NPPA ARTICLE ON B-ROLL.NET SIDEBAR

[12/20/01]

www.b-roll.net
By TOM HUBBARD [reprinted from News Photographer, November 2001]

B-ROLL began in Kevin Johnson's mind in an orphanage in Tuzla, Bosnia, in 1996. Johnson's station, WVEC-TV, Norfolk, Va., sent him and a reporter on a 3-week trip through Spain, Italy, and Bosnia. "Our project was to cover our local Navy sailors in the Adriatic Sea and in Bosnia. It was the most incredible project in my career, and one of the most exciting things I had done in my life," said Johnson. At the orphanage, which he visited on a side trip, the children had lost their parents. Some had witnessed their parents killed in front of them.

Back in Norfolk, "loaded down with tons of still photos from the trip," Johnson put the pictures on the Web and wrote a story of his trip. "I had recently purchased a computer, and was interested in experimenting with this new thing called the Web," he recalled. "I set up a small site on AOL called 'B Roll 123 Online'(BRoll123 was my AOL screen name at the time) and told a number of family and friends that they could see the photos from the trip."

Eventually Johnson realized that no one on the Web "was interested in my life personally, but they may be interested in what I do for a living. I dropped the personal photos and the 123 from the name, moved the site to another server, and B Roll Online was born."

The site has developed into a marketplace for TV photojournalism ideas. TV photojournalists can sell freelance equipment, find a job, compare salaries, get ideas, complain and offer each other practical tips, and hope. It's a place to vent, but, overall, it's remarkedly positive and supportive.

Johnson expanded on his philosophy: "The 'run-and-gun' news photog is the norm rather than the exception in this country, and I decided we needed a voice on the Web. What did we need to know? What did we want to share with each other? What would help us in our daily lives? As I surfed the Web, I didn't find many resources geared toward the working TV news photographer. The closest I could find was the NPPA. I have nothing against the NPPA, and I'm a proud member, but the discussions on their sites were geared more towards print photographers. And their advice pushed for a perfection that isn't truly possible in today's television newsrooms."

B-Roll tips range from how to manage the overnight shift with its crime and fire stories to raising morale in the face of downsizing, faulty equipment and stress. It's therapeutic that the same problems exist around the world - producers, bosses, time constraints and equipment. For example, Shaun Walker, Sydney, Australia, commented, "Great site. It's interesting to hear what other cameramen face. I thought I was the only one!"

TV PHOTOJOURNALISTS around the world watched the video coverage of the tragedy at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. They watched video from New York carefully. They wondered and hoped for the safety of videographers on particular shots where smoke and debris engulfed the camera. "Here at B Roll Online, we can celebrate why we chose to be Television News Photographers," Johnson said. "We share stories with those who understand our profession as only fellow photogs can, and that makes all the work worthwhile. I owe a lot to avid readers. Their comments and suggestions keep me excited about what I'm doing. They make me want to do more, they make me try new and different things. From their response I can tell that B Roll Online is making a difference. It's bridging the gap between markets. The photog in a small 200 market now has the same access to information as a shooter in a Top 10 market. At the same time, we realize that no matter what size market we're in, we are all in the same boat. We all have similar problems and stresses. Shooters everywhere have the same problems with reporters, producers, and management. We also have the same celebrations and achievements."

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