2007-02-08T05:00:00Z A blog on visual journalism, including documentary and news video. tag:blog.washingtonpost.com,2007:/behind-the-lens/215 Copyright (c) 2007, WashingtonPost.Newsweek Interactive 2007-02-08T05:00:00Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2007-01-12:/behind-the-lens2007/01/in_assignment_i_saw_me_and.html

I'm always up for helping out a colleague, but I hesitated when asked to help produce a story on teenagers growing up without their fathers - afraid the story was too personal to cover. I haven't lived with my 5-year-old son in three years. He currently lives in Italy, so we don't see each other as much as I would like. There's one long stint - about two months - in summer, two weeks for...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Pierre Kattar 2007-01-22T05:00:00Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2006-12-30:/behind-the-lens2006/12/more_than_music.html

I usually jump at the opportunity to produce videos involving music, musicians or composers. Music can be very inspiring, and it is a rare treat to be present while a musician's creative process unfolds. The first long-form, music-related video I did was about a German-born vibraphonist named Lennie Cuje. It took about a year, and it was something I worked on between other assignments. The more time I spent with Lennie, the more complex...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Ju-Don Roberts 2007-01-22T05:00:00Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2006-12-21:/behind-the-lens2006/12/from_class_clown_to_head_of_th_1.html

Star AP teacher Frazier O'Leary learned the value of education the hard way. He never gave school much thought until he played the worst season of his college baseball career the year the scouts had their eyes on him. He began teaching English and coaching sports in DC soon after. And 35 years later, he's still at it - and nationally known as one of the best in the country at challenging and inspiring kids...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

John W. Poole 2007-01-22T05:00:00Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2006-12-15:/behind-the-lens2006/12/bill_cosby_and_me.html

Bill Cosby doesn't like my video. When I first heard that he "attacked" the piece at a forum on black youth in D.C. last summer, I was shocked and a little perplexed. I mean, c'mon he's famous, a comedic genius and played Dr. Huxtable on TV. So why would he bother commenting and with such apparent anger? His problem was apparently that he thought the video (which asks folks to define what it means to...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Ben de la Cruz 2007-01-22T05:00:00Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2006-12-15:/behind-the-lens2006/12/little_havana_hates_castro.html

One of the most fun video experiences I have had this year had to do with coverage of Mexico's elections. When I heard about a Mexican nonprofit organization's first attempt at its own "Rock the Vote" campaign, I was definitely interested in covering it. I used to live on the Texas-Mexico border, where I would hear interesting "Rock en Espanol" on Mexican airwaves. I wanted to see what some of those bands were up...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Christina Pino-Marina 2007-01-22T05:00:00Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2006-12-15:/behind-the-lens2006/12/detroit_rock_city.html

In the weeks leading up to the elections, I traveled to Michigan, the epicenter of American manufacturing. Cutbacks at the Big Three are pushing the economy there into a tailspin. I hung out at one of the state unemployment offices for a few days and listened to people who'd just lost their jobs talk about how bleak the situation really is. To drive the point home, one of the guys who came in had just...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

John W. Poole 2007-01-22T05:00:00Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2006-12-15:/behind-the-lens2006/12/the_weather_factor_1.html

Not a drop of rain had fallen on the greater Washington area in more than two months when this video was produced. Gardens everywhere were drying up. Plants were dying out. Gardening Editor Adrian Higgins and I decided to help out by showing people how to spruce up a garden during the stifling drought. As the final touches to the video were being applied, rumors of a tropical storm heading our way began circulating. Needless...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Pierre Kattar 2007-01-22T05:00:00Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2006-12-15:/behind-the-lens2006/12/welcome_to_behindthelens.html

Since 1998, a team of videojournalists, multimedia editors and designers have been creating a new form of visual journalism using the strengths of video and interactive media to tell stories on the Web. In doing this, we are deliberately trying to create a new model of storytelling harkening back to what Marshall McLuhan once described as an "acoustic space" that had more in common with cave paintings and oral storytelling tradition than the linear narrative...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Ju-Don Roberts 2007-01-22T05:00:00Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2006-12-15:/behind-the-lens2006/12/who_we_are.html

...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Ju-Don Roberts