I would love more time. Really it’s as much about raising awareness of the ups and downs of using video. They do all manage to get through though and I think it is as much about them realizing that their journalistic sense and skils does carry further across mediums then they think.

Our set up for training mirrors the key kit for the newspaper group we are training for. Our student kit is a bit different

We are using the Sony HVR-A1E which is a great camera (and the defacto newspaper video camera by the look of it). But the pain that is having to take tripod plates off to change tapes has already resulted in one or two lost plates reported in the field. It’s a Libec LS-22DV tripod btw – very good but can break with over zeleous tightening of leg locks

Mic wise we are using Sony UWP-C1 radio mics (and lav)and a Beyer M58 handheld. I tend to recommend the M58 as the first mic to go for when they are recording – easy to use and set up.

I’m training them to use Avid xpress pro as their editing package. Again that’s what they use back in their office. (For teaching students we have a mix of Avid newscutter and fcp.)

The courses are set up to run over 2 days with 10 delegates working in pairs. They are a mix of photographers, reporters, sub-editors, news editors and even the odd editor so it’s a great way to chat with those having to do this at the coal face.

I run them by myself (i get very tired of the sound of my voice).

By the end of 2 days they have shot and edited an interview and edited a short news package that they then script, voice and finish.

It’s a lot to get through but it really gets (most of) them excited for the possibilities and keeps me fired up to show them what a great storytelling tool video can be.

Do you train them in teams of four, or teams of three? Have you tried both?

How many helpers do you have in the room? How many teams?

This is exactly what I’ve been doing with a newspaper group over here, right down to the camera kits.

It’s great fun though isn’t it.