Myanmar Emerges: Dreams to Dust from GlobalPost on Vimeo.

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One of my least favorite things to read is an apology for not blogging more. This is not that.

But instead, some thoughts about why we, and specifically I, blog at all.

If it becomes boring feel free to click off onto recent work embedded throughout this post. Its probably more entertaining than my words.

How to Eat a Rabbit Head (Director’s Cut) from Jonah Kessel on Vimeo.

On November 26, 2011, I wrote an entry on this blog titled “To Staff or Freelance, that is the question.” The blog post marked the end of a 1.5-year-long contract with China Daily, a shorter contract in Algeria and three years as a staff member at the Tahoe Daily Tribune. After the 5+ year stint as a staff member at newspapers, I wrote:

Although its a little scary jumping into the freelance network in a city of 20 million people, my independence from China Daily allows me to work with a greater range of clients from all over the world. Working on my own terms will also allow me to travel more and pursue some longer term projects that require extended periods of time and geographic mobility.

When I first graduated college I spent some time as a freelancer, scrapping for work wherever I could. Years later, it feels funny going back. Although I have work already rolling in, in some way it takes a little bit of getting used to being – self employed and not unemployed.

Its now been 30 months since I wrote this post. 30-months into the freelance experiment and it feels like a decade ago.

When I first jumped into the freelance world, I did so with great energy. I had a very active social media campaign, that I both wrote about and talked about publicly. For years, I thought it was necessary to be constantly promoting myself and trying to make my name appear in an ocean of competitors.

A Controversial Cure from Jonah Kessel on Vimeo.

I wrote multiple blogs posts a week, had a separate photoblog, wrote guest blogs, had twitter feeds that were quasi-automated throughout the day to gain a presence in different time zones around the world and would do anything I could do raise awareness that … I was for hire.

For me, this was just part of the job. Updating my sites, blogging, engaging and creating an audience. And I liked it.

But 30-months later I find myself at a different type of cross roads with work, social media and life.

While a relatively quick transformation occurred during this period, where my primary medium switched from photography to video journalism and cinematography, today I very rarely pitch stories. I’m almost exclusively doing commissioned work. And as time has progressed, personal time has diminished to the point where I can look months down the line and not see days off until the seasons have changed. Its a good thing work is fun, otherwise this would not be a good statement.

Myanmar Emerges: Resource Righteousness from GlobalPost on Vimeo.

On one hand this shows the growing demand for video content over photography, but in another light, perhaps it shows the product of endless hours of work in the social mediasphere.

I didn’t know exactly what the product or return would be when I was doing it, but I felt confident it was working. Throughout this period, I was getting jobs from strangers who found me online constantly. Google, Facebook and Twitter brought me work. Even web sites I used to make fun of, like Linkedin, were bringing me work.

I analyzed analytics, watched SEO terms within my writing and looked at social media dissemination as a key element in my business equation.

As this experiment has progressed, my time has become a much more valuable thing to the point where I have begun to question why I do it at all.

After working 14-hours a day, 7-days a week, for two weeks straight on a project (or multitasking on many) would you want to spend what remaining time you have writing to promote yourself, or would you rather have dinner with your girlfriend? Would you want to bring a computer to the living room with you to schedule tweets or bring a beer with you instead?

Myanmar Emerges: Poisoned Hope from GlobalPost on Vimeo.

If work is coming in, the decision becomes clear.

However, this assumes you engage in social media to promote yourself, or use it as a work tool. As my blogging activity has come to a full stop in recent months (beyond a cell phone photo stream and light Twitter activity), I’ve actually missed it. I like to write, think and engage with people about industry related topics. But in the grand scheme of attempting to balance work and life, blogging has become less important.

30-months later, I reflect upon this social media experiment as having been successful. Now the question is, if I stop — will work also stop (or diminish)? Or in today’s saturated media environment, can one embed themselves in a freelance market using these tools, find a customer base, and then back off and ride the work out?

So why do I blog? At least for now, when I find time and when I want to. Not because I think I should.

The C100 (literarily) fits in the palm of your hand.

I went to Burma with a simple task: to investigate challenges to Myanmar’s nascent model of democracy using the mining industry as a device to talk about bigger issues. Wait … that wasn’t simple at all. In fact, that was very complicated. However, my second goal of the trip was simple: to field test Canon’s C100 in a large variety of environments in a real world context. This would be the opposite of a desk test.

When I first tried Canon’s C300 my DSLR was instantly jealous. However, at the $16,000 benchmark, I knew it wouldn’t be a game changer for most. It wasn’t till I got my hands on Canon’s C100 that the DSLR became outdated.

I’ll break this conversation down into (1) price, (2) functionality, (3) image and (4) complaints.

Myanmar Emerges: Poisoned Hope from GlobalPost on Vimeo.

1. PRICE (using B&H pricing model):

At NAB 2013, I heard a tremendous amount of people saying things like: “I wouldn’t buy a camera right now. There’s too many choices and things are changing too fast.” The person would inevitably follow that statement with something like “The only camera I really need to own right now is my 5D. For everything else, I’ll rent …” While there is an element of intelligence to this statement, in other ways, it doesn’t make that much sense.

In many ways, the C100 is cheaper than the 5D Mark III … at least if you want your 5D to perform like the C100.

My basic 5D setup costs:

• 5D Mark Mark III – $3500
• Letus MCS Action Cam- $1800
• juicedLink RM333 Riggy Micro Low-Noise Preamp – $400
• Zacuto EVF – $750
• Schneider Variable ND system – $600

I’m leaving out things that you would or might need for both cameras i.e. lenses, mics, a follow focus, stabilization devices or cool stickers. Bottom line: to make a 5D function similarly to at C100 you might spend $7,050. However, the C100 only costs $5,500. While the initial price tag of the camera body is a bit higher, to make your 5D or other DSLR perform as a video camera properly, it actually cost more than the C100.

But better than this fact, is the fact that that the C100 was specifically designed to shoot like this without adapting it to work like a video camera.

Myanmar Emerges: Dreams to Dust from GlobalPost on Vimeo.

2. FUNCTIONALITY

Traveling in Burma can be a bit difficult. Foreigners are restricted to places they can go and military check points are abundant once you leave touristy areas. Essentially, a rosy picture of democracy has been painted for tourists willing to come here and pay exorbitant prices for hotels. This isn’t to say, things aren’t improved: they are. But democracy, as we know it, is still an idea here.

I was shooting in places I wasn’t supposed to be — and at times, during protests with military and police ready to shoe me off. At other times, our subjects were afraid to talk to us or we had very limited time to shoot before they decided they shouldn’t be talking to us. The last thing I want in this type of quasi-undercover investigative video journalism environment is to have a setup which requires lots of add ons or different pieces.

Simply put: there’s just less things that can go wrong using the C100 than with a DSLR setup. Having a single unit feels much more solid than a camera with lots of different devices attached to it. In the event I have to run or move quickly, this is a very desirable. In trying to keep a low profile a C100 is simply less intimidating than a loaded 5D (to both police and subjects).

Beyond the fact the camera is quasi-ready to shoot out of the box, I believe the biggest asset of this camera is its size. It literarily, fits in the palm of your hand.

Shooting with an audience in Burma.

Working solo without a production assistant and trying to blend in as much as possible in a country where I physically look very different than everyone, I tried to slim down to a believable tourist sized setup. An f-stop Kenti held a C100, 5D Mark III, 70-200 f/2.8, 24 f/1.4 and a 16-35 f/2.8, along with an audio setup.

But its not only that its small — but small and extremely functional.

During my test of the C100 I used no devices for stabilization (beyond a tripod). I think there is a sweet spot with this camera in relationship to weight and size when it comes to hand holding the camera. Over time, I’ve grown to really like hand held footage — but as we all know, there is good shake and bad shake (although some will tell you, all camera shake is bad). For me, the size and weight of the C100 allows you to hand hold and achieve good shake, without a shoulder rig. While I find the C300 a bit heavy to really hand hold for more than a couple seconds, the C100 at 15% smaller feels very natural.

Beyond its size, any user will quickly see the benefits of moving off of a DSLR.

The built in ND filters made my work flow much quicker and easier. My DSLR system requires me to change out my ND filter with every lens change. Its very time consuming and for news and documentary you often end up having to sacrifice control of your depth of field or image quality. The C100’s built in ND system solves this problem for people who shoot real world environments. This feature alone, in my mind, is worth the move from DSLRs.

In the audio world, there’s the obvious benefit of two XLR inputs. However, a less publicized comment is the top handle’s built in microphone. I found it far superior to any DSLR internal microphone. For the four videos here, all of the natural sound was recorded with the top handle/internal microphone (interviews all have audio from Sony UWP wireless lavs direct to camera).

Canon C100 LCD.

Moving from a DSLR LCD to the C100’s LCD, you have a much more advanced vector monitoring abilities. Given the placement of the screen, thats pretty important. Unlike the C300 or C500 the monitor is not so flexible in terms of placement. Its more like the 60D’s LCD but with added capabilities.

The customization within the LCD here is very awesome. If you happen to be color blind, like me, its easy to create custom peaking and zebras. Or custom peaking during magnification mode. This means users have the options of changing the color and the width of these focusing assistants.

By far the most useful thing to me on the LCD is the waveform monitor. There were plenty of times when I got stuck shooting midday and it became very hard to see the LCD. Nearly the entire movie directly above (Dreams to Dust) was shot in places where I could barely see the LCD. The waveform monitor made it fairly simple to keep exposure levels correct.

Working independently in sensitive scenarios, shooting with less than ideal light, the functionality of this camera made me feel more mobile than I ever have on this type of assignment. This defines the camera for me: Its ultra portable, functional and the image output is a big step up from a DSLR, for a lower price.

Myanmar Emerges: Resource Righteousness from GlobalPost on Vimeo.

3. IMAGE

The main video of this series, at the top of this post, starts with a minute of cell phone footage I dug up while reporting in Burma. However, at 5:45 there’s also a little bit of DSLR footage I licensed from a freelancer. There is a stark difference in image quality as soon as those shots come in.

There’s something about the image of Canon’s C series cameras that simply looks “less digital.” Perhaps its the fact that they let you perform better, easily maintaining a 180 degree shutter rule in difficult environments. Or perhaps its the wider dynamic range the censor lets you achieve — but the image does looks different.

This was my first assignment where I could really push the ISO range of a C series body as well. Its actually hard to compare it to the DSLR world because you can shoot at incomparably higher ISOs. You’ll get noise — but the noise, looks different.

Beyond ability to hold a image quality with poor light quality, the areas where I find the picture to be much better than a DSLR, come in noise and sharpness. Images come out strikingly sharper than that of a 5D Mark III or D800.

These videos were filmed using Canon’s wide dynamic range color profile. You can see on some images, particularly in the introduction to Dreams to Dust or in video below, We Never Agree, I’ve applied a relatively major grades to parts of the videos — without much noise, banding or other artificial marks in pixel damage.

Myanmar Emerges: We Never Agree from GlobalPost on Vimeo.

4. ITEMS OF CONTENTION

No good review would be complete without addressing, problems and issues. This camera certainly has points which could be stronger.

The EVF is small. You might call it very small. And while I can say, I did get used to it, it would certainly make sense to have a better one. I know a lot of C100 users who are just replacing there’s off the bat. That doesn’t say much about this piece of the camera.

Another item of contention is the output format. The C100 outputs AVCHD, which is a bit clunky and quite simply not that great. While you can get an external recorder and output ProRes 4:2:2, I’ve been using ClipWrap and just dealing with an extra step. But I question how much of a problem this actually is for people who shoot for web.

NAB 2013: NAB 2013: Schneider Releases iPro Series 2 Lenses for iPhone from Dan Chung on Vimeo.

At NAB 2013, my team shot with a Canon C300 and Canon C100. All of the tight shots were made with one camera, and all of the wide shots with the other. Can you tell which one is which? My team put out about 20 videos, but I’ll just place one above here as an example. See if you can tell the difference given this compression and viewing medium. Then, see if you can see a $10,000 difference …

For some shooters the bit rate is a problem. The C100 shoots at 24 Mb/s while its big brother the C300 can shoot at broadcast safe 50 Mb/s . For people like myself that shoot entirely for web, this doesn’t matter so much and there has been some high profile examples of these cameras being used for broadcast.

5. CONCLUSION
I won’t be the first to say it, but at this price point, the C100 certainly makes me question the future of DSLRs for people whose primary use is video.

It does have things that aren’t perfect about it, but for me, the benefits far outweigh the negatives by an enormous margin. While the C300 is without doubt a better camera, I’m not convinced its the best camera for people like me. For people who shoot for the web, for people who deal with real world shooting environments or for people who are trying to keep their profile low and gear size down — this camera is not only priced right, but it functions right.

- Myanmar Emerges is a year-long investigation by Global Post into Myanmar’s claims to democracy. Part one of the series can be seen here. Look for parts two and three coming this summer and fall.

CENSORED from Jonah Kessel on Vimeo.

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In May of 2012 the Committee to Protect Journalists approached me, asking if I would be interested in making a short film about a Chinese journalist.

Last month, the piece published. It would be my umpteenth video looking at free speech and cencorship in China. Although it only took two days to film, there was about 10 months of planning involved. Thats mostly because, no one wanted to be featured.

I emailed many dozens of Chinese journalists for months and was having zero luck. They were interested in being featured until they found out the topic was human rights and free speech. As soon as they heard these words, most would immediately stop answering emails. Sadly, I think these people are better examples of what the average journalist in China. They are part of the system, and not willing to shake it … or in this case, come close to the shaker.

I think the overwhelming response shows what type of pressure these journalists are under. As a western journalist, its in our best interest to grab high profile bylines. However, in China a byline or credit in the wrong place could get you fired, or worse …

For all of these journalists, participating in the video would only put them at risk of being seen in an unflattering report of the PRC. This of course, was true of all the people I talked to until I found one journalist who didn’t shutter in the face of the censors, but also had something to gain from taking that risk.

Liu has a mission to start a Chinese version of Pro-Publica. A non government and non commercially funded model of journalism. While this might be impossible in China, his fearless efforts to try to make it happen are something to be admired by journalists worldwide. While he never explicitly said this to me, I’m sure his decision to show up in this video and venue was in some part motivated by his attempt to find funding. Sadly, finding sources often involves trying to find someone who needs you as much as you need them.

I also believe Liu was willing to put himself in the spotlight for the betterment of his colleagues, who wouldn’t dare. I was an avenue to help him do that.

This is perhaps the lesson out of this sensitive scenario in trying to find a subject: they have to have something to gain from talking to you.

After finally finding Liu and then scripting a way to visually illustrate the guy’s life and the issues he faces, it actually only required one interview off camera, one interview on camera and one day of following him around with a camera. And thus is the equation of so many video projects I’ve become involved with recently: 10 months of prep, 2 days of shooting, 1 week in post. However, that planning period or preproduction, allowed me to make this video in such a way that I hope the 10-minute mark, doesn’t lull or become dull.

For those interested in freedom of the press and free speech issues, the video goes with a larger report from CPJ called “Challenged in China.” Its a great look at the current Chinese media environment showing some of the issues both the public and the journalists are facing here.

While I support the CPJ and their efforts to help imrpove the situation in China, it was very nice to see some of my colleagues, some of whom I know and some of whom I dont know participate in the project.

Extremely poverful still images from the Sichuan Earthquake were donated by collague Gilles Sabrie. Music creators Rhian Sheehan and Keith Kenniff graciously licensed music for the project. And of course, Liu himself. Beyond helping to promote his dream, he was willing to donate his time to help promote free speech. These people are all tremendously talented and I encourage you to check out their works.

The video is online here on my vimeo channel, or at the CPJ’s web site. Please see other links to those involved in this project below:

Produced and narrated by JONAH M. KESSEL
Sichuan earthquake photography by GILLES SABRIE
Music by RHIAN SHEEHAN, “Still”
Music by KEITH KENNIFF, “Halving the Compass”
Production assistant and translation by ADAM WU
Wukan, Southern Weekend protest, Hebei & Beijing cinematography & photography by JONAH M. KESSEL

Citizen Zhu from Jonah Kessel on Vimeo.

Since recently appointed President of China Xi Jinping has taken his place at the top of the communist party, China watchers have been swimming in content featuring the word “reform.”

Lately, this word has manifested itself in the topic of constitutionalism. Many intellectuals and liberal thinkers in China think that this might be the way forward. On the 30th anniversary of China’s constitution, Xi is reported as having said “The Constitution should be the legal weapon for people to defend their own rights.”

Some people are surprised at the fact that China even has a Constitution. What does a document like this mean in an authoritarian state? Following the cultural revolution when the document was created it guaranteed “full powers of representative legislature, the right to ownership of private property, and freedoms of speech, press and assembly.”

However, most people know that these things are far off in China. I’ve met countless people whose land has been taken, journalists whose speech has been suppressed and of course we all know what can happen if people assemble in this country.

This week I spent a day with a citizen journalist Zhu Reifeng. Zhu runs an anti-corruption web site called The People’s Supervision. The Wiki-Leaks style site has exposed corrupt politicians all around the country, many of whom have lost their jobs over Zhu’s reporting.

In my report I follow Zhu as he files for divorce and talks to other journalists. My video was created for a general audience, and is available at the New York Times or at my Vimeo account above. However, for China folks interested in free speech I wanted to share a few more bites/

The video briefly mentions police banging on Zhu’s door earlier this week. This visit was prompted by a sex tape Zhu released on line. This tape, was actually suppressed and held hidden by Bo Xilai’s cabinet for years. The party seems to have been ok with Zhu releasing this video, as it may help further to burry the reputation of the disgraced politician Bo Xilai even further. However, when Zhu said publicly he has six more sex tapes involving Chongqing officials, it didn’t take long until the police came to his door. Here is Zhu’s full description of the events that transpired that night:

A Dissident’s Rant: Extended Excerpts from Zhu Ruifeng Interview from Jonah Kessel on Vimeo.

Now, you might wonder why this is a big deal. Cops come to lots of doors, right?

Well, in China this could lead to a dark world. In 2009 Zhu refused a bribe from a corrupt politician who he exposed as having shady business dealings with mine owners. After leaving the, Zhu encountered uniformed and plane clothes policemen again. Here’s how he describes that situation:

So maybe Zhu would have been taken to the police station. Maybe he would have been taking to one of China’s infamous black jails. We don’t know, but I don’t blame him for not opening the door.

Over instant noodles in Zhu’s office we chatted. To me he appeared to be a warrior of free speech and anti-corruption. In my video, he sites China’s constitution and says he is following Xi Jinping’s words. However, during the 48 hour period it took for me to shoot, edit and publish this video Zhu made a swift reversal of some of his ideals he seemed so passionate about. Within this period, he decided he would not release the other videos.

So the question becomes, what happened? Who was involved in those other six video tapes? Times’ reporter Andrew Jacobs covers this in his report “Chinese Blogger Thrives as Muckraker.” However, on a more sad note we see yet another example of the facade of this document and the politicians’ claims to uphold it. If this document held any true weight, would Zhu have backed off? You can’t blame him though. I wouldn’t want to spend time in a black jail here either.

The Chinese political and media environment seem so connected at times that all it takes is just one toe over the ephemeral line of acceptance, to scare even the bravest of China’s journalists away.

Xiao Qinshan, a freedom of speech advocate from Shenzhen screams from his wheelchair in front of the Nanfang Media Group compound in Guangzhou, China, Tuesday, January 8, 2013.

NOTE FROM JONAH: Going to take a break from the Madagascar series and come back to China for a moment.

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China followers will have seen the political uprising in Guangzhou this last week. I spent two days outside of the Nanfang Media Group shooting stills and video for the New York Times. I won’t spend time here saying anything, because other people have said it already, in a way far more intelligent than I can put in words.

I can however, offer a post-fact extended view into the scene. Here’s a larger edit from this week’s events down South. If you’re confused and looking for information on what went on and its significance, check out James Fallows’ blog that gives a quick rundown navigation of the scenario.

Here is the free speech protest, from my camera:

A group supporting the Communist Party of China confronts free speech activists. Fights amongst the politically polar idealogical groups continued on through Tuesday afternoon.

A freedom of speech advocate shows an anti-reformer his identification card saying “he stands behind his words.” Anti-reformers refused to share their identities at Tuesday’s protest outside the Nanfang Media Group compound in Guangzhou.

Censorship Incites Protests in China from Jonah Kessel on Vimeo.

Police hold back a demonstrator in Guangzhou, Tuesday.

Police hold back a free speech advocate in Guangzhou, Tuesday.

Free speech and anti reformers clash in front of the Nanfang Media Group compound Tuesday.

A free speech advocate wears a mask from the movie V for Vendetta. The activist said he ordered the mask recently after he saw the movie on Chinese state run television.

Police officers and state media film reporters and advocates.

Supporters of the Communist Party of China march outside of the Southern Weekend offices with pictures of Chairman Mao Zedong.

Supporters of the Communist Party of China march outside of the Southern Weekend offices with pictures of Chairman Mao Zedong.

Supporters of the Communist Party of China march outside of the Southern Weekend offices with pictures of Chairman Mao Zedong.

Free speech advocates wear masks outside of Southern Weekend Tuesday afternoon.

A man rips up a freedom of speech sign outside of Nanfang Media Group, Tuesday.

Free speech advocates and communist party supporters clash in front of the Nanfang Media Group compound, Tuesday.

A tres chic protestor, outside the newspaper.

A group supporting the Communist Party of China hangs demonstration signs outside of the Nanfang Media Group compound. Clashes between protectors continued into Wednesday afternoon, although rumors of a deal had broke from within the newspaper.

Free speech advocates and communist party supporters clash in front of the Nanfang Media Group compound, Wednesday.

A group supporting the Communist Party of China hangs demonstration signs outside of the Nanfang Media Group compound. Clashes between protectors continued into Wednesday afternoon, although rumors of a deal had broke from within the newspaper.

Police try to contain a free speech advocate outside of the Nanfang Media Group, Wednesday.

A group supporting the Communist Party of China hangs demonstration signs outside of the Nanfang Media Group compound. Clashes between protectors continued into Wednesday afternoon, although rumors of a deal had broke from within the newspaper.

A group supporting the Communist Party of China waves flags outside of the Nanfang Media Group compound. Clashes between protectors continued into Wednesday afternoon, although rumors of a deal had broke from within the newspaper.

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