Seeing isn't always believing

I always try to tell my students that the more we increase our media knowledge, the more we know how video can manipulate and suggest and lead through music, edits, camera angles, etc. the better off we are. So often, especially when it comes to documentary TV/Film we as an audience simply believe in it as "truth". It's a "documentary", so it is real. That is even more dangerous. Media is becoming more important each day in our society. We are surrounded by it at all times. We have 24 hour news, video on cell phones, I-Pods, computers, instant communication, etc. This is not a bad thing, it just means we have to be careful of what we view and what we accept. If we don't know that there is a man behind the curtain that is making swift editing cuts with fancy graphics, hiding camera angles, covering sound edits in a cut-away shot...then we swallow the kool aid. The old saying of "Seeing is believing" is no longer true. With video and photo editing available to the masses, more and more we must know the techniques those of us in the media use to lead, guide or fool our audience.



Man Vs. Wild: Bear Grylls



Michelle Kosinski in Canoe on "The Today Show"