Slideshow No. 2 due Friday; video March 16
Your second slideshow is due Friday, March 2. Post it to our Eyes on Iowa website by 5 p.m. Meet the deadline.
Looking ahead: Your first video is due Friday, March 16. Editing video takes a lot of time. I would cover an event this weekend or early next week, then work on editing it a little bit at a time next week and the week after. You won’t be happy with the results if you delay covering an event and then try to slam together the edited video in a couple of days. Remember, too, that March 16 ends the week before spring break, and you know how nuts that week can get. I will try to keep the homework load, aside from the video, light in the next couple of weeks. In other words, plan ahead. Don’t procrastinate.
Assignment for Feb. 27
Change o’ plans. Let’s do the iMovie tutorial that I was going to assign in class on Monday instead. That way you’ll all have the same practice files. Bring headphones! Make sure you know your Lynda.com user name and password.
If you have missed class this week, you’ll want to check out video gear on your own and practice. Here’s the lab we did today: Camera practice Video lab
Assignment for Feb. 22
Please read these three short articles:
“How to shoot video interviews“
“Shooting web video: How to put your readers at the scene“
“Reporter’s Guide To Multimedia Proficiency,” chapter 12, “Learn to shoot video” (PDF)
Assignment for Monday, Feb. 20
Congratulations on posting your first slideshows! Huzzah for you! The first one is the hardest. You’ll be amazed at how much easier the second will be, and how much faster you’ll be able to assemble it.
Read chapter 8 in “Journalism Next,” Telling Stories with Video. It’s a long chapter, nearly 40 pages, packed with information. I suggest you read it in stages, and read it a couple of times. Don’t get bogged down in the nitty-gritty technical stuff (camera specs, editing formats, mic types); we’ll get hands-on practice with the gear in class. Do focus, though, on good video storytelling and on good video shooting technique.
Come with an idea for another event to cover for your second slideshow, which will be due Friday, March 2. You may work in pairs/trios again.
Looking ahead, your first video will be due Friday, March 16, so be thinking of events/stories to cover between now and then. Again, you will work in pairs/trios.
Assignment for Wednesday, Feb. 8
Background Iowa Public Radio’s John Pemble; bring good questions for him. Follow him on Twitter: @JohnPemble
Work on editing your photos (cropping, red eye, straightening, resizing, embedding copyright info, saving as jpgs, etc.) and on editing your audio down to a 1.5- to 3-minute MP3. Next Monday, Feb. 6, you’ll have time in class to work on assembling your slideshows and uploading them to the web.
If you don’t finish your slideshow in class Feb. 6, it’ll be due at the start of class Wednesday, Feb. 8.
What’s your first slideshow event?
Add it here in the comments: event, date, and who’s in your group. One comment per group, please.
Assignment for Monday, Feb. 6
Read “5 Common Photo Slideshow Mistakes“
Read “How To Make Your Audio Slideshows Better“
Visit the National Press Photographers Association website to view an award-winning slideshow or two. Go to the NPPA’s competition page, then navigate to a slideshow via the left-hand “Past Winners” column and links. Choose one (good or bad) to watch carefully and critique, examining the quality of the audio, photography and storytelling. Note what the photographer did well, and what s/he could do better (much like what we did in class today). Take note of use of headlines, captions, lower-thirds, textual slides; slideshow pacing, rhythm and length; audio levels; the interweaving of interview and natural sound; any use of music or narration; the matching of audio to visuals; the mix of tight, medium and wide shots; Ken Burns effect; credits; and whatever else you find noteworthy. Write up a quick , informal summary of your critique (absolutely no more than one page) and be ready to share your example with us Monday.
Assignment for Wednesday, Feb. 1
Google Abbey Klaassen in preparation for her visit to class Wednesday.
Read “Journalism Next” chapter 6, Visual Storytelling with Photographs
In the “Reporter’s Guide To Multimedia Proficiency” (PDF) read chapter 7, Learn How to Shoot Decent Photos (including the links to the Kodak tutorial and other links) and chapter 8, Learn How to Crop, Tone and Optimize Photos
Read handout “Creating an Audio Slideshow” (PDF)
Assignment for Monday, Jan. 30
Bring headphones to class Monday. We’ll be doing an audio editing lab in GarageBand.
Assignment for Wednesday, Jan. 25
Take the NewsU.org course “Telling Stories With Sound.” You may have to create a NewsU.org account; it’s free. Focus on:
- Overview: Why Sound Matters
- Planning: Choose the Right Story; Research and Pre-Interviews
- In the Field: Ask the Right Questions; Know Your Environment; Record Sound Sources; Collect More Audio
- You can skip the In the Studio chapter and the Sound Mixer activity.
- Submit a course report at the end to jill.vanwyke@drake.edu so I know you completed the course.
In “The Reporter’s Guide to Multimedia Proficiency,” read Section 3, pages 5-7, “Buy an Audio Recorder and Learn to Use It.” This link is to a PDF.
