Best of Photojournalism 2006: TV News Editing: Winners
Web Content Finalists
(In Alphabetical Order)
- Steve Elfers, Marine Corps Times
- “The Making of a Marine Officer”
- Travis Fox, washingtonpost.com, Washington DC
- “Living in Deserted New Orleans”
- “Voice from the Line”
- John Paraskevas, Newsday.com
- “The Last Grader”
Winners
- 1st Travis Fox-washingtonpost.com, Washington DC, “Living in Deserted New Orleans”
- 2nd John Paraskevas, Newsday.com, “The Last Grader”
- 3rd Travis Fox, washingtonpost.com, Washington DC, “Voice from the Line”
- HM- Steve Elfers, Marine Corps Times, “The Making of a Marine Officer”
Judges' comments
“Wow. The quality of the stories in this category were either very good, or needed work,” Ron Kabele said. “I think some people may think editing natural sound pieces are easy. But some of the stories seemed awfully choppy and amateurish.”
“On the other hand, the good stuff was as solid as anything I saw the whole week. Pacing and natural sound use was impeccable. When you do a natural sound piece right, you can truly immerse the viewer in your world. One piece of advice…use sound bites and interview sparingly. What made “The Last Grader” so effective was the fact that the use of interview did not interfere with the wonderful ambience that the editor created. Good grief, if you have solid audio and video, why ruin it with non-stop blabbing. And on the web, you don’t always have the length limitations that you often run into on local newscasts.
“One other thing: we do lots of Webcasts at Texas Parks & Wildlife, and one thing we’ve learned is that close ups often work best. And if your video is being streamed, steady shots usually work better.”
Sandy Spencer said, “The Web Content category is a new addition to the competition. This is the first year that the NPPA has specifically addressed the fact that web media is yet another means of information gathering. The stories in this category are different than those in the traditional categories. The stories are longer and often have no reporter track. There are little to no effects and/or music in these pieces. The pacing feels more like a magazine program, due to the fact that they let the stories breathe and allowed the subjects tell the story.”
“The First place winner of the Web Content category is ‘Living in Deserted New Orleans.’ This piece followed a Katrina victim who chose not to leave the city and was surviving by living on the streets. This story had no reporter track, but did not feel like one long sound bite. ‘Living in Deserted New Orleans’ had a nice mix of natural sound and sound bites that told the story. The editing was clean and solid.
“‘The Last Grader’ placed a close second in the Web Content category. ‘The Last Grader’ is about a potato grading plant that bags potatoes for sale. This piece also had a nice mix of natural sound and sound bites from one individual. This story had more tight shots than the other pieces, using shot selection to keep the piece moving.
“‘Voices from the Line’ made me feel as though I was there, standing in line, waiting with the masses for the viewing of the late Pope John Paul II. I enjoyed the pacing of the piece and how the editor let the story breathe.”
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