²ÝÁñÉçÇø to Host Bellingham Visual Journalism Conference July 15-17
Contact: Alexis Tahiri, Western Washington University Journalism Department, (360) 650-4436 or alexis.tahiri@wwu.edu
BELLINGHAM – The 2011 Bellingham Visual Journalism Conference, which will be held Friday, July 15 to Sunday, July 17 at Western Washington University’s Department of Journalism, is now open for pre-registration.
The price to attend all three days of the conference is $250. The Saturday Speakers' Series is $95 for professionals and $50 for students with current ID. The cost for both Friday and Sunday workshops is $175 and $125 for just the Friday workshop.
Those who register by May 31 will save 10 percent on registration fees. Any currently unemployed professional visual journalist who was laid off from their staff job in the past two years may attend the Saturday Speakers' Series, including a catered lunch, free of charge. A silent auction will be held on Saturday, July 16, to help cover conference costs for the unemployed.
This year’s faculty includes Pulitzer Prize-winner Deanne Fitzmaurice; 2010 Scripps Howard Foundation first-place winner Lisa Krantz; 2010 College Photographer of the Year Rachel Mummey; 2010 NPPA Region 11 Photographer of the Year Don Seabrook; Seattle Times photo editor Kevin Fujii; former Seattle Post-Intelligencer staff photographer Mike Kane, now represented by Zuma Press; and MSNBC senior producers Meredith Birkett and Jim Seida.
Topics that will be discussed at this year’s conference include the business of multimedia, how to stay inspired, how to come up with and execute good ideas and how to reinvent one’s self after losing a job. A special session will be offered to students that will address how to get an internship or first job in this tough economy. There will also be a shoot-out style photo contest and portfolio critique session with prizes for the best student and best professional portfolio.
Friday, July 15 and Sunday, July 17 will be multimedia workshop days with limited enrollment. They will be hosted by nationally renowned multimedia producers and instructors Jim Seida and Meredith Birkett from msnbc.com and Seattle Times video editor Danny Gawlowski. The workshops will focus on creating compelling multimedia stories using stills, audio, video and language.
The Friday workshop will focus on classroom exploration of multimedia essentials like audio quality, interview techniques, practices for capturing still and moving pictures for multimedia, ethics, and how to structure a captivating story. Alternative reporting tools like iPhones will also be discussed.
The Sunday workshop will involve a gear tutorial and assignment, hands-on Final Cut instruction, producing and editing of assignments shot by the participants, with coaching by multimedia professionals.
To register, visit the BVJC website at www.wwu.edu/visualjournalism. For more information contact Alexis Tahiri at ²ÝÁñÉçÇø’s Department of Journalism, at (360) 650-4436, or Russ Kendall, Bellingham Herald picture editor, (360) 715-2265.