CoPress

This week, CoPress directors Daniel Bachhuber, Andrew Spittle, Lauren Rabaino and Adam Hemphill are attending the National College Media Convention in Austin, Texas. These are reports from the field. For more updates, follow the conversation on Twitter.

In the “Multimedia Storytelling” session, presented by photojournalist David Stephenson, the Canon 5D Mark II was showcased as a tool to solve the problems faced by today’s visual journalists. To that end, Stephenson began the session by highlighting his 5D Mark II tip sheet, later showcasing pieces produced by his team at kentucky.com. Included herein are some notable quotes and notes from the 50-minute presentation.

On tripods: if you purchase equipment that you are comfortable with and that you like, you will be much more likely to use it.<

On a multi-capable tool:

The fact that I don’t have to go to an assignment with a video camera on one side and a still camera on the other means a lot to mean and it means a lot to my back.”

On “serving two masters:”

“You can serve your Web publication and your print publication with one camera.”

On drawbacks to the 5D Mark II: audio and autofocus are not on-par with a dedicated video camera.

On making the most of your equipment’s shortfalls:

“Most journalists have a litle MacGuyver in them… They find a way to make things work.”

On music: it’s a hotly debated topic, but when deemed appropriate, royalty-free is the way to go. Specifically, Stephenson often uses Incompetech.

Finally, Stephenson on his shooting style with this camera:

“They were still images, but they just happened to move.”