Video: how far does it go? Part 1 – The 2007 boom
Video: how far does it go? Part 2 – Figaro, from Handycam to in-house studio
Video: how far does it go? Part 3 – Nouvel Obs: TV-like shows, with an edge
 
(For some insiders, the emergence of newspaper video and its gradual replacement of text already seems like a natural evolution online: “A big question facing newspapers today is when the web will completely supplant newsprint and what role will video play? The spread of broadband means that video will soon vie with text as a source of information on the web,” wrote Patrick Farrelly, who’s currently shooting video for The Guardian.)

Le Nouvel Obs was the first major press publication in France to set up an in-house studio in December 2006 – the official launch was in March 2007. Note that the generational divide doesn’t have to be an obstacle: the project was conceived and commissioned by Nouvel Obs’ big boss, Claude Perdriel, who’s 81 years old.

The studio, dubbed Canal Obs, looks like any TV set, only smaller and less overwhelming. 6 remotely controllable cameras have been set at different angles, surrounding the table that can fit up to 5-6 participants comfortably. Three part-time studio technicians are employed for the filming and editing, at a rate of about €250 each per day.

Canal Obs' three technicians monitor the shooting of the film review show 'Par ici les sorties'.

So the paper can produce full-fledged shows, besides the “now-classic” newspaper video offerings: that is, the short news video piece shot by a journalist on the ground, or the 30-second newsroom interview with a journalist specialized in a topic.

Every Wednesday, Canal Obs’ four staffers (three technicians and a makeup artist) gather to film the weekly shows. Journalists from the paper come to host and participate the shows, which last any time between five and 30 minutes.

Canal Obs runs a total of 17 shows (not all are weekly). Among its current offerings:
- a weekly film review, in which print film critics debate about recent pictures, with typically less reserve than in their allotted column.
- an investigative documentary-type show, in which a 30-min report is shown, briefly introduced by a journalist.
- a literary review, hosted by 73-year-old columnist Delfeil de Ton, who does “the opposite of TV, which bores me.”

Unfortunately, it was too early for Elkord to point out any type of content that might or might not work, as Canal Obs is still self-admittedly experimenting. A travel show had to be cancelled due to insufficient traffic, but then again, it was never really given the time to mature. Hosts, journalists and Canal Obs technicians don't directly receive feedback from viewers and users at this point, something that could surely be improved upon. They didn't receive any precise figures for traffic either, although some specific shows, typically political debates, have generated up to 800 comments on the site.

While Canal Obs’ shows are shot in a TV-like manner, it aims neither to compete with TV nor to produce TV-like content. Blank spots (silence) are allowed, journalists argue voraciously on the set, feel relaxed, sometimes laugh hysterically.  So do guest speakers, such as politicians, who tend to be more outspoken and comfortable than when speaking on a huge TV set. The video strategy also enables Nouvel Obs to deal with topics it might not cover in the print edition, such as a short humorous series on “Summer at work,” or by posting YouTube videos it judges relevant (funny videos about President Sarkozy seem to be the most popular). In the latter case, only videos for which the source is known are posted on the site.

However, Elkord doesn't think that video, despite the lighter or different coverage it enables, "will influence editorial choices" and news judgment in the paper, at least for the time being. It is merely "another tool that serves as means of expression" for the Nouvel Obs' journalistic purpose.

Delfeil de Ton (front) and Malika Elkord (back) go over last minute notes before the literary review show.

Is it possible for participating journalists to deal with the additional workload of Canal Obs and video journalism?

Journalists are in charge of all content produced by Canal Obs. They come up with ideas for a show to be aired, prepare the format and content, and of course participate in the show. All show proposals are submitted to the other deputy editor of the Nouvel Observateur, Stéphane Arteta, who validates them.

Somewhat surprisingly, participating journalists seem to agree with Elkord, who said the additional workload is minimal and perfectly manageable. It’s true that the reporters already know about their field, so preparation time for shows is generally negligeable. On the other hand, Delfeil, who hosts the literary review, said that the time spent reading full books was excessive: not that he wants to stop hosting the show, but for that reason he only shoots about three series of 5-6 shows at a time every year. None of the journalists went through any particular TV training, but some already had radio background.

All shows are generally shot on Wednesdays. Stéphanie Bizutti, who’s in charge of technical operations, proceeds to edits on Thursday. This editing process is surprisingly short: she goes through all the shows within a day, as these are seldom edited, unless the show goes way off topic. The main task is to plug in the intro and outro to the shows, which were created with the help of one of the print designers from Nouvel Obs.

At first, the shows were recorded over two days, and just as long for editing, but this was too time-consuming. The current workflow is much more manageable said Bizutti. In contrast, it can take up to a day for the editing of a short two-minute news video (this matches the results of a survey by Andy Dickinson that found it takes four hours of production to produce one minute of video).

Editors from the news desk then decide when to publish the shows online during the week (the paper is out in kiosks on Thursday). Until this day, Canal Obs is still far from being a money-maker, but its early establishment in the French online newspaper landscape may give the Nouvel Observateur the upper hand in the future, as video becomes even more essential – maybe predominant – for newspapers.

“A thousand small streams end up forming a big lake,” said Delfeil, speaking of Canal Obs' revenues and the business model of online journalism.

Specs

For those considering to build an in-house video studio, here are a few specs about Canal Obs. The editing hardware equipment in itself cost a minimum €15,000, according to the technicians’ estimate (this may be far removed from the real cost though). The construction of the studio cost a total of about €100,000.

Canal Obs equipment:
- Neon lights Kinoflo
- Lighting grip and installation for the studio
- Studio console Anycast
- Camera remote control joystick Sony
- Sounds mixing table Spirit FX 8
- Film editing tower with Final Cut 5
- 'Tour raide' - a big computer server basically - with a capacity 800 gigas, to back up all videos

For a more hands-on approach to shooting and implementing video, see the related articles (also read Part 1 and Part 2):

A day learning videojournalism at the Press Association

Videojournalism: How-to implement it and why newspapers can beat TV 

 
Sources: Malika Elkord, deputy editor Nouvel Observateur - Stéphanie Bizutti, Canal Obs technical supervisor - Delfeil de Ton, columnist and host Nouvel Observateur

Many thanks to all the others who were present at Canal Obs.