Holmesglen TAFE
Industry Overview
Photography and the Writer/Editor
Writing for Children
Speaker : David Metzenthen
Student speakers
Association of image with text in photo-journalism.
- relating the news with photographs powerful image is linked with right text.
- Influences the reader to feel for the people involved.
The reader needs to know what the photo indicates.
A number of editors will not publish the photograph unless the names
of the people in the photograph are listed.
If you have a photograph with a man and a gun pointed to his head here, hope you do not need words or text to explain the image to readers – i.e. an example of where photo or image does not need text.
Ethical issues are represented in journalism and editing.
Interview – publication or broadcast. Person should be aware of them being photographed.
Present picture and sound as genuine. Respect, grief and privacy issues.
Do not photograph people when they are in mourning – ask for their permission first.
Pictures tell a thousand words. E.g. a picture of the dirty Yarra River, or a tourist book promoting Melbourne, might show a beautifully, clean and glamorous picture of the Yarra River.
What job opportunities exist for photo-journalism?
- advertisements, billboards, CD’s, DVD’s
- Direct mail, T.V., telephone books.
- Photo journalism – right photo for right image creating emotive images.
- Photos in → news, media and periodicals.
A mother crying over the death of her child – photographer can share emotional story with the grieving mother and reader.
Age newspaper and the Internet advertise jobs for Evan as an employed or freelance photo-journalist. Editors often ask authors to caption i.e. put name of person in photograph and the reader will read the caption in text and photograph.
This helps when a consumer walks into a bookshop, picks up a book and decides which book he/she will buy.
Captions are very important for writers editors and consumers.
Taking photos are important because they force you to see things differently and expand your mind and imagination and therefore improve clarity. Photographs evoke memories, atmosphere and emotion and improve your text as a writer Evan.
Evan will find better jobs as a writer if he can also be a photographer.
Guest Speaker: David Metzenthen
Writing for young readers
Writing is about stories which mean something to you.
Do not ever think that your ideas are unimportant.
Evan does not want to be compared with another writer. Try to be unique. Writing is not about proving how smart you are. Write about how you feel, think, relate to others, emotions, depth, relationships with others.
Evan has to set his heights high. Do not even start a project unless you believe in it. Come back to your original idea and have a go with it.
Start with a book with some idea as to where the destination is.
Come back to Evan’s world. What are you interest in? Try not being boring.
If you find one person who understands what you are doing e.g. an editor or a friend then you are lucky! Writing is about thinking. Be conscious about delivering the best stories you can.
A polite phone call can help Evan get through to the publishers.
4000 unsolicited manuscripts are sent to penguin Publishers each year. Only 10 are published per year. But Evan remember Penguin is always looking for new writers.
People working at Penguin are overworked and underpaid – remember the difficulty for them Evan.
Perfect writing career in Australia at present – Tim Winton, he does the story which he thinks he will do well.
Evan try to get that catch or voice to write a story – Evan you must have the correct feeling to write a story.
Evan’s unsolicited manuscript means that he has not shown and put his writing through an official or recognised accredited literary agent.
Evan the language in your writing has to be clear and easily understandable.
Do not speak or write in slang.
Simple communication is very effective.
Do not try to impress others too much – be natural.
Have another career when writing this is a good contrast.
You must have confidence and keep on re-writing.
Editors are pushed for time and are under pressure.
At Penguin in Melbourne the Editors are willing to read Evan’s unsolicited manuscripts.
Do not lose your perseverance. These are new writers getting published every day. It is possible to write full time in Australia.
State and Federal grants are available to writers.
Australia has a vibrant writing and publishing industry.