Sept - Oct 2011 For members of the PA/VI community

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AMERICA’S NAVY: A GLOBAL FORCE FOR GOOD703.614.9154 Story continues on page 8

DIRECTOR’SCORNER

AMERICA’S NAVY: A GLOBAL FORCE FOR GOOD navymedia@navy.mil2

DIRECTORDEPUTY DIRECTOREDITORIALEditorStaff Writers

Contributors

LAYOUT/ARTDirectorDesigners

Christopher MaddenCDR Gary Ross

Kristina MillerOscar SosaDamon J. Moritz

Navy Office of InformationPentagon RM4B514Washington, D.C. 20350-1200Office: 703-614-9154 DSN: 224Download Insider at:

Heather PaynterGary NicholsAll Hands Staff

MC2 Jay M. ChuMC2 Sharay BennettMC2 Jason Graham

The German poet Bertolt Brechet said, “Because things are the way they are, things will not stay the way they are.” I’m not sure what that means to you, but for me it means change is inevitable, be ready; and that is the topic of this edition.Navy Visual News Service (OI-7) and elements of the former Communication and Integration (OI-5) were disestablished on Sept 12, 2011 and merged to form Navy Media Content Services (OI-2). Our new mission statement reads as follows:Lead timely, targeted and relevant media content initiatives through synchronized direction, coordination, acquisition, editing, approval, distribution and archiving of Navy print, visual and emerging (social) media products to educate and inform our Sailors and the American people.What motivated this change was a need to restructure our organization to better utilize limited resources to support the many ways information is acquired and distributed in the 21st century. Today the business of public information is driven by technology. Pew Research Center’s for Excellence in Journalism, Annual Report on American Journalism put it thisway, “. . . each technological advance has added an new layer of complexity - and a new set of players - in connecting that content . . .” (1) In Pew’s State of the News Media 2011, technology continues to drive audiences consuming news to mobile and Internet based platforms, with the online presence between 2009 and 2010 increasing by 17.1% while all other forms showed losses, including cable TV. (1)OI-2 brings all Navy-owned media content stakeholders together to meet the demands of the continuously changing information landscape. We have partnered with the Navy element at the Defense Media Activity to leverage their unique capacity and capabilities to meet new demand. DMA staff is training with OI-2 to increase capacity in photo editing, social media platforms, print publication, and electronic news gathering. Together we seek to deliver Navy content that is more timely, targeted and relevant.Please visit our new web site at www.imagery.navy.mil to get helpful tips on caption writing, video standards, still and social media, or to request support services and access to the Navy Imagery Server.In today’s operating and fiscal environment it is more important than ever to clearly and coherently tell the Navy’s story in as many ways as possible. We need your best owned [original] media content and creative ideas to support our Sailors, while educating the American public about why we have a Navy: Warfighting, Operating Forward, and Ready. ~CJM1. Rosenstiel, T. & Mitchell, A. (2011). The State of the News Media. Pew Research Center.

www.slideshare.net/NavyVisualNewsServicehttp://issuu.com/NavyVisualNewsService

AMERICA’S NAVY: A GLOBAL FORCE FOR GOOD703.614.9154 3

InstructionNugget

CHINFOINST 5305.2 is the instruction for the CHINFO Merit Awards and is available at https://www.chinfo.navy.mil/chinfo/MediaAwards.aspx. Make sure to check entries against the latest version before submission.

INSIDERPerspective

The annual CHINFO Merit Awards (CMA) competition needs your amazing 2011 print and broadcast entries. Not quite yet, but soon.All eligible Navy public affairs professionals are encouraged to submit their best work and take the time to do so correctly. Submissions are due January 31, but the time to think about the competition is right now. Let’s get started!

Ideally you will have been stashing your calendar-year clips, videos, webpage notes and publications in a safe, secure place for submission in January. Most people approach the awards this way (wink), but for those of you who believe in the end-of-the-year strategy, that’s ok too. When New Year’s festivities are wrapping up, there is still time to gather those winning social media screen captures, news stories and video spots in order to apply the step-by-step instructions in CHINFOINST 5305.2.

Remember that the little things matter. I’m not exaggerating when I say applying the correct category letter to your entry can mean the difference between a winner and a non-placer. If I could reach out to each of you individually, I would ask you to double check the category letter and encourage you to examine the most recent instruction…carefully. Did you save the document with the correct filename and in the correct location? Did you include the cover letter with signature? Was the entry previously published or aired? Your entry must have been published and available to the public via newsletter, newscast, Internet

or television/radio spot format. Press releases are not accepted unless there is proof of publishing in a newsletter or other similar format.

If your answer is “not sure” or “maybe” to any of these questions, please double check your entry before submitting. A few minutes of evaluation can mean all the difference. Use a few different sets of eyes before clicking the send button and file your confirmation email. Gather command support and inform your CO of the process. If you have any questions or concerns, by all means, call us at 703-693-1363.

Please submit entries prior to the submission deadline. I’ll add in one more “please” for good measure - it’s that important! Benefits of submitting early include the possibility that we may have the ability to provide you with a courtesy call requesting resubmission of a file if something amiss is detected. Yes, we may catch a problem such as a corrupted file if we are given time. With 500+ entries, you can imagine the chaos that happens around here deadline crunch time, January 31, and though we make a best effort, we are not able to catch every problem as submissions filter in.

Also important, please use the updated entry form at the link provided in the updated instruction and on www.chinfo.navy.mil. Save each article, publication, video, etc., as a separate file with its own entry form and distinct file name composed of category letter, entrant’s name and entry title. Please do not package your multiple entries as one long PDF file. Follow naming conventions and adhere to the step-by-step guidelines listed in the instruction.

Package your hard-copy cruise books and send them to CHINFO via a delivery service such as FedEx.

The address is: Navy Office of Information, CHINFO OI-831 Room 4B463, 1200 Navy PentagonWashington, DC 20350-1200

Using the postal service may take some (or a lot of) extra time to reach us because of security procedures in the Pentagon and late entries are disqualified.

There is nothing more difficult than making the decision to disqualify a product for a late arrival or an incorrect entry form. An ideal year would be one with zero disqualifications. Let’s shoot for that, so as a quick checklist, remember your entry forms, signed cover letters and published/aired work(s). Save your confirmation receipt and ship your cruise books with time to spare. Double check your files, remember bios for individual awards and double-check categories to make sure you have correctly marked the “unit” or “individual” box. Name the file clearly with category letter, entrant name and title. Please read the most recent instruction as changes may have occurred from the previous year.

We need your expertise to work with us in this collaborative effort. We encourage everyone to participate with the goal of increasing submission numbers to accurately reflect the great talent in this community. We appreciate you taking the time to share your work with us and we look forward to your submissions!

More details at https://www.chinfo.navy.mil/chinfo/MediaAwards.aspx

Thinking about your

CHINFO Merit Awardsubmission?

by Heather Paynter, Navy Public Affairs Awards Coordinator

navymedia@navy.mil4 AMERICA’S NAVY: A GLOBAL FORCE FOR GOOD

Published results in a July 2011 Pew Research Institute study revealed “. . . that 71% of adult Internet users reported watching video-sharing sites such as YouTube or Vimeo”(1). That is an audience worth engaging as long as it is done responsibly.

As Navy PA and VI practitioners we are obligated to observe a higher standard then much of the content that pervades many sharing sites. Given the conversational nature of social media, it needs substantive engagement, however it should not require self-validated use of copyright and intellectual property under the heading of fair use; music has become one of the most heavily abused forms of copyright infringement.

So that is the problem, now here is a solution.

1. Pew Research Center. (July 2011) Pew Internet and American Life Project.

CHINFO has secured a U.S. Navy Public Affairs (PA) annual enterprise license with a company in Los Angeles called Killer Tracks (KT). Now, any PA unit aboard a U.S. Navy ship or station in the U.S., its territories and at overseas military installations can request access to this site via OI-2.

Organizational licenses will allow access to a comprehensive library of music tracks available on-line in multiple file formats. KT has 21 libraries showcasing thousands of tracks cataloged by a growing list of classical and contemporary genera.

Killer Dealfor the Navy Public Affairs Team by Insider Staff

“Oh No! I’m on a ship and our Internet access barely supports email”! We thought of that.

Under the contract KT has agreed to include four portable hard drives each containing all 21 collections. OI-2 will ensure that at a minimum that future deployed media departments have this content locally aboard ship in time for major deployments.

This is an annual agreement so out-year funding will be measured based on satisfaction with the service and its use, so your feedback is solicited and encouraged. Please pass this information throughout your respective AORs.

So send an email to NavyMedia@navy.mil to receive business rules and information for log-in and password.

Check out the online tutorial at http://killertracks.com/tutorial/

Download a user guide: http://killertracks.com/techsupport/Killer_Tracks_Site_User_Guide.pdf

AMERICA’S NAVY: A GLOBAL FORCE FOR GOOD703.614.9154 5

Filling in IPTC Fields

OUTTAKES by Oscar Sosa

It’s really frustrating when we select an image as a Picture of the Day and can’t post it because of incomplete caption data, no release data, or both. Every day we pass on great images because we have questions about the captions and no way to reach back to the photographer or the releasing authority.

There are a variety of reasons for captions and images getting separated or contact information not being included, some are preventable and some aren’t. However, embedding your captions and filling out IPTC information will greatly increase the chances that your image gets used. The two most popular IPTC editing software programs are PhotoMechanic and Photoshop. Both do the job, however we recommend PhotoMechanic for simplicity, cost, and improved workflow management. We suggest that you not use Bridge because some email programs strip the metadata.

PhotoMechanicThere are five sections that contain critical IPTC information. The first are the boxes that correspond to the Dateline. These values are where the photo was taken, not where the command is based. We also prefer a geographic location, such as a city, state, country or body of water. “At Sea” is NOT a geographic location.

The second section should, at a minimum, contain the VIRIN, classification and contact information for the photographer. DoD requires the new Vision ID format for posting on Navy.mil. The Email box is the most important part of this section. We are sometimes unable to post selected images because we can’t reach back to the photographer to answer questions.The third section contains the photographers rate and rank, both are abbreviated. Please do not spell out “Mass Communication Specialist” because most IPTC fields have character limitations.Section four is the caption. There are more than 100,000 examples of how we caption images for Navy.mil. Organizations who train to that format have faster publishing rates.The fifth section should contain contact information for the organization responsible for releasing the image and the command depicted in the photo, not the photographer’s command.

PhotoshopFields are on two separate pages. The first is in the Description page, which should contain the caption, photographer and command information as well as the VIRIN. The second page, in the IPTC Extension tab, has the photographer’s contact information.We strongly recommend using PhotoMechanic over Photoshop for embedding data, however both will provide us with all the information we need. The most important fields are the caption, photographer, and a way to reach back to the command in case we have questions regarding the photo.

AMERICA’S NAVY: A GLOBAL FORCE FOR GOOD navymedia@navy.mil6

Audio is just as important as video when producing visual stories and b-roll. Use it like a wide shot to establish the scene or zoom in to be an extreme close-up on the sound of a ratchet clicking to really bring the audience into the video.

So, mike the ratchet.

How you get sound into a camera (or story) can vary.

The most obvious (and worst) mike is the built-in camera mike. Generally it is omni-directional. It picks up sound from every direction…with the closest noises recorded at the highest level (don’t cough – oh no!). That means the person holding the camera trumps the person being interviewed. If you MUST do an interview w/an on-camera mike, get in as close as you can. That means FILL THE FRAME with their face (no – DON’T zoom). Put them in an environment where there is NO distracting background audio. Even an air conditioner or dog barking in the background can ruin your interview audio. I suggest to Sailors that they reach out and touch the person they were going to interview…and back up no further than that.

Training Tip 1Your camera is not the only place you can record audio.

Inexpensive audio recorders do a great job and you can combine their recordings with your video in post production. You can place the recorder near your subject (or noise source) or plug in a lavaliere and clip it on accordingly; much cleaner audio. Problem is, you have to synch(chronize) the audio with non-linear editing.

To do this you need something to help sync the audio. If you’ve ever tried lining up audio from one source to another it can be very hard if there isn’t an audio cue. The Hollywood clapboard is a good example. The matched visual of the clapper hitting the board along with the ensuing sound are what enable you to synch up audio and video later. If you don’t have a clapboard, clap your hands. It still works.

Training Tip 2Direct the audio recording.

Storyboard your audio. Do you need clicks, swooshes or key clacks to augment the video? Is it part of the environment? If so, capture it.

If you are covering a medical procedure, get audio of surgical tools dropping into the pan. Record the beeps of the heart rate and pulse-ox machine. Listen for the conversation between the surgeon and nurses. These are all powerful storytelling audio cues that you can use for your video.

During an UNREP there are virtually unlimited sound sources; elevators going up and down, whistles blowing and the shot line getting fired.

Mike the ratchet

AMERICA’S NAVY: A GLOBAL FORCE FOR GOOD703.614.9154 7

GOTB-ROLL? by Damon J. Moritz

Training Tip 3Microphones.

A wired mike can reduce range and flexibility. However, wired mikes don’t generally fall prey to the same electromagnetic interference that wireless mikes can get. Aboard ships, wired mikes can be your best friend.

Shotgun mikes are okay and help with gathering background sounds, but are generally strapped to the camera. What is better is to work with one of your co-workers and put that shotgun microphone onto a boom pole. When the mike is on a boom pole you can point it where you need it. When it is on the camera, it is limited to the center of the camera’s perspective.

Before you go out, consider the following.

• Research locations and those you will interview. Think about the acoustics. Is there a better place?

• Prepare for problems (take extra batteries and microphones)

• Select the right gear for your project (practice before you shoot and know your equipment’s capabilities) This

includes headphones, which are critical for knowing the quality of the audio you are recording.

• Interview for sound (listen for the audio cues that you can edit to)

• Eliminate white noise (hard to do on a ship, but it can be done with care-ful microphone placement)

• Use microphones effectively (Don’t think that a shotgun mike on camera is your only choice)

• Enhance your productions with ambient sound (click, tick, clack - record and take it back)

• Write scripts that work for sound (plan for the audio in your subject)

• Record voiceovers that don’t echo like you are in the head. Use pil-lows, blankets and other soft items to help soften reflected audio. You can create a sound booth anywhere with a little thought.

• Create a final “mix,” by combining all gathered content (use a clapper)

Training Tip 4My favorite – found objects.

You would be surprised at what can enhance your audio. Look for those pointy paper water cups. You can cut the tip off of them and slide a lavaliere mike in. This really helps to record audio from a specific location like a keyboard. Likewise you can use an orange cone for longer throws. It just takes a little creativity to get really good audio.

Rubber glove fingers can be used to replace the windscreen cover on a shotgun microphone while riding in a helicopter. It really helps to cut the high end noise of airflow.

You can also put a microphone inside an inflated balloon to record underwater audio. Just be sure to seal the balloon with glue or duct tape and don’t use the camera XLR ports for this. Instead use a very inexpensive audio record just in case you end up with a low voltage short.

AMERICA’S NAVY: A GLOBAL FORCE FOR GOOD navymedia@navy.mil8

After more than 89 years of providing information to the fleet in a printed format, All Hands magazine will cease production as a monthly hardcopy publication. This decision did not come about easily; but, is recognition of the changing ways that Sailors may receive information in the modern information age. Instead, we will be developing innovative ways to communicate the Navy story while also continuing to have feature articles, general-information pieces, as well as specialty sections on Navy.mil.

The first “issue” of All Hands was printed as the Bureau of Navigation News Bulletin No. 1 (dated Aug. 30, 1922). Twenty years later, the title was changed to Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin. As America claimed “Victory in Europe” on the cover of June 1945’s issue, the magazine’s new banner read, All Hands, and the name stuck. Marked with, “This magazine is intended for 10 readers. All should use it as soon as possible. PASS THIS COPY ALONG,” All Hands urged Sailors to share with their Shipmates.

The professional communicators at All Hands, including many mass communication specialists, civilian public affairs professionals and public affairs officers have contributed mightily to covering historic events such as the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War, Desert Shield/Storm, the tragedy of

ALL HANDS Cover Story

All Hands magazine … The Next Chapterby All Hands Staff

AMERICA’S NAVY: A GLOBAL FORCE FOR GOOD703.614.9154 9

9/11 and operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and Horn of Africa. You have captured the human struggle of international and domestic natural disasters such as the Indonesian tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people in 14 countries as well as the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina and the I-35W Bridge collapse in Minneapolis. Our Navy information team has even provided our Sailors and their family members all over the globe with laughter through comic strips.

All Hands has always been about the Sailor both on and off duty. The pages of the magazine have featured surface warriors on the seven seas, and the submariners below; the soaring aviators and the rapid-responding expeditionary forces. Stories have been told about virtually every community and program in our Navy. Thousands of Sailors have been profiled and photographed and made “semi-famous” in the eyes of the magazine’s readers. All Hands has served to inform, educate, entertain and document; all of which would not have been possible without your contributions.

The Navy’s history, as documented in All Hands, will continue to be accessible to everyone. Digitally archived issues of the magazine prior to June 2002 are available in Adobe Acrobat® format. Issues digitally archived after June 2002 are available in both Adobe Acrobat® format and the interactive Macromedia Flash® format.

Because of its popularity and utility, the All Hands staff currently plans to continue publishing the annual “Owners + Operators Manual” magazine in print format with the January issue.

On behalf of current and past All Hands magazine staff members, we thank our Navy information team and every Sailor, family member, veteran, retiree and civilian reader who has supported the magazine throughout the years. As we move forward, we will continue to provide our Navy family with timely, essential and entertaining articles and photographs – with your help – just as we have always done.

“All Hands has always been about the Sailor both on and off duty.”

AMERICA’S NAVY: A GLOBAL FORCE FOR GOOD navymedia@navy.mil10

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Capitalize when:- referring to regions of the countryExample: Rain is forecasted throughout the Midwest.- forming proper namesExample: North PoleLowercase when:- indicating compass directionExample: The storm front is moving inward and toward the north.- with names of nations, states, cities (unless part of the official name)Example: northern Canada, western Idaho, South Korea, North DakotaExceptions:- capitalize widely known areasExample: Southern California, Lower East Side of New York

The Visual Information Awards Program recognizes excellence among military photographers, videographers, journalists and graphic artists throughout the Department of Defense. Mass Communication Specialists are highly encouraged to enter their work in Military Photographer of the Year (MILPHOG), Military Graphic Artist of the Year (MILGRAPH) or Military Videographer of the Year (MILVID) categories: MILPHOG - Several photo areas of expertise are judged including feature, news, operational, combat and portrait.MILGRAPH – Judged categories include multimedia, publication, illustration and publication just to name a few. MILVID – Enter your best work in feature, editing, field and combat video areas of expertise.Each category also features an individual “of-the-year” award.Information including entry deadlines, categories, past winners and guidelines are available http://www.dinfos.osd.mil/events/viap/index.asp.

The deadline to receive “Go Navy” spots for the Army/Navy game is Nov. 30.The game is scheduled for Saturday, December 10. It will be in Washington, D.C., and CBS sports will televise it. Once again CBS is looking for spots from the Navy and Marine Corps team for broadcast during the game.Additionally, CHINFO and DMA will push submitted spots to a variety of media outlets prior to the game to help generate esprit de corps and as a way of highlighting our naval forces.Specific details are in NAVADMIN 297/11, but here are some of the important things to note, based on issues from rejected entries of previous years:-Audio must clean and clear-Media wants to see faces, so you can use wide shots, but include closer shots too-Video must be broadcast quality, high definition (1920 X 1080 or 1280 X 720)-Include pre- and post-roll with no extraneous audio or movement

SOCIA

LME

DIA

AMERICA’S NAVY: A GLOBAL FORCE FOR GOOD703.614.9154 11

All references to commercially available sites and services are provided for informational purposes only, without Department of the Navy endorsement.

Layout: Making It FitHelpful graphic designer’s handbook on using imagery for layoutshttp://issuu.com/cathshee/docs/layout_making

REELSEOAn article on using music in video, from an online video marketing guidehttp://www.reelseo.com/copyrighted-music-in-video/

A PHOTO EDITORInteresting blog with powerful photos and articles on photography and image rightshttp://www.aphotoeditor.com/

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHICNational Geographic Photo ContestDeadline: Nov. 30, 2011http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/photo-contest/rules/

NAVY RECRUITING COMMANDSource for Navy recruiting graphic products; posters, video, etc.http://extensis.cnrc.navy.mil/graphicdesign/index.htm

LINKS to KNOW

Photo by MC2 Eddie Harrison

That’s right. Direct. Connections. We are looking for video with subjects looking directly into the camera, making statements about our Navy.This is a clear departure from traditional interviews but in our role as communicators we have an obligation to connect with our audience. While the off-camera shot is still the standard for packages done in the news format, in social media the viewers expect it to be more personal in presentation (think: Facebook, YouTube). Therefore, when the product is intended for a social engagement, the framing needs to be different. The goal is a direct connection between subject and viewer and the best way to achieve that in today’s media environment is to talk directly to them.

Think of your favorite cooking show or sports cast. Personality and ability to connect with the audience is what’s most captivating. That’s what we aim to achieve in the sound bites we choose to share! You’ll find examples of this style all over the Internet, but here are a few favorites: Energy Awareness: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IJG3I7BjxkNavy Weeks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOp_XIhrDwkSECNAV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2N04h4GBoWcDay in the Navy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mhQahgbvggDJ Boxer Shout Out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Hol8r90ltA

Desperately Seeking...DIRECT CONNECTIONS

Your Social Media Team:LCDR Chris ServelloLT Shawn EklundJessica FallerKristina Miller (currently deployed)

AMERICA’S NAVY: A GLOBAL FORCE FOR GOOD navymedia@navy.mil12

This photo was made to accompany a story about a new language study hosted by Center for Language, Regional Expertise and Culture based at Center for Information Dominance Corry Station in Pensacola, Fla.

Since it involved language training, we needed to use headphone-wearing subjects working at computer stations.

I had envisioned a dramatic photo of operators in a black room with their eyes just above the computers monitors, reflecting the content of the computer screens. This would have been a really simple setup, requiring only a tripod and a relatively long shutter speed to capture the ambient light from the computer monitors, and maybe one speedlight placed high above the subjects to provide background separation.

There were two problems: First, the conference room was wired so we couldn’t turn off all the lights. The long exposures necessary to capture our glowing eyes would only emphasize stray background light. If I stopped down the aperture in an attempt to darken the background, the increased depth of field would only emphasize background clutter. Neither option would work with the ambient light. Second, we only had access to notebook computers. Due to the limited height of the notebook monitors, my idea of glowing eyes peeking above the monitor wouldn’t work.

To eliminate the background I needed to shoot from a high angle. Due to the subject-to-camera distance I used a Nikon 17-55mm f2.8 AF lens set at 44mm.

I set the ISO at 100, shutter at 1/100 of a second, and aperture to f2.8. Although the aperture was a light-collecting f2.8, the

resulting shallow depth-of-field blurred out the background. The low ISO minimized digital degradation and further eliminated the background due to the diminished light. The shutter speed was just fast enough to handhold the camera while standing on a ladder.

I used a Pocket Wizard to trigger a Nikon SB-800 Speedlight with diffuser removed to increase the highlights. It was placed high and to the left of the subjects. This provided the background separation we were looking for.

I placed a Nikon SB-24 Speedlight and Wein optical slave, which would be triggered from the SB-800, on each keyboard. Although the SB-24s were powered down as low as possible, the light was initially too bright and harsh. I then wrapped two sheets of ordinary, white printer paper around each flash to form a tube with the open ends facing the sides of the keyboards. The result was a nice glow on the faces of the students. I liked the light pattern on the desk, so no additional diffusion was necessary.

Finally, I placed a small, white pop-up reflector to the left, and a large silver reflector to the right. I would have preferred to have used two identical large silver reflectors, but worked with what was available to me. Since the accent light was from the left, I placed the larger of the two reflectors to the right.

The students were engaged in running the language software, so they didn’t really notice when we started shooting. In fact, they were a little disappointed when we wrapped up the photo shoot around 30 minutes later.

How did I do thatstory and photo by Gary Nichols, CID Public Affairs