Prepare for takeoff

If you don't have a profound sense of accomplishment by now, allow me to have one on your behalf. From completing drafts of institute stories to wrapping up multimedia assignments when half or more of you had no experience with video, it's been quite a couple of days.

I say this every year: If an old wire service hack like me can figure out the basics of video, you can figure out the basics of video. And you don't need Sony Handycams and Adobe Premiere to do it. Your operating system probably has a free video editor, and your phone's video camera can do a decent job if you can get good sound through a microphone.

At Cronkite News Service, we often tape interviews on our phones (mounted on light stands or Gorillapods and using lav or shotgun mikes) and pull cuts to run alongside our stories. No heavy production involved. Here's an example.

I love Dan Gillmor's presentation. At Media 8.0 or wherever he says we're at, everyone can be a content creator for good or ill. In our cases, it can be for good. All barriers are down when it comes to storytelling. There's so much room for creativity. What you've learned at the Reynolds Institute is only the beginning.

Steve Elliott
Arizona State University
Phoenix