Hyon-Young Kim, Outside Class Assignment, Newseum

Comics exhibit at the Newseum, June 15, 2013.

Wall of journalists who were killed while working on news assignments, Newseum, June 15, 2013.

Wall of fallen journalists at Newseum, June 15, 2013.

 

 

A mangled broadcast antenna from the World Trade Center in the 9/11 Gallery at the Newseum, June 15,2013.

A woman looks at the 9/11 headlines from around the world at Newseum, June 15, 2013.

 

 

Visitors read about the 9/11 tragedy around the mangled World Trade Center antenna in the 9/11 Gallery, Newseum, June 15, 2013.

 

List of the five freedoms of the First Amendment at Newseum, June 15, 2013.

 

 

HP New Media Gallery, Newseum, June 15, 2013.

 

"JFK: A Thousand Days" in the Smith Big Screen Theater at the Newseum, June 15, 2013.

 

Reflection:

 

The trip to the Newseum was a wonderful experience. Even though I lived near D.C. essentially my entire life, and despite having visited D.C. frequently in the past, I never visited the Newseum. When the Newseum trip was offered as one of the options for the outside-of-class assignment, I immediately jumped on the opportunity to finally visit. The free ticket was a definite plus!

 

The sheer variety and plenitude of galleries and exhibits were impressive. Before even entering the building, the row of that day's newspapers from around the nation and world astonished me; the fact that the Newseum updates the actual hard copies of newspapers daily demonstrates the dynamism of the museum.

 

As I walked into the 9/11 Gallery, my eye was first drawn to the mangled broadcast antenna from the World Trade Center. The scope of the tragedy truly hits home through this display, as do the front pages reporting the terrorist attack from around the world and the flag hanging at the side. As I scanned the front pages displayed on the wall, and I caught sight of a Korean newspaper. This exhibit is very effective in illustrating the aftermath of the tragedy and how it shocked the world.

 



The wall of the fallen journalists also was especially moving--seeing each individual face, learning each individual name, and reading each unique story highlighted the bravery of people intent on reporting the news in dangerous areas around the world.

 

The word "freedom" reverberates throughout the museum, on every floor. On one such floor, FREEDOM is written in huge block letters along the pathway, listing the five freedoms granted by the First Amendment. On every floor, there was a quote written on the wall illustrating the freedom promoted by the press and this constitutional amendment. The Newseum conveys its message clearly, that freedom of the press, religion, speech, assembly and petition is something that journalism strives to protect and is indicative of.

 

The  exhibition of paper newspapers and of digital media clearly paints a picture of the ever-evolving nature of journalism and the news. There was so much to see and to take in, and I would wholeheartedly and enthusiastically recommend a trip to the Newseum to anyone visiting the D.C. area and to those who live nearby but have never had the chance to explore the Newseum. I know that I will definitely visit again in the future (but the ticket price is pretty steep)!

 





 

Justine McDaniel, Outside Assignment, Newseum

The Newseum was a great experience. I had never been before, and I was so excited for the trip. It was absolutely captivating from the moment we walked up to the building to the moment we left. I loved seeing the country’s history as told through news and thinking about the role of the news in history. It was exciting to see the pieces of history and the testament to the role of the media. In a way, seeing the museum reinforced my faith in journalism because it showed how integral journalism is to the workings of the country (and to the preservation of history). The need for that will never go away, even if the way it is done changes.

The museum did a good job of showing the history of journalism itself, as well. My favorite part was probably the exhibit of old newspapers from all the big events in modern history. It was amazing to see those papers and the headlines. That ended up being the last exhibit we saw, and it was a fun contrast to the row of today's papers, one from each state and some countries, displayed outside the building, which was the first thing we saw. It was also really interesting to see news coverage from events I remember but was too young to really follow in the news. Events that happened before I was born were in my history textbooks and they're in museums everywhere so I know them well, and I was old enough to follow the events of the last eight years or so, but I realized how little a sense I have of the news coverage of things that happened during my childhood. I didn't have much of a sense of how the Clinton impeachment was covered, for instance, even though I remember when it happened.

In all, it was an inspiring experience. I would like to go back without the camera and take even more time wandering through the museum. I think we missed an entire floor, but we took our time, and it was really nice to be able to spend so long in the museum. It was a good place to practice with composition and lighting, too, and I think I came out with some good shots. My favorite part of photograph was the 9/11 memorial because there was such palpable emotion there and the exhibit itself is instantly moving. I loved that they had a box of tissues out, and that the American flag was waving in the corner of the room. Those made for great shots.

Guests look at political cartoons at the Newseum on Saturday, June 15.

The American flag hangs next to a wall of front pages from Sept. 11, 2001 at the Newseum.

At the Newseum 9/11 exhibit, headlines vary but the emotion is the same across newspapers.

A reminder of our First Amendment rights stretches down a hall at the Newseum.

The Newseum offers a look at minorities in journalism.

Dani Thompson, Video #6, Storytelling Sequence

Storytelling Sequence from Danielle Thompson on Vimeo.

Reflection: I am happy about how this came out except for a few shots that are out of focus. I would like to figure out how to better see the viewfinder (and see if the shot is in focus) while I am outside. Maybe having even more shots would help, so that I can be picky if one is out of focus.

Definitely feeling confident enough to shoot film for the final project!

Lyle Kendrick, Video #6, Train Tale

Tamieka Tells a Train Tale from Lyle Kendrick on Vimeo.

Though the product didn't end up as I wanted it to, there were some big things I learned while preparing for my final project. The audio from the camera ended up being better than the audio from the recording device when it was closer to the subject. The camera was pretty good against the wind. In a good interview shot, I'm glad to know that my camera will be able to get solid audio even if my audio recorder doesn't.

Tomorrow and the next day, as I prepare for my final project, I'm going to really focus on wide shots and finding ways to put them in focus. I definitely need to find places that aren't starkly bright.  Tight shots are fun, but if the establishing wide shot is week, it's tough to create a compelling piece.

Justine McDaniel, Video 6, Storytelling

Sequence 05 4 from Justine McDaniel on Vimeo.

This project felt a lot better during shooting, but it was actually harder to edit than the cards, mainly due to the audio. The audio from my recorder was, surprisingly, unusable, and the audio from the camera was much better. It was challenging not to have a separate audio track to work with; it meant I was more limited in the shots I could use. I am definitely getting more comfortable with shooting, though, which is good! My main problem this time was that I had a few out-of-focus shots. I also had a struggle uploading to Vimeo for some reason, but it worked in the end. I'm also pretty sure we all memorized this book. It was both nice and annoying that the text was so repetitive; it made editing easier, but it also made a more boring video.

Nicole Jones, Video #6, Storybook

Story Time with Justine McDaniel from Nicole Jones on Vimeo.

Shooting this video was a lot harder than the card shuffling video. It was hard getting a variety of shots because of the way we were positioned outside. I also did not really want to shoot off the tripod this time because of all the shaky video I had the last time. When I started editing I realized that my establishing shots did not turn out very well, so I was unable to use them. One major thing that I learned from this time was that I need to become faster when shooting and really pay attention to the next action. I felt that I did not get a lot of good shots this time because the action was happening so fast and I should have anticipated the next shot more.

Tamieka Briscoe - Video #6 Storybook

Hyon-Young Kim reads a story to an enthusiastic Lyle Kendrick. Reflection: I enjoyed doing this project and made it a point to be sure I put the right objects in focus. It was one of my most smooth editing jobs as well. These tips make me feel ready to start my final project.

Megan Brockett, Video #6, Books

A reading of "Dinosaur Pet" by Justine McDaniel from Megan Brockett on Vimeo.


While I did feel more comfortable shooting this time around, I realized a number of things I still need to work. The biggest problem in this assignment was the tight shots -- I took several closeups of Justine's face, but they were all out of focus, and I really struggled with making a sequence without jump shots as a result. I've captured clear tight shots for most of my other assignments, but I realized that I need to be really careful in making sure that the right things are in focus all the time. I also wish I had tried to get tight shots of a bigger variety of things.

The outdoor setting also posed certain challenges that didn't exist in the card sequence assignment, like the sun around noontime. We tried to find a good spot in the shade, but there are certain shots, like the ones of Amanda and Nicole, where the lighting is poor and I didn't do enough to adjust to it.

I only used my camera to capture audio for this assignment, and I would have definitely benefitted from leaving my recorder next to Justine, especially in the clip of my wide shot, where Justine sounds much farther away.

The assignment served as another reminder to take my time while shooting. I occasionally still feel overwhelmed and miss the shots I need or don't take the time to make sure everything is in focus and framed properly. These are all things that I know are important to keep at the front of my mind going forward.

Ethan Barton, Video #6, Storybook

A Dramatic Reading of "Little Blue Truck" from Ethan Barton on Vimeo.

This was definitely really tricky. I had a lot of unusable video, and still had to settle with some, despite having shot the reading several times. But the writer in me couldn't justify making the book have continuity errors.. which I think it still has. It was way harder than any other assignment we've had so far.

Woody Wilder, Video #6, Book

A Slice of "LIttle Blue Truck" from Woody Wilder on Vimeo.

Shooting and reading was fun--editing was a pain. Not because of the video I took, but because the story never seemed to flow the way I wanted it. With a linear story like "Little Blue Truck" the sound matters. So the story was really choppy, but I did try to replicate the plot the best I could. Other than that, I thought this was a fun exercise and a great way to spend a beautiful afternoon.

Hyon-Young Kim, Video #6, Book Sequence

Lyle Reads a Book! from Hyon-Young Kim on Vimeo.

Reflection: It was nice going outside to shoot more video, especially with the beautiful weather. Sequences definitely are challenging. Again, Bethany's demonstration was very helpful in giving me ideas of what angles to shoot from plus reminding me not to break the 180 degree rule. I felt, however, that this sequence lacked enough super tight shots. I tried to pay attention to framing and lighting, particularly so because the sunlight was very strong. This assignment was useful in emphasizing the importance of capturing reaction as well as action--but after reading the same book and hearing about trains multiple times, the reaction became increasingly difficult to capture. Despite this, I tried to pace my clips better than in the previous assignment. Additionally, I used the audio recorder but could not use any of the recordings--the audio from the camera was of much better quality. I tried to adjust the volume levels so that the volume was mostly the same throughout the video. Overall, this was a fun assignment and good practice for sequencing.

Lindsay Simpson, Video 5, Shuffle Sequences

David Watson, Card Shark from Lindsay Simpson on Vimeo.

Editing this video was much easier the second time around after struggling a bit to capture decent footage of the cupcake contest.  I felt I had a better handle of each of the types of shots I needed to complete a full sequence of shuffling and dealing cards and was able to capture enough of those components to put together a much better sequence.  The biggest challenge I faced was making sure that David did enough of the same (or similar) movements so that I could get them recorded quick enough and with decent quality. 

Amanda Salvucci, Video 5, Cards Sequence

Cards Sequence, Video 5 from Amanda Salvucci on Vimeo.

My video for the cards sequence came out so much better than my cupcake video. Watching and going over sequences again that class really helped me get what I was looking for and what I should film. The last time, I didn't have nearly enough close ups or any shots of the face, so I made sure to get them this time. Overall, I think that it came out pretty decent.

Lyle Kendrick, Video #5, Shuffle

Card Shuffling from Lyle Kendrick on Vimeo.

The old war wounds from the Sweet Sequence lingered as I shot this. "Get a wide shot," the voice in my head said. With fewer cameras and a longer time for shooting, this exercise resulted in much smoother video and a more diverse range of shots to choose from in the editing process.

Now that I'm starting to think in the direction of shooting my final project (we're at that point already? I feel old---like I'm at my daughter's graduation or something) I really want to focus on maintaining the rule of thirds and getting a good range of tight, medium, and wide shots. With these things in mind, I also really want to work on the focus of the shots. Focus has been an archnemesis of mine and I will be striving to create crisp images so that my final piece, which I'm very excited about, is something I'll be proud of.

For me, the difference between writing and capturing video is almost the difference between running and riding a horse. Video is a horse that once tamed, can be as easy to control as your own two feet. But breaking the horse that is video requires learning to communicate what I want to the device.

Justine McDaniel, Video 5, Cards

In the Cards from Justine McDaniel on Vimeo.

This definitely went much more smoothly than the cupcake video. I felt able to plan out my shots better, and I did so much better with not being shaky. I still need to work on framing and thinking ahead about my shots. The lighting wasn't great and I would like to have had more variety, but I think that will just take practice. I enjoyed doing the editing, and I ended up reworking the sequence several times. I like the close shots I have, but they could have been more varied-- I ended up with a lot of her dealing the cards. I tried to use the rule of thirds when framing the medium and wide shots. My favorite of those is one I took when I got lower and aimed up, with the cards in the foreground. It was nice to have more space to experiment with this exercise, and I feel like I know better what I am aiming for, so I just need to keep practicing.

Tamieka Briscoe - Video #5 - Card Sequence

Shuffling and sorting cards in the Shirley Povich Center at UMD on June 18, 2013. Reflection: I found this exercise much easier because it was a smaller group which made it less chaotic. I wasn't as intimidated this time, we used teamwork to coordinate who could stand where in order to not stand in the way of each person getting the necessary shots. I also found the editing much easier. Practice makes perfect!

Woody Wilder, Video #5, Card Sequence

David Watson's Shuffling Tutorial from Woody Wilder on Vimeo.

This went much better than the cupcake exercise. The problem I kept running into with this exercise was that I was holding the shot for ten seconds, but those ten seconds weren't always in focus. I need to keep a closer eye on the focus. Even though there were less cameras around ando only one subject, I still felt like there were too many moving parts and I moved around too much instead of focusing on getting my shot in each wide, medium, tight, and then moving on. I also tried to interact with David a bit to try and get some sound bites. It worked, but as you said, the camera was a little far away at some points to get decent bites. Overall I was pleased with this effort, though.

Hyon-Young Kim, Video #5, Card Sequence with David

Card Sequence with David from Hyon-Young Kim on Vimeo.

Reflection: This sequence went much more smoothly than the cupcake sweet sequence with Rafael and Sean. I was able to plan what kind of shots I needed, but I think I took too long with each shot. I probably took the 10-second rule a little too far. Despite this, I'm satisfied that I got tight shots and a wide shot, which definitely make the sequence better. Initially, when we started shooting, we didn't turn the lights on--as a result, some of my shots are darker than the others. I learned that I have to lay the camera on a stable surface and not hold it midair without any foundation. I am glad I tried out different angles, like behind David. Plus, Bethany's demonstration of shooting a sequence and getting a variety of shots was extremely helpful. One thing I really should keep in mind is the Rule of Thirds; I find myself forgetting to apply this in the middle of shooting. I focus on capturing the action, but not on how I capture it. Also, I have to remember to get some shots of David himself--I had many shots of his hands, but not enough of David himself to balance them out.

Amirah Al Idrus, Video 5, Shuffle Master

After the in-class demonstration of shooting and editing, I felt much more comfortable composing my shots and thought more carefully about the different types of shots. I was much more aware of the idea of making a sequence.

Things to think about:
holding the shot
making sure the action is truly in focus - I had a shot that I really liked, but was out of focus

Dani Thompson, Video #5, Shuffle Sequence

Shuffle Sequence from Danielle Thompson on Vimeo.

This video felt like a chance at redemption from my last attempt at sequence editing. I had a much easier time imagining my shots after trying it once, and I am happy with how this came out!

Next time the only thing I would do differently is make sure there is a good closing shot. The last few seconds have good natural sound, but they don't necessarily tie up the clip that well...

Mike Kettelberger - Video #5 - Cards with David

Cards with David from Mike Kettelberger on Vimeo.

Reflection:

Filming this sequence went much better than the sweets sequence. I was more aware of the types of shots I needed to get and made sure the camera was firmly secured while filming. When I went to edit the clips, I realized I did not have all the shots I wanted in order to make this video, but was able to use what I had to make a decent video, in my opinion. 

Shooting with fewer people was easier for making sure that people were not constantly in you shot,but there were still enough people that you had to strategize your shots and move carefully around. Luckily we all worked together nicely. 

Megan Brockett, Video #5, Card sequence

The Merrill shuffle from Megan Brockett on Vimeo.


Reflection:  Needless to say, this sequence went much better than my first attempt shooting the cupcake contest, and I was able to take a lot of the lessons I learned from that shoot and apply them here. The biggest thing I tried to do this time around was hold my shots for at least 10 seconds. I also composed my shots ahead of time and tried to move around to get different angles, and I had a much better time editing as a result. One challenge I faced was dealing with the light from window, but I kept it in mind throughout the shoot and did my best to work around it and use it to my advantage.

Nicole Jones, Video #5, Card Sequence

Card Dealer from Nicole Jones on Vimeo.

I felt a little better doing this sequence getting tight, medium and wide shots. I need more practice with shooting off the tripod because some of my clips were shaky. Even after I used the video stabilizer effect it only helped a little. After doing this sequence for the second time I have a better concept of creating a good sequence.

Ethan Barton, Video #5, Card Sorting

Card Sorting from Ethan Barton on Vimeo.

This was much easier than the sweet sequence.  The major concern I have are just a couple of shots weren't as good as I would have liked, and neither were similar ones.  Some didn't have alternative shots I could have used, which I will remember for next time.

Ethan Barton, Video 4, Sweet Sequence

Sweet Sequence from Ethan Barton on Vimeo.

I found this one to be challenging because of the high number of other people in my shots, as well as only a little bit of decent footage.

Ethan Barton, Video #3, Chalk

Chalk from Ethan Barton on Vimeo.

I actually found this one much easier than the sweet sequence. However, there's one spot where the audio is very abrupt I didn't like.

Lindsay Simpson, Video 4, Campus Chalking

Campus Chalking :: Marketing for the 21st Century from Lindsay Simpson on Vimeo.

I enjoyed editing this project.  My biggest challenge in these types of projects is usually my camerawork and it was nice having clean shots and angles to work with.  I really enjoyed editing the interview and working with different clips to ensure the video has continuity and a unique angle.

Lindsay Simpson, Video 3 :: Cupcake Challenge

Sweet Sequences from Lindsay Simpson on Vimeo.


Shooting this video was much more difficult than I expected, mostly because of all of my classmates who were also trying to shoot the same shots.  In a situation like this, you cannot control the subjects' movements and if you miss a shot, you can't ask them to redo it.  This was great training for what it is really like, crammed together with 12 other reporters, all trying to get the same shots.

I wish I had held my shots longer.  I had a couple of really good ones, but moved the camera too quickly and wasn't able to use them in my final video because the clip was too short.  

Amanda Salvucci, Video 4, Chalk

Video 3 Chalk from Amanda Salvucci on Vimeo.

The main problem I had with this piece is the dimensions of the video. I tried to fix it, and no matter what I did, I couldn't figure it out. I opened the piece with on of her quotes that I thought was the best, and then led to her introduction so that people would know who she was and what she is doing. Throughout the piece, I tried to incorporate nat sound breaks between the jumps in ideas.

Amirah Al Idrus, Video 4, Chalk REDO

REDO:


Original version below:


This was a dream to edit. Apart from discovering the "unlink" function to separate audio from video, there were many great shots to choose from. Seeing this raw footage will definitely help me in my final project. It is helpful to have an example of what to aim for.

It was hard to choose from so many different shots.

Like Dani, I found that much of what Liz said did not make good soundbites. But I had fun using the chalk sounds and her voice.

Things to think about:
Shots do not have to be in the order they were in the raw footage. As long as there is continuity, they can be in any order.
Sequence. A sequence of wide, medium and tight shots. It is called a sequence for a reason.
Not too many tight shots in a row. It is essentially a long shot of the same thing. Use them to avoid jump cuts.

Amirah Al Idrus, Video 3, Sweet Sequence

This was definitely outside my comfort zone. It was overwhelming to have Rafael and Sean in such close quarters with 13 people vying for the best shots. Some people were very mindful of others' space and need to get their shots, but others barged in others' way, and I had to step out of my comfort zone and tell people 'excuse me' to get my shot.

It was much harder to edit this because I had never been in an under pressure situation and over half my shots were out of focus and shaky.

Things to think about:
CALM DOWN, don't panic - I didn't have many good shots to choose from, as compared to the shots we had for Chalk.

Amanda Salvucci, Video #3, Cupcake Sequence

Video 4 Cupcake Sequence from Amanda Salvucci on Vimeo.

I wish that I had more footage for the cupcake sequence and that I had taken more time to think about composing the shots. It was really hard for me to put a sequence together, and I wish that I had though about more close ups of things on the table. This would have made it easier for me to find clips that would have prevented jump cuts. Another thing that I wish I had done was be more conscientious of people in the frame. I tried my best not to get other people in the frame, but it was really hard to do on the long shots. I also had to go hand held in order to get close ups and make my shots look better. However, because of this my shots are a little shaky. I'm not use to doing handheld and it made me a little uncomfortable, but it was a good experience.

Mike Kettelberger - Video #3 - Sweet Sequence

Sweet Sequence from Mike Kettelberger on Vimeo.

Reflection:

I was less than thrilled when I first began working on this project, because I thought the overall quality of my video was poor. I went through all of my clips and found a few good shots that jumped out. I started with those and kept going back through all of the clips, looking for ones that were decent. I ended up surprising myself over the amount of footage I was able to pull from my clips. 

It was both challenging and fun to pull pieces from different clips and work them together to make the video flow. Overall I was happy with the end product and actually surprised myself with what I was able to produce. 

Dani Thompson, Video #3, Cupcake Sequence

Cupcake Wars: A practice in video sequence from Danielle Thompson on Vimeo.

This. Was. So. FRUSTRATING! It was difficult to want to finish this video when I had less than quality video to work with...next time I would not take my camera off the tripod and also take time to evaluate what shots I need to complete a full sequence. For example, when I began to edit I realized that I had no shot of the cupcake being set down on the table after frosting! The only shot that made sense to the sequence was one that was shaky and out of focus. I attempted to use the warp stabilizer in premier, but it made everything look "jiggly" and not real at ALL. It looked so bizzarre I almost left it to show what happens when the stabilizer feature doesn't work correctly.

One other thing, I wish that Rafael hadn't made all of his cupcakes so quickly! If he hadn't made the last to at the end, I would have had almost nothing to work with. His first round of cupcakes were made so quickly that none of my shots were held for 10 seconds on one part of the sequence.

As frustrating as this was, I can't wait to try it again. Now that I understand what it takes to edit a sequence, I will be better prepared to film with my edits in mind.

Mike Kettelberger - Video #4 - Chalking

Chalking at UMD from Mike Kettelberger on Vimeo.

Reflection:

This project I enjoyed very much because it allowed me to focus on just the video editing. Going into this project, I knew I would not have any issues with video quality or shakiness, and would have a good variety of shots to work with. It was good experience to practice cutting audio and video,  and layering it in Primiere so that it would all run smoothly and seamlessly. Overall, I really enjoyed this project.   

Dani Thompson, Video #4, Chalketing

Chalketing: It's not a dying art from Danielle Thompson on Vimeo.

This assignment was so much fun! As many of you have already said, I now know the joy of working with quality video and audio. I feel spoiled getting to put together this edit because it truly was easy when I had such a variety of fun shots to choose from.

Not all of Liz's answers had good soundbites, but the ones that were good were golden! I peppered in some of my favorite soundbites with great visuals and voila! One minute of video. Done and done.

I can't wait until my camera work gets good enough to feel this confident about editing!

Lyle Kendrick, Video #4, Chalk

Chalking from Lyle Kendrick on Vimeo.

I'm starting to think there's a method to this madness. Having us do two separate editing projects--one with our footage, one with someone else's definitely helped me think about moving forward and the process of editing.

Trying to avoid jump cuts, making the natural sound present but not overbearing, and creating a compelling audio narrative and then blending those elements was more of a challenge than I realized. I learned how much stronger a story can be with CLOSE tight shots and a good range of medium and wide shots. The way the raw footage initially looked and how I was able to weave that into a minute gave me some ideas about what to look for when shooting for my final project.

Lyle Kendrick, Video #3, Sweet Sequence

Sweet Sequence from Lyle Kendrick on Vimeo.

Learning can be a fun process. It can also be a process where you look at the footage you have and realize, "Welp. There's not a sufficient wide shot." This exercise showed me just how important getting footage is and being quick and efficient at getting the shot I need.

I think the biggest thing I learned is exactly why having all types of shots is necessary. It provides new angles of the same activity while showing fluidity in the motion.

Hyon-Young Kim, Video #4, Chalk

Chalk - My Edited Version from Hyon-Young Kim on Vimeo.

Reflection: I actually enjoyed this assignment. I feel more comfortable working with Premiere Pro as we progress through these assignments. I omitted certain portions of the interview, including the challenges Liz faces in chalking and the fact that she works for the Stamp Student Union. I was torn between including the bit about the Stamp Student Union because I wasn't sure whether or not this information was necessary to the interview. I tried to focus on the marketing aspect of her job and the actual chalking that she does. One instance in my edited version instills some uncertainty in me: when Liz mentions the low cost of chalk, the audio seems a bit abrupt and seems to make the editing glaringly apparent. Despite this, I tried to avoid using the same angles and the same images repetitively. I tried to match some of the footage to what Liz says, like using the wide shot of a person walking along the sidewalk when Liz says that there are people always walking around. I also attempted to edit out some of the "uhs" and "ums" from the audio. Finally, the sound of the chalk on the sidewalk was so crisp and nice to hear, so I tried to include this sound multiple times in the video. Overall, I learned the importance of making good judgment of what to include and what not to include, though I am still not there yet.

Hyon-Young Kim, Video #3, Sweet Sequence

Cupcake Sweet Sequence from Hyon-Young Kim on Vimeo.

Reflection: This was very challenging, mainly because much of my footage did not show various angles of one action. Instead, I found myself with video clips of different actions. As a result, stringing the clips together to form a sequence was difficult. I moved the camera frequently as well, producing footage that is clearly not of good quality. Whenever I recorded Sean finishing a cupcake and transitioned into a tighter shot of his hand placing the cupcake on the paper towel, I found that most of my transitions were wrong. In other words, in a medium shot, Sean moves the cupcake towards the paper towel with his left hand, and then the tight shot I recorded pictures Sean placing the cupcake on the paper towel with his right hand. Inconsistencies dominated my footage, but I was relieved to have at least some footage that seems to work. Despite all these drawbacks, I learned the importance of thinking actively while using the camera. I hope to improve in constantly asking myself and being aware of what footage I have and what footage I need. All in all, this was a necessary and important experience for me; I learned a lot!

Justine McDaniel, Video 4, Chalk

Talking through Chalking from Justine McDaniel on Vimeo.

This was a great exercise because we had good footage to work with and could focus on the editing. This helped me think about the kinds of different shots you need to get, and I think it will help me the next time I go to shoot something. Now that I know what it is like to edit video while having enough shots and a wide variety of shots, it will be easier for me to remember what shots to aim for. At the same time, it presented more of a challenge editing because I felt like it had so much potential to be good that I really wanted to make it perfect. It was great practice using different tracks of audio and video. I am getting really comfortable with Premiere. It was also good practice with choosing what bites and shots to use; my original edit was about 1:30 so I had to cut it down and really decide what parts I wanted to include.

Justine McDaniel, Video 3, Sweet Sequence

Cupcake Competition from Justine McDaniel on Vimeo.

This assignment was really challenging. It definitely helped me learn what not to do while shooting video and got me thinking about how I can think ahead and be prepared when shooting. It was hard to edit because I didn't like my footage, so it was a challenge to put it together into something cohesive. I did succeed in thinking about wide, medium and tight shots, but I really need to think about the composition of the shots. I felt a little frantic while filming this, and I definitely need to learn to think ahead to the next shot and start planning things out better in my mind as I work. I also have to work on what to do when taking the camera off the tripod and making sure the shots are still stable.

Nicole Jones, Out of Class Assignment, Newseum

When I found out about our out of class assignment to the Newseum I immediately wanted to go right away, I love museums and learning about history. After being in the museum for a little over four hours I still did not get to cover everything. This experience definitely made me fall in love with journalism all over again from the many exhibits, pictures, and short videos that we were able to watch. I would have to say my favorite exhibition was JFK. Even though I was not alive during that time period it was so fascinating to see how the media covered JFK and his family. Watching the footage of his assassination and seeing some of the last pictures taken of him gave me the chills. I also really enjoyed the Meet the Press session with Betsy Fischer. I loved all of the inside scoop she gave on how the show operates each week and the various guest they have. She gave a lot of good advice for up-and-coming journalist that I will indeed follow. Overall, this was a great experience and I am glad that I had the opportunity to go and learn more about journalism.

The front door of Martin Luther King Jr.'s jail cell where he wrote "Letter from Birmingham Jail"

From the First Amendment Exhibit a protester holds up a sign.

Bill Biggart's equipment that was found. Biggart died on 9/11 doing what he loved the most.

One of the first video camera models.

Megan Brockett, Video #3, Sweet Sequence

Sweet Sequence - Cupcake Contest from Megan Brockett on Vimeo.


Reflection: This assignment was helpful in a different way for me than the others in that it highlighted a lot of things not to do while filming. The biggest lesson I took away is the importance of holding shots for at least 10 seconds, and not zooming in and out constantly or moving the camera everywhere there is action happening.

It also taught me the importance of composing shots beforehand. I made the mistake of recording for almost the whole time, and I had a lot of material to sift through while editing as a result. The next time I have an assignment like this one, I think I'll be more prepared to take a breath and focus on capturing what I need shot by shot, rather than worrying about trying to get everything at once.

Woody Wilder, Outside of Class Assignment, Newsuem

News extends into the bathroom stalls at the Newsuem in Washington. June 15, 2013.  

A copy of Sal Veder's "Burst of Joy" is on display in the Pulitzer Prize Photo Gallery at the Newsuem in Washington. June 15, 2013. 

Portions of the Berlin Wall are one of the feature exhibits at the Newsuem in Washington. 

Inside of the Berlin Wall Gallery of the Newsuem, a headless Vladimir Lenin statue is on display. Washington, June 15, 2013.

Located conveniently between the Capitol and The White House, the Newsuem is a popular tourist attraction along Pennsylvania Ave in Washington. June 15, 2013. 

Let me preface my post by saying I'm a guy that is usually not found in a museum, but I absolutely loved the Newsuem. Such an amazing experience!

I walk in and figure I should start on the bottom level, and what a start it was. The Berlin Wall Gallery was quite eye-opening. My preconceived notions of the Berlin Wall were "eh, how tall exactly was this thing." Being close up to it and seeing one side full of graffiti and the clean was a telling story. I was not alive to remember the Berlin Wall, but it definitely took on a new meaning to me.

After seeing the wall, I made a wrong turn and fortunately stumbled into a theatre showing the history of sports media. An amazing film! It chronicled the history of sports media--the field I want to go into--from the times of early radio to the current ESPN days. It also provided a lot of historical information and video clips. It was awesome for my sports nerdy self.

The Pulitzer gallery was especially awesome. I included my favorite, "Burst of Joy," in the photos above. Most of the pictures caught my eye because of negative emotions--Vietnam, poverty, war, ect.--but this one was a breath of fresh air. We've all experience the feeling of seeing someone you haven't seen in awhile and just running to them.

The timeline of the dogs of the presidents was sweet. Immediately took a picture and sent it to my mother. She was jealous. Still think my dog would make a better First Dog than half of those pooches.

The 9/11 gallery was the last "big" thing that I loved. It's our generations "where were you moment." Just seeing all of the press and mangeled wreckage from the tower adds how it's etched into our memory.

Other tidbits of the trip: I wasn't too keen on the JFK stuff; the front pages from tons of world newspapers was cool; the archives of print back to the 1500s was cool as well. The view from the terrace outside the 6th floor was beautiful. Didn't get a chance to make the Meet the Press expo.

Overall. Loved it.

Woody Wilder, Video #4, Chalk REDO

Chalking it up from Woody Wilder on Vimeo.
This exercise truly showed me how much easier it is to edit good video, and audio for that matter. It made me realize that the struggles editing most likely are from the footage you have to work with. It made me appreciate great quality in video and from now on I need to focus on getting video quality like this. For editing, it definitely feel like I'm getting much better. Finally getting used to using the shortcuts which is saving valuable time. This exercise also taught me a lesson in bringing down only audio or only video when editing. My first draft had too much natural sound and, ironically, didn't sound natural. At that moment I remember telling myself, "I'm stuck, I can only use her on camera for 10 seconds or less, how do I get more of her audio." Up until this point, it never dawned on me to use only the audio from her interview and use it with the other shots. It seems so foolish looking back, but that made the exercise much easier. UPDATED: 6-19-13

Chalking It Up v.2 from Woody Wilder on Vimeo.

I took the feedback you gave me during the one on one critiquing session and completely reworked the video.

Megan Brockett, Outside of Class Assignment, Newseum

Reflection: I felt like I could have spent days in the Newseum and it still wouldn't have been enough time. I loved the opportunity to explore the history of journalism and how it's changed overtime. But one of the most interesting things for me was to see how journalism, in the most fundamental ways, hasn't really changed at all. What I hope to do as a journalist today are the same things that Walter Cronkite and the people before him had hoped to do. My favorite of the quotes carved onto the museum's walls is from Abraham Lincoln: "Let the people know the facts, and the country will be safe." This was the job of the journalist centuries ago, and it remains the job of the journalist today.

The broadcast antenna and the newspaper covers behind it in the 9/11 Gallery shines light on the link between journalism and a day carved into America's memory forever. As a New Yorker, I've heard countless stories and firsthand accounts of the day, all powerful in their own way, but I had never heard Bill Biggart's story before. Seeing his broken and dust-covered equipment and watching the video of his story moved me more than almost anything else in the museum. 

A tight shot of an exhibit in the broadcast section of the Newseum in Washington, D.C. 

A quote from Allen H. Neuharth, founder of the Newseum in Washington, D.C.,  is carved into one of the museum's walls.

Newseum vistors watch coverage of the Virginia Tech shooting Saturday in Washington, D.C.  

The broadcast antenna from the North Tower of the World Trade Center stands at the center of the Newseum's 9/11 Gallery in Washington, D.C. 

A box of tissues sits near the 9/11 Gallery at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.

A cartoon of the Statue of Liberty and the falling Twin Towers is part of the exhibit of editorial cartoons that lines one hallway of the Newseum in Washington, D.C. 

Nicole Jones, Video #4, Chalking

Chalking at the University of Maryland from Nicole Jones on Vimeo.

This assignment was a good learning experience. I enjoyed editing the raw footage and telling the story behind chalking. I find that I am getting faster at using Premiere Pro and becoming more and more comfortable with it. The variety of shots made the editing process a lot easier. It helped me understand that when I am shooting I need to remember to get a sequence of shots to make the editing process easier. The story was also very unique and different in which our book talked about how interviewing people that are rarely ever heard from makes the story more interesting.

Nicole Jones, Video #3, Sweet Sequence

Friendly Competition from Nicole Jones on Vimeo.

Shooting a sequence is definitely harder than it looks. It is something that I know I need to work on in order to get better. I am getting a lot better and more comfortable in Adobe Premier. This assignment taught me that you have to pay attention to detail because you could miss something very important. It also taught me that when their are a lot of other journalist around it becomes very competitive and you have to be able to get what you need.

Tamieka Briscoe - Video #4 - Chalking (Re-done)

My focus for this edit was the reason for chalking and the challenges that come with chalking. I tried to show people walking by and over the messages. Reflection: I found this assignment much easier than the others. It was a matter of finding the focus of the story and finding the right clips to use. I also am getting more comfortable with Premiere, so that helps!

Megan Brockett, Video #4, Chalk (UPDATED)

Chalking with Liz Lane from Megan Brockett on Vimeo.


Reflection:  This assignment really helped me put everything I learned from the Premiere tutorial to use and practice editing. I liked figuring out what the most effective way to arrange the clips was, and what combination of clips and soundbites told the best story. I played around with the footage a lot and tried to open with a bite that would draw in the viewer and then ones that would introduce the subject and let her tell us more about the action. I tried to keep in mind the idea of leaving a trail of gold coins for the viewer. I tried to pick an ending clip that would provide closure, so I chose one of Liz putting the chalk away and closing the bag.

The raw footage also taught me how much easier your life as an editor is when you have really quality clips to choose from. I think the biggest thing it reinforced was the Al Tompkins commandment that stresses holding shots for at least 10 seconds.

Tamieka Briscoe - Video #3 Sweet Sequence

Here is the link to my Sweet Sequence. Reflection: This was a fun assignment, definitely made me appreciate how challenging it must be to provide press coverage along with competing stations. It was difficult to get shots without capturing the other photographers. The lesson for me was to get going quickly, be prepared in order to get the best spot. The editing is getting easier for me too, which is a huge relief.

Woody Wilder, Video #3, Sweet Sequence

Cupcakes in grad school? from Woody Wilder on Vimeo.

To be honest, the video came out better than I expected it would. I was happier with the part with Sean more so than the one with Rafael. It was definitely a learning experience. It felt like a baptism by fire. Going forward in shots like this, I need to be less spastic. While shooting, I felt like I was just running around everywhere instead of keeping calm and focusing on getting good shots. I also broke some rules and panned/zoomed a bit. While editing, I was having trouble making our cuts look like they were in synch. I had some good footage edited and ready to export when I noticed that there were different toppings on the cupcake or Rafael used a different hand to reach for something. I'm happy that I caught those little things while editing. Overall though, I thought it was a fun experiment. It was stressful with everyone being around and so many moving parts. Nevertheless, it was a good experience.

Tamieka Briscoe - Video #2 - Interview 2 - FroYoToGo

For the video slide show interview, my subject was FroYoToGo, a food truck that sells frozen yogurt in Washington, D.C. Reflection: I enjoyed the interview, she was a lively subject. I had some audio issues both with the recorder and when editing the video. I feel much more comfortable with the software now, and expect to improve in my future shoots and edits.

Tamieka Briscoe - Video 1 - Man on Street

For the man on street interviews I asked the question, "What is your favorite mobile app?" Reflection: I enjoyed the experience of conducting man on the street interviews. I wasn't nervous, and generally people are open to having a conversation with a reporter when you explain to them what you are doing. I had trouble with the framing of the videos in Premiere, but once I was able to work through those I feel more comfortable using the software.

Mike Kettelberger - Video #2 - Theme Songs on the Street

What's Your Theme Song from Mike Kettelberger on Vimeo.

Video 2, Soundslide

Video 1: Man on the Street Interview Assignment from Amanda Salvucci on Vimeo.

I did my soundslide on the Maryland Food Collective, after I happened to walk by it and wondered what it was. I interviewed Mary Schulte, a 22-year-old worker and owner at the store. The music in the store was really loud and I asked if we could go somewhere quieter, but she had to stay in the store to run it. I asked if she could turn the music off instead, and she ended up lowering it for me. My interview picked up some of the music in the background, but it's not super distracting and give the piece some nat sound. Taking pictures inside has always been difficult for me, so that was another challenge I faced. The camera I'm using doesn't help, as any pictures I take inside have been coming out really grainy. I've been using ISO 400, which really isn't that high, so I'm not sure why this is happening. This was problem my major problem with shooting this piece. Another issue that I had was the lighting. It was indoors with really ugly florescent lighting which provided a challenge for taking photos.

Ethan Barton, Video #2, Eddie Bartel

Eddie Bartel: 51 with special needs from Ethan Barton on Vimeo.

This was an especially hard photo shoot.  Eddie refused to take candid shots and would insist on posing, so it was very difficult to get good pictures of him.  Additionally, the lighting was extremely poor, which made the photos come out a little blurry or dark that could only be edited so much in photoshop.

Lastly, I'm very happy with how the audio turned out, and think that I synced it decently with the video.  However, when I uploaded it onto Vimeo, it delayed the sound by about half a second, which really knocks it all out of place.

Video 1: Man on the Street Interview Assignment from Amanda Salvucci on Vimeo.

The first MOS I had to edit in Premiere so that she wasn't dead center. I had framed her in the shot before she started talking, but halfway through my interview, she started moving around and moved to the dead center of the screen. I ended up being able to fix in in Premiere, but next time I should definitely pay more attention to if my subject is moving and adjust the frame accordingly. I could also interview my subjects sitting down, so that way they are less likely to move. All of my audio came out really murky. The worst was in the second MOS shown. Half of her answer I couldn't even use because my mic picked up the noise of buses and cars driving by, rather than her voice. I included four of my MOSes because I realized after that I didn't have any men, and I wanted to include some diversity. I also thought that the last answer was one of the better ones. However, I realized afterwards that he was out of focus. He should also be a little more to the left, so he is slightly off center. Technically, this one is the weakest out of the four. Other than the audio issues, I really liked using the DSLRs for video. I've only shot with the big broadcast cameras before, so I really liked how lightweight and portable the DSLR was. I also really liked the depth of field that the DSLR had and the quality of the video surprised my (although it did get a little compressed whenI uploaded it to Vimeo).

Megan Brockett, Video #2, Sara Demetrides,

Sara Demetrides, educator at College Park Aviation Museum from Megan Brockett on Vimeo.

Reflection: I like how this project has a more in-depth feel to it. It was the project where I got to know my subject best, and I learned a lot from listening to what she had to say.

When I was putting the project together, I wanted to tell the story of Sara through the workshop that she was putting on. She gave me a lot of factual and historical background about planes and the museum, and a lot of it was really interesting. But I knew the story should be about her and not about the type of information you can get by visiting where she works.

My favorite soundbite is toward the end of the clip where Sara talks about why she believes history is so important -- you can hear the excitement and passion in her voice. I considered moving this bite up to the beginning, but I ultimately decided the earlier clips did a better job setting up the story and that this one did a better job of wrapping it all up.

Lindsay Simpson, Video 2 :: Superheroes on the Street

Man on the Street from Lindsay Simpson on Vimeo.
My initial round of interviews did not turn out so well.  On my second attempt, I was able to adjust my camera's settings, pick a location with a nicer background, and frame the shots much better.  It made a tremendous difference and I am much happier with the second round of interviews.  I enjoyed the editing process.  Now that we've used several other Adobe applications, I have been able to combine my knowledge of each of them and it makes the process much more efficient. 

Woody Wilder, Video #2, Mike's Wedding

Farm Wedding Breaks All Traditional Norms from Woody Wilder on Vimeo.

I had an awesome time doing this project. Last weekend I was in the wedding of one of my very good friends, so I decided to do my project on the wedding. It was a little complicated and inconvenient, but I think in the end, I was able to tell a pretty cool story. There were a few challenges to getting the photos and audio. Since I was in the wedding, I was not able to photograph the wedding itself. I was able to photograph parts of the rehearsal, the setup before the wedding, and in-between taking groomsman pictures, I was able to get a few after the wedding, and then at the reception. Side note: at the rehearsal dinner I was able to talk to their wedding photographer and she gave me some helpful tips. As far as the audio goes, I recorded the interview on the recorder we had. I interviewed him about 2 hours before the wedding, which I felt was awesome because he was nervous and could tell his answers--unlike his normal sarcastic, offensive self--were sincere. The actual audio of the wedding (the processional music along with the pastor (my father actually) performing the ceremony) presented a little more of a challenge. The wedding was outside, so luckily the wind wasn't as bad as it could have been; however, I tried putting the recorder inside of my tuxedo pocket, but that was utter failure. So I asked my brother's fiance to record the wedding on her iPhone. I had to improvise here and was actually in the dark because I had no idea if the sound would turn out or not, but luckily we played it back and it was pretty good. With the audio portion of the slideshow, I intertwined the processional music, his interview and the pastor performing. Figured I'd take a bit of a risk and try something a little different, so I had the processional music play for the entire slideshow, but lowered to a point where it was still audible, but not distracting when the voices were playing. Overall, I think it worked quite well. I tried to correspond the pictures with the audio the best I could. The thought process behind this was to add a new picture every time the audio switched from music to each respected voice. I wasn't too particularly pleased the way the pictures turned out in the slide show. It was tough to make them bigger without losing a lot of focus. The size of the pictures in the slideshow are as big as I could get them without suffering a major focus setback. I played around with the effects a little bit, but in the end I couldn't figure them quite out the way I wanted to so I held off this time around. It'll be something I definitely want to work on going forward. In the end, it was an awesome experience. It helped that Mike was onboard with the idea of me doing the project.

Mike Kettelberger - Video #1 - National History Day

National History Day Audio Slideshow from Mike Kettelberger on Vimeo.

Photos from the National History Day contest, on display in the Stamp Student Union from June 9 - 13.

Audio is from an interview done with Trevor Carter, who is the New Mexico State Coordinator for National History Day.

Reflection

To be completely honest, I am not very happy with how this project turned out. The audio that came out of my interview with Ms. Carter was less than ideal. She was able to provide me with a lot of information, but no solid audio clips. The pictures I think cam out as best as they could, but once I put them into the slideshow I realized they were also less than ideal. I was able to enter the exhibit before it was open to the public to take pictures of the actual project. The issue I ran into was that the project were able to be up to six feet tall, and a lot of them were. With limited space to move back, I had to take vertical pictures to fit the whole project, which did not translate well into my slideshow. It was also very bright in the ball room, which I was not particularly excited about. Once the exhibit was open to the public, there were not a ton of people so some of the shots I wanted to get were just not possible.

Overall, this was a good learning experience. I was able to gain more experience with Premiere, which was a good thing. More importantly, I learned that you have to find ways to make you shots work. If you know they need to be in a particular format then you have to find ways to make the shots fit to it. These are more things I am learning that I need to be aware of when out in the field.