With Rebels in Misrata

In May myself and Correspondent Andrew Harding went to the besieged City of Misrata in Libya. After a long journey we finally arrived and in the course of a week there we made four films that ran on the BBC News. Here are two of my favourites that I wanted to share. Cheers, Chris.

Shooting a PTC in Moscow - 2006

So after procrastinating for far too long I have finally gotten around to re-editing my Showreel. It includes a lot of work that has appeared on my earlier demo, but also has some new material. My theory with a Showreel for Cameramen and Editors is to forget making it too flashy, I hate lots of music and effects, preferring instead to see full sequences and stories well told. I hope you agree. As always feedback is much appreciated.

If you would like to use this article on your blog/Website then feel free. If you do so then please print my name, copyright notice and a link to my site at the end. Cheers.

dancing at our Sowetan Wedding

And so after a lot of planning, stress and expenditure our two weddings have finally happened. For those who don’t know I have married Kutlwano, a beautiful and intelligent South African from Soweto. We had both a Traditional African ceremony and a White Wedding. Things couldn’t have gone better – the weather for both was perfect and a good number of my friends and family from the UK and the US were able to come and share the excitement. I had both events filmed by good friends of mine, mainly Clifford Derrick but also Aulrich Market and Gugu Radebe. There was so much footage that I have decided to release the film in two parts. below is the first, a twelve minute film that gives a taste of the atmosphere in Soweto.

Lenyalo: Part 1, Our Traditional Sowetan Wedding from Christian Parkinson on Vimeo.

It was shot predominantly on a Sony EX1 and edited by myself on FCP. Enjoy!

This is the latest film I’ve put together for my long term project www.imagejunkies.com which I hope will become a useful resource for anyone who wants to learn the skills needed to become a News/Documentary Cameraman. In this short film I outline the basic kit that I carry and why. It was shot by my friend Aulrich Market and edited by me on FCP. Enjoy!

What kit does a News and Documentary Shooter carry? from Imagejunkies on Vimeo.

I’m often asked how I became a TV Cameraman and what advice I have for those trying to break into the profession. Well I started, bizarrely, as a salesman for a local Cable channel before presenting for them and then moving to ITN in London as a Runner. From there I took my chances and worked my way through the system and across London to the BBC.

BBC Cameraman Matt Davies filming in Iraq

The problem is that few Newsrooms have runners anymore and no one seems interested in training young talent – at least not in genuine craft skills. Now they seem to prefer to produce Jack of all trades and masters of none.
For what its worth this is what I would do if I was starting out all over again:

- Buy a small Camera, something cheap and cheerful like a Canon HV 30

- Start shooting any event of interest in your local area and putting it on www.youtube.com

- At every event be sure to chat to the local TV crews, let them know who you are and what you are trying to do

- Bug them and ask if you can come visit the station and show them your footage

- Offer to be a free assistant for them on weekends, carry the tripod and make coffee

- Take any opportunity to get through the doors and into the Newsroom. If they offer you work as a cleaner then take it. Don’t be too proud. Newsrooms are full of people who got promoted because they were around and people liked them.

- Whatever happens never stop shooting for fun. Always keep practicing and then when your chance finally arrives take a deep breath and dont screw up.

I hope this helps. If you have any advice from your own experience then please comment below. As always questions gratefully received.

I’m often asked how to make sequences flow. How to join one shot to the next and make it seem natural and interesting. In order to try and answer that question I’ve jotted down six thoughts that, if followed, will really help any aspiring film maker. In this business you never stop learning and I’m sure in five years from now I will have many new thoughts on the subject. For now though this is the best I can do. I would have liked to write ten tips but I ran out after six Any extra tips and advice would be greatly appreciated in your comments. . .

I’ve posted a film below that I hope will illustrate some of the points and help you to see the way I operate:

6 tips for shooting and editing sequences from Chris Parkinson on Vimeo.

1) Always know your opening shot: If a Director asks you if you have an opening for them you should always know exactly what it is. I devote a lot time on any shoot to finding a strong opening.

2) Always get a broad variety of shot sizes: If you want to make the Editors life easy then make sure you have a huge big wide shot and a very tight close up, these will edit with almost anything.

3) Don’t be afraid to move around: Many Cameramen plant their tripod in one spot and shoot everything from the same position. It’s boring! Move around, sit on the floor, look for a high angle – go crazy, you can never be too creative.

4) Think Sound: I always say the “Amateurs think pictures, pro’s think sound”. I really believe that. Always look for shots that give great sound – a gate creeking, a tap being turned on, a car door closing. They give you a chance to bookmark the start and end of a sequence with an upsound. When Editing it’s always the first thing I look for.

5) Try and build your interviews into your sequence: I always like to do my interviews “in-situ”. If you can, build the interview into the sequence then it doesn’t jar with the audience. If you are filming a man fixing a tyre then why not throw him a question while he’s still doing it? Why stand him up and film him next to a sign?

6) Always know your end shot: See tip number one – exactly the same principal. I once read an interview with a Doco Director who said “there is only two shots that matter, the first and the last.” Although I don’t totally agree with him I do feel he is onto something. . . If the first shot is boring do you keep watching? If the last shot is boring do you remember the piece? No I thought so.

TV Cameraman Nick Woolley Shooting in Baghdad

If you would like to use this article on your blog/Website then feel free. If you do so then please print my name, copyright notice and a link to my site at the end. Cheers.

The World Cup is finally over. It’s been an amazing month in South Africa that has seen my team travel from Rustenburg to Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Bloemfontein. I’ve been working with Correspondent Andrew Harding and we’ve been lucky enough to have many films commissioned for the BBC News.

In Thokoza park, Soweto. 11/06/10

As Bafana Bafana took on Mexico in the opening game we headed into Soweto to capture a taste of the atmosphere and to see what it all meant to the Sowetans. It was a day I’ll never forget, the atmosphere of excitement and togetherness bringing me close to tears more than once. The film we made really captured a sense of how people felt and reflected the fact that this country would never be the same again.

Soweto welcomes the World Cup – World cup begins in Soweto from caparkinson on Vimeo.

After the first day our priorities temporarily shifted to covering the England team and their fans. We headed to the sleepy village of Phokeng, just outside of Rustenburg for the England vs USA match. It’s an odd place to host such a big game and we made a film reflecting the clash of cultures between the hard drinking fans and the bemused locals. Just after we finished editing I shot this film on my i-phone to give a taste of the neighbourhood. And yes we did use that bizarre camper van as our edit vehice

As the tournament progressed and England were knocked out following that disastrous showing against the Germans we moved on to cover Ghana’s big game against Uruguay. The night before we produced a piece that really gives a taste of the spirit that helped the Ghana team to do well. Here’s two clips I pulled from the rushes that you might enjoy. In the first Ghana’s biggest supporter gives his match prediction and in the second the fans sing a song about me:

With Ghana crashing out to Uruguay on penalties we concentrated on putting together two end of tournament legacy pieces. The first looked at South Africa’s improved image abroad and the second was a deeper, more thoughtful piece that examined how South Africans themselves saw the impact of hosting the World Cup. I had an idea to use “postcards” to introduce each character in our film rather than the more traditional set up sequence. I feel it worked.

South Africa World Cup – final film from caparkinson on Vimeo.

Covering the World Cup has been an exciting, nerve wracking and tiring experience. Although I’m glad it’s over it has been a pleasure to see this much-maligned country step up and impress the rest of the world. I hope it can keep it up.

If you would like to use this article on your blog/Website then feel free. If you do so then please print my name, copyright notice and a link to my site at the end. Cheers.

Fini Color Correction Before / After Reel from Patrick Inhofer on Vimeo.

I just saw this excellent example of how colour grading can really help your pictures and enhance any film. Patrick Inhofer has launched his new website The Tao of Color Grading which hosts numerous tutorials in this complicated art. I’m new to manipulating pictures but find it a fascinating subject. In my latest film below I used Matte effects and colour correction to help me to improve the feel of one or two of shots. As always feedback is appreciated.

South Africa World Cup – final film from caparkinson on Vimeo.

I’m always on the look out for important videos that will help to inform and educate myself and other Cameramen. I felt it was time that I gathered some of the most relevant and interesting in one place for readers of my blog to check out. If you have any others you think should be here then let me know and I’ll post a follow up.

Firstly I wanted to draw attention to the history of our craft. I always imagine that being a frontline Cameraman in World War two must have been even more intense than it is for us today. The battles that much bigger, the chances of being killed that much more. Below is the first clip from a Documentary about the the cameramen of WW2, there exploits and what they saw.

But as we all know, today although the fighting might not be on such a grand scale it can still be intense, nerve wracking and incredibly dangerous. Here is an excellent film by my colleague Robbie Wright that he shot while embedded with the US Marines in Falluja:

The growing problem for all Journalists in todays environment is that we often become a target ourselves, either accidentally or because we are seen as “the enemy”. Below are a number of films that show how quickly we can become targets and how serious this can be. Some of the films are graphic and quite disturbing:

Not all predicaments a cameraman finds him or her self in are life or death. Even in our own countries the Police can turn nasty and arrest you for no reason. The Cameraman below was detained though later the charges were dropped and I understand that the Police Officer was later fired:

And then there are the self inflicted, pointless problems that we sometimes have to face. I still do not understand why the Cameraman in the film below kept following these guys once he had gotten his shots. He was later fired when the footage from a rival network was aired.

And finally the trailer for a film about stills photographer James Nachtwey. An excellent insight into the life and thought process of one of the worlds best known Photojournalists. Enjoy.

I hope these films have given you something to think about. If you have any films that you think I should include in a follow up piece then please comment below.

If you would like to use this article on your blog/Website then feel free. If you do so then please print my name, copyright notice and a link to my site at the end. Cheers.

In my never ending quest to find cool new bits of kit and achieve different angles and styles for my news reports I have just ordered the GoPro HD Camera. Unfortunately I had to order it from B and H in New York so I’m not going to be able to test it for a little while. In the meantime I have been searching the net to find out as much about the camera as I can. It seems to be an awesome camera perfectly suited to action sports.

An example of what the GoPro camera can achieve, it comes with a waterproof case as standard:

Sunset from Alan Fendrich on Vimeo.

and here’s another filmed by a base jumper:

GoPro HD HERO camera: Base Jump Movie from GoPro on Vimeo.

It shoots either 1080p at 30 fps or 720p at 60 fps. This is a bit of a hassle for those of us who shoot PAL but I’m assured that Apples Compressor software does a good job changing the frame rate to edit with.

GoPro also have an excellent array of accessories, check out the film below for a good idea of what is available:

NAB 2010 – GoPro HD now with live output from Dan Chung on Vimeo.

I should receive my GoPro at the end of November so I’ll be sure to post a review as soon as possible.