User Questions on the MediaStorm Post-Production Workflow

Marius asks: I’ve previously bought your complete workflow and recently the Field Guide (so much good information guys!!). But I have a question. In the folder structure section you usually create an Z_Version folder and Z_Transcription. What do you put in these folders and why is it a Z? Let me begin by explaining the purpose of the version and transcription folders. At MediaStorm, we transcribe every interview. It’s the only way to make sure that no good bite gets left behind. It’s almost impossible to connect responses from the first minute of an interview with those spoken at the end unless they’re written down. So before we create a multi-camera sequence, we export an audio file of each interview for transcription. These audio files are exported to the Z_Transcription folder and can be deleted at the end of production as they won’t be used directly in the final project. The Z_Versions folder is used…

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Kalish Workshop 2014 Dates Announced

The Kalish Workshop will be holding its next workshop June 6-11, 2014 in Muncie, Indiana.

This five-day storytelling workshop is taught by Emmy and Pulitzer Prize winning editors. Application deadline is April 1st.

The Kalish Workshop

The Kalish Workshop is an inspirational and intense five-day experience in editing visual storytelling. It is designed to benefit anyone who touches photography with a narrative storyline for online and print.

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W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund Calls for Entries for Annual Grant in Humanistic Photography

The 2014 W. Eugene Smith Grant for Humanistic Photography is now open for entries. Photographers interested in applying for the grant can learn more by visiting SmithFund.org. The Smith Fund also announced that the annual Howard Chapnick Grant for leadership in fields ancillary to photojournalism, such as editing research, education and management, is open for entries. Entries for both grants must be submitted by May 31, 2014.

The W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography is presented annually to a photographer whose past work and proposed project, as judged by a panel of experts, follows the tradition of W. Eugene Smith’s concerned photography and dedicated compassion exhibited during his 45-year career as a photographic essayist. Now in its 35th year, the Grant was established in 1978 in honor of the legendary American photo essayist.

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Four Lessons in Filmmaking

I’m currently wrapping up editing on a new short film. Here are four lessons I’ve learned over the years from making movies. Crew Work with the best people you can afford. And if you can’t afford a great Director of Photography, call in favors and plan to trade services in return. You’ll have to work around others' schedules but nothing can ever replace working with talented people. Advice Feedback is critical. And there’s never a shortage of opinions. As the saying goes, everyone’s got one. It may be tempting to seek out as many opinions as you can. But doing so often leaves me at least feeling like I’m drowning in conflicting ideas. I’ve had more success seeking out the advice of two or three trusted friends who understand what I’m trying to do. In the end though, I think we have to learn to trust our own vision, even if others…

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Read more about the article Congratulations to the 2014 Alexia Foundation Grant Recipients
Photo by Sebastian Liste/Reportage by Getty Images

Congratulations to the 2014 Alexia Foundation Grant Recipients

Photo by Sebastian Liste/Reportage by Getty Images

Today the Alexia Foundation announced the recipients of the 2014 Alexia Foundation Grants: Sebastián Liste for the professional grant and Mehran Hamrahi for the student grant.

Liste, who lives in Alicante, Spain, will receive the $20,000 professional grant for his project, “The New Culture of Violence in Latin America” which is an investigation of crime, punishment and security in Latin America. The Alexia Grant will allow Sebastián to produce the final coverage in his five year study of violence in the region by exploring the issue in Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, where communities have endured years of violence from drug wars, criminal gangs and the illegal trafficking of drugs, weapons and people. Sebastián’s work will raise awareness of the gravity of the current situation that impacts millions of citizens in the region and will impel political and media leaders to pay vital attention to this important issue.
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