Summer Programs

[<Jake>]

I am a high school junior and photo intern at a local network affiliate. I can currently shoot and edit VO/SOTs on my own at the station and I hope to get into doing packages soon. I am looking for a good television photojournalism summer program for this summer. Does anybody have any ideas for me?

Thanks!

[Menlow]

Not till you get into college.

[Noozer]

I don't think there is a photojournalism summer "camp" available. When you get into college, you may want to check out the NPPA News Video Workshop that is held in Norman, OK every spring. They allow student observers and it costs several hundred dollars. www.nppa.org (http://www.nppa.org) for more info.

I got my start at a local cable station. If there is one in your area, you may want to see if they need help this summer. Maybe they do studio productions or need help shooting stuff. At this stage, any experience you can get would be a good foundation even if it's not directly shooting news.

Regardless, you're further ahead than most at your age...good luck!

[dvc man]

look at my avator

[2000lux]

Don't let these guys get you down or discourage you. It sounds like you have an amazingly good internship going on. You might want to see if you can keep it going through the summer. What year are you in in high school?

I don't know much about where to get an education for this career. I've learned everything I know on the job. The experience you're getting is the best kind I know of.

In addition, keep reading this site, join the NPPA and read the magazine, etc. Watch well shot shows like CBS Sunday Morning and analize them. You might want to record them and watch them again with the sound off so you can analize the shooting and editing. You may be able to go to The Workshops in Maine.

I usually reccomend that students do as many internships at as many different places as possible, but I don't know many (any) other stations that allow interns to shoot and edit like you say you're doing now. You might want to stick with these guys for a while.

[<young buck>]

Once you get to college, I found class in the commercial arts programs far more usful than the ones in mass comm. You are learning more in your position now than you will learn in mass communication school. Photography (still) class teaches you valuble creative processes that mass comm does not. Things like composition, lighting, and exposure. It seems the creativity of a shooter goes just as far if not farther than advanced technical skills. Also, film classes can teach you important editing skills. In larger cities, museums and other institutions offer private classes in some these fields, including video.

[<Young Buck>]

Art school doesnt do much for grammer or syntax though.

[SeagateNews]

what market are you in and what affiliate? i'm a sophomore in HS still trying to get an internship.

[Sportsguy]

Originally posted by stingerstringer:
what market are you in and what affiliate? i'm a sophomore in HS still trying to get an internship. Are you even old enough to drive? That would definitely cut down your chances...

[<Jake>]

Originally posted by 2000lux:
Don't let these guys get you down or discourage you. It sounds like you have an amazingly good internship going onn. You might want to see if you can keep it going through the summer. What year are you in in high school?

I don't know much about where to get an education for this career. I've learned everything I know on the job. The experience you're getting is the best kind I know of.

In addition, keep reading this site, join the NPPA and read the magazine, etc. Watch well shot shows like CBS Sunday Morning and analize them. You might want to record them and watch them again with the sound off so you can analize the shooting and editing. You may be able to go to The Workshops in Maine.
I usually reccomend that students do as many internships at as many different places as possible, but I don't know many (any) other stations that allow interns to shoot and edit like you say you're doing now. You might want to stick with these guys for a while.

[JacobA]

2000lux,

Thanks for your words of encouragement! I am a junior (11th grade) in high school. I am a member of NPPA already, and I love the magazine. What workshops in Maine are you referring to? I do hope and plan to keep this internship at least until I get into college.

Sportsguy and stringerstringer,

I am about to turn 17 years old. I am in Des Moines, Iowa, and yes, I can drive.

[Tippster]

Originally posted by dvc man:
look at my avator You may need a doctor to do that - legally...

[SeagateNews]

sportsguy, i can drive, too...i was shadowing before i was 16, but my mommy drove me :)

[Shaky & Blue]

Originally posted by JacobA:
What workshops in Maine are you referring to? http://www.theworkshops.com/filmworkshops/index.asp

The Maine Film and Television Workshops are considered among the best in the business. They are often taught by high profile craftsmen in film and television, and they have had some major cinematographers, producers and directors teaching there. Summer is their peak season, since it's cold as crap up there in the winter.

They are not really geared toward teevee news, but film and television production in general. You can take courses on lighting, or learn how to load a film camera, or get your hands on the latest 24P HD equipment, or learn to edit with Final Cut Pro or Avid, or learn location sound, or even do some acting. They have a "4-Week Film School" that gives you a decent introduction to the technical side of filmmaking, but it's too short to be comparable to a real film school.

The course list is here:

http://www.theworkshops.com/catalog/catalog.asp?SchoolID=21

I haven't attended the school, but I know quite a few who have, and I've heard nothing but good things about it. Much of it is overkill for teevee news, but don't let that discourage you. If you attend some workshops, you might end up setting your sights higher than local television. That four week film school, if you can afford it, would be a really fun way to spend a chunk of the summer; but then again, I wouldn't necessarily suggest it if you're only interested in teevee news.

[Shaky & Blue]

Originally posted by Tippster:
quote: Originally posted by dvc man:
look at my avator You may need a doctor to do that - legally... I think he meant "Look at my aviator."

http://www.artdolls.com/images/gallery/aviator.jpg

[Run&Gun]

Stick with your internship. They're priceless. Not dissing higher learning, but college is useless compared to a good internship(although sometimes that is the only way to get an internship). It can open more doors and give you more experience than four years at ANY school. I was a photog intern and ran with the news boys during the day and then ran with the sports boys at night. Just over a year later I bought my first Betacam and was freelancing for both departments six or seven days a week. Eight months later I was starting to do network, all before I was 22. I'm not saying things will turn out for you just like that(the market was different six or seven years ago), but my point is: Internships are worth ten times their weight in gold. Soak up everything you can while you are there. Ask questions if you don't know something. You can never learn too much.
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Jake: "I am a high school junior and photo intern at a local network affiliate. I can currently shoot and edit VO/SOTs on my own at the station and I hope to get into doing packages soon. I am looking for a good television photojournalism summer program for this summer. Does anybody have any ideas for me?"
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That's cool that they're letting you shoot and edit. There's no substitution for hands on training and learning from your own mistakes and successes. They let me do the same thing, but from what they told me, I was the last. They don't let the interns play with the equipment now :( So do it and learn while you can before your station becomes like a lot of others and just makes you sit on your hands and watch. Good Luck.

[JacobA]

A big thank you goes out to everyone for the suggestions and support. I think I am leaning towards doing just the internship this summer. I will keep my options open though; I do have a couple freelancing projects going on too.

Coincidentally, there is an ad on page 28 of the April News Photographer magazine for the Maine Workshops. I will look into these, but I am pretty sure I don’t want to go into an area far from TV/news. I hate the slower pace of everything else. I interned at Sex & the City last summer for a week and enjoyed it, but production on that kind of stuff takes too long for me. I like same day service.

[2000lux]

Sony also offers video workshops. They had one on shooing news a while back. You might want to look and see what is being offered by colleges and through organizations in your area.

Your internship is definitely the best place to learn, but it wouldn't hurt to pick up some theory.

There's always books and videos. Bill Heskoffs (SP?) video "The Power of Lighting for Film and Video" is quite good. There are others available on shooting and editing.