the speaker for image and sound quality, etc.
“Study your cameras and only then buy additional equipment, so that you don’t end up with the problem that the purchased item does not suit you,” Ivo Burum noted.
The participants acquired practical shooting skills using the “rule of five” (general plan, close-up, wide shot, over-the-shoulder shot, detailing of the work result), zooming-out and zoom-in effects, as well as editing short videos in a mobile application.
“What kind of emotion and content you will convey will depend on which frame structure you choose, which angle. A mobile phone is a powerful tool in your hands. Maybe someday one of you will make a big video that will change the world, but it is small steps that lead to such a future,” Ivo Burum emphasized.
At the end of the training, two participants, whose works were called the best by their colleagues, received gifts from the trainers. They were sets for mobile video recording. The victors were Anastasiya Veremchuk, a student of Ukrainian Academy of Printing, and Vlastymyra Shkrybalo, a media lawyer and blogger at the Office for Support of Families of Servicemen at the Lviv Regional Military Administration.
“I really liked that there was theory and practice, a lot of useful recommendations, that it was possible to communicate with people of this level. For me, this is a big growth. The prize came as a surprise, because not everything worked out, but at the last moment I pulled myself together and edited the video,” Anastasiya Veremchuk said.
“A relaxed atmosphere, a modern cozy location and, of course, a super professional and experienced teacher, Ivo Burum. All that made the success of the training practically guaranteed. It’s really cool to shoot, edit and edit videos on your own using just a smartphone. I have no doubt that I will definitely use the knowledge and skills acquired at the workshop,” said Andrii Voloshyn (Mariupol), the head of the i24.com.ua website.
“Journalism is one of the professions that requires constant movement forward, in particular new knowledge and skills. A journalist who can work from anywhere in the world, promptly transferring information to the editorial office, will always be in demand. These words by Australian journalist Ivo Burum impressed me a lot and once again confirmed my understanding of the professionalism of journalists today. Digital technologies provide us with the tools we can use to collect, process, create and transmit our journalistic materials more efficiently and with better quality. For the first time, I created a video story on a smartphone. I liked it,” Nataliya Kutniak, the editor-in-chief of the information department of the Brody TV and radio company, shared her impressions.
“This is a very informative and necessary training. Especially for those who mainly work with the word – in the print media. Far not all journalists understand how much the approaches to providing information have changed. People want to receive it promptly. It should be concentrated; it has to hold the audience’s attention. And for this, we need short videos on social networks,” believes Andrii Dikalchuk, the editor-in-chief of the Lviv publication Novyny Prybuzhzhia.
The mobile journalism workshop will also be held in Chernivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Kyiv. The co-organizers of the trainings are the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) and the network of Journalist Solidarity Centers.
The organizers of the workshop are the NUJU and the network of Journalist Solidarity Centers with the assistance of the Norwegian Union of Journalists and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway.
