11/25/2009

What is Immersive Video Journalism?

My cyber colleague and mentor, David Dunkley-Gyimah has posted a blog entry entitled “Hail the Immersive Video Journalist” introducing me as one who is uniquely qualified to bring the skills of being a “Jack Of All Trades, Master Of Them All” to the aquatic realm.

Once I got past the blushing of seeing my credentials being promoted, there are those who might stumble across this site and wonder what does the term “Immersive Video Journalist” as coined by David, actually represent?

In a nutshell, take the skills of a Solo Video Journalist, as described on my home page, and incorporate the additional skills of freediving (in my case) or scuba diving to the mix. This adds a whole new dimension to working as a Solo VJ.

I prefer to work in the water while freediving. In laymans terms, freediving is breath hold diving. I train five to six days a week to maintain a level of fitness that will allow me to hold my breath while shooting video for up to two minutes at a time. 60 minutes of Ashtanga Yoga is my primary method of training in the off season, graduating to a couple of pool sessions per week as the weather warms up here in the Pacific Northwest. It requires self discipline to practice the skills of freediving as it forces one to become absolutely present at ten meters down, holding your breath and operating a video camera in a housing, while at the same time, being creative in ones shooting technique.

For those who have never experienced this discipline and are interested in moving this direction, feel free to contact me about some workshops I am developing for those who are interested in applying the skills of video journalism and freediving.