Q: What piece did you choose and why?
A: I chose the piece by Jessica Dimmock called “The Ninth Floor” about a group of heroin addicts living in a apartment in New York City. I chose it not only because I feel it was the best piece we saw in class, but also because it was interesting and effective the way Dimmock chose to use a series of still photos instead of video, and only the addicts telling their story, no narrative.
Q: Why did you think the still photos were more effective than video?
A: While I think that video would have been able to tell an equally compelling story, the still images were more effective because they allowed the viewer a chance to look at all aspects of the photo, and allow the story and plight of the addicts to sink in and resonate somewhat more. It would have been tough for a perpetually changing video to paint the same graphic and poignant picture that the group of still photos did.
Q: There was no narrative. Did this enhance or diminish from the piece?
A: I think it actually enhanced the piece greatly. The topic of the piece is a story that is best told visually. People watching need to be able to see how bad the lives of the addicts are and how much the drug has taken control of them. If Dimmock or someone else had narrated the piece it would have been distracted and detracted from the power of the images that accompanied it.
Q: Were there any parts of the piece that could have been taken out without ruining the quality?
A: To be honest I thought everything was very well-done and produced. Maybe the least recognized yet most important part of this piece was the somber and slow music that accompanied the entirety of the piece. Many overlook the important of music in videos whether serious or humorous. But in this case the music really added to the mood of the piece and helped viewers, even if it was subliminally, understand the situation facing these addicts better.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Video Project No. 1: Michael Lemaire
Video Assignment #1--Mina Dixon
I'm a print journalist. I like words. I do, however, recognize that sometimes words aren't enough to convey a full, compelling story. "The Ninth Floor" moved me in a way that a classic article, one that included a lede and inverted pyramid style, simply could not have. The powerful images coupled with the eery, half-dead sound of the people featured in the mulitmedia feature were really what got me fully invested in the story of these Ninth Floor residents.
"The Ninth Floor" really provides tangible evidence for how journalism has changed. So I know I need to embrace technology and learn how to tell stories across multiple platforms using multiple media. I'm think I'm poorly equipped for a career in journalism if I don't learn how to use video and audio to bolster my articles.
I am still concerned that I will end up like that Washington Post reporter featured in class. I'm afraid that I'll bounce the camera around and provide garbled audio because I'm really not very good with technology. I certainly don't want my lack of technological abilities to detract from the stories I hope to tell. So here's to hoping that this class will equip me with the skills to create compelling journalism using technology I'm currently afraid to use!
"The Ninth Floor" really provides tangible evidence for how journalism has changed. So I know I need to embrace technology and learn how to tell stories across multiple platforms using multiple media. I'm think I'm poorly equipped for a career in journalism if I don't learn how to use video and audio to bolster my articles.
I am still concerned that I will end up like that Washington Post reporter featured in class. I'm afraid that I'll bounce the camera around and provide garbled audio because I'm really not very good with technology. I certainly don't want my lack of technological abilities to detract from the stories I hope to tell. So here's to hoping that this class will equip me with the skills to create compelling journalism using technology I'm currently afraid to use!
Video Project No. 1: Aaron Kraut
So I decided to do a quick critique of one of the videos we watched in class. (Please don't watch)
Video Assignment No. 1 Analysis of the Toronto Star's Earth Hour multimedia presentation
- What was your overall impression of the project?
It was a creative way to present some of the issues. Rather than rely on conventional interviews, the Star used quotes and stats to outline the main problems with pollution in our environment.
And instead of using typical video or still photos, they used time lapse video to illustrate changes, development, deforestation, etc. in the environment.
- How did the use of text enhance or detract from the presentation?
Some may have thought the moving text - the editor often moved lines of text around the main subjects in the frame - was a distracting element. I thought it helped emphasize the message of conservation, by making the each particular image the focus.
- Did the author of the multimedia presentation use audio or music, and how did it effect the video?
No interviews were used, which takes away from some of the credibility because it's better for viewers to see someone - whether it's an expert or someone else - talk about the subject.
Video Assignment No. 1 Analysis of the Toronto Star's Earth Hour multimedia presentation
- What was your overall impression of the project?
It was a creative way to present some of the issues. Rather than rely on conventional interviews, the Star used quotes and stats to outline the main problems with pollution in our environment.
And instead of using typical video or still photos, they used time lapse video to illustrate changes, development, deforestation, etc. in the environment.
- How did the use of text enhance or detract from the presentation?
Some may have thought the moving text - the editor often moved lines of text around the main subjects in the frame - was a distracting element. I thought it helped emphasize the message of conservation, by making the each particular image the focus.
- Did the author of the multimedia presentation use audio or music, and how did it effect the video?
No interviews were used, which takes away from some of the credibility because it's better for viewers to see someone - whether it's an expert or someone else - talk about the subject.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Video Assignment #1: Karisse Carmack
Good Evening. Last Friday I had the opportunity to look at a variety of different films produced by journalists online.
The feature story about a group of drug addicts trying to stay clean after being evicted from from an apartment in New York City was one of the videos that I liked. I thought the pictures, the soundtrack, and the interviews with the subjects was well put together.
I also liked the segment about a group of doctors providing health care to rural residents in Virginia. In my opinion, the video was effective because the reporters shot their subjects from a variety of different angles. If both of these stories were told in a print format, they might not have been effective in capturing the impact of substance abuse and the number of people who lack affordable health care in America.
Overall, the first day of class helped me to visualize how I can use video to enhance my stories as a professional journalist. Thank you, and goodnight.
The feature story about a group of drug addicts trying to stay clean after being evicted from from an apartment in New York City was one of the videos that I liked. I thought the pictures, the soundtrack, and the interviews with the subjects was well put together.
I also liked the segment about a group of doctors providing health care to rural residents in Virginia. In my opinion, the video was effective because the reporters shot their subjects from a variety of different angles. If both of these stories were told in a print format, they might not have been effective in capturing the impact of substance abuse and the number of people who lack affordable health care in America.
Overall, the first day of class helped me to visualize how I can use video to enhance my stories as a professional journalist. Thank you, and goodnight.
Video Project #1: Rachel Roubein
When I was little, I was determined to be an actress. I loved the idea of pretending to be something I wasn’t—even if it was only for a little while. I could be mean, without the guilty conscience. I could be bad, without the punishment. Somewhere along the way—maybe when I was given the role of Augustus Gloop, the chocolate lover in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, in our mandatory fourth grade play or when all 7th graders had to perform schoolhouse rock and I was the planet Venus—reality set in. I changed my goal, deciding to be a traditional newspaper reporter. However, in almost every journalism class I have taken, I hear the whispered rumors that “print is dying.” I don’t really believe it, but I do think journalism is changing drastically; multimedia is now the name of the game. It definitely takes a different skill set to publish news videos on the Web, but I feel that these skills have now become mandatory. I don’t have any prior experience—hell, I barely know how to use excel. It will definitely be a challenge learning all the different facets of audio, video and photography and applying them as a journalist. It’s another way of telling a story and one that I feel requires a different frame of mind. Now more than ever, if I want a job as a journalist, I’ll have to be adept in all multimedia areas.
Rich Abdill + assignment 1 = happy times + fond memories
How is reporting for video and the web different from reporting for print?
It's easy to envision a 15-inch news story — what facts and figures to use, who you need to quote. But it's hard to see exactly where a video is going when you start.
Also, in a print story, you can "paint a picture" and set up scenes if the situation calls for it — in a video, though, the situation always calls for it.
Which medium is more powerful?
Video can be, but it doesn't have to be the most impactful. You can do a lot with print that just doesn't translate to video, but sometimes you just need that image, that story told by the person it happened to, to send the point home.
And you think you can do that?
No. Absolutely not.
It's easy to envision a 15-inch news story — what facts and figures to use, who you need to quote. But it's hard to see exactly where a video is going when you start.
Also, in a print story, you can "paint a picture" and set up scenes if the situation calls for it — in a video, though, the situation always calls for it.
Which medium is more powerful?
Video can be, but it doesn't have to be the most impactful. You can do a lot with print that just doesn't translate to video, but sometimes you just need that image, that story told by the person it happened to, to send the point home.
And you think you can do that?
No. Absolutely not.
Anna Eisenberg-- Project 1
As a journalist trained in a strongly print-focused environment, I've been taught how to write stories, not as much how to display them visually. A story that may have gotten someone an A in Journalism 320 cold be a terrible idea for an online multimedia package. Basically, the way in which traditional journalists now approach story ideas is entirely different with this new, visual addition to newswriting.
Because I'll be graduating in the spring, I'm looking for any way to make myself the most eligible candidate for a job. News organizations are expecting journalists to do it all -- take photos and video as well as write -- so learning the tools we will use in this class will hopefully get me one step closer to employment. I also hope that my background in print design work will help me to see stories more visually, and thus help my multimedia skills.
Because I'll be graduating in the spring, I'm looking for any way to make myself the most eligible candidate for a job. News organizations are expecting journalists to do it all -- take photos and video as well as write -- so learning the tools we will use in this class will hopefully get me one step closer to employment. I also hope that my background in print design work will help me to see stories more visually, and thus help my multimedia skills.
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