OVERVIEW

This module prepares military and civilian personnel to operate as part of a Combat Camera Team, Mobile News Team, or other media content collector. The focus of the module is to develop and enhance the student’s ability to conceive and create engaging media content that can be tailored to specific media platforms in order to support the communication of narratives, themes, and messages to a defined audience.

AIM

The aim of the NATO Advanced Media Production module is to educate, train and certify personnel assigned to NATO and National Combat Camera Teams, Mobile News Teams and other positions expected to capture imagery and audio content for communications purposes. The course builds on national training to educate and train students in accordance with ASCP-01: NATO StratCom Training Standards, Annex F, and the NATO StratCom Training Requirements Assessment Review dated January 2023.

TARGET AUDIENCE

The primary training audience for this module are individuals assigned to fill Team Leader, Journalist, Photographer or Videographer posts within NATO-assigned Combat Camera and Mobile News Teams.

This module is also open to personnel assigned to other NATO and National roles who may be expected to gather imagery for communications purposes.

PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:

a. Gather appropriate imagery and audio content for communications purposes.
b. Gather, edit and transmit still, video and audio content using a smartphone and laptop computer.

STRUCTURE

This is a 5-day residential module consisting of conceptual lead-in lectures, followed by best practices, case studies, discussions and practical assignments. The emphasis is on the production of audience-aware media products to support strategic communications, and development of multinational interoperability. All practical exercises will be conducted using smartphone technology.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

On successfully completing the module, students will be able to:

a.    Interpret direction and guidance from Strategic Communication Frameworks and Integrated
Communications Plans to identify StratCom objectives, narratives and audiences.
b.    Identify media collection and production requirements.
c.    Plan, direct and coordinate media collection and production activities.
d.   Collect appropriate media products (photos, videos, quotes, interviews, etc) to support
audience appropriate communication of the narrative according to NATO standards and specifications in
line with StratCom D&G specifications, NATO branding and in line with StratCom D&G.
e.   Share and archive media products in line with technical D&G.
f.    Assess the effectiveness of generated media products to support communications towards
a defined audience.
g.   Set up a smartphone to capture high quality images, video, and audio.
h.   Carry out basic editing of images, video and audio on a smart phone.
i.    Transmit media content to the cloud from a smartphone.
j. Identify OPSEC and PERSEC considerations when collecting imagery and audio.

PASS/FAIL CRITERIA

Formative assignment: practical assignments during course; summative assessment: successful participation in a media products collection exercise.

NATO CERTIFICATION REMARKS

The course is registered within the NATO Allied Command Transformation e-ITEP training catalogue under course code STC-ST-36702.   It was developed based on the StratCom TRA review 2020 and the CCD2 developed during the ADVANCED NATO Media Production TNA workshop, March 2021and reviewed in January 2023. It meets the requirements for NATO ADVANCED Media Production Course set out in ASCP-1: NATO StratCom Training Standards, Annex F Para 4, and the StratCom TRA Review dated January 2023.

COURSE DATES

Portuguese Airforce Academy, Lisbon, Portugal

MP24/1    22-26 January
MP24/2    4-8 March (to take place at Slovenia Defence Academy, Ljubljana, Slovenia)
MP24/3    21-24 October