Author: Gail Mooney

I am a new media specialist producing video and still photography for print, web and broadcast.
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Shooting Great Video Interviews

Whether you’re doing a multimedia piece or a video you will no doubt be doing interviews. So this entry will provide you with some tips for getting better interviews.

Number one rule of course is that your audio capture must be good. Make sure your microphone is no less that a foot from your subject. Make sure you monitor the sound or at least your sound check by wearing headphones. You might think you are getting sound by looking at the meter on your camera – but you don’t know if it’s good. There could be a buzz or interference that without monitoring through headphones – you’d never know.

Pick a suitable location – sitting someone next to a fountain for instance would quickly make your viewer head for the bathroom.

Make a list of questions – but don’t be afraid to depart from that list. Many times my best questions were sparked by an answer that my subject had just given. For instance if my subject has just mentioned that there was a tragedy in their family that turned their life around – your next question should be a follow up to that.

Don’t ask questions that have yes and no answers.

Many times you won’t use your voice so the audience won’t hear the questions. Instruct your subject to paraphrase the question while giving their answer.

Keep quiet – direct them by the nod of your head – instead of giving verbal recognition.

Don’t step on your subject’s line. Give a pause after they finish answering a question. That pause will give your some “air” and will help you in the editing room. But more importantly, people are uncomfortable with pauses and tend to keep talking. Many good soundbites have come from me waiting.

Like my dad used to say – let your ears do more of the work.

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Everything That Moves

Don’t ever underestimate the power of the simple idea. Sometimes – my best ideas happen when I’m not trying to come up with one. Like last night – I was watching a reunion of the group Blind Faith on TV. I was caught up in the music and nostalgia for the era that music represented and an idea hit me. Video is about everything that moves.

It’s a simple thought – video is about motion but yet an often overlooked one. Most people’s first inclination is to pick up the video camera and start moving the camera itself. They pan – they zoom – they jiggle their viewers into motion sickness.
They have forgotten that video is about recording motion – or everything that moves. Simple thoughts are the best.

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Passion and Hard Work

What is the secret to success? Look no further than the title of this blog – passion and hard work.

I guess I’m just lucky because I’ve always been passionate – sometimes overly so. I love to talk about my passions and I love to share my passions with others. For me I love story telling through images and video. I love travel and exploring other cultures. And I love to combine those passions in my craft.

In addition, I’ve never been afraid of hard work. I have always given my all – and then some. There has never been a correlation between how hard I work with how much I’m getting paid. I always give it my all. I take pride in my work. I strive to be the best I can be.

It’s funny because up until yesterday I had taken those two character traits for granted – is there any other way to live? Then I heard Gary Vaynerchuk @garyvee talk about his passions and how with a lot of hard work and honesty he grew his business through social media outlets. Ultimately social media outlets are the new day “word of mouth”. And word of mouth has always been the best way to build a business. But you must be transparent – you must be sincere.

So with all the talk of using twitter and facebook and linkedin etc. these days to grow your business – what’s most important are the basics – your fundamental beliefs – because ultimately they will shine through all the bull. You can’t fake passion – you just gotta love what you do. All of a sudden all those old fashioned character traits are back in style.

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A Means To An End

I read this weekend about a memorial service for the late lindy hopper Frankie Manning. Frankie died last month – he was 94 years old. Frankie might have looked like his years but when he danced – he was 18 again.

I met and photographed Frankie Manning about 10 years ago when I was shooting a story about swing dancing for Smithsonian Magazine. I had pitched the story to Smithsonian at a time when “swing” had become the “thing” – once again. As much as I had a great time shooting the story, I kicked myself from time to time for pitching a story all about movement and sound to a print publication. But it got me thinking about video.

About the same time, technology was making a profound impact on video and specifically DV (digital video). I was hearing about how filmmakers and journalists were experimenting with video as an affordable means to approach their craft – without the need for huge crews and big Hollywood budgets. Then I read about the first DV symposium that was going to take place at the AFI (American Film Institute) in Los Angeles. I flew out to LA a month later to attend and it was a week that changed my world – my creative world that is. I listened to panel discussions, took workshops and learned about cameras and editing systems etc. It was a springboard for my mind and I started thinking of all the stories that I wanted to tell – that I could only tell – with a “motion” medium.

Ultimately, I got into video because it was the right medium to communicate certain messages. At that time video wasn’t the trend.  I didn’t feel  like I needed to learn it because everyone was doing it. For me it was the right tool for certain stories. It was a means to an end.

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Memorial Day

This weekend for many is the start of summer. For others it’s a big shopping weekend. And then there’s the real meaning of the weekend and Memorial Day itself, and that is to pay homage to those who have died for our country.

I started thinking about a group that I was made aware of at the Final Cut Pro Users Meet at NAB this past April. The group was called Wounded Marine Careers Foundation http://woundedmarinecareers.org/foundation.html

Essentially that evening 20 plus wounded veterans came to the stage to present themselves as newly accredited media professionals. They had just graduated from the The Wounded Marine Training Center for Careers in Media where they were trained and certified in filmmaking skills.

That night they showed a video that they had made about the program itself. That night they presented themselves as professionals new to the marketplace to be hired for their skills.

I was in awe of what these men and women had to overcome to get to this point. I was in awe of the organization that gave them the chance to heal and to establish a new career. Whoever hires them will no doubt not only be rewarded by their know how, but their tenacity and loyalty as well.

What a story it is in itself. To empower people to help themselves and to bring others’ stories to all of us in the process.
What a win win situation.

Maybe this weekend while we are remembering those who have given their lives for our country – we can also remember those who gave their service to our country and how now we can help them.

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Competing With Free

A lot of old sayings come to mind. “You get what you pay for” or
“The less one pays, the more they expect” are just two that come to mind.

Yesterday I read in the trades that a new stock photo agency had sprung up and the content was free. I’m guessing the business model has their hopes on making revenue from online paid ads. But it was interesting to note that the owner said his company’s biggest problem was getting free content. Gee, I wonder why.

If anyone thinks that giving away content or services in hopes of getting paid gigs down the line – well then I have a bridge to sell you. That dangling carrot is as old as the hills.

Now I’ve done a lot of pro bono work in my life and will continue to do so – and it has always brought returns – many times monetary ones. But I have never given something away for nothing because someone tells me that they will pay me in the future.

Think about it – why should they pay someone who places no value on what they create. Lou Jones had a great reply when asked by a potential client to work for free on a job with the promise that he would be hired for future paying jobs. He responded by saying that he would do the paying job first and then in the future would consider offering some free services.
I thought that was a brilliant reply.

Bottom line – if you give it away – you are saying your work has no value.

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The “just” Word

I’m beginning to hate the “just” word. “Why does it take so long-it’s “just” a picture?” “We “just” need a 3 minute video for You Tube – my kid does them all the time”.

Technology has changed our lives and certainly my profession in many many ways – both good and not so good. It has enabled me to produce and shoot documentaries and get them seen globally, when 5 years ago that wasn’t possible.

Technology has also made the greater public think that creating content is “just” so easy – a kid can do it. Of course that is true because kids do it all the time – look at You Tube and dozens of other video hosts. While every now and then quality and skill doesn’t matter if the message or story is so strong that inferior quality hasn’t compromised them, most times the message doesn’t come out because of the poor quality.

But when a client doesn’t even think about the skill set a professional brings to a project because it is “just” so easy, even a kid can do it – it not only demeans the process – it can actually do a great disservice to their brand. Most times, they realize this but it’s too late.

I have started giving workshops to still photographers who are interested in adding video to their skill set. The ones who will benefit are the ones who realize that it’s not “just” buying another tool. But like anything else – they must cultivate and learn their craft because everything isn’t always “just” that easy.

I wish it was “just” that easy. I wish that I could take back the angst that “video issues” have presented to me over the last 10 years. I wish there was a switch that I could flip that could make me something I want to be without putting in the effort – but there isn’t. But when I hear that “just” word – I take a deep breath and tell myself – they “just” don’t get it.

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The End of the Decisive Moment?

With the advent of the hybrid cameras from both Nikon and Canon, the future of photography will no doubt be rewritten.

Sports photography will change dramatically. Will these cameras be banned from future Olympic venues for fear that still photographers will be shooting video? Networks like NBC pay big money for ALL broadcast (video) rights. So what happens when a still photographer is shooting video under the guise or disguise of a camera that looks like a still camera?

My guess is that in the future, the TV guys shooting with high end digital video cameras will ultimately produce still images as a by-product. Why depend on photographers capturing the “decisive moment” when a buyer can scroll through the video files and pick that perfect frame?

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Trigger Finger

One tip I give to still photographers who segway into video is “don’t shoot like a still photographer”. By that I mean don’t fall into the trap of turning off the camera too soon – let it run. Still photgraphers shoot moments in time – video shooters shoot time in motion.

I had a still photographic assignment a few years back to shoot a story on the LL Bean’s workshops. LL Bean gives skeet shooting lessons and fly fishing lessons etc. I set out to cover a group who would be learning the basic techniques of how to shoot skeet targets with a shotgun. I got to the location early and had some time to kill – no pun intended. The instructor asked me if I wanted to give it a try. Now I’m a person who had never even seen a gun up close, let alone shot one – so I declined. But after about 10 minutes of gentle coaxing, I said yes.

The instructor gave me safety tips on handling a firearm and then I was ready to try my hand at shooting the clay targets. He pulled – I aimed – and shot the target dead on. We both laughed and he said – beginners luck. He told me to give it another try. He pulled – I aimed and I shot it dead on again. After the third try with the same results – he looked at me and said that he thought I had been kidding him when I told him that I had never picked up a gun before. Then it occurred to me that I’ve been aiming and shooting “targets” my entire career as a still photographer. It had become a natural instinct.

So when I teach still photographers how NOT to shoot video like a still photographer, my biggest challenge is to help them overcome this learned instinct of shooting “moments”. It’s a tough instinct to break but stop yourself and let the camera roll on.

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Creating Memories

I’ve just returned from a shoot in Mackinac Island, Michigan. For those of you not familiar with the island – it’s like a step back in time with no cars and very limited cell phone service.

The purpose of my trip was two fold – to attend a conference of a trade association I belong to, The Society of American Travel Writers and to shoot video of the island and the magnificent Grand Hotel.

The Grand Hotel is a historic landmark living up to its name. It’s family owned and operated and I had the pleasure of interviewing one of the owners, Danny Musser. He said something in the interview that really resonated with me. He said that they weren’t in the business of selling lodging and meals but of creating memories. And that they do – every little detail is a cinematic experience.

I thought about that philosophy – creating memories – and realized that this is essentially my goal as well when I shoot stills or video. My intent is to capture the essence of one’s experience, whether it be a travel experience or a documentation of a personal event.

So I need to remind myself that behind the technology is the visual message. Behind the beautiful shots and the attention to detail is the “message” or the “memory” captured. I’d like to think that what I capture today will ultimately be archived and “create memories”.