Short, practical pieces on camera work, reporting and live coverage, written by the people who teach it and published about once a day.
Our tutors write about the problems learners bring to class: shaky shots, rushed pieces to camera, live cues that go wrong. Read the latest articles below, newest first.
Camera Craft
A practical walk through how a news camera operator prepares exposure, framing, audio and body position before a handheld shot, with exercises to practise in the quieter light of autumn.
Workshops
A practical list of questions to work through before choosing a small-group classroom workshop on story structure, editing choices and interview technique, written for reporters and operators.
On-Camera Reporting
Most weak pieces to camera fail for ordinary reasons: overwritten scripts, wandering eyes, rushed openings. Here are six common slips we see in class and the habits that correct them.
Live coverage
A plain breakdown of how live coverage training is priced, what a course fee includes, and which choices about group size, location work and kit make it cost more or less.
Case story
A reporter and a camera operator met for the first time on a Pairing Day. This is how their story took shape from the brief to the edit, told through the reporter, Amara.
Field Camera
Shorter days, low sun and wet pavements change how a news camera operator works. Practical field camera advice for exposure, audio and steady handheld shots in the weeks ahead.
Trade Terms
A plain-words explanation of the story spine, the short chain of points a reporter builds before writing or editing, and how we teach it in small classroom workshops.
On-Camera Reporting
Two ways to deliver a piece to camera, a held position or a walking delivery, compared for what each asks of a reporter, with a clear recommendation for anyone starting out.
Live Coverage
Priya Shah walks through how a small field crew actually plans, cues and files a live broadcast during our training, from the first call sheet to the last word in the earpiece.
Pairing Days
The question we hear most about Reporter and Camera Pairing Days is why the two roles train side by side. Here is how a day runs and what each person takes from it.
Course news
Tom Whitaker explains how the Field Camera Techniques courses are run this autumn: group size, kit handling, the shooting exercises and what each learner should bring on the first morning.
Training Methods
A look at the plain materials behind our small-group classroom sessions: story boards, annotated scripts, rough-cut reviews and interview recordings, and why we chose them over anything more
On-Camera Reporting
A step-by-step way to prepare, rehearse and deliver a piece to camera that sounds like you, holds up under pressure and leaves the editor with a clean take to use.
Live coverage
Priya Shah sets out the questions to settle before choosing live coverage training: your current crew, the kit you file with, the pressure you face and what you want to change.
Pairing Days
Priya Shah looks at the slips we see most often when a reporter and a camera operator plan and shoot a story together, and the habits that prevent them.
Course costs
A plain look at how the price of a field camera course is made up, which choices raise or lower it, and what to ask before you request a written quotation.
Customer story
A short story about Jamie, a trainee reporter who joined a small classroom group to fix rambling scripts and nervous interviews, and what changed over the sessions.