Dynamic Storyteller Sets the Standard as First b-roller of the YEAR
by Brigette Polmar

“I try my best to pay attention to details, to things other people may miss.” By capturing every detail, Darren Durlach’s outstanding photography is rarely missed, especially by b-roll.net members who voted to make the 26-year-old Baltimore shooter the first-ever b-roller of the YEAR. “It’s been overwhelming. It’s been really cool,” said Durlach of winning the first annual b-roll.net AWARDS.

For Durlach, great shooting starts with great listening. “Just listening to people, listening to what people have to say in their stories,” said the photographer who’s also fond of using his wireless microphone to capture “fly on the wall sound.”

Read the rest of this entry »

by Brigette Polmar

Peruse the list of winning entries in the first annual b-roll.net AWARDS and you’ll start to see a pattern of four repeating letters: W-F-A-A. In fact, out of hundreds of entries from across the country photographers from Dallas-Fort Worth’s WFAA placed in all five core categories of the peer-judged contest and appeared five times in the supplemental categories, as well.

Read the rest of this entry »

There are a lot of great tips on b-roll.net - everything from shooting into mirrors under trains to unique water proofing for microphones.

It’s great to read interesting tips, but Mike “SVP” Johnston of Scioto Valley Productions has taken it to the next level. He’s put his tips to video.

Check out Mike’s tutorial on loading and archiving P2 footage in Avid.

Thanks for the tip Mike.

Join Mike and upload your tips and ideas to b-roll.net TV and share your knowledge with the rest of us.

With a seemingly increasing number of stories of police harassing and arresting photographers making headlines, one man has made it his job to watch the police.

According to his own site, Carlos Miller, a photographer and videographer, was arrested by Miami police after taking photos of them against their wishes. While he works through his legal case, he has taken it upon himself to document situations of police harassment and First Amendment violation in his blog, Photography is not a crime.

Most recently he’s been talking about the news videographer arrested in Albuquerque, NM, and the banning of photography in Union Station, DC.

These have been active topics on the b-roll.net FORUM.

Union Station Photo Ban

Another crew arrested…

Yet Another Crew Arrested

Media Job Pod - like an iPod that gets you a Job

Karl Idsvoog of Kent State University emailed me to tell me about Media Job Pod. This beautifully laid out website has interviews with leaders in the TV news business - with tips on how to get a job.

According to Karl, “We’ll be adding more videographers - right now, we’re a bit content light. Professor Dave Smeltzer and I get hit with the same questions every semester from graduating seniors. It’s a site to provide university broadcast/production students who are about to hit the job-hunt
trail some practical advice.”

Check it out at: http://www.mediajobpod.org/

KLAS Alumni Day - Friday, June 27th

KLAS, Channel 8 in Las Vegas is celebrating and we’re inviting our former employees to join us! On June 27th, we are hosting an open house from 3pm to 7pm. We will be celebrating our 55th anniversary and the retirement of two long time KLAS employees. One is our Vice President of News Bob Stoldal, who’s been with the company over 40 years, longer than anyone else in station history. He is a true pioneer in broadcast journalism and a local news icon in Las Vegas. Also retiring is RosaLee Stucki, our News Administrative Assistant. She’s helped keep this station running smoothly for the past 22 years. Click here for more details and to send a message to Bob and RosaLee.

http://www2.lasvegasnow.com/celebrate/

I’m addicted to HULU.com

Hulu.com - where else can you watch the first episode of Airwolf for free (with limited commercial interuption)?

The b-roll.net DIRECTORY is a searchable database with listings for over 1000 photographers. The location search allows you to find a shooter anywhere. Listings include years of experience, gear packages and daily rates.Along with photographer listings, we have listings for production trucks, equipment rental, audio techs and equipment sales.

Being a website called b-roll.net, we get a lot of requests for stock footage, so the newly expanded “stock footage” listing is helping to answer the question.

Companies like Tropical Visions Video, Inc. in Hawaii have listed their collection of Kilauea Volcano footage - unique images that are now used in TV, movies and commercials.

A basic listing for your stock footage company (or for any of the other categories) is free.

Simply go to: http://b-roll.net/directory and click on “Submit Listing” to post your information. You can also do more with your listing: Upgrading to a featured listing maximizes your placement in search results and improves visibility with your company’s logo and graphics. Click here for details.

With the advent of b-roll.net TV, we have the opportunity to share video and offer constructive critiques.

To help facilitate that, we’ve created a new “channel” of the b-roll.net FORUM called Video Critiques (Ok, so it’s not the most creative title, but we’re under the gun here).

Here’s a brief primer on how to embed video in your posts…

Go to b-roll.net TV and upload your favorite story. While viewing the story, look to the right of the player for a small box that says “b-roll.net FORUM Player“

Copy the code (cntrl-c or cmd-c) from the grey box and paste it (cntrl-v or cmd-v) in your post on the b-roll.net FORUM. It’s that easy. Now your story will play directly on the b-roll.net FORUM.

If you want to embed video from YouTube, look at the URL (for example: http://youtube.com/watch?v=i5ZZ7IXugno). Take the code after the “v=” and paste it in your post like this: [youtube]i5ZZ7IXugno[/youtube].

This will embed the YouTube video in your post.

UPDATE: We’ve added code to make it easy to embed video from Vimeo. Simply take the code from the end of the clips URL (for example: http://www.vimeo.com/1073345). Place code in your post like this: [vimeo]1073345[/vimeo].

Drop us a line at info@b-roll.net if you have any questions.

I look forward to seeing some great work and learning some new techniques. I only ask that you keep the criticism productive and fair.

Do not “bash” people and their work here.

Let the criticism begin!

Even though I may appear to be a huge gadget-hound, I’m very much a minimalist when it comes to the typical shoot. Remembering my days of shooting with a 3/4 deck on one shoulder, a camera on the other, and a 15 pound “bat utility belt” around my waist - my compact and self-contained camera with no extraneous equipment is the only way to go.  I like to be light and nimble - while still having the proper arsenal to shoot good images.

It is with this stubbornness that I am cautious about adding new peripherals to my camera.

Shawn Dennison of D-Pro has convinced me to try something new. The Xtender is a hinged bracket that mounts on your camera and gives your standard camera light a lift.

I hate using my top light, but there are times when it is the only choice. The night interview with the police P.I.O. at at crime scene, or the quick interview with a politician running down a dark hallway. Just a little light off to the side to prevent the terrible “deer in headlights” look, and a bad image is made better.

Now you’re probably saying to yourself, “Hey, there are plenty of light bracket solutions out there, what’s so great about this one?” Let me have Mr. Dennison show you…

D-Pro has thought of everything, include solid joints, and innovative mounting screws that don’t torque lose from use.

But the best part about the Xtender is - I’ve had it on my camera for a week now and I’ve forgotten it’s there. It doesn’t add any bulk to my camera; it doesn’t get in the way. It hides on my camera until I need it.

That is the definition of good peripheral gear. Stay out of my way - but be there when I need you.

Sounds kinda like the description of a good reporter.

Here’s a look at the new Matrox MXO2 (shipping this summer).

This box runs on 12 volt power and allows just about every possible source input or output into Final Cut Pro (or Premiere) running on a Mac. Everything from Composite to HD-SDI and unbalanced audio to AES/EBU.

E-I-E-I-O!

It is basically the Leatherman for Mac.

Check it out after the break…

Read the rest of this entry »