TV News Cameraman And A Vote For War.

Many a happy day has been spent over the years in large gatherings of the worlds press, covering various events. Yesterday, whilst working for the BBC News, i again found myself surrounded by the finest members of the Fourth Estate from around the globe, reporting and waiting to see if we, the British, were to lend a hand in bombing the shit out of yet another Middle East country, namely Syria.

The worlds press...

In the House Of Parliament, our elected representatives gasbagged, chewed the fat, arm twisted and argued over whether we should intervene to send a warning note, glued to the pointy end of a Tomahawk Cruise Missile, to a dictator hell bent on gassing his own people. I could go on at length about my own views, but here is not the place.

Outside in the late Summer sunshine, about 100 or so reporters, correspondents, field producers, cameramen, soundmen and a phalanx of TV techies milled about, filed reports, issued live standups to their respective nations, scribbled in notebooks and generally broadcast supposition and hearsay about what was going to happen, whilst attempting to deplete the worlds supply of coffee to dangerous levels.

What would the Russians do..? Will Assad refrain from killing more..? Will the Jihadists from the world over pour in to fill the void..? Everybody knew and nobody knew. Only two things mattered. Will we make things worse, or will the Politicians pull one out of the hat and save the day..?

Politicians, Generals and Middle East experts poured views into our lenses and microphones that had set up shop on College Green. Peace activists gathered outside the corridors of power and the religious warned of a hell unleashed on Earth... Everyone had a point of view, a solution, warnings and ways forward.

Israel, Iran, Russia, Lebanon, Turkey, America and the UK were at the top of the news agenda. Memories of an Iraqi adventure gone wrong, false intelligence, dodgy dossiers and an ongoing Afghan war. Consequences, blame and finger pointing... Bomb him to hell, but think of the children.

English and American accents, Arabic, German and Italian. It seemed that most TV News broadcasters had sent a camera team and a corresponding hairdo with shiny teeth. Someone even sent an organic light stand to hold a set of lights... Now that was funny to watch.

What he didn't know, was that this report was lasting for 25 minutes.

Major news bulletins at 1 and 6. 24 hour news channels desperate for more guests and passing blowholes with opinions. Gravitas filled the air like a cheap perfume. Broadcasting greytemples and heavyweight news icons mixed with VJ's and pasty looking newsroom producers who blinked in the sunlight having escaped from Millbank studios for a few hours.

I sipped at my coffee and watched. Between my filming tasks i looked, listened and soaked in the atmosphere of the worlds press at work, squeezed into a tiny patch of central London, desperate for more. More information, more expertise, more... more... more... I loved every minute of it.

Paul Martin is @ukcameraman on Twitter.

www.media-attention.co.uk

Helmet, Flak Jacket And Sandbags are A TV News Cameramans Best Friends.

I have just seen a photo sent on the Twitters by Tim Marshall, Foreign correspondent at Sky News. At the moment, he and his cameraman Barnaby Green, are filming in Damascus, Syria.

The streets of Damascus... Helmets required. (Courtesy @Skytwitius)

What struck me is the fact that Barnaby seems to be doing all the right things by wearing his helmet and flack jacket whilst sensibly protecting himself behind a wall of sandbags as the battle rages around the streets of Damascus. It is a dangerous place to be.

I also spotted a Cinesaddle camera support bag slung over his shoulder, just in case the sandbags prove a little too inflexible. Plus of course, they make a lovely comfy seat to plonk your arse on when a little bit of rest comes your way.

All in all, this seems like the perfect photo of how to behave in a war zone when the shit is hitting the fan and things could get deadly. It is however, also a photo of what not to do in a war zone. Why..? Well, if you can, (depending on what device you are reading this on) zoom into the photo, extreme right, about two thirds up from bottom.

There you will see another, unknown TV News Cameraman in a stripy t-shirt, tan coloured trousers with his camera on his shoulder. He is standing in the middle of the street, with no protection whatsoever. No helmet, no flak jacket, nothing. According to Tim, the battle is raging...

I don't know the circumstances of this photo. But let me tell you this... If I were there at that moment, I would be wearing exactly the same kit as Barnaby, our intrepid Sky News Cameraman. I too, would be behind the sandbag wall.

I would also be behind Barnaby. And behind whoever took the photo. In fact, my personal preference would be to be so far behind, that I could watch their report from the comfort of my own home, with a cup of tea.

I wish Tim and Barnaby and their team well and a safe trip. Why not luck..? It seems to me that they are taking the correct precautions to not have to rely on my wishes of good luck. The other unknown cameraman in the picture however...

I wish him the best luck in the world. I think he's going to need it.

Paul Martin is @ukcameraman on Twitter.

www.media-attention.co.uk

TV News Versus Independent Mobile Online Journalism.

I've known Christian Payne online for a number of years, in fact it was following him on Twitter years ago that led me to become more active and engaged online than I ever thought I would. Known online as @Documentally, Christian has shared written stories, photos, audio and video about a myriad of subjects that both entertain and inform. I like and enjoy his style.

Christian Payne... On the road to Syria.

We have met socially a few times at twitter meets where we talked all things tech and social. It seems to me that Christian is a very driven man when it comes to storytelling and teaching his craft and journalism style.

In my world of TV making, with my big broadcast camera, satellite trucks, reporters, lighting and sound it is still very much a team effort. I have backup from journo's, producers and news editors. My output is filmed, voiced and packaged for the TV news viewing public at set times and with strictly controlled media guidelines.

There is a big difference between us in the way we tell our stories and the kit that we use. Christian tells his story using iPhones, Tablets, and other assorted tech that can basically fit in his pockets or a small back pack, but the stories are just as well told.

Christians basic storytelling kit. Small, light and absorbent.

This is why I want to tell you about Christian. A few days ago he set out on his own on an assignment to cover the still ongoing civil war in Syria. Travelling light, he is using his online resources to get small stories told. One by one, those small stories will no doubt converge into a larger online collection of audio, pictures, words and video that will tell otherwise untold aspects of life in Syria that I think, would not be told in the mainstream media.

I have no doubt that Christian will talk to and document the lives of people that you otherwise would not hear from. To experience the lives and stories of those that have no voice and little hope at this time. It is something that we in the mainstream media could do a lot more of, but are fixed in our mainstream TV ways, which works well on the TV news. Our online presence however, could be bigger and more individualistic. We could make good use of the likes of Christian and his new fangled ways...

I urge you to follow his trip on Twitter, Audioboo and on his blog. Things may be a little haphazard along the way. His life is in some danger as is anyone's in a war zone, so occasional online silence is important to keep his location a secret to protect those that give him shelter and help along the way. Syria is, as you know, a dangerous place to be.

So if you are a news junkie, journalism student, wannabe storyteller or news pro, you could do worse than to follow this story. I think Christian is going to take us on quite a ride.

Paul Martin is @ukcameraman on Twitter.

www.media-attention.co.uk