Monday, August 04, 2008

After a career in Video Journalism- options

You're a video journalist and a very good one you believe, day in day out shooting away.

You've probably clocked up a hundred videos and counting

Some have found their way onto your personal site - stories you regale friends near the water cooler and at dinner.

You might even have composed a showreel- your favourite bits with desires for its use later.

Your bosses are pleased, and you draw up your fair share of comments now and then.

Ad then you wake up one day and realise you've been doing this for five years. How times flies.

Now what ? Because in truth you're becoming bored.

It sounds almost too good to be true, but yes you crave a different story than the one that groundhog days itself into your camera lens every year: the summer hols rush, the Christmas rush, the new year rush...

What next?

Allow me please to tell you a story

Four years after a successful run, 50 million pounds spent, and 70 odd dedicated video joournalists trained, London's first and so far only Video journalism practising station, Channel One TV called it a day.

Scores of people would be redundant, quite a few had left before.

Where did they go?

One thing about video journalism that is often overlooked is its skillset should set you up for life.

You are de facto a director, producer, reporter and editor

So it was not surprising that many entered TV land and the BBC.

Today some of the BBC's high profile reporters come from the school of Channel One and Video Journalism.

Then there's quite a few directors who've gone on to win countless awards e.g. Dimitri Dognis.

Very few continued as VJs.

In part that's because circa 1998 video journalism was a niche career, and you couldn't hop, skip and jump into another VJ post.

Today that's another matter.

So what are the options today and does that differ depending on whether you're in Bogota, Mumbai or the UK?

End of pt I, Part II tomorrow

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