"The Best Camera is the One You Always Have With You": The Case for MOJO-Based Courses and Mobile Production Kits - AEJMC Network
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Teaching Journalism & A journal published
by the AEJMC Small
Mass Communication Programs Interest Group
Vol. 11, no. 1 (2021), pp. 82-86 http://www.aejmc.us/spig/journal
“The Best Camera is the One You Always
Have With You”: The Case for MOJO-Based
Courses and Mobile Production Kits
Roxane Coche & Benjamin J. Lynn
University of Florida
“Easy and familiar to use, accessible, and fast” fected the broadcasting industry (Canary, 2020; Co-
— those are some of the advantages of using one’s che & Lynn, 2020). As journalists were forced home,
cell phone to produce news in college, students say at least temporarily, in most of the world, newsrooms
(Garyantes & Berkey-Gerard, 2015, p. 40). Almost and sports broadcasters turned to cloud-based and
a decade after this survey, conducted in Fall 2012, mobile production processes (Aller, 2020; Dawson
and its authors’ conclusion that journalism educators & Lucas, 2021a; 2021b). The NFL and MLB sent
should train their students to produce news content mobile phone production kits to draft prospects for
with mobile devices, most broadcast programs in the live, in-home coverage of their reaction when draft-
United States still seem to rely primarily on tradition- ed (Costa, 2020a; Hernandez, 2020). The NHL also
al broadcast equipment, i.e. large and heavy tripods, used localized mobile production technology as part
cameras, and lighting kits. Meanwhile, companies of their live 2020 draft day coverage (Costa, 2020b).
have increasingly relied on a mobile production These are key indicators of changes that took place
workflow. From scholars finding a rise in U.S.-based in production practices as a result of the pandemic,
television job postings requiring “mobile skills” in the and they signal a shift toward tomorrow’s produc-
early 2010s (Wenger et al., 2014) to public broadcast- tion workflows that will continue to integrate mo-
ers producing news from their smartphones in the bile phones with traditional production tools (Stone,
United Kingdom (Scott, 2016) and Germany (Young, 2021; SVG, 2021). As mobile phones have become
2017) to a New Delhi, India, TV station switching a normal part of broadcast production personnel’s
their entire newsgathering process to phones (Packer, workflows, graduates with the ability to work in a
2017), the international media industry has bought MOJO workflow will have a decided advantage over
into what has become known as MOJO – MObile those who do not have that ability.
JOurnalism. In fact, “MOJO is considered to be one
of the fastest growing areas of journalism” (Salzmann The Key Advantage: Accessibility
et al., 2020, p. 1). It thus comes as no surprise that Pedagogically, mobile phones provide a viable tool for
scholars have been commenting on the issue for the applying Bloom’s Taxonomy (Bloom & Krathwohl,
better part of the past decade, too (e.g., Blankenship, 1954), as well as setting and reaching learning objec-
2016; Kraft & Seely, 2015; Messner, 2013; Salzmann tives (Svinicki & McKeachie, 2012), to teach students
et al., 2021; Van Wyke, 2013). the basic technical aspects of camera operation and
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has deeply af- editing. By using a device they already know, studentsTeaching Journalism & Mass Communication 11(1), 2021 • 83
should theoretically better focus on the learning issues. In fact, the rare student who does not own a
objectives of a video production course. smartphone could still check out traditional broadcast
In a sense, using broadcast equipment is akin to equipment.
adding a confounding variable: it is dividing students’ Vital production resources would then be more
focus between figuring out a new tool and learning available for upper-level students who need the tradi-
the fundamentals aspects of video production. If they tional equipment, an ideal move considering students
can concentrate solely on the latter, they will gain enrolled in those courses are more likely to want to
skills they can transfer to other gear. Indeed, image work in a professional production environment. Fi-
composition is not dependent on the type of camera nally, switching introductory courses and/or other
being used. Rather, it is based on where the camera is production courses to a MOJO format makes pro-
placed and how the image is framed (Owens, 2016; duction courses more accessible to online students
Zettel, 2011). In addition, every camera uses three who are often left without access to equipment. Tran-
functions to control its image exposure: iris (aperture sitioning to a MOJO workflow would thus give on-
in photography), shutter, and gain (ISO in photogra- line students a more equitable opportunity to develop
phy). Using readily available, free apps, students can their skill sets.
access this “exposure triangle” (Crosswhite, 2020) on
their phones’ cameras, just as they would with a pro- Addressing “Deprofessionalization”
fessional broadcast camera. Other apps, many free Concerns Through Mobile Kits
as well, allow learners to edit their content on their Some people have questioned the validity of MOJO
phone using linear timeline features similar to those productions. They argue that traditional cameras and
used by professional editors on computer-based soft- workflows allow for higher-quality content, and that
ware. Thanks to those free apps, students learn the MOJO contributes to the deprofessionalization of
correct vocabulary and shooting/editing techniques broadcast and journalistic work (gradim & Morais,
using their phone. If/When they come across an un- 2020). And research suggests it does (Blankenship,
familiar camera, they merely have to identify where 2014). For instance, traditional cameras can cov-
the controls are located to shoot effectively – similarly er a wider range of scenarios than mobile phones
to professionals who learn new gear when they start a with a fixed lens. Yet, as evidenced by the increased
new job. In a nutshell, by teaching students shooting MOJO-workflow adoption in the industry (Aller,
and editing concepts using their phone, we provide 2020; Canary, 2020; Dawson & Lucas, 2021a; 2021b;
them with an accessible introduction to the funda- Salzmann et al., 2020), mobile phones can capture
mentals of the content creation process. many shots used in live and non-live television pro-
Further, using all of the available resources effec- duction environments.
tively aligns with Dewey’s methodological philosophy To attain true broadcast-level quality, universities
of efficiency in instruction (Dewey, 1923). That is why should invest in mobile production kits, i.e. produc-
academic institutions should offer MOJO-specific tion gear that can be added onto any cell phone, that
courses and/or transition their introductory produc- prepare students for tomorrow’s content production
tion courses to MOJO-based processes. Without the environment. Specific recommendations for such a kit
distraction of learning new equipment, a single se- are:
mester would provide students with adequate time to • A smartphone stabilizer rig providing easy-to-
demonstrate mastery-level proficiency of basic shoot- grip handles (so students can film in a more
ing and editing concepts; and because students learn stable manner) that allows the attachment of a
the conceptual foundations of video production, the light and a shotgun microphone;
MOJO workflow adequately prepares them to move • An on-camera light to film in dark environ-
from their phone to a professional content production ments;
environment. Now that 96% of Americans aged be- • A shotgun microphone with windscreen to cap-
tween 18 and 29 own a smartphone, along with more ture clear audio in the direction the camera is
than 90% of Americans with at least some college facing;
education (Pew Research Center, 2021), incorporat- • A wireless mic to record quality audio when
ing students’ smartphones into the video production subjects are far from the camera;
learning process should not cause major accessibility • Adapter cables to suit different cell phones;84 • Coche & Lynn, The Case for MOJO-Based Courses and Mobile Production Kits
• A filter kit to improve image quality; the industry, and (2) improving the quality of online
• A tabletop tripod to mount cameras for inter- education programs.
views or time-lapse shots;
• A hard case to protect the gear.
Because such gear is more affordable than tradi-
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“We in the Mojo Community” – Exploring a
Global Network of Mobile Journalists. Journal-86 • Coche & Lynn, The Case for MOJO-Based Courses and Mobile Production Kits Dr. Roxane Coche teaches sports-related courses in the College of Journalism and Communications at the Uni- versity of Florida. Her research interests include sports media practices, social issues in the sports media industry and journalism and mass communication pedagogy. She can be reached by email at rcoche@ufl.edu or on Twitter @roxanecoche. Benjamin J. Lynn is a doctoral student fellow in the College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Florida. He can be reached at b.lynn@ufl. edu. © Roxane Coche and Benjamin J. Lynn 2021. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
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