NPPA or is NAPPA?
NPPA is that auto parts store...
They have all the parts to any car going back to '73
as to shooting, well they will give you better spark with Platinum tips....
Hmm what is NPPA to Tv guys? Well you really know how to ask a loaded question there! Grab a case of LaBlatts and enjoy the good and bad, its a coming!
Plain and simple its an Organization formed to better the craft of Photojournalism in stills and motion pictures.
Has it been great for Tv photogs across the board... not always and not very well. However, many people here on this board have found great ideas and inspiration in the work that has been shown to be the best from fellow members.
Like any organization that relies heavily on volunteers, you get what you put into it or what others put into it.
I personally have learned a lot.
It is a good source of professional direction. It is an agency that does fight for our rights. You will learn a lot, as it gives you a reference point when discussing technique with other photographers.
It is basically the only organization out there in the US that is for TV photogs. Still guys have many including NPPA, PPA, and ASMP {the latter is very powerful in its lobbying skills.} Tv... its NPPA, your Union, and... and...
B-Roll.net has become in many ways a new voice for us. If and when we do clip contests, workshops,etc. Then we may very well replace than augment NPPA.
Is NPPA the end all, be all? No, it caters to both stills and Tv, so it CANNOT be. Is it worth joining? I think so. Many here will tell you it is a bunch of crap, and I will agree with many of the complaints, so it is up to you.
If your boss will pay, then give it shot. What you will get is a magazine once a month, who's content will vary between TV and stills. Most articles are about people who do this biz, not technique. So in all reality, you get stories about us, how we do some things, but more about why.
Have your boss send you to the workshop in March. Go as a participating photog. Even if you know most of it, it will be a refreshing battery charge, you will bounce about like the energizer bunny after that. Do offer to show what you learn to your fellow colleagues at work. Sharing that will help give you reason to do better everyday as your buddy in the other car now wants to to the same. It is a good competition that spurs creativity.
And if you want more TV in NPPA, write some articles for submission about the Canuk way of shooting TV. Perils, etc of shooting near and around a Moose with a Molson.
What you will want to do, is enter your clips in the contests (best ones please, having judged a few too many quarters... entries that are in just for comments drag the process down and run people away from judging.) Then see where you stand against your brothers and sisters.
You can go to
http://poynter.org/
and see the last few years Finalists online with some commentary included now.
Listen and look closely to what they have done that tells those stories a notch better than what normal is. Listen to the sound, the nats, bytes, the tempo; watch the shot selection, pacing, angles, lighting, and see how it is all thread together with editing. One good way is, watch with no sound, again with eyes closed, and then full on.
Someday soon, NPPA does hope to make this clip contest more online... more accessible... but that requires volunteers, time, and some $....
If you want critique, I recommend that you make a tape just for that. There is a Critique program and send that in for that. There you will get real thoughts on where and how you stink and shine.
As to everything that you shoot should be for your resume tape... I say no, everything you shoot should be for your STORY. Shoot for the best for that story and it will fall all by itself onto your resume tape.
And last if all, in aisle 5, there are some fuzzy dice for your Chevy Nova. Just don't flirt with Betty Sue, her beu will deep six you...
