eyeJAZZ Seeks Training Program Applicants

eyeJAZZ, the Jazz Journalists Association's initiative to launch a new form of visual reportage about live music, is seeking applicants for its video training program. Selected applicants will receive a free pocket video camera and four months of online training in the basics of shooting, editing and distribution of video as well as video story-telling and journalistic skills. No previous experience in video production or jazz journalism is necessary, but applicants must demonstrate a strong interest in both. Applications are due by February 15; for details visit www.eyeJAZZ.tv and click "Apply Now."

eyeJAZZ videos are brief, newsy views of musicians, listeners, presenters, producers, supporters and venues of jazz (broadly defined), created with pocket cameras or cell phones that are easily uploaded to websites including YouTube and Vimeo. eyeJAZZ videos are not performance videos, though they may include excerpts of performances. eyeJAZZ videos focus instead on where the music is made, details of jazz technique and rehearsal practices, comments and responses of those involved with jazz - always protecting creators' copyrights and adhering to professional journalistic standards. eyeJAZZ samples can be viewed at the eyeJazz Facebook page, www.fb.com/eyejazz <http://www.fb.com/eyejazz> , and at www.eyeJAZZ.tv

eyeJAZZ instructors Bret "theJazzVideoGuy" Primack, Chicago-based filmmaker and videographer Floyd Webb, social media consultant and online, radio and print journalist JoAnn Kawell and JJA president Howard Mandel will teach a cadre of 30 successful applicants via webinars, streaming video and one-on-one Skype sessions. Training sessions will stress simplicity, production speed and fundamental reporting skills as essentials for gathering views of the jazz world, raising the profile of the music and understanding its contexts.

Successful completion of the eyeJAZZ curriculum will require the production and posting of at least five short videos that meet eyeJAZZ criteria and are approved by eyeJAZZ instructors. Accepted applicants will be notified on or about March 1. Training will begin on or about March 15, and successful applicants must fulfill all training requirements by July 15, 2011.

The general public is encouraged to adopt eyeJAZZ criteria for their own videos, which can be posted online at the eyeJAZZ Facebook page and/or distributed using Twitter hashtags #eyejazz and #jazzlives.

The JJA also invites high-profile, experienced videographers to become eyeJAZZ Community Partners, producing short video samples that showcase how inexpensive portable and online tools can be used to make high-quality and highly expressive jazz videos.

The JJA's eyeJAZZ initiative is funded by the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation with the generous support of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. For applications and more information, visit http://www.eyeJAZZ.tv/, or email president@jazzjournalists.com