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Telling a thousand words in a stream of moving video clips and telling a thousand words with one still 120th of a second are NOT the same. – Jacki Schklar, producer / editor

I certainly used to think that was true! However, I’ve recently been doing some thinking about (and research on) the expression…

“A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words” – Chinese Proverb

And, surprise, surprise… According to Paul Martin Lester, a professor in the Department of Communications at Cal State University… the proverb is a fake. In fact, the expression was originally developed as an advertising slogan and displayed on streetcar signs by a baking soda company.

Further yet… the actual translation of the Chinese characters on the sign was:

“A Picture’s Meaning Can Express Ten Thousand Words.”

He goes on to say:

“Somehow the phony Chinese proverb over the years has been given the literal meaning that a picture is equivalent to a thousand words setting up a clash between words and pictures in the minds of users of the two. With digital hegemony, visual messages have reasserted their position as an important communication medium, but at the cost of not recognizing the combination of words and pictures as vital in communication. With the correct interpretation of the proverb, words and pictures live in harmony as they are both used equally in order to understand the meaning of any work that uses them both.”

And, I think that’s why I now find so much power in the combination of still photography and audio… and not necessarily video.

I’ve been a lifelong photographer. I love images; I believe in the power that they posses and I have great respect for those who make them.

However, over the years, I’ve gotten a little frustrated with my photography… wanting to do more with it but never quite sure what that meant.

I love dramatic portraiture and even editorial fashion photography but, I’ve never had the time or, more importantly, the access that’s necessary in order to really pursue either.

I was at a point where I was finally willing to accept that I was never going to be an Irving Penn or a Richard Avedon.

And, that may still be true… but, at about that same time, I had my first encounter with the New York Times project, One in Eight Million.

The first time I saw it, I sat in silence and watch segment after segment… lost in the incredible beauty of those black and white shots and the unbelievable power that the audio brought to them. At one point, I said out loud… “That’s it… that’s what I want to do”!

That was what then served as the catalyst for me to begin this journey… and to take these courses. “Decisive Moment” is no longer the mantra… it has a new name… “Journalistic Storytelling”.

Do I agree with Brian Storm? Hell, Brian Storm is my god! My modern day Irving Penn!

However, to be a little more specific… I propose that you could watch the Marlboro Marine project on MediaStorm with the audio turned off… but, in so doing… there is no way possible that you would get the same experience… the same story… the same meaning… that you get when you watch the project with the audio on. The images are excellent and they can stand on their own… however, it’s when you see them in series, over time and in conjunction with the audio that you really get the whole story.

Yes, I believe that in order to do this type of work, you will need more than just your expertise with the equipment and your eye for the moment. You will need to engage with your subjects to a new and possibly uncomfortable degree in order to gain their trust and the true depth and meaning of their stories.

Technology has empowered us to go beyond the old limits of any one medium…

“It is one of the most exciting times in history to be a young journalist. You have an almost limitless palette of storytelling tools, an audience unbound by physical borders and the most powerful communications technology ever developed at your disposal.” Brian Storm, President — MediaStorm