Class is finally finished and the multimedia bootcamp is over.
The result? My brain is full of tons of know-how that I didn’t have before.
Here is a list of things I didn’t know how to do, but can do now.
1. Properly record video
2. Edit video with Final Cut Pro
3. Interview people without making them or myself feel super awkward
4. Use an audio recorder (press record twice, learned that the hard way)
5. Make my roommates be quiet while I do my voiceovers
6. Nikons (I’m a Canon person usually)
7. 1,000 more things that I can’t think of at the moment
Overall, this class has been an awesome experience, and I believe I benefitted from taking it during the summer.
I’ll leave you with a final link to my Final Project website over Cedar Creek Therapeutic Riding Center here in Columbia, Mo. Check it out!
http://larvzb.wix.com/cedarcreektrc
Lecture last week was about photojournalism. Although my sequence isn’t photojournalism, the lecturer provided great tips on photography and insight into following a story for a long period of time.
Photographs are an excellent way of grabbing a viewer’s attention and can be shared easily. For example, Time’s 2011 Photos of the Year were plastered all over Facebook and Twitter, but nowhere to be found was “Top Articles of the Year.”
Photos grip people in a way that cuts across all words and elaborate sentences. The phrase “a picture is word a thousand words” rings very true in my mind.
Pete Souza. Situation Room, White House, Washington. May 1, 2011
The above photograph, which was taken during the mission against Osama bin Laden, racked up over 1.5 million views online in the first 38 hours, according to Tech Crunch.
Visually, the photo conveys the intensity of the situation in the, well, Situation Room. People can visually identify with the facial expressions and body language of the people in the photo, which I feel speaks more than any words used to describe a scene.
Now obviously, photos need context and an explanation to them. Photos can be excellent tools to enhance the larger story at hand.
Here are some of very powerful images from 2011 and the past six months.
“Slain Navy SEAL Jon Tumilson’s dog “Hawkeye” lies next to his casket during funeral services in Rockford, Iowa. Tumilson was one of 30 American soldiers killed in Afghanistan on August 6 when their helicopter was shot down during a mission to help fellow troops who had come under fire.”
On Friday 18 November, Campus police at the University of California at Davis nonchalantly used pepper spray against students who sat peacefully on the school’s quad to protest tuition increases. TIME.
A phone hangs off the hook on Wall Street. Image by LUCAS JACKSON / Reuters
A U.S. Army soldier takes five with an Afghan boy during a patrol in Pul-e Alam, a town in Logar province, eastern Afghanistan. Image by Umit Bektas / Reuters, Image by Matt Stopera.
A girl in isolation for radiation screening looks at her dog through a window in Nihonmatsu, Japan on March 14, 2011. Image by Yuriko Nakao / Reuters.
A stray dog stands on a rubbish dump at the seafront in Sidon, southern Lebanon, June 9, 2012. The dump, located near schools, hospitals and apartment blocks in Lebanon’s third biggest city, has partially collapsed into the Mediterranean sea several times.
Spanish coal miners demonstrate with their lamps lit through the streets of the city of Leon, northern Spain June 12, 2012. Spanish coal miners are staging a nationwide strike action organized by unions opposed to subsidy reductions from 300 million euros to 110 million euros.
Lecture this week was extremely interesting. Keith Politte kept everyone captivated with some of the latest technology that journalists are being to utilize. From drone journalism, gamification, popcornjs to augmented reality, everyone’s heads were spinning.
I took a big interest into augmented reality, and downloaded an AR app called Aurasma to test it out myself. Unfortunately, I can’t post a video from my phone without paying $60, so I attached two screenshots. By simply taking a picture of my poorly drawn “logo,” I was able to associate a video with it to play any time the app is on. I used my broadcast style video for it and although it wasn’t as impressive as the examples in class, it was still pretty cool.
It’s going to be interesting to see where augmented reality takes us in the next few years. It’s definitely going to be a really large component in the advertising sector.
“Google Glasses” are another form of augmented reality that may come to fruition in the next few years.
The video caused quite a stir from the public, with reactions ranging from impressed to just plain creeped out. Either way, it’s a new step for our world and our careers as journalists.
It’s Butterbeer Ice Cream week at Sparky’s Ice Cream Shop in Columbia, Mo., and Harry Potter fans and curious ice cream lovers have been lining out the door to try the new flavor.
“Everyone’s been coming in for it” said Augustine Accurso, a Sparky’s employee.
Sparky’s is hosting the flavor for one week to promote the Kiwanis Club’s “Harry Potter Trivia Night,” which raises money for UNICEF to supply tetanus shots for women.
According to Accurso, Butterbeer ice cream has a creamy soda, butterscotch flavor with a bit of a candied elements.
The novelty ice cream is so popular that Sparky’s almost ran out of a standard four gallon a batch on the first first day of serving it.
Butterbeer will only be here until Friday, June 15, 2012, so swing by and get a scoop before it’s gone.
Photo 1: Butterbeer Ice Cream at Sparky’s Ice Cream Shop will only be in stock until Friday June 15, 2012, in Columbia, Mo.
Photo 2: Augustine Accurso, a Sparky’s employee, waits for customers to enter Sparky’s on June 14, 2012 in Columbia, Mo.
The video “She Looks Back” is a production by MediaStorm, in conjunction with American Institutes for Research, follows a few girls in Liberia and their pursuit of education. A.I.R. wanted a story to document the impact that their programs were having in the area. Although not journalism, the video has great visual appeal and set up.
Rick Gershon was the director of photography for “She Looks Back.” He skillfully filmed wide, medium and tight shots. Gershon also included excellent matched actions.
In the video, the children have recess where they play kickball. At about 8:20 into the video, Gershon shows the ball being rolled to the kicker, and right as it reaches the kicker, we see a wide shot of the entire field and the ball sailing over the children’s heads. Before J2150, I wouldn’t have ever noticed this type of “strategy” on the part of the videographer, but it makes for a neat visual experience.
Gershon also uses the focus of the camera to direct the viewers eyes to different places. For example, when the children are lining up before class one morning, he focuses on the first row, then the second, then the first ( at 4.25). Naturally, your eyes follow without even thinking.
She Looks Back also has excellent examples of interviews. The video is not bogged down with interviews, but the interviews we do see enlighten the viewer with information. The video follows the rule of thirds very well, and also makes sure that the interviewee is not looking at the camera.
Although not a true piece of journalism, “She Looks Back” gives great visual examples and usage of sequences.
A story I found quite interesting this week was that of John Davis, a man who was charged with a littering ticket after he dropped money for a panhandler. Thankfully, the $344 ticket charge was dropped after the public caused an uproar. Also, the money didn’t qualify as “trash,” therefore the man didn’t litter.
“Davis told reporters Thursday that he was glad the matter was now over, but he said he’d no longer give money to people along the road and instead would give to charities.”
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/ohio-mans-littering-ticket-tossed-114947688.html
http://www.nbc15.com/news/weird/headlines/Thursday_Morning_Bizarre_News_Headlines_155914535.html
In lecture this week, Amy Simons discussed blogging. She said that we should really pursue something we’re interested in. My first though was, “well.. I’m fresh out.” I’m not a huge sports fan, chef, fashion guru, crafty, or interested in blogging about various gas prices. If I had a blog (besides this one), all I would post would be pictures of cute animals.
Unfortunately, someone has already beat me to it. Hundreds of people, actually.
The only thing I’m really good at at this point is living my life in general (if that makes any sense).. So, here is a shortlist of things I enjoy.
1. RAMS aka Rockin’ Against Multiple Sclerosis 2. Politics 3. Instagram 4. Mizzou 5. Diet Coke 6. Reddit 7. Adorable animals 8.
KKG 9. Nail polish 10. Ellie Goulding 11. Community, my favorite TV show on earth 12. kate spade
(Also: advertising, current events, natural foods, technology and many more)
Though I’m not sure what sort of niche blog I would create, I may be able to figure it out through these next few weeks of blogging. Who knows, maybe I’ll start my own cute animal related blog. Time will tell.
Pepsi Max released a new and hilarious video this week that has gone viral. It’s called Uncle Drew, and it has racked up nearly 1.6 million views so far.
In the video, NBA rookie of the year Kyrie Irving undergoes a surprisingly believable transformation into an old man. He then travels with a camera crew and his “nephew” Kevin to a pickup game in Bloomfield, N.J. What unfolds next is pure hilarity.
The twitter handle Pepsi MAX @PepsiMAX tweeted “forget rookie of the year: meet uncle drew, #1 contender for senior of the year.”
Lauded as a “A zero calorie cola in disguise” at the end of the video, Pepsi did a great job of creating content that is interesting to viewers.
The Quad is a multimedia website sponsored by the Mizzou Alumni Association and published by the Columbia Missourian. The website includes various stories from the Quad’s history.
The website reads, “Fourteen buildings, six Columns, 9,500 square feet of gardens, tons of history and memories, the Francis Quadrangle at MU is one of Columbia’s most-loved icons. Come with us as we explore the traditions, relive the history and recount the tales of this historic landmark.”
The website content ranges from an interactive map, audio, photos, text to video. With categories such as buildings, events, profiles, and traditions, a varied amount of topics are covered.
It’s an extremely interesting and compelling way to learn more about the history of the Francis Quadrangle. From stories of seniors protecting the Quad’s grass from freshmen in the early 1900s, to the more recent ESPN Gameday visit, the website does a wonderful job of documenting notable stories from Mizzou’s past.
weekends!!! 