|
 Roll!
Shooting TV News
Views from Behind the Lens
Rich Underwood. Focal Press, 398 pages
By Ron Steinman
Rich Underwood is a veteran news cameraman who began his career in
Tulsa, Oklahoma and then later honed his skills at 9News in Denver. It
is clear that Underwood understands the techniques he learned and used
as a TV photojournalist. Thus his new book, “Roll! Shooting TV News,
Views from Behind the Lens,” is a detailed and useful compendium of
what it takes to be a TV photojournalist.
 “Roll!”
is an amply well-illustrated book with stories and theories from 19
experts, men and women who make a living in TV news. It is show and
tell, but in a good way, about the tricks of the trade, shared with
everyone who aspires to become a photojournalist working in TV at all
levels, and now even in broadband. The people profiled are open about
their craft. They share their secrets. There are no mysteries to what
they do. Each professional in the book imparts more than enough
information to allow not only beginners, but also long-time
professionals to learn by doing and to get better doing it.
The book touches on all aspects of coverage, from live, to the use of
hidden cameras, to using helicopters, editing, and even how to handle
equipment at an airport, no small thing especially in these days of
potential terror and heightened security. Underwood discusses
lighting, lenses, interview sound and ambient sound, positioning the
camera, and, above all, heart, which is often the difference between a
good shooter and an ordinary one. He also discusses free-lancing, a
growing trend in the news business and the making of independent
documentaries, something people behind the camera often dream of doing
but rarely have the time or money to make happen.
This is an excellent handbook for anyone interested in what many of us
call, “the business.” It instructs without being pedantic. The clear
illustrations make sense without being too technical. There is also a
very good index, important to a book such as this because it allows
the reader to move freely through the pages if he or she needs to
search for a particular item of interest. I call “Roll!” an
indispensable work.
Recently Rich Underwood answered a number of questions via e-mail
about the making of the book and his thoughts about the past, the
present and the future of TV news photojournalism.
 |
|
Rich Underwood |
I conducted the following e-mail interview with Rich Underwood, author
of “Roll!” The following is an edited version.
Q: What is “Roll!” about and why did you write it?
A) I had some very specific things I wanted to do with this
book. First, I wanted to break down the job of television
photojournalism into categories of news and important issues. Then I
would find the top camera people working in the industry. I had a bit
of a head start here. I knew a good number of them personally and had
insight into the rest. Aside from news categories like spot, general
and feature, I also wanted to open the book with a lively look at the
history of visual storytelling – that’s chapter 1. Once the interview
chapter’s start, each chapter opens and closes with a story about the
photojournalist who’s featured. Their respective chapters unfold with
them in the midst of covering a story. The chapter then transitions
into a discussion about the category.
As I went through the interviews, the passion each of the
photojournalists had for their profession was incredible. I quickly
felt that I needed to do right by them and the industry.
The method of interviewing evolved through the first 6 months. John
DeTarsio was good enough to let me use him as a guinea pig as I worked
out my technique. It started with a digital recorder that I would set
between us as we talked. The interviews took me from San Diego to
Denver then to San Francisco. For the international aspect of the
book, I found two great photojournalists in London. I flew there and
did the interviews at the BBC and Reuters.
 While the
central focus of the book is on television news and visual story
telling, it features what goes on in the hearts and minds of each of
these people and why their work is exemplary. There is also a fair
amount of nuts and bolts camera talk. I was lucky enough to have found
a great illustrator in Paul Cohen who crafted all the illustrations on
lens selection and depth of field. Also, Angel Granados shot
additional photographs to help convey principals of composition and
screen direction. The nuts and bolts essentials of news camerawork are
in “Take 2” subchapters that follow a few of the chapters. There are
also several appendixes contributed from industry experts that put the
fine point on their areas of expertise.
Many people don’t have an accurate picture of what is required to
shoot TV News at the highest levels. The term ENG (electronic news
gathering) has become synonymous with the technique of hand held
camera work illuminated by a single camera mounted light. While
virtually all top TV photojournalists master hand held techniques and
do carry a top light, the amount of time they actually shoot like this
is very small. Shooting this way usually only happens when they cover
spot news events. Many people think this is the only way news is shot;
in fact, it is the smallest percentage. The bulk of their work is done
with a variety of techniques that are used to best tell the story they
are covering. From Stephen Hooker’s spot news tips to Sam Allen’s
sidelines adventures to Mitchell Wagenberg’s undercover camera
techniques and Greg Sickney’s life saving advice about live coverage -
each story requires a different method to capture the moment.
In addition to camera techniques, the book also examines the real
legal and ethical issues that effect each photojournalist on every
assignment they get.
Q) What of your own experience do you bring to this book?
A) I did have a bit of a leg up on writing this book. I started
shooting news in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and then moved to Denver to join
KUSA’s photographic team. I spent many years there covering stories
that took me around the world, but more importantly – I learned the
techniques I still use today to shoot everything from commercials to
features.
Q) Are there techniques you learned or developed that would help a
young photojournalist?
A) Yes. Here is the one element that all great camera people
I’ve met say of themselves. “ I am a storyteller first. “ From top ASC
directors of photography to an award winning one-man-band working out
of a small market, they understand that the product must effectively
communicate the story first. The mechanical equipment is there to
support the story.
Q) You say this is a necessary book to read for anyone interested
in broadcast journalism. Why?
A) Each of the people have worked their way to the top of their
profession. While the book does cover the essential nuts and bolts of
news coverage and the newsroom hierarchy, it also gives real behind
the scenes advice from decades of top-level experience. It’s like
going out on a story with the best in the world and getting a private
tutorial.
Q) Can you teach story telling?
A) Yes, it can. Reading the book would be the first step to
learning what TV news storytelling is all about. What I try to do is
to illustrate the storytelling aspect of the job. Many cameramen and
woman don’t understand how to tell a compelling story. In “Roll!” I
use a basic campfire story to illustrate how a story is told and then
told visually.
Q) What separates talented innate storytellers from those who learn
their craft by doing?
A) Nothing really, it is more the time it takes to learn your
own particular “voice” as a storyteller. Everyone communicates
differently.
Q) In most cases, cameras have a fixed lens, often a zoom lens,
whose focal length the camera operator can change. On a breaking
story, there is rarely time to change a lens. In my experience, the
camera operator by how he or she moves on the story becomes the lens
that changes.
A) Just to be clear, with spot news stories the physical lens
itself rarely changes, because the time it takes to change the lens
could be the time that something critical is missed. But, the focal
length of the lens is changed all the time. On many other stories,
wide-angle adapters and lens extenders are used to capture and
communicate different elements of the story. So, for handheld run and
gun, the lens is kept wide and the photojournalist moves to capture
the moment and create composition. But, for most other news types,
tripods are the order of the day and TV photojournalists vary angles
as often as necessary to creatively communicate the subject.
Q) Most film or video and even now digital photographers in
broadcasting I know never put a reason or motive as to why they shoot
a scene the way they do. Many I know are unschooled and their work,
though technically proficient, is instinctual and in time, second
nature.
A) I also know some very good cameramen and women who haven’t
received any formal training. What they all have in common is a
universal ability to get along with anyone and quickly learn from
their mistakes. You can’t develop as a photojournalist in a vacuum.
There are the other stories you watch and compare your work to – why
did that story effect me so much? How come it kept me interested
longer? Why do I want to know more? Why was I engaged? So,
self-critique can help a lot. Then there is the staff. An active photo
staff will critique the hell out of your work and push you to become
better. So, the university of hard knocks is always a great way to
learn. While some may say they never put a reason or motive to the way
they shoot, I’ll bet their methods are engrained and they are making
instinctual decisions that – for them – are difficult to articulate.
In “Roll!” great pains were put into bringing these thoughts,
instincts and intuitions into the discussion.
Q) At what stage when covering a story does instinct take over.
A) Instinct, common sense and the inquisitive mind guide
creative discovery.
Q) Explain the difference between a local cameraperson and a
network cameraperson. Yes, both are photojournalists, but isn't there
a difference in approach, needs and final product?
A) Many differences and challenges. Who your boss is for one.
But, network camerapersons come from local news and they are hired by
the networks based on the work they’ve created in local news.
Q) How has the role of the television photojournalist changed over
the years? Especially with the Internet, and the increased use of
broadband as part of the equation.
A) Well, that or some form of that is the future. Kevin Sites
who is the last interviewee in the book has pioneered Internet news
coverage for Yahoo! News and is particularly articulate about the
roles of various media and the separation and convergence between
them.
Q) In a line, if possible, how in television do you make great
photography?
A) Aside from a fixed aspect ratio (4:3, 16:9), the same things
that make all photography great - apply to television news. Watch
great movies. Why does one shot capture the moment so much better than
another does? Research great photographers and study their work. A
simple postcard can be an inspiration on your next assignment. Learn
to see and to anticipate. Capture compelling images that completely
immerse the viewer in the moment - then string the images together to
“reveal” and “tell” the story.
Q) What do think the effect of the small screen will be on quality
and ultimately on story telling when there is less space to fill
because of the screen size.
A) Television has always been considered the small screen.
Close-ups play more than grand vistas. But for me, it’s clarity more
than size that accounts for storytelling power. Much of YouTube is
hard to watch, while a movie played on an iPod works just fine for me
– wide shots and all. So, I would say that the communication improves
with quality and that screen size is less of a factor. Now on the
other extreme, we all stood in awe as we sat in a bar downtown
watching a large screen TV play live footage of the Cedar Fire as it
rolled over hundreds of homes. Big live events work better for me on
large screens.
Q) I know this may appear to be redundant, but -- you say serve the
story first. Does that always happen? What does that mean?
A) That does not always happen, but it’s what should happen,
otherwise – in the big picture, why are you there?
........................................................................................................................
At NBC News for 35 years, Ron Steinman was bureau chief in Saigon, Hong Kong and London, was a senior producer on Today and wrote
and produced for Sunday Today. At ABC News Productions, he produced
and wrote documentaries for A&E, TLC, Discovery, Lifetime and the
History Channel. He has a Peabody, a National Headliner award, a
National Press Club award, a International Documentary Festival Gold Camera Award, two American Women in Radio & Television awards and
has been nominated for five Emmy's. He is a partner in
Douglas/Steinman Productions, whose latest documentary, "Luboml: My
Heart Remembers," aired on PBS' WLIW/21 and the History Channel in
Israel, April 29, 2003. He is the author of, "The Soldiers 'Story",
"Women in Vietnam," and most recently, "Inside Television's First
War: A Saigon Journal," University of Missouri Press, 2002. |
