By Scott Anderson
WNPAONLINE.com

As a video producer, I have been asked a number of times whether our newspaper, the Racine, Wis. Journal Times, uses frame grabs from video for the print edition. It is a topic that has been gaining more interest over the last couple years as more photojournalists trade still cameras and photoshop for video cameras and Final Cut Pro or Premiere.

The answer to the question I posed is: Yes. Over the last three months, our newspaper has run three images, taken from our video camera, the Canon XH-A1. Two have run on the cover, and the third inside.

Each image was produced differently. I have broken down each example as a case study, highlighting the news-gathering situation, the process behind obtaining the image, and my overall impression and satisfaction with each result.

Scott Anderson
Video Producer
Racine, Wis. Journal Times

Case 1: Tuesday, August 14 - HD image captured by camera

Situation: We were covering a story about a local club that was trying to reintroduce the Bluebird back into our area. I shot video in HD (High Definition) and used Canon’s photo-capture button to capture a number of still images I intended to use in the video and online promotion. When I returned to the office, I learned that our supplied art fell through and the reporter and photographer did not connect on the assignment. That’s when I offered up a still image captured by our Canon XH-A1
Process: The Canon XH-A1 records still images on an SD (Smartmedia) card, which I downloaded into the computer. The camera recorded an image 9.6 inches wide by 5.4 inches deep at 200 pixels per inch at its highest quality setting, easily large enough for print. I pulled the image straight from the card into Photoshop, where I prepared it for print.
Overall Impression: Bluebirds are small and fast, and it takes some practice tracking moving objects with a video camera. The advantage to capturing an image with the camera is that it behaves like a still camera: you have shutter speed and aperture control, focus control and gain settings that behave like ISO setting in a limited fashion. Even at its highest setting, though, the camera produces a fair amount of grain and sharpening artifacts. They can be quieted in Photoshop to some degree, but my overall conclusion is that a still camera can take a more technically-superior image.

Case 2: Sunday, September 9, 2007 - DV image captured by camera

Situation: We covered a breaking news event in the early evening in which shots were reported fired on a city block. Police roped off the shooting area, and I recorded video sufficient to produce a short online news piece. As the situation eased, I saw police investigators silhouetted on a church wall, surrounded by police tape. As a colleague said once seeing the image “Even the shadows are imprisoned.”
Process: I shot this image on DV (Standard Definition - lower resolution, smaller video files compared to HD) video and also captured a few frames onto my SD card. The Canon XH-A1 has a custom function where you can capture frames while you record by pressing the photo button, but pressing it makes an audible click while recording, which I found to be unfortunate. When I got back to the office, I liked the image I recorded on tape, but liked the composition on one still frame I captured the best. When shooting DV, the Canon XH-A1 records an image 7.2 inches wide by 5.4 inches deep at 200 pixels per inch. Sharpening artifacts and image grain are more obvious compared to my earlier test in HD, but can still be edited in Photoshop into a more usable image. We had a photographer on the scene with some newsier images, but this image was later considered for a news/feature piece on summer violence later that week.
Overall Impression: I was pleased to get this image, but disappointed it wasn’t on a still camera of higher resolution and better quality. The still image I took held up very well in print and online, however would not hold well if reproduced larger than 5×7 on photo quality paper.

Case 3: Friday, October 19, 2007 - Frame grab in Adobe Premiere using Voodoo

Situation: I was covering Rudy Giuliani’s visit to Milwaukee on a fundraising stop. I committed to shooting strictly video without shooting frame grabs. Sure enough, near the end of his visit, Giuliani took a few seconds to sign autographs. As I worked the setting, a really interesting still photo opportunity played out before me and my video monitor. I held the camera steady, trying not to jump out of my socks. When I returned to the office, I imported my DV footage into Premiere before selecting that still image that eluded my video.
Process: After transferring footage into my computer at the office, I made a screenshot capture in Premiere of Giuliani signing autographs. The screenshot feature in Premiere captured a JPEG image JPEG 640 pixels wide by 480 pixels deep at 72 pixels per inch. Not very big. I used Voodoo, a magical tool developed by David Leeson (see note at end of this article) to increase the resolution of my tiny screenshot large enough for print. I was able to pull out an image large enough for print publication using Voodoo.
Overall Impression: Voodoo saved this image from relative obscurity. The image wouldn’t bode well if made into a glossy 8×10 reprint, but made for a solid image in our print edition. The advantage of selecting an image in Premiere (or Final Cut Pro if using Mac) is that you can select any frame, any moment and potentially make it a still frame. The drawback is that your footage is input at one of three frame rates: 60 fps, 30 fps or 24 fps. This means you’re effectively limited to a still frame shot no faster than 1/60s. The Canon XH-A1 shoots 60 fps interlaced and 30 and 24 fps progressive. I shoot at 30 fps, because interlacing wreaks havoc with a still frame grab. Giuliani was really on the move, and as a result, his face was not sharp in this image. Still, I got a nice image out of something I only thought would be a video job.

About Voodoo:

David Leeson, is a well-accomplished visual journalist with the Dallas Morning News. Leeson developed a program designed to increase the size of a video frame grab large enough for use in print. Leeson has used the tool on innumerable projects and is a strong advocate of converging still and video technologies in the newsroom.

You can find out more about Voodoo here:

For PC

For Macintosh

Posted by Administrator as Webmaster's Column at 1:16 PM EST

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John Maniaci, WSJ 740
Kristyna Wentz-Graff, Journal Sentinel 435
Dan Lassiter, Janesville Gazette 415
Corey Wilson, Press Gazette 410
Gregory Shaver, Journal Times 295
Terry Mayer, The Week 290
Dan Reiland, Leader-Telegram 290
Evan Siegle, Press-Gazette 270
Mark Hertzberg, Journal Times 255
Tom Loucks, Daily Telegram 235
Mark Hoffman, Journal Sentinel 235
Al Hoch, Janesville Gazette 210
Dan Powers, Post-Crescent 210
Steve Kinderman, Leader-Telegram 185
Eric Young, Herald Times Reporter 170
Marc Larson, Press Gazette 165
Michelle Stocker, Capital Times 160
Kevin Poirier, Kenosha News 145
Jaslyn Gilbert, Herald Times Reporter 120
Andi Stempniak, Leader-Telegram 120
Susan Pichke, Herald Times Reporter 120
Patrick Ferron, Post-Crescent 90
Jack Orton, Journal Sentinel 80
Doug Alft–Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune 60
Gary Klein, Sheboygan Press 40
Dan Plutchak, The Week 15

Posted by Administrator as Clip Contest Update at 11:45 AM EST

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Hello Friends,
These are not the long, lost results we’re all waiting for but clips is clips so here we go.
Photos were judged by the photo staff at the Athens Banner-Herald in Athens, Georgia.
as usual=PLEASE SEND IN THE WINNERS

SPOT NEWS

1. John Maniaci–Wisconsin State Journal=Hospital Standoff
2. Michelle Stocker–Capital Times=Police at Parking Ramp
3. John Maniaci–Wisconsin State Journal=Police Secure Area

PORTRAIT

1.Dan Reiland–Eau Claire Leader Telegram=Memorial Swimmers Underwater
2. Evan Siegle–Green Bay Press Gazette= Traffic Engineer w/Streetlight
3. John Maniaci–Wisconsin State Journal=Motorcycle Designer

FEATURE MULTIPLE

1. Tom Loucks–Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune= Ice Cream Truck Driver
2. Tom Loucks–Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune= School Picture Day
3. Mark Hoffman–Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel=Family Farmers

FEATURE

1. John Maniaci–Wisconsin State Journal=Kids Playing With Dog
2. Gregory Shaver–Racine Journal Times=Mariachi Band Warms Up
3. Gregory Shaver–Racine Journal Times=Sail Boat On Lake Michigan
HM. Dan Lassiter–Janesville Gazette=Magnifying Glass on Fingerprints
HM. Kristyna Wentz-Graff–Milwaukee Journal Sentinel=Ceiling Painter

SPORTS

1. Michelle Stocker-Capital Times=Travis Beckum TD v. Iowa
2. Corey Wilson-Green Bay Press Gazette=Driver’s Flying Helmet v. Chargers
3. Corey Wilson-Green Bay Press Gazette=Driver TD v. Charger Eric Weddle
HM Mark Hoffman–Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel=Aaron Kampman strips the ball v. NY
HM Dan Powers–Appleton Post-Crescent=Donald Lee upended v. Eagles James

ILLUSTRATION

1. John Maniaci–Wisconsin State Journal=Charities Writing Checks
2. Dan Lassiter–Janesville Gazette=Parker Golf Team In The Hole
3. John Maniaci–Wisconsin State Journal=Annie The CPR Breath Getter
HM Dan Lassiter–Janesville Gazette=Fresh Garden Tomatoes

GENERAL NEWS

1. Kristyna Wentz-Graff–Milwaukee Journal Sentinel=Karli Hintz & Cinnamon
2. Kristyna Wentz-Graff–Milwaukee Journal Sentinel=Banda Ilucion Dancers
3. Steve Kinderman-Eau Claire Leader Telegram=Shane Helmbrecht returns home
HM Kristyna Wentz-Graff–Milwaukee Journal Sentinel=Carmen Romero & Daisy

Important things you should know before sending in your winner:

Make sure the file is a JPEG
72 dpi resolution
1000 px maximum dimension
Make sure caption information is present in file info or in the body of an e-mail
Make sure captions are written in complete sentences and checked for spelling/grammar/punctuation errors, captions are posted as-is
Submitting Via E-Mail:

WNPA Clip Contest Winning Images Only may be sent to the WNPA website administrator for posting in the monthly clip contest winners gallery also embedded in an e-mail. Send e-mails to:

scander03@yahoo.com

Submitting Via FTP:

WNPA Clip Contest Winning Images Only may be sent to the WNPA website administrator for posting in the monthly clip contest winners gallery via FTP as of April 2006. If you have a File Transfer Protocol, or, FTP, program such as Fetch, WS_FTP or Transmit, you can enter in a few login protocols and drag your winning files right onto the WNPA web server without messing with e-mail or file attachments. Here are the login protocols:

Please note login changes
Host: www.wnpaonline.com
Username: clips
Password: 07WNPAclips

Posted by jmaniaci as Webmaster's Column, Clip Contest Update at 5:53 PM EST

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By Scott Anderson
WNPAonline.com

Bill Meyer, a photojournalist for the Milwaukee Sentinel and later the Journal Sentinel, retired Thursday, November 15, 2007, after 36 years on the job.

“I have very mixed emotions, it came on very suddenly,” Meyer said of his retirement. “I first discovered photography in seventh grade. It was my dream, it’s hard to walk away.”

But Meyer won’t walk away, completely, he said. He plans on continuing to make pictures.

“I intend to continue making pictures I want to make.”

Meyer graduated from Brookfield East High School in 1967 and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1971. Meyer took a summer photojournalism internship with the Milwaukee Journal during his junior year of college and accepted a full-time position there the day after he graduated.

At the time of his hire in 1971, there were 21 full-time photographers, four color lab technicians, four black-and-white lab technicians, one photo department manager, two assistants and one secretary on staff. Back then, photographers covered assignments for both the Journal and the Sentinel.

Photo assignments were transferred through the building via a pneumatic tube system, and slapping a wet print on an editor’s desk before deadline was not all that uncommon.

The photo staff used 35mm SLR cameras, but Meyer was also given a 4 x 5 speedgraphic on his first day on the job.

“I was issued it, but I didn’t use it,” Meyer said. “It sat in my trunk for I don’t know how long before I turned it in.”

When the Journal and Sentinel split the photo department into two seperate entities in 1990, Meyer decided to work for the Sentinel because, at six photographers, he could work with a small staff and spend more time shooting pictures.

During his time, Meyer fondly remembered his time shooting spring training baseball, traveling to Tokyo to cover the Wisconsin badgers and the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake, UT.

Meyer’s last day was last Thursday, ending a career that has provided plenty of good memories and unique experiences.

Among his many awards and honors, Meyer won WNPA Photographer of the Year Award in 1979 and 1978, in addition to winning the annual Clip Contest in 1979.

See a special WNPA video tribute to Bill Meyer

See Bill Meyer’s work on the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake

Posted by Administrator as WNPA Report at 12:59 PM EST

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Meet Henry Paul Anderson, the new son of Scott and Janine Anderson. Henry came into this world on Tuesday, November 6, 2007 at 2:08 a.m. at Froedert Memorial Lutheran Hospital in Wauwatosa.

Scott is currently a video producer for the Racine, Wis. Journal Times and formerly a staff photographer there and at CNI Newspapers. Before that, Scott was a photojournalist at the University of Wisconsin Madison and also a graduate of UW-Platteville. Janine is currently a reporter at the Journal Times, and formerly worked at CNI. Scott and Janine met working at the Daily Cardinal student newspaper in Madison, Wis. in 1999.

Posted by Administrator as Webmaster's Column at 5:34 PM EST

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