Friday, April 10, 2009
Master Teachers
A quick shout out to Ten95er Darren who has been live blogging the Master's Tournament for his paper since the tourney kicked off yesterday.For those who are golf inept, a primer (via Wiki): The Masters Tournament, also known as The Masters, or The U.S. Masters outside of the United States, is one of four major championships in men's professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, it is the first of the majors to be played each year. It is held each year at the same location, Augusta national Golf Club in Georgia. The winner of each tournament is awarded a green jacket, which must be returned to the clubhouse after a year.
Darren is showcasing his vast golf knowledge while peppering his coverage with nostalgia, cool facts and a little humor. Check out a few of the posts that stood out to me from Day 1 coverage:
11:41 -- Anyone but me still get the chills when you hear Verne Lundquist's 1986 call of Jack Nicklaus's birdie putt on No. 17? "Yessss, sir!" Crazy.
11:54 -- One of the things that I love about this tournament is its reverence for its past champions. You can see their competitive drive; no one is content to just show up, play for two days. Case in point: 1976 champion Raymond Floyd just missed a birdie try that would have moved him to 3-over par. His knees buckled, he grimaced, he hated settling for par. That's awesome.
12:50 -- Don't underestimate the solid par the ever-eclectic Shingo Katayama just made on No. 11. He's keeping pace nicely with the field's fast start, at 2-under. (update: He just stuck a pin-high iron on the par-3 12th to about three feet. Should be an easy birdie.)
I don't really know what that last post means, but it sounds authoritative, doesn't it?
In addition to blogging the tournament by the hole (pause), Darren is Twittering (follow him here) and word on the street is that he's done some live chats as well. He's like a little bald multimedia machine.
He's back at it again today covering Day 2. Fore!
Labels: breaking news, fun, inspiration, online journalism, sports, technology, Web sites, youtube
continue...Saturday, September 06, 2008
Multimedia Mini sessions
On camera tips- sit up straight
- breathe -- think of calming things
- consider a Flip video-- $150 for an hour of video
- Use your nervousness and allow it to keep you excited
- Don't "uptalk" (allowing your voice to trail up), keep your voice steady and speak with authority. Don't question what you say. Believe it.
- Think about three points you want to make -- not about stats. Think soundbites -- those are the things that draw emotion out.
- Make eye contact -- try not to use your notes
- Shut up and listen. Let the silence work for you.
- Have fun!
- Check out NYTimes reporter David Pogue, a technology writer, and his Web casts. Engaging!
- Think about what you're wearing: no sleeveless, no low cut necklines, simple, clean jewelry, DON'T wear black or white, or small intricate patterns.
SOCIAL NETWORKS
- It's the Social Mullet: Business in the Front, party in the back
- Business: LinkedIn -- get recommendations, put resume up and make contacts
- Party: Facebook -- put up those pictures of you at your college kegger, but just be sure to set your settings to 'private' so employers won't see your misdeeds (or your midsection)
- Twitter is like microblogging.
- When blogging, be tasteful and be cautious
- Google yourself! Keep in mind what shows up on your search page
- Always, always, ALWAYS set your privacy settings. Always.
BEHIND THE CAMERA TIPS
- Always white balance -- zoom in on something pure white to correct the color in your videos
- Use manual focus
- Audio check the person and adjust the volume so that you don't get spikes in the volume level when someone speaks
- when doing a 'man on the street,' make sure the mic isn't visible in the shot. Also remember that everything in the screen is a part of the story.
- Gain -- it adjusts light sensitivity on a camera. Can be used to brighten a scene if there is very little light. But be careful, it makes quality grainy (think adjusting the brightness of a photo too much)
- Establishing shots help provide context. If it's an interview, show both people sitting first, then feel free to zoom in on one person or the other.
- Adjust the camera so it moves smoothly and as you pan, zoom in so that it is all in one smooth motion.
- LISTEN -- use your journalistic discretion about when to pan and when to focus. Only zoom or move the camera with a purpose.
- Use a tripod if you can; if you can't, hold your breath while you're taking the shot or use a chair or something to steady your arms on the camera -- or if you have a large camera, sandwich the camera between your shoulders and head (a la broadcast) to help steady it.
- Action -- Never leave the scene without "B-roll" --- those supplemental shots of the subject working or (gasp!) shots of whatever you're talking about actually taking place.
- Get as much video as possible, but have a script of what you want. Do your research and know what the subject will be speaking about. If you can, WRITE DOWN THE TIME CODE when something interesting happens. It'll make it easier to find later as you edit.
WEB SITES TO VISIT:
- Journalism 2.0
- Poynter E-Media tidbits
- IWMF.com
- BNHphotovideo.com (to buy multimedia equipment
There was also a session on Flash, but it's just so complicated, I'm thinking it wouldn't do you any good to get a step by step on how to make a mini slideshow. But, do check out online tutorials at a bunch of places to get a handle on this very important program for multimedia.
Labels: broadcasting, JAWS, seminars/workshops, tech corner, technology
continue...Monday, August 04, 2008
Online Journalism Awards announced
Via Romenesko:2008 Online Journalism Awards - Finalists
For all you multimedia producers out there, that's the list of who you should be sending your resume and online clips to.
...long shot? Maybe not.
Labels: journalism, multimedia, online journalism, technology
continue...Friday, April 04, 2008
Damn, if he didn't just take the words right out of my mouth!
For you journalism students out there:If I ever meet this kid, I'm buying him a beer and a shot of Jameson. He's said everything I've ever wanted to say about j-school. You'll just have to read it...
But here's a snippet of what Sean Blanda wrote...something that I've come to realize, as I get ready to graduate from j-school:
Preach on, my "brotha!"Any change must come from the students. Change costs money and insulating yourself from it doesn’t. And considering the industry doesn’t know which way is up, does it make financial sense to invest in something you don’t know will be there tomorrow? I am not defending this mindset, as I think it’s the plague of any entrenched institution. But I can understand why a college would be the slowest body to change. Any innovation is going to come from the bottom up, and not the top down.
Many professors know that they have to adjust the curriculum to help the students, but they are several years (sometimes decades) removed from the newsroom and job search. I had a teacher say “You guys should learn this new stuff, I won’t have to, of course, because I’m on my way out.” (Then he may or may not of cackled and ran off).
I would venture that the majority of professors are introduced to new technologies by the students, not the other way around.
Read the full blog post here.
Labels: journalism school, student press, technology
continue...