Today’s news is tomorrow's history. Journalists report the news; they also witnessed the history. News of print media relies on the display of text and photos. Electronic media, on the other hand, utilizes sound and visual images. The layout and composition of the images seen in today’s television news appear to be similar to one another because most of today’s television cameramen inherited the knowledge and technical skills from the older generation of cameramen, enriching their work with some individual ideas, beliefs, and characters.
Taiwan has produced its own television news programs for the past 46 years. There are countless “senior,” experienced television news photographers and cameramen; among those professionals, the pioneering member was Mr. Dunzhi Chang, who was also Taiwan’s first television news cameraman. He witnessed many developments of the country. His photographic techniques, especially in the area of television news photography, not only became the so-called “professional standard” but also greatly affected the “look” of domestic television news programs.
For such a “revolutionary” and “historical” figure in the history of Taiwan’s television news programs, this project attempted to record his life experience in a documentary film. The film chronicles Mr. Chang in “entering the field of photography,” experiences in “media evolution,” “environmental changes from the period of martial law to the lifting of martial law,” and “peer collaboration.”
Because it is a documentary film, the content is based on “truth” and “accuracy.” The accompanying music moderately complements the atmosphere of the film without too much exaggeration. Since its style is “fair” and “objective”, the film was shot “pragmatically” and “without bias”, and without special effects. This documentary hopes to allow the viewers acquiring a better understanding of Mr. Chang’s life experience, and the production of television news programs in Taiwan.