Robb Montgomery

Camp VJ student and Pulitzer-Prize winning photographer, John H. White talks about what he learned at Camp VJ
Find more videos like this on Camp Video Journalism

Camp VJ Chicago has been a hit according to students and instructors who participated. Director of the J-School at Michigan State Jane Briggs-Bunting attended the fundamentals classes early in the week and blogged about she is leading the charge for her faculty to cross over as digital immigrants. Instructor and newsvideographer blogger, Angela Grant was enamored with her experiences with students, the Chicago venues and the work that Camp VJ students are able to produce in these two day classes. Her post says it all:

Camp videojournalism was huge success

She also posted shooting tips she used in her lectures in her Camp VJ Chicago entry.

“A Photographer’s Paradise”
Those are the words of Pulitzer-Prize winning photojournalist John H. White enthused when he describes the venue Visual Editors chose for the training classes. He speaks in the video above about how he came to learn the importance of seeing with his ears when making news videos.
The films that the students made here in Chicago demonstrate a wide variety of locations and subject matter.
Hopefully they will post them soon at the Camp JV site.

This is the first post I have been able to manage (I am the CampJV conference organizer) because ever since David Dunkley Gyimah arrived Tuesday evening we have been filming, cutting and interviewing non stop. He leaves in a few hours on a plane back to his home in the U.K. - but right now he is cutting the Camp VJ promo film with his laptop on my dining room table in Naperville. We documented our experiences in stills and video. David did a long sit down with Angela Grant and we filmed all day yesterday in the Loop, at North Avenue Beach, at the Quincy El station, underneath Wells, and in Millennium Park.

There will be more films and David, perfectionist that he is, will likely recut the promo once he is back home. This iterative practice is so fundamental to capturing the essence of what Web reportage really is. As close to real time as possible and, increasingly, done by fully-trained journalists. At Camp VJ that’s what we expect our of our instructors and our students.

And this is only the start of Camp VJ.
I have been cutting a short feature film that wraps up what the Camp VJ training brings to students and to their newsrooms. So look for that, soon.
Also, David is producing a long-form CampVJ film that illustrates the potential of Web Video journalism and the training styles that connect with print journalists. Something unique to consider as we grow and expand our skills.

And we are not doing this alone. Camp VJ is not just immersive, mashed-up training but a community of like-minded souls. At the request of students who attended CampVJ Chicago - David and I have just launched a NING site at CampVJ.com.

Join us, won’t you please?