Navy Imagery Insider March-April 2011 Issue for those in the Navy's PA/VI community.

1. NAVY INSIDER
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For members of the PA/VI community Mar - Apr 2011 NI L NISI VERUM
Dry Dock
by Damon J. Moritz
For many Sailors, dry dock can mean rebuilding the ship, endless watches and galley duty.
But, through a thoughtful and unique program, the MCs aboard USS Nimitz (CVN 68) are
producing a full-form documentary while in dry dock at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.
The concept was born by MCCM Jon McMillan as a method to keep his Sailors engaged,
productive and constantly training during a period in which most media departments become
part of the labor force.
“Before I came out to Nimitz, I watched the PBS documentary ‘Carrier’. . . knowing that
Nimitz was going into dry dock, I thought it would be an awesome training opportunity for our
MCs to be able to do something big,” McMillan said.
His goal is to ensure that his department is operational on day one leaving the yards. Most of
his Sailors are recent DINFOS graduates and have little to no at-sea or MC experience.
“Sailors lose a lot of valuable experience from their MC trade during [an extended]
maintenance period,” McMillan continued. “We’re getting tapped to do so many Sailor jobs
that we lose our ability to do MC work. Then when we start our work-up cycle, that’s when
we’re training to do our MC work. By the time we start to do workups at the end of the year
Photo by MC3 Nichelle Noelle Whitfield
these guys will be total rock stars.”
To execute the documentary, McMillan challenged several MCs to storyboard, shoot, edit and
distribute one 20-minute episode each month. In episode one, Nimitz pulls into Bremerton,
Wash., and in the last episode makes the homeport change to Everett, Wash.
“Master Chief has been the engine behind it,” said MC3 Glenn Slaughter. “He said, ‘look you
guys, I want you to run this. I don’t want to run it.’”
Story continues on page 2
AMERICA’S NAVY: A GLOBAL FORCE FOR GOOD 1

2. Dry Dock continued
Several junior Sailors stepped forward right “We had to go back in and put in a voice over
away. to help tell the story, . . . to explain to people
“It takes us about a month to edit everything. who aren’t familiar with what is going on,”
We need about a week to shoot and another Slaughter said.
week to capture all of the tapes and transfer The production crew didn’t limit their
them,” said MC3 Devin Wray. “Then we videography to the ship and base. Wray
need a week to assemble them into a logical extended it to a Sailor’s home because as
manner that makes a story that can be much as the dry dock and homeport change
understood. Finally it takes another week of are the main stories, it’s the people living
just tweaking and adding our special effects these events that make the story interesting.
and graphics, our music, credits and so on.” McMillan sees his junior sailors as having a
“Storytelling was a big issue,” MC3 Glenn passion to create. That creativity is evident in
Slaughter recalled. the end product.
McMillan gave the Sailors a great deal of “We originally found a few people we wanted
freedom by allowing them to tele-work from to follow. As we go, we’re finding more,” MC2
their barracks rooms and use their own Adam Wolf added.
equipment. “Our plan for future episodes includes going
“Editing in the barracks is nice,” commented back to families to see how they are working
Slaughter. “In the media center the energy it in terms of another home port change,”
level is different; there is a lot more going on. said McMillan. “I plan to contact NPASE or
In the barracks you don’t have to edit through COMCAM to film families down in San Diego
a drill or 1MC announcement where you have doing things like Skype conversations with
to take off your headphones and ask; what Sailors up here to help tell the story.”
did they just say?” While the ship is in dry dock, most of the
This is a major endeavor that will require all media department has been displaced
of the crew’s experiences during the course onto a barge. There, the department has a
of a year. It will be a valuable piece of the large space to accommodate their printers,
Navy’s history, so the production staff is workstations and the photo studio. The print
working with NVNS to archive their material shop and seven other workstations were left
for the historic record. OI-7 provided a aboard Nimitz.
Sony PDW-U1 XDCAM drive that offers the The Sailors still have to stand their
ability to save the original media onto 23 watches, muster each morning, PT with the
GB XDCAM disks. These disks are rugged department and do all their regular shipboard
and are easily shipped and included in the duties like 3M, career counseling, field days
OI-7 video library, archived as an official and other collateral duties. Additionally, the
Navy record, with added use by media and department provides Sailors TAD to security
documentary producers. and supply.
This material goes through a rigorous process “Our workflow is probably different from a
to become the final product. According to the lot of ships out there, but I’m okay with that
production staff, it wasn’t easy. The MCs had because I want to give my Sailors the most
to figure out how to navigate release issues, responsibility and the most authority to get
security restrictions and technical skills that the job done and they’re proud of the work
they had never worked on before. they’re doing,” McMillan concluded.
“Time-lapse [photography] was a big deal,” The documentary team has delivered what
explained Slaughter. “The ship came in [to the Nimitz skipper has called a “History
port] and directly across from the ship’s Channel-worthy production.”
bridge was a camera in a tall building. We
had MCs manning it and running batteries To check out episode one, go to www.
back and forth.” youtube.com/usnavy where it will be posted
under the “Navy Stories” play list. NVNS
Later in the process, editing and storytelling will post other episodes as they become
required special attention. available.
DIRECTOR Christopher Madden Contributors LT Reagan Balsamo Navy Office of Information
DEPUTY DIRECTOR LTJG Shawn Eklund Paul Robinson Pentagon RM4B514
Washington, D.C. 20350-1200
EDITORIAL LAYOUT/ART
Editor Kristina Miller Director Office: 703-614-9154 DSN: 224
MC2 Jay M. Chu
Staff Writers Oscar Sosa Designer MC2 Sharay Bennett Download www.slideshare.net/NavyVisualNewsService
Damon J. Moritz Insider at: http://issuu.com/NavyVisualNewsService
2 AMERICA’S NAVY: A GLOBAL FORCE FOR GOOD

3. DIRECTOR’S
CORNER
According to statistics maintained by the
Defense Imagery Management Operations
Center (DIMOC), formerly the Joint
Combat Camera Center, last year the Navy
submitted 190% less video footage than
Army, 161% less than our Marine Corps
counterparts, and 98% less than Air Force.
When I hear statistics like this, I am
quickly reminded of Mark Twain’s famous
quote, “There are three kinds of lies: lies,
damned lies and statistics.” However, the
disparity in these numbers is hard to ignore.
In fact, with so little emphasis on prime-cut
footage and the mission to document fleet
operations, the impact is already having a
trickle-down effect with the Navy’s ability to
respond effectively to breaking news and
documentary programming.
An all too common occurrence is to
receive a request from CNN seeking b-roll
to support a story, and the answer we give
is either “Sorry we cannot support,” or “Yes,
but the footage was shot in 2002.” Either
way, it is embarrassing as a community and
reduces the Navy’s opportunity for national
and international reach, when so many
talented MCs have the training and the
equipment to provide this content.
The fleet’s encumbered access to
viable transmission resources had been an
obstacle, but as of February 2011, all U.S.
Navy ships can install Fast File Transfer
(FFT) software on IT-21 NIPR networks.
NVNS has been assisting fleet assets
with FFT installation; clean, broadcast-
quality footage from a DDG underway in
the Mediterranean is now a reality, and
was successfully tested in February of this
year. If you have the ability to acquire and
edit video underway, you have the ability
to transmit that material within hours and
minutes.
Social media (SM) has become a
powerful tool for the communicator, and
CHINFO has been a major supporter and
resource for best practices. However,
YouTube and the perishable nature of SM
are of little value to a healthy lifecycle of
Navy documentary video to support the
increasingly diverse needs of today’s
media. It is still extremely important to
forward the original file, DVD or tape media
to NVNS in support of the Navy VI mission.
~CJM
Photo by Damon J. Moritz
Instruction The instruction that governs Navy VI products and policy is OPNAVINST
3104.1A. The guidance includes topics like inventory management,
accessioning requirements, VI production procedures and various other
Nugget subjects. This latest version of the instruction was released in 2009 and can
be downloaded from the DoN Issuances link.
AMERICA’S NAVY: A GLOBAL FORCE FOR GOOD 3

4. UPDATE: VISION ID Status
by Paul Robinson, DIMOC
The VISION ID program is working well. note what VISION ID they need to use. File headers are also updated to remove
In the first three weeks more than 2,200 The goal of the VISION ID program is to PII and in a few weeks the Defense
personnel registered for their VISION ID, of remove personally identifiable information Imagery Server will be completely
which about 1,000 were new accounts. (PII) from public view. To achieve this, new converted to using the VISION ID.
The Defense Imagery Management assets are checked for PII and updated If you have any questions, contact DIMOC
Operations Center (DIMOC) Customer when they arrive at DIMOC. Searches for at: 888-743-4662 (COMM), 795-9872
Service has handled about 500 calls, PII are converted to VISION ID, and only (DSN) or
most of which are problems accessing the VISION ID information is returned. defenseimagery@defenseimagery.mil
site. In many cases the user mistakenly
answered ‘NO’ to the question, “Are you
a VI Professional?” Answering ‘NO’ limits
access to the VISION ID site to prevent
issuing IDs to non-VI personnel. We
have since added the definition of a VI
Professional on the main page.
Previously, the data on photographers in
our system was inconsistent. Captioning
tools could not enforce how the
photographer entered their name, so we
had no easy way to check names against
the Field 3 data to get reliable results.
Additionally, there were an unexpected
number of images where the name in the
photographer’s field was incorrect.
Using a CAC to enter the site was also
NEW VIRIN FORMAT
110313-N-DR144-150
problematic. We can correct most of ARABIAN SEA (March 13, 2011) Sailors guide arresting gear cables back into place after recovering an F/A-18C
the issues, or provide alternative access Hornet aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70). The CarlVinson Carrier Strike Group is
deployed supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of
methods, so the user can receive their responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class James R. Evans/Released)
VISION ID. There are also those who
cannot use a CAC for valid reasons, and in
those cases we allow username/password
access. This requires a call to DIMOC.
On rare occasions, two names return for
a single VIRIN. This can be a result of
incorrect data in the images, which we can
correct.This requires a careful analysis to
determine the right photographer’s name
and update the images accordingly.
In other cases there may be a valid
duplication in the system, with two or more
photographers having the same Field 3
information. In these cases we annotate
the duplication so records are amended
properly.
Rarely a VI professional manages to obtain
two VISION IDs. There are multiple causes,
but the problem has been corrected, even
though we will still see this occur once in OLD VIRIN FORMAT
a while. However, only one VISION ID is 110128-N-7981E-788
ever issued for each VI Professional. When BAY OF BENGAL (Jan. 28, 2011) An aircraft director signals as aviation ordnancemen unload ordnance from an F/A-
18E Super Hornet aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70). Carl Vinson and Carrier Air Wing
we encounter this problem, we contact the (CVW) 17 are on a deployment to the U.S. 7th Fleet area wwof responsibility.(U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication
person affected and explain the error, and Specialist 2nd Class James R. Evans/Released)
4 AMERICA’S NAVY: A GLOBAL FORCE FOR GOOD

5. OUTTAKES
Wide-Angle Lens
by Oscar Sosa
A fisheye is a useful tool,
but use it sparingly
is your Friend!
The most dangerous weapon in a and limbs get stretched. Sometimes this Work the angles, move up or down and
photographer’s arsenal is the wide-angle can be used to enhance the photograph, get in close; those are the basic tenants of
lens. In the right hands it can bring the however, it will quickly turn into a cliche. using a wide-angle lens.
viewer into the scene, creating intimacy, A fisheye lens is a useful tool, but use A wide-angle lens is unforgiving, and most
scope, and depth, or, in the wrong hands, it sparingly. Opt for the widest lens that often tells more about the photographer
it can completely destroy a promising creates the least distortion. than the subject.
situation with a banal, two-dimensional
snapshot.
Some photographers, unfortunately, try
to let the lens do all the work. They look
through the viewfinder and concentrate
only on the subject, foregoing the
background and the edges of the frame.
They also forget that their knees can bend
if they have a zoom, or that they can
move at all. They tend to be afraid to get
close, past the comfort zone and into the
personal space, opting instead to stay on
the edges of the story.
To properly use a wide-angle lens you
need to either use it with the finesse of a
surgeon or bludgeon with it like a lumber
jack. There really is no middle ground.
Crop all your images in the camera; don’t
rely on post Photoshop. Be mindful of the
lighting, especially the way shadows fall on
the eyes and face.
Wide-angle lenses create distorted edges
and extreme angles. Buildings lean inwards
Photo by Richard Stewart
NAVY KEY
The imagery you produce has many uses, but ultimately it is for telling the Navy’s
story. It may be picked up by news media, used by a documentary company and/
or submitted to the National Archives, but at the end of the day we’re relaying
our story to the public.
MESSAGE
With that endeavor in mind, it’s important that we use every opportunity to relay
this year’s key messages to our audience through that imagery.
by LT Reagan Balsamo As a reminder, the published 2011 key messages are:
• America’s Navy is a Global Force for Good.
• We are the branch of the military that fights on the water, under the water
and over the water.
• Why what we do is important:
• Water covers about 70 percent of the Earth’s surface
• About 80 percent of the world’s people live near the ocean
• About 90 percent of all international trade travels by sea
• Our mission is to meet America’s threats far away, so those threats cannot
harm us here.
• The Navy is leading our country’s efforts to achieve energy independence –
a national security initiative that might win our next war – or even avoid it.
AMERICA’S NAVY: A GLOBAL FORCE FOR GOOD 5

6. GOTB-ROLL?
by Damon J. Moritz
Video: What do I buy?
Details on SD, HDV and HD
Imagine what would happen if every develop a sustainable video workflow. There are other considerations, for
Marine battalion bought different rifles The discussion should not be SD vs. HD, instance, file-based vs. tape cameras.
requiring different ammunition; it would but rather the need for full HD, which HD An edited tape can be mailed, whereas,
lead to chaos in the supply chain and a codecs the Navy should be working with in a file-based camera you must then
less effective fighting force. Likewise, and how to maintain interoperability with a archive and index the original footage onto
consider the challenge of producing a reliable workflow. multiple storage devices to protect your
consistent and timely product when the original content.
MC has to deal with multiple software and There are numerous video camera
platforms/codecs and video editors being Will your command need this video in two
camera systems, each producing different weeks, or in two years, and will the historic
native file formats; an exaggerated deployed.
record of the Navy need this video?
comparison, but you get the idea. It’s not that one works while another Unfortunately, the trend has been to delete
The advent of digital video technology doesn’t from a functional standpoint, media and not archive it. This costs the
has driven prices and equipment size but rather what meets our (Navy history/ Navy visibility, money, time and its rightful
down, while pushing capabilities up. national archive) standards. place in the historic record.
There are commands still shooting in Our community was aligned with HDV (a There is no generic HD workflow
standard definition (SD) and others in high type of high definition video). Technology that covers all of the capabilities and
definition (HD). The Navy is using tape- diverged and so did purchases within the limitations, however NVNS has prepared a
based cameras, file-based cameras and Navy PA community. For example, many technical spreadsheet with more details on
shooting on cameras that used to be for units are deploying cameras with the HD our Slideshare or Issuu pages.
still photo only. It’s a confusing time for format, AVCHD. However, those cameras
Navy video producers in the market for produce a product that is lower in quality
new equipment, when trying to buy and than HDV.
One Step N
avy has approved FFT Client 2.4.3 for use on all ships, and it has already
been instrumental in operations Tomodachi and Odyssey Dawn.
Closer
In the Jan.-Feb. edition of the Navy VI Insider we said that FFT was almost
here. Well, we’re happy to report that it’s ready!
Naval Network Warfare Command (NETWARCOM)issued a memorandum on Feb.
... ... ...
9, 2011 (ser ODAA/0128) which provides an Interim Authority To Operate (IATO) for
Fast File Transfer (FFT) on IT-21 networks.
This means that any ship operating the IT-21 network may install and use FFT.
Really!
A copy of the IATO memorandum is available on PA Net at:
https://pa-net.navy.mil/eRoom/chinfo/PANET/0_12fdb9
The IATO expires Aug. 1, 2011; by then CHINFO OI-7 will have installed and fully
certified a dedicated Navy FFT server. This will complete the requirement for a full
Authority to Operate (ATO). This process is contracted for and underway. An update
will be sent out with Navy FFT server information.
For now, download the client application by logging into DIMOC’s website for it at
http://dams.defenseimagery.mil then go to Tools -> Download Software to get the
by NVNS client software. Site requires CAC authentication. Be sure to download FFT version
2.4.3 for shipboard use. Contact askdimoc@dma.mil for credentials and server
address information. Contact NVNS if you have any problems or questions.
For more information, write to navyvisualnews@navy.mil
6 AMERICA’S NAVY: A GLOBAL FORCE FOR GOOD

7. E DIA
Copyright and BUPERS Instruction
by Christopher Madden
LM
S O CIA
W hat does a BUPERS instruction
have to do with imagery, you ask?
Well, the movies that you receive and play
from the copyright holder under contract.
Of particular note is Section 1-5.d., which
prohibits alteration “in any way including
Such an infraction could result in the
suspension or termination of licensing
from that film studio, thus affecting more
aboard ship are governed by the Navy overdubbing, re-recording, or editing” and than 800 program sites afloat and ashore
Entertainment Motion Picture Program charges your COs with taking steps to worldwide. Is this really worth the risk?”
Administration, under BUPERSINST prevent such use. We are a very creative community with the
1710.15A. This is important to note capability and knowledge to edit together
because it gives very specific guidance videos that entertain the crew, but it’s
on how you can and can not use these
movies. “Is this really worth important to be aware of this guidance for
any productions you are involved in. If you
the risk?”
You may have seen humorous creations have any questions, refer to the instruction,
on social media made by Navy personnel, which you can download from http://www.
using portions of these movies; they can mwr.navy.mil/mwrprgms/171015.htm
be very entertaining. The editing involved Remember, copyright while open to
takes skills that many Sailors in our “Improper use of copyright protected some fair use and in a parody, these are
community possess and I would venture to material may result in criminal limitations specific to legal contractual
say they could create similar or better than prosecution,” said Ron Rossman, the arrangements with a copyright holder.
what you see on many blog posts or video movie program manager, “and very
sharing sites. However, it’s important you substantial fines for the offending party.” Bottom line, do not use motion picture
read the instruction before going down that products leased by the Navy without
He goes on to say, “Further, the disregard specific copyright exceptions directly from
slippery road. of program instructions exposes Navy the owner.
To be specific; you can’t dub any of the to possible breach of contract with the
movies… they all are leased by the Navy film company owning the licensing rights.
Photo by MC2 James R. Evans
AMERICA’S NAVY: A GLOBAL FORCE FOR GOOD 7

8. SHOOT I NG
from the TOP
By MCC Tiffini Jones Vanderwyst and MC2 Kevin O’Brien
Working as a principle
photographer is no easy
task. It requires high-end
imagery, large amounts
of professionalism and
crisis management skills.
You must be able to
shoot at any time day
or night, in any lighting
condition, under any
circumstances. Whether in
a press pool with tons of
photographers, shooting
from a helicopter or as the
Photo by Capt. Pamela Kunze
fly on the wall, you must
capture the moment.
8 AMERICA’S NAVY: A GLOBAL FORCE FOR GOOD

9. Photo by Jon Mercer
B eing on a ship or stationed at an
NPASE around the world, you
are often tasked to shoot a variety of
warmers deep inside my cold weather
gear and not to shoot without gloves
on! I embraced the experience by
produce and children frequently greeted
the Marines with excitement asking for
candy.
things from ceremonies and features to getting up at 0300 to do long exposures
of the Aurora Borealis. The biggest challenges I have would
homecomings and conferences. Half the
probably be the time commitment and
time, you wonder, ‘how does this apply to
The biggest challenge for me would be travel schedule, both of which can be
the Navy’s mission?’
maintaining a healthy work/life balance very intense because this is not your
with the daily working hours drastically typical shore duty. The last three and a
Well, working for a principle such as
changing depending on CNO’s half years, I’ve made a total of 80 trips
SECNAV or CNO, you still shoot those
schedule. I take college classes, but I to include 27 states and 51 different
same events, but from the leadership’s
limit myself to one class at a time. countries.
perspective. You see why every moment
in Naval history is important and why the It can be a lot of work with, long hours,
MC2’s greatest experience/
MC community plays such a vital role in but there is no experience like it for an
telling the Navy’s story. We tell the story
greatest challenge:
MC in the Navy. We have the unique
from a “Big Navy” point of view from It’s extremely difficult to come up with opportunity to experience the Navy from a
the Pentagon and around the world. just one significant experience during
different perspective while working closely
Between the two of us, we have gone to my time as the SECNAV’s photographer,
with senior leadership and heads of state.
88 countries and stepped foot on every but one that stands out would be
walking the streets of Fallujah, Iraq.
You also have many opportunities to lead
continent in the world. and mentor Sailors all over the globe.
The battle of Fallujah is still considered
MCC’s greatest experience/ one of the fiercest urban battles since It’s been the most challenging tour of our
greatest challenge: the Vietnam War. careers, but the experiences we’ve had
As Adm. Roughead’s photographer, are tremendous and we wouldn’t trade
I have traveled to 37 countries to In 2007, when SECNAV Donald Winter them for anything.
include China, South Africa, Colombia was in office, we made a trip to Iraq
and Australia. My favorite trip, hands to visit with Sailors and Marines over Both of us are needing MCs to fill our
down, was attending ICEX-2009 in Thanksgiving. Just a year prior, the billets this year, so if you have the 8148
the Arctic. Shooting in below freezing streets of Fallujah were empty and the NEC and are interested, contact the
temperatures was quite the challenge, insurgents still frequently attacked detailer. If you have any questions about
but it was a new and exciting challenge our troops and Iraqi civilians. When the positions, feel free to email us: tiffini.
that I was happy to explore. I learned we were there the streets were alive, jones@navy.mil or Kevin.o’brien1@navy.mil
to carry spare batteries next to hand vendors lined the sidewalks selling
AMERICA’S NAVY: A GLOBAL FORCE FOR GOOD 9

10. NPASE East Essential
Skills Courses
Schedule
NPASE West Essential POC: MC1 Hoffman
Skills Courses erik.hoffmann@navy.mil
POC: MC2 Wills 757-444-7548
of Events
DigitalVision Summer Virtual
brandie.wills@navy.mil
619-545-3874
ES editing
ES photography
Jun 6-17: 3 seats available
ES writing
June 13 – 24: 7 seats available Jul 11-22: 1 seat available
Exhibition & Conference
June 8, 2011 ES photography ES video
www.digitalvision2011.com Aug 1-12: 7 seats available
July 18 – 29: 4 seats available
National Assoc. of ES writing ES editing
Broadcasters (NAB) Show Sep 19-30: 8 seats available
April 9-14, 2011 Aug 15 – 26: 8 seats available
www.nabshow.com ES video ES photography
Shootoff Video Workshop Sept 12 – 23: 7 seats available Oct 3-14: 5 seats available
May 12-15, 2011 ES writing
ES editing
www.shootoff.org
Oct 17 – 28: 5 seats available Oct 31-Nov 11: 6 seats available
ES video
Nov 28-Dec 9: all seats available
LINKS to KNOW
Photo by MCSN Jared M. King
Design Festival MediaStorm The Photoletariat
Calling all legacy draftsmen… or any Technology has given us the tools to create The photographers on this comprehensive
all-round design geeks (or even those that very dynamic and impressive productions, blog believe the best way to improve is
strive to be.) This is a blog you should have where the only limitation is your imagination. to share knowledge, so they’ve combined
bookmarked. It includes information on Check out this multimedia production studio’s artistic advice and technical tips into
topics like typography, web design, color website which provides some sparks for detailed posts and user galleries. There
theory and many other creative design creative productions. is also an inspirational video series called
concepts. http://mediastorm.org “Viewfinders” worth checking out.
http://designfestival.com http://thephotoletariat.com
All references to commercially available sites and services are provided for informational purposes only, without Department of the Navy endorsement.
10 AMERICA’S NAVY: A GLOBAL FORCE FOR GOOD

11. An
Approach
Photo by MC2 Devon Dow
to
Style Team PA,
Guides As much of the world continues to watch the crises in Japan
unfold in the media, I want to recognize elements of our PA team
that have been running hard from the first moment.
In the Pacific, the CPF team have put forth a herculean effort,
by Lt. j.g. Shawn Eklund
working around the clock pushing information, synchronizing PA
staffs across the fleet, and communicating the Navy’s efforts in
While writing is not wholly mechanical, support of the Government of Japan.
it can still be approached as a mechanical Outstanding job by CNFJ to take aggressive action to ensure
process. With standard processes a story
our families are kept up-to-date on the necessary precautions
or caption can be cranked out predictably
and reliably, with no expectation of serious associated with emergent events in Japan.
flaws. It is with this concept I approach us- If you haven’t seen the U.S. 7th Fleet Facebook page recently,
ing style guides. check it out. It is a perfect example of how to communicate with
A style guide is nothing more than a many audiences during a crisis.
system designed to create efficiencies,
standardize results and change the output Thanks to the leadership aboard USS Blue Ridge and elsewhere that
of your story-craft from hand-made to Ford has provided prompt video and still imagery to our Navy Visual News
factory product. Service. Timely marketing of this in-demand content catapulted
So with this complex <sic> concept our visuals into the media and were used by international media
behind us let me explain a prudent system throughout the weekend.
for using the three relevant style guides. In
a nutshell, use the most applicable style Our public affairs team has been ahead of the game, working long
guide first and then move to the less ap- hours and doing an outstanding job ensuring that every query is
plicable guides. answered and no opportunity is missed. They have performed as
For instance, for the U.S. Navy I recom- consummate professionals and poured everything into their work,
mend you start with the U.S. Navy Style while some of them have endured the challenges of guiding their
Guide, as this probably applies to the sub- own families through an earthquake.
ject you’re writing about. Only after you've
exhausted the content of this source If you know one of these professionals, please thank them for
should you research the DoD captioning their efforts and observe how they’re doing what they’re doing. They
style guide. If you find, after much fret, that have my deepest respect and gratitude.
this resource just doesn't answer the call
R,
then I would recommend you reference the
AP style guide.
Denny Moynihan
My main point to approaching style, RDML USN
whether for a story or caption, is do so Chief of Information
systematically and logically flowing from
the most focused to the broader based
guides. Finally when in doubt, ask your
Chief, DIVO, NVNS, DIMOC, your higher
head quarters public affairs office, or
Photo by MC3 Dylan McCord
William Strunk Jr. and E.B White.
Navy Style Guide link
DoD Captioning Style Guide link
AP Style Guide link
AMERICA’S NAVY: A GLOBAL FORCE FOR GOOD 11

12. CONGRATULATIONS
1 ATLANTIC OCEAN (Oct. 25, 2010) A
Sailor assigned to the weapons depart-
ment aboard the guided-missile cruiser
USS Gettysburg (CG 64) fires a .50-caliber
machine gun during a night firing exercise.
(U.S. Navy photo by MC3 Tony Curtis)
MC3 Curtis is assigned to USS George
H.W. Bush (CVN 77).
2
SAN DIEGO (March 26, 2010) Machinist’s
Mate 1st Class Jay Hinton mans the rails
with his son and other Nimitz Sailors on
the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS
Nimitz (CVN 68) as the ship transits into
its homeport at Naval Base Coronado.
(U.S. Navy photo by MC3 Nichelle Noelle
Whitfield)
MC3 Whitfield is assigned to USS Nimitz
(CVN 68).
3
PACIFIC OCEAN (Nov. 9, 2010) An HH-
60H Sea Hawk helicopter from the Black
Knights of Helicopter Anti-Submarine
Squadron (HS) 4 embarked aboard the air-
craft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76)
delivers pallets of supplies to the Carnival
cruise ship C/V Splendor. (U.S. Navy photo
by MCSN Mikesa R. Ponder)
MCSN Ponder is assigned to USS Ronald
Reagan (CVN 76).
The results are in for the inaugural CHINFO Navy.mil photo contest, recognizing the best images submit-
ted in 2010. Hundreds of votes from around the community at sea and ashore voted and selected the
three images presented above.
According to feedback from ForeSee, a company that provides website analysis to Navy.mil, still imag-
ery is constantly the number one reason people visit the site by a margin of 2 to 1. Last year, more than
15,000 images were selected and posted on Navy.mil. To be selected by your peers as the top photos
from such a competitive field is a tremendous accomplishment.
All three winners will be placed on display in the offices of the Chief of Naval Operations, and Chief of
Information. Rear Adm. Moynihan will award a letter of commendation to each of the top three winners.
Thank you for submitting imagery to Navy Visual News Service in 2010. Your images are critical in telling
the Navy’s incredible story to the American people and around the world, and 2011 is shaping up to be
an incredible year for the Navy PA and VI community. Navy imagery continues to tell the Navy’s story
during Operations Tomodachi, Pacific Passage, and Odyssey Dawn.
12 AMERICA’S NAVY: A GLOBAL FORCE FOR GOOD