Our Story, my final project, and a little piece of me

critique of the first batch of projects

Sylvia
-I really thought the quotes from the doctor added legitimacy and a nice break from the couples information to the project. I think that putting the quotes on title slides worked out nicely.
-I also really liked the subchapters within the story, it not only provided structure for the project but it also organized the information in a nice way. I liked the choice of the chapters - reunited at UNH, looking towards the future, ect - because they were simply stated but, as said, they were effective and progressed the story.
-The candid pictures that Sylvia took herself, versus the 'Myspacey-type' pictures at the beginning were really great. I liked the ones of them on the computer and cooking dinner in their apartment - not only does it show the couple in their environment but I can imagine how much time and planning went into getting those shots - awesome job!

Mike
-I really liked the stage pictures - I'm not sure if it was intentional but the color coordination made the project cohesive.
-I thought the performance video at the end was a nice conclusion to the band's story - we hear throughout the project the type of music they play but to get to see them performing live was awesome! Plus, the quality of the video was really great - it looked professional.
-I liked that Mike didn't identify the individual band members as they were talking - it made the message of the project more about the band and less about the individuals. You can see Mike's passion for music in this piece and I think it came out really nice!

Cam
-I like the story arc Cam chose, as he said, there were many directions he could have gone but I like that he stuck with the story about him and his dad - the pictures, training, ect. all seemed geared towards that father/son relationship and I'm glad he stuck with that angle of the story.
-Loved! the music choice - the new New York song he put in the intro was catchy and got me pumped - like I was getting ready to go run the marathon! You can tell a lot of time and thought was put into the message of the songs and it was really effective.
-Great photos - the black and white with Cam and his father highlighted in color was really amazing, and again, showed time dedication to the project. I also really liked the pictures of the New York City landscape and of the marathon - to me it doesn't matter that he didn't take them himself, they are a great addition, even though they cost $80! As usual, Cam, amazing work!

AJ
-I thought the music selection was really nice and it added to the emotion the project conveys.
-The video and still shots of the troops was the most effective - something you can only get if you're there and something that only lasts for a moment, can't be redone - good job capturing those feelings, that moment. I have the respect for this project on a personal level but also because of the lack of being about to go back and reshoot - overall, a really great, timely and above all, patriotic video!

Danielle
-The new pictures were awesome - the picture of him shadowed by the window and especially the picture that is darkened and only lit by the computer screen with the man in front of it - these new angles show not only dedication in going back and actually getting them, but they also really helped keep the viewer captured. I'm really impressed with the time it took to do this project and of Danielle's dedication to go back and gather and regather information, it shows!

my video finally uploaded

So, after about an hour, the video I had and wanted to present to the class uploaded to my computer. Rather than upload it to my blog, I'd like to keep it as a surprise - I want to be able to see everyone's initial response to the video when we present the final version of our projects in class. Sandy - I'll be showing you snapshots of it in our conference Tuesday.
This week I'll be working on editing and picture placement. I went through last week with Phil, and Keeley ended up going through my pictures too, and I know which pictures I'd like to use and now just need to work on where I'd like them in relation to my audio.
Also, after working with Phil on some editorial decisions, I've decided to conclude my video project by discussing my new relationship. I figured that if I heard of someone losing their boyfriend two and a half years ago, one of my first questions would be - have you met anyone else? (consequently, in many of the interviews I've done recently, reporters ask the same question and want to know about any relationship I'm in now)
I've also made the decision that in my video the only dialogue I'll be using will be of me and Justin. I have great voicemails from Justin that I will definitely be including - I've narrowed it down to two (again, with the help of Phil).
I'm plugging along and so far things are looking up.

Project!

WHAT I HAVE:
-I have a little over an hour of personal interview - Phil and I sat down tonight and I told my story. After listening to it, and hearing what Phil had to say, what might work best is that I'm the only spoken dialogue but that I include a couple of the voicemails I have from Justin. Up for debate but definitely have good stuff so far.
-I've collected the pictures I want to use, I just need to scan and save them.

WHAT I NEED:
-I'm meeting with Cam tomorrow to go over my materials in their entirity to decide a timeline for the project - what should go where, what to include or exclude, ect. An outside opinion will definitely help me along.
-I want to take what the guest photojournalist showed us with his 9/11 tribute and take a couple shots of letters I have from Justin and play with the words.

All in all, things are going well. I'm feeling optimistic about the project and most importantly, I'm passionate about it. I can't wait for the finished product.

After conquering H1N1, here's where I'm at on my project

My plan for my project so far:
-going to D.C. - will get pictures of me at Justin's grave
-meeting with Phil early next week, ideally Monday, to do all or at least the majority of the first-person narration
-throughout the week I'll also be scanning in old pictures of Justin and I

change of plans

So after thinking and rethinking I've come up with a completely new story idea - I finally felt the 'ah-ha' moment and I've decided to do my multimedia project on Justin.
Justin passed away when I was a freshman here at UNH. Now being a senior I feel like I have a lot to say about my grieving period while being a student. It will be an interesting challenge to act as both journalist and subject but I'm so passionate about the topic, I know it'll come out great.
I am going down to Washington, D.C. next week for what would have been Justin's 25th birthday (he died when he was 22) and for Veteran's Day. The trip will make for a good opportunity to get some still shots and possibly audio and video for the end of my multimedia - pictures of his gravestone and of myself and his family will probably be used towards the end.
I'm going to start out the project by reflecting on me and Justin - give a little snapshot of what we were like as a couple. I have voicemails Justin left me and I'm going to try to intertwine them throughout the project. As I discussed with Sandy today, I'll sit down with a camera and a friend and recount when I found out and go from there. A lot has happened - from therapy, to trips to North Carolina, to getting Hero (a dog) from Iraq. I want this to be personal but journalistic. I think because of my background (in journalism) I've always thought of what happened to me as a story that needed to be told - and who better to do it and in what better way than as a multimedia piece made by me.
I have a lot of stills as it is, LOTS of pictures of us together all the way down to the last picture I ever had with him, a picture of me with his casket in Arlington Cemetary. As a said before, a lot of the audio will be me narrating my experience but I'm also going to "interview" Justin's parents, my roommate at the time and still best friend, Liz Aleo, as well as my parents - all of whom watched me get torn down and slowly try to rebuild my life. My story isn't over, as I'd say I'm still coping with what has happened, but I've definitely come a long way from where I was March 5, 2007.

Feelings about The Big Project

After discussing my idea for my project with my group I realized how complicated/not fully developed it was. Originally, I wanted to do a project on the horse barns - doing so with a news twist of some kind, such as horses getting taken in due to the economy, the Theraputic program, ect.
After conversing with my group, I've decided to stick with the horse barn but do a profile on the barn itself - as Phil suggested, make the barn the center of the piece where all of the action occurs and in essence personify the barn. I really like this idea but it is definitely going to be challenging. Some ideas I have is to take pictures of the activities in the morning, when the first person gets there and at night, when the last person leaves and then have pictures of the numerous activities throughout the day. I want to hear from the students who make the barn part of their daily routines and find out what it's like, is it hard fitting it in to an academic schedule? What's the most memorable thing that people can remember happening in the barn - i.e. a horse being born, a horse dying, or people dealing with their outside lives within the barn. I'm really excited about the project with this new approach - I think instead of having it be totally newsy, it'll have an artistic component but at the same time be profiling a large piece of campus that many don't hear about aside from competitions, the therapy program, ect.
After meeting with my group I feel much more focused. I feel like I can honestly be successful in my project. I'm really excited to not only see my finished project but also some of the members of my group. Nicole has a really great idea of profiling students, much like the New York Times series we watched. I think while challenging, if pulled off, it will be an amazing and timeless project. I also like Sylvia's project idea - she's going to do multimedia on couples at college. I like it because I haven't heard the idea before, it's completely original, and again, if pulled off, could make for a really great story.
I'm still very nervous about the project - I know that there's a lot that could go wrong. I can hear people questioning, "so what?" Rather than tie up the barn in a piece of news, such as budgeting, therapy, competitions or some other specific angle, I think a profile and a personification can be made into its own angle.
I am meeting with the director of the barn, Sarah Hamilton, tomorrow and I'm excited to see what other ideas she has for my profile.
Meeting in groups and discussing ideas was definitely very helpful!

Intramurals Video

Young's Slideshow

Shooting Video

Like taking photos, shooting video is no easy task. Looking at videos made by others, it looks easy enough, but what's hard is keeping the frame steady, making sure the lighting is adequate and also making sure the subject of the shot doesn't make distracting gestures or that there isn't too much background noise. Unlike photos, which consist of one stillframed moment, in videos a lot can go wrong - or there are more elements to be aware of. As previously mentioned, background noise, which doesn't have to be considered when taking a picture, can be extremely distracting, i.e. even a hum from an air duct or heating device can ruin a clip.
One thing that I do like more about video more than photography is that there is more of a chance to shoot something great if there is a continuous filming, versus shooting a picture where the 'ah-ha' moment can be harder to capture.
Like photography, everyone thinks they can easily create great film, which is not the case. In previous video assignments, both with this class and during my internship, I thought shooting video wouldn't be all that challenging but when you get back to your computer and your editing down film wishing that you could have just held a steadier hand or asked your subject to switch seats with you because the light from the window behind them created a glare - the skill to shoot a good video is realized.
Still shots accompanied by audio, i.e. a slideshow, can be really effective, but there's something about seeing a subject in real time discuss a point - there's an intimate factor, like as the audience you were there having the conversation or witnessing what the video puts forth. Video, like photography, makes for great multimedia, which in conjecture with journalism, only enhances a story and the view a subject has.

I will read the class blog

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Slideshow response

The New York Time’s slideshow entitled Melissa Dixson: The Urban Taxidermist was great with and without audio. The pictures show clearly a story, with a beginning, middle and an end. Not only is the story visually interesting, it is also unique and compelling to watch. Like the other slideshows produced by the New York Times, the individuality and rare story offered by the subject is precisely what makes it newsworthy. Melissa’s story, like doing a story on a funeral director or someone who embalms human bodies, is compelling because people are always interested to know what exactly it is these kind of people do.
I first watched the slideshow with no sound and I could see what her job was and where it started. The first still shot is of a squirrel, which brought me to believe it was something important to her beginning as a taxidermist. After listening to the slideshow, it turns out it was the first animal she “cut open.” The first shot was crucial, in that it didn’t show just any dead animal, it was relevant to Melissa’s story, but it was also cute, which opened the audience base - versus having an animal half cut open or vicious looking.
I loved the photographers use of both dead and alive animals. Towards the end of the slideshow there is a picture of a deer looking out of the New York City studio and a bird is soaring over the buildings. Ironically the bird could end up in Melissa’s hands. Immediately following, is a picture of a cat rubbing up against deer antlers. In the voiceover, Melissa is saying she doesn’t do pets and goes on to explain the type of phone calls she has received from various pet owners. Not only does the picture fit brilliantly into what she’s saying but the picture is also really neat - the movement of the cat is familiar and as the audience you can almost see it walking up to the inanimate object and rubbing its face all the way down to its tail.
The pictures, like Melissa says about her job, makes the audience stare death in the face. In the case of the wildcat skin hanging on the wall and the wolf with open jaws, the photos are honest and almost unnerving at some points and yet the picture of the small baby deer on the shelf next to a collection of butterflies is beautiful and one has an appreciation for the work Melissa does. By providing a range of perspectives for the viewer, the photographer not only allowed the magnitude of the story to be told but did so in an honest and creative way. From the general photos, which showed her whole studio, down to the plant in the corner with the bunny poking it’s head out, the photographer did a great job of showing the large picture as well as the smaller subcomponents that make Melissa’s story worth telling and thus worth watching.
I loved that the photos were in black and white - it adds a timeless feature to them, however, you can still see the good use of angle and light, or shading, in the pictures.

Slideshow assignment

I wish I was an ingenious photographer. I remember during my internship this past summer, the editor would send the photographers out on the most mundane photo assignments and they would come back with amazing pictures. They made something like a farmer's market look like a work of art through their photos. The assignment this week, to go out and take pictures exemplifying a theme, seemed easy enough but getting the right angle and snapping "the moment" was actually kind of hard.
My pictures from Saturday's football game illustrate spirit and teamwork. I included a couple of extra photos from Saturday's events in my slideshow to show landscape and that the day wasn't all just fun - police officers work hard to keep their eyes and ears open and look for any drinking-related issues.
I got a snapshot of the tight-rope-walker while walking home from class Monday afternoon. To me, he exemplifies courage and individual athleticism.
The pictures of the UNH ROTC members taking down the American flag show duty, tradition and honor.

Police grant project

Andy, an anonymous University of New Hampshire student, had just picked up a 30-rack from a 21-year-old friend on campus Saturday night when an undercover UNH police officer emerged from the Strafford woods.

“We got beer and I was like, we’ll go back to my apartment, it’s probably safer to do it there,” he said. “So we go back to my apartment and this undercover cop comes out of the woods as I’m walking up to my apartment. This kid’s carrying the beer; I’m just getting out of my car, getting my stuff out of my car, and the undercover cop comes out of the woods and is like, ‘Hey, drop the beer, let me see your IDs.’”

Andy, 19, knew he was in trouble, but it wasn’t the first time, or even the second.

“The first time I didn’t really realize what was going on,” he said. “Second time, when they called me and were like, ‘Hey, come down to the station,’ my heart just sank; I was sick to my stomach. The third time I was just kind of like whatever, this is getting old.”

Andy was arrested twice his freshman year, with charges ranging from resisting arrest to littering to trespassing – but this past arrest was something he never thought would happen.

“I guess I had kind of heard of cops, but I figured I’d see it on like Madbury or something, like cops would come out of the bushes or uniform cops but I never expected to see an undercover cop, ever,” he said.

The Durham, Lee and UNH police departments were given a grant of $6,000 this year in a hope to decrease underage alcohol consumption, both in the area and specifically on campus. The United Way of Seacoast Resolution, which was passed on March 16, allowed for further coordination among the departments.

The Seacoast Alcohol Task Force Grant, which was given to the Durham and UNH police departments several years ago, coupled with the new grant provides funding for extra coverage on campus and in town to deal with alcohol related issues, said UNH police officer Joseph Morganella.

“The state and federal government actually pay for us to enforce alcohol laws,” Morganella said. “We get grant money to work together and take care of all the alcohol offenses.”

Although the local police departments were hopeful of making more arrests, the beginning of the 2009 academic school year was slower than in past years.

“Last year, the first weekend, we had 12 arrests, and seven of them were drug related,” Morganella said. “This weekend we had maybe three arrests in the first weekend. So the start of the year was a little milder than last year. But as we progress through the year it seems to be getting pretty busy so I would say we are on a par with last year or possibly a little busier than last year already.”

With the new grant and the notorious first few weekends back at school, where alcohol consumption is at its peak, the police presence in Durham has been more noticeable than in past years.

“It’s hard to say, the first couple weeks back are always pretty nuts, but yeah, this past Saturday night I noticed there were cops everywhere,” Andy said. “You go home for the summer and like you don’t party that much, like you do, but you don’t really, not on the same scale, but I guess the first couple weeks when you come back from school you kind of go wild.”

Audio and Script project

As the weeks progress, the multimedia assignments seem to be getting easier. This week we did a cool ride along with a UNH police officer and I got to interview a student who has been arrested three times since he's been here. Writing the story and then working on editing the audio made it easier - I went through and pulled the quotes I needed for the written story and wrote down where on the recorder they were, making the Audacity part of the project really easy. Voice over's always a little strange at first. While at my internship, I was encouraged to try it but never did and wish I had, it makes a piece sound that much more professional.
I love, love, love finished multimedia!

first multimedia, team project

Cam, Keeley and I decided to do our project on bus drivers - they're fundamental to campus, they go unrecognized for their contributions and, most importantly, they make for a good audio subject.
For the b-roll, I just went out and rode the buses. The first loop around on the Gables Connector I realized the voice recorder was low on batteries. After spending about a half hour riding around, I realized the batteries weren't low, they were dead. Finally, after replacing the batteries, and going on another loop with a pretty friendly bus driver, I had the b-roll. Of the twenty or so minutes of recording I had gotten, we used a total of about thirty seconds in our final project, if that. One thing with audio that I learned is that although you've spent the time obtaining the material, that doesn't justify using all of it or even most of it. Similar to writing a story, one often gets attached to a phrase, a sentence or some other seemingly ingenious creation - but if it's not needed, it's not needed.
The hardest part of the project: technology. When we went to work on our project we realized we needed a CD, located in Cam's hometown of Conway, to upload the audio. After overnighting the CD, we were finally able to sit down and work on editing the material.
As a group we interviewed the bus driver, John Steere. So when it came time to put our project together, we all had a pretty good idea of what we wanted to use out of the conversation. All in all, putting together the final sound clip only took about an hour. I was impressed with the way we were able to tell a story. It has a beginning, a middle and an end - but it's not written, it's spoken. I've heard great stories told through song and radio interview and I'm always moved and impressed by the message they're able to get across. But I guess as a writer I'm still not completely use to telling a story through audio or multimedia - but I love the finish product!

how I'm feeling about multimedia

The first day of Multimedia was encouraging. I like that the class is not full of experts. Although I have a fair amount of experience in making multimedia, I still feel like I have a lot more to learn. Working in an enviroment where everyone is at a different level will be exciting - on some days, I hope that I can demonstrate my experiences. On other days, I hope to be shown something I never knew existed.
Looking at some really exceptional pieces of multimedia for the first class, including the UNH student's work on the Durham food pantry, set the bar for the rest of the semester. I feel like I have a lot to work on to get a final piece of multimedia like the ones we saw, but seeing an example of multimedia at its best reiterated why I wanted to take the class in the first place.
I'm really looking forward to completing a multimedia project. I'd describe myself as technologically challenged, so some of the techniques discussed, like overlaying video with audio from a voice recorder, makes me question my abilities. I just can't wait to be shown how to fluently make a solid piece of multimedia that inspires people when they see it.
The multimedia I did at The Enterprise newspaper during my internship this summer was done using moviemaker, which I had become quite comfortable with. I'm nervous to learn a lot of software but I know it's necessary in order to make movies like what we viewed the first day of class.