Final Project

Sorry Sandy! Here is my final project!

Nice work, y'all.

So, I know this is late, since class is in about 4 hours but I've been very busy, with term papers and with finishing up my final multimedia project.
Like with writing, I don't think I'll ever feel comfortable with a "final" draft of a multimedia piece. I could keep going back to it, adding new photos, deleting audio, fading in different spots, or even completely rearranging it. But since I have a deadline, I had to stop working on it at some point. I feel pretty good about my final project, especially since at times it didn't seem like it would even happen.
As for last week's class:
One, the popcorn was amazing, nice buy Sandy.
Two, I thought everyone's projects were great.
Truly. This is going to sound rude, but I was not expecting to see such professional pieces. Everybody had great stories, audio, narrative and photos. Even though we all bitched about faulty computer programs and technology, you would never know how much we struggled seeing the final products.
I'm going to show my finished project today and I have to admit, I'm really nervous. Last week, each time Tom picked a slip of paper with someones name I was overcome with a strong feeling of nausea. Not unlike the feeling I had from being on a boat for 13 hours. But I have to present today, and it's pretty decent so I'm trying not to be too nervous - I am also considering some form of a sedative.

Trailer!

It actually looks okay I think...

Tom Snyder

I thought last Thursday's class went pretty well. Tom is very funny, the audio clip about death row and weight watchers is hilarious. And I thought the exercise of editing his legal story was very helpful.
Window's movie maker is easy to use. It makes moving and editing audio fairly simple, which it should be.

Then I started to edit my audio...

And it was a disaster. What else is new right?

The audio clips do not sound good. I was at a coffee shop and you can hear the buzzing of people talking and the occasional truck roaring by, all from a crappy little recorder which I didn't think was even capable of recording our voices. I tried to edit these sounds out using audacity but it made the background noises sound like alien beeping. Improvement? Maybe... I haven't decided.

So there's that problem and then I thought, screw it I'll just edit the audio down to 5 minutes anyways, but for whatever reason Windows Movie Maker refuses to show the little audio squiggles, even though the sound is playing. What the hell!?!?!?!?

No more time for blogging... I have some serious audio issues to tackle.

Tired of using Technology

I hate technology. I have no patience for it. I want everything to work all of the time. It was taking all of my energy not to totally freak out in class last Thursday.

That said, we really don't have much of a choice. This is how journalism is approached now and I'm sure many journalists are also struggling with the problems programs and electronics present. I think when I feel more comfortable with some of these programs the problems will be easier too solve. Hopefully...

Right out Straight

Success! On Tuesday afternoon I finally got to meet the man whom I've been talking on the phone with for a few weeks. His name is John Borden. We were supposed to meet on Sunday afternoon but as he explained to me on the phone, "I was working on the boat till noon and then I was right out straight." That's a Maine expression - for those of you who don't know. It means really busy.

John has been in the fishing business since he was 14 years old. In 1987 he bought his own small, wooden, lobster boat. Since then his primary business has been in lobster and scallops.

The scalloping industry was recently dealt a huge blow. A formerly under-regulated business, scalloping has recently come under severe government tampering. A control date of 2000 to 2004 was selected and basically what happened was scalloping permits were only given to people who scalloped in between those years, this act restricted 2000 fishermen from scalloping.

John knows another man, Tommy Eaton, who was a life long scalloper. Tommy took a break to fish other sea life and then wanted to recently return to the business. Tommy purchased a new scalloping boat...and then found out he was unable to get a permit.

My interview with John went very well. He is very chatty, very invested in the subject obviously, and is a passionate fisherman. He works in a very difficult business; fuel prices have risen, seafood prices have fallen and it is the most highly regulated industry in the US.
When I asked him why he was still involved in such a difficult business he just laughed, shook his head and said, "I don't know."

He is also allowing me to be very involved. Soon I am going to go take photos of him putting a new rudder on his boat the Intrepid. When the Intrepid is ready he is going to let me go out on the boat for a typical day of fishing. This typical day starts at 2 a.m. You read that correctly... 2 a.m. When I first asked about when the boat leaves I said, "So when would I meet you? Like... 6... or 5 in the morning...?" Yea, I was a little off.

When we met for coffee John had been painting his boat. He was covered in maroon paint and I took a picture of him after the interview but since it was outside of Breaking New Grounds, it doesn't look very good. He also brought pictures with him, which is great! He has photos from many of his expeditions and they are really good. There are pictures from good days, where the boat looks ready to sink under the weight of scallops, and pictures from bad days where all he hauled up was starfish and sand dollars.

It's an interesting story - and important. I can't believe it isn't getting more press. I am just worried I am not experienced enough to do it justice...

My Little Narrative

I'd like to start off saying that I found Don Himsel's advice very useful. He really gave me a better idea of what it is like, behind the scenes, when making a multimedia piece. Up until this point I knew what a multimedia story was supposed to look like - I just had no idea how to approach it.

Now it seems clear to me - of course I should do an interview with my subject before sticking a camera and recorder in their face! But I was honestly confused by that before. And actually, I have good news about my big project.

Yay!

On Friday I am supposed to be meeting with a few fishermen at the harbor, who heard about what I am doing and are willing to cooperate. I'm really excited, and nervous, but it will definitely put me in a better place as far as the story is concerned. It needs a focus.

The entire 2-6 minute multimedia story should be able to be described by one sentence. It should be taut, and focused, and captivating. When I get to talk to these fishermen on Friday I'll be able to better find my specific angle.

I also thought what Don said about using music was interesting. Now that I think about it... using music is manipulative. Different music evokes different emotions - separate from what it is being paired with. If sad music is played to a story that seeks sympathy, it is manipulating the viewer to feel sad. That's not fair.

For my project this week I chose to just document myself... baking muffins.

I swear I am not a narcissistic jerk who just wanted to photograph and record myself! Really!

The reason I chose to create such a simple story that I played such a big part in, is because I really wanted quality material. I wanted better photographs and better audio than I've been getting. I wanted quality material because I want to focus, right now, on actually putting together a piece. I think that will help me a lot.

I didn't want to cover an event, have one shot, and then go back to my apartment just to find everything I shot and recorded is crap (this has already happened to me).

With this assignment I was less concerned with the story, and more concerned with the technical aspects of putting together a complete piece. I guess we will see how that goes tomorrow...

Let me Explain...

I deleted my last post. And the photo slide show that went along with it.
Let me explain...
My last post was really cranky. I am not a cranky person but I happened to be horribly sleep deprived and frustrated with the assignment for the week. I didn't know what to cover for a story and I assumed every photo I took and every video I shot would look awesome.
I was dead wrong.
They are horrible pictures and horrible footage, to embarrassing to leave up on the web really. They just had to go.

I'll admit, I'm struggling with the idea of multimedia. I don't think I take terribly good photos and I am very nervous about sticking a microphone in someone's face, which I've yet to do.

It seems like you need the skillz of being a movie maker more than of being a journalist in this field. And I've tried my hand at making movies. My debut, directorial and acting, was called the Alien Menace. It was... not menacing... or plausible...
After that came a string of slasher/monster films. I was always the bad guy, my sister was always the good guy, and everyone always died - every time.

Point is I haven't figured out how to make a multimedia piece yet.

Actually, the point was supposed to be that I deleted my work from last week because it was most heinous.

I'll try harder next time. Promise.

Musings on Photography

There are a few problems I always seem to run into when taking digital photographs.

1.) Flash versus no flash.
I really prefer the coloring of no flash when taking photos inside. The coloring is usually a lot warmer, with yellowish shades and lines seem softer. But when you put on the flash inside, the picture seems a lot sharper and everything gets this bright blue tinge. I would decide just to skip the flash, but when you do the picture almost always comes out blurry.

2.) Taking pictures of big sweeping landscapes
I've tried, over the years, to take photographs of places I really love. Like a spot in the woods that is just perfectly lit up with filtered sunlight. Or the vastness of the ocean. Or a waterfall. Mostly pictures of the forest, really... yes... I am a nerd/wood elf. Anyways, the pictures never capture what I see. What looks mysterious, or magical or just beautiful to me always seems to look flat in the photo. I want to know how to capture that depth.

Walking around with a camera is a little strange. I took a photo of a line of students holding up political signs, and while some ate it up, when I looked at the photos after there was one girl staring straight at the camera and giving me the weirdest look.
For portraits I took photos of my friends. They didn't seem to mind. Some of them totally loved it actually.
But with photos of college life... I just feel like a huge creep taking pictures of people. I did take one picture of a girl reading on the lawn.... but from very far away. I don't think she noticed/ I hope she didn't. But how do you get candid photos of people just living life without creeping them out or ruining the shot?

Fotos

I didn't find the instructional video particularly instructional, all it really said was be careful with lighting, which I know because I've had lighting ruin dozens of shots. I'm hardly a camera expert and consider myself a pretty awful photographer (I just don't seem to have the eye) but I can take a passable shot.
I know backlighting will wreck a photo. I try and use the rule of thirds. I try and have the subject fill up the frame. And I take lots of pictures, especially since I was just in Spain, but they really never seem to capture it, the essence, the mood, the grandeur. They just always look flat to me.
I guess I've just got to keep clicking.Here is a photo I took of Jon in class. I wanted to have the brick wall in the background since I thought it looked all scholarly and whatnot. I didn't alter the photo or anything but it might look nice in sepia, since he looks all moody and pensive.
Here it is in sepia.Ooh, how nice and brooding.
I have a little bit of experience with editing photos. I have Adobe Photo Shop on my computer, which is a really nice program but way beyond my abilities. I used to like messing around with digital pictures when I was younger so I can change coloring, saturation, ect. I would definitely like to improve my photo editing skillz though.

I love Fishermen

Though I am excited about the idea of covering local farms and the troubles they face, I must admit it was my second choice for a multimedia story.
My first idea was fishermen.
I have lived near the ocean my whole life. My family is from Portland, Maine, a community built on one thing, tourists and their lust for seafood. Well, Mainers eat seafood too I guess... but the tourists really go crazy for it.
Regardless, commercial fishermen, lobster men, clammers, ect. are what make coastal Maine work, and it's the same here in southern New Hampshire as well.
I've never been a huge fan of seafood, aside from the occasional clam cake or haddock dinner, I hardly ever think of it or crave it. Most people do. I am sad excuse of a Mainer for not loving lobster, something that brings me shame almost everyday. But there is one thing I do love about fish.
The fishermen.
I find the business fascinating. Last summer one of my dad's friends brought me out on his lobster boat, after I had begged and pleaded for three months. It was an awesome day.
It is pretty well known that the economy is falling apart right now, and the fishing industry has also been effected by this. Lobster was practically given away for free this past summer and lobster men suffered as a result.
What I would like to do as multimedia project, if they will let me, is become one with the local fishermen who use Portsmouth harbor. I want to go out on their boats, watch them fish, smell the salty air, and hear from the fishermen (and women) how they are dealing in such awful economic times. I want to film nets being reeled in and shiny fish flapping on the deck. I want to record the voices of the fishermen as they talk about their work. I want wind chapped cheeks. I want the sound of a boat motor humming and pictures of fishermen working hard, in a physically demanding job.
Today, I called the Portsmouth chief harbor master, Tracy Shattuck. I told him what I wanted to do. He laughed. Asked what kind of a story I wanted. I replied multimedia and he said, "Oh, a pretty story, eh?" Kind of, I replied.
I gave him my name, number, mission and asked that he tell the fishing companies who use the port if they would be interested in letting me join them out on the dark and wild sea.
"I'll see what I can do," he promised.
I really hope he calls me back.

The year there were no Apples

This year Woodman Farm, a part of the UNH horticultural department, was hit with a brief but tragic hailstorm. The apple orchard was completely devastated. From afar the apples look red, and ripe, and plentiful, but upon closer inspection it is easy to see the black, rotting holes.

Typically, Woodman Farm harvests the apples and gives them to UNH dining, where they are served to the students. This will not be the case this year.

I'm going to try and create a multimedia piece about the apple orchards on Woodman farm. John McLean is the manager of the farm and has been working there for most of his life. Evan Ford is the assistant manager and has also been working at the farm for quite some time.

The hail storm was this past summer and the apples would typically be picked right around now. McLean and Ford now have to spend more time than usual picking through the mostly rotten apples to find the unblemished fruits.

I'm also going to talk to Jon Plodzik the UNH Dining Manager, to find out how the lack of apples from Woodman is effecting the dining halls.

The summer was one of the wettest in recent years, crops were bad all around. I'd also like to travel to local farms and see how their crops were effected by the incessant rain and hail storms.

This is news because food production is important, especially local food production. This year in particular is important because of the horrible weather and increased costs of farming.

Visually I'm going to show the apples and just how badly they were destroyed. I will also use voice over from McLean and Ford about how the storm and their reactions when they found out how badly they'd been hit.

I think this could work.

thoughts on multimedia

i've just finished watching a few of the multimedia stories on mediastorm.org and i found them to be absolutely stunning. these stories, all completely different, some devastating and some hopeful, are presented so beautifully.
before watching these i didn't really know what multimedia was. i knew it was using sound and videos and music but i never thought of combining them in such a powerful way. i think this is a great way to present some stories, but not all. i love writing and reading and i think that a well written story can be just as moving. i would be devastated if print journalism fell out of practice but believe that multimedia and print can exist together harmoniously. in addition, though multimedia encompasses more mediums, photography, video, and sound, it cannot capture the depth that a well researched written story can.
i imagine that multimedia stories will become very popular very soon.