A New Way of Seeing

New York Times staffer Chang W. Lee is a master photographer. His beautifully composed images are regularly featured in the NYT website. If you follow the link above to visit his profile site, you'll see some striking international feature pieces that will make it immediately obvious why he's won the Pulitzer Prize for Photography. But as a still photographer, he's stayed away from working with moving images until a recent profile of jazz singer Deanna Kirk -- featured on the NYT Lens site.
I found his approach to creating her video profile fascinating. In one sense, I could describe his piece as a sequence of captured moments; a collection of images, some frozen and others unfolding. Just what you might expect, you could say, from a still photographer.

But I think he's accomplished much more than that. In a sense, he's presenting what amounts to almost a new way of seeing by stripping down everything to its' essence. With his approach to storytelling, he's moved away from the traditional tools of video shooting and editing. No zooms, pans, or cutting within a scene from wide shot to closeup or medium shot or what ever. And while he certainly moves his camera around as he shoots from a wonderful variety of angles, he uses just about every image to create its' own scene. (The traditional way depicts an event from a variety of angles and edits them together to build a scene with a beginning, middle and end.)

And with an artist's eye for the telling moment, his freeze frames and video moments work together to create a sophisticated and intimate portrait of a modern woman, jazz performer and engaged mother. Through his gently-paced images, we see Deanna as she tries to recapture the career she put on hold when her son was born and embrace the music that was her first love. And we hang out with her as she shares some of her hard-won truths about being a single mother caring for her young son. And as the stream of her words wash over us, the video images fade in and out or pause to heighten the impact and suggest a deeper exploration of the thoughts, gestures and moments that make up a life. In all, an innovative and stimulating approach to telling a story. And a very creative way of showing a life in flux.

No More Deja Vu

I've been thinking about what makes video so effective and reflecting on a project we completed last year and one we're about to begin this year. Last year we went to the Denver School of Science and Technology to show how innovative design can create a dynamic and highly effective environment for learning. The results of that effort is on our website, as part of the Great Schools by Design series we're doing for the American Architectural Foundation.

The point of the video was to show how the extraordinary use of space, place and design has transformed teaching and learning. In the video we hear from many people touched by the project: the architects, teachers, students, the school principal and founder. Even the mayor had something thoughtful to say. And we spend a lot of time showing different aspects of the school, exploring everything from the physical design to the overall vibe.

So, you might ask, why does the piece work so well? I'd say the answer is in how the piece is put together. First of all, there's no narration. People express themselves in their own words. So that brings in a level of enthusiasm and passion that helps carry the ideas. Second, there are few facts. Facts and data work well in print. Ideas and feelings work well in video. So the video focuses on how people feel about the new school, what they like, what excites them, why it feels special and so on. While we do include some specific information, we tend to show instead of tell. And that leads to the next point. The piece has a beginning middle and end. Because we structure our pieces to tell a story -- starting in one place and ending in another -- and along the way we take the viewer on a journey of discovery and understanding.

And now we're about to embark on the next video in the series, about a primary school in Portland, Oregon. This school serves younger kids, so there will be perhaps less to tell and more to show. And the big challenge will be to find a new way to tell the story. So it won't be deja vu all over again.