JOUR5370 :: Documentary Photography
(spring 2010)

Everything I knew about journalism has blown up, it’s just gone. And I don’t know how to put it back together again.

So my options are to sit in a corner and cry, to abandon my beloved journalism and go do something more profitable or to figure it out.

If you’re in this class, you already know my answer. What’s yours?

It’s January 2010 as I write this. I’m sitting in my office at home (because it's a furlough day and I'm not supposed to work) wondering what we're going to do. I have ideas, but no set plan. I've read a lot of stuff the last few months, sat in a lot of meetings, talked with a lot of really smart people. And they all ask me the same question – what are we going to do?

Last spring, we had some great conversations about video journalism and we came away with some surprising answers. One of which stunned the editors at the weekend workshop – that a lot of students are not consuming online video news. I'm still processing parts of that, to be honest.

And an editor said that while the start rate on their site is good, the drop rate after 30 seconds or so was very high.

Can we do something with that information? I think we can. So here are our goals for this semester:

• Tell in depth stories
  
• Move from making images to expressing ideas
  
• Explore and explain a community
  
• Document an issue
  
• Prepare for change
  
• Understand consumption
  
• Learn to be a habitual creator

To accomplish those goals, you'll need to strengthen and build up some skills, so here's where we'll concentrate:

• Shooting video
• Editing video
  
• Mastering lens selection
  
• Mastering visual variety
  
• Controling and layering audio
  
• Presenting

That, in a few grafs, is the summation for this semester. All of it is subject to change, of course. And since you've all spent time in room 130, you know change happens.

There will be photos. There will be audio. There will be video. There will be online and print presentations. There will be laughter and tears, too.

Rough Sketches of Our Work

Technicalities

Deadlines are sacred in the news business. Therefore, any assignment not turned in by the assigned deadline will not be accepted and assigned a grade of zero. For assignments with electronic submissions, please budget your time accordingly.

Grady College is a “professional” school and professionalism is expected in this class. Attendance is mandatory, for as in the real world, work is done by those who show up. Not showing up for class will greatly affect your ability to succeed. Each unexcused absence will result in a one-half letter grade reduction in your final grade. As visual journalists, the latest you ever want to be is on time. While a reporter can ask about what they missed, we can't. Being up to 15 minutes late will be counted as one half of an absence; beyond 15 minutes is considered a full absence.

Any student who does not show up for the first class will be dropped. Photojournalism takes commitment – commitment of time, commitment of mind. Nowhere is it written, or implied, that if you come to class and do the minimum amount of work, you will master the material.

Every image must have a caption attached to it. The majority of your assignments will be submitted electronically and those images need to have a full, Associated Press-style caption attached to it that includes contact information for you and your subjects.

Supplies & Equipment

You will have the opportunity to borrow a digital camera kit for the semester. Each student will be fully responsible for any equipment checked out from the college. We will go over the procedures and requirements in class.

You will need to purchase Compact Flash memory cards for use throughout the semester. Recommendations will be made in class, but plan on having at least 2 GB of storage. It is not advisable to store anything on the lab computers – they are not backed-up and they are not protected. Take everything home with you, every night.

Because so much of the class will deal with video, I am highly recommending (though not requiring) that you purchase a portable, bus powered FireWire hard drive. Either FireWire 400 or 800 will work, but a USB drive will not work. Look for something that’s at least 160 GB and a 7200 RPM speed. (Other World Computing is a good source.)

We will use Journalism 2.0, by Mark Briggs, for our textbook, which is a free PDF for you to download and read. I would also strongly recommend the following for inspiration and information:

• Multimedia Journal, by Richard Koci Hernandez
  
• Final Cut Pro 6: Visual Quickpro Guide, by Lisa Brenneis
  

As this is a shooting class, you must bring your equipment every week. In-class exercises and shooting assignments will happen. Be prepared.

The college is providing you with a completely equipped computer lab and the gear you'll need to complete your assignments. You are free to use other computers, software programs or equipment but I can offer you no support on any of them. Problems encountered with non-UGA equipment will have to be solved on your own and missed deadlines because of those problems will not be exempted from the deadline policy.

Boilerplate

The course syllabus is a general plan for the course; deviations announced to the class by the instructor may be necessary.

All academic work must meet the standards contained in “A Culture of Honesty.” Each student is responsible for informing themselves about these standards before performing any academic work.

The only reason readers continue to support newspapers is because they believe they are credible. All work done for this course must be your own and done this semester. If you are assisted during a shoot, it is advisable to note such help in your captions.

The Disability Resource Center provides academic services to eligible students who have a documented physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more life activities. Students with a disability or health-related issue who need a class accommodation should make an appointment to speak with the instructor as soon as possible.