Special Coverage

Last April a terrible tragedy shook the streets of Boston. During the Boston Marathon, terrorists set off two bombs claiming lives and forever changing others. Tragedies, such as the Boston Marathon, don’t happen everyday. When events like this happen they deserve special coverage. Today’s lecture focused on the coverage the Boston Marathon received. 

On Tuesday, the terrible tragedy occurred. Publications everywhere were trying to find key information to what had happened. Breaking news flooded TV’s and social media was buzzing with new information updates. 

As time passed, publications began covering the tragedy extensively. The  Boston Globe ran a front coverage saying “Marathon Terror” with gruesome images of the bombings. They also released an emotional video. It relied more on experience than actual news information. The reporter speaking said, “It’s something I will never forget..” 

Time Magazine created a digital magazine solely on the Boston Marathon bombings. The Daily News in New York City used the Boston Marathon Bombings for their front page. Newspapers began running pictures so families could find their relatives. This happens a lot in disaster situations. Webpages featuring the bombings also began appearing on the Web. These pages reported on known information. 

During events like the Boston Marathon Bombings it is important to sit back and think about how you want to cover it. A story like this has multiple pieces. It is important to figure out what you want to cover and report the truth. Journalism’s integrity lies in truth. Tragedies like this need more truth than normal stories. Many people are affected by this.

Below is a slideshow of images the Boston Globe took during the terrible tragedy last year.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/specials/boston-marathon-explosions

 

 

MU student dreams of future success

MU student, Ben Landis, right, helps his friend, Jason Boatright, left, with Spanish homework on Tuesday, April 15, 2014. Landis believes that hard work now increases potential success in the future.

On email changed it all. On April 3, 2014, MU student Ben Landis received an email he’d been dreaming of for years. He had been accepted into the Missouri School of Journalism.

Dreams don’t materialize without hard work and dedication. “My dream has always been to write for the New York Times and I won’t let anything stop me from achieving that dream,” said Landis.

Although his acceptance letter in only the first step, Landis believes in himself. Over the past two years, Landis has maintained a steady job at Deja Vu Comedy Club.

MU student, Ben Landis, right, is minoring in Spanish. Landis helps MU student, Jason Boatright, left, learn Spanish by explaining the imperfect tense on Tuesday, April 15, 2014.

When he is not working, Landis finds himself studying with friends. “I study with friends because we can help each other when we need it. Some of my friends need help in Spanish and I often find myself needing help in other classes,” said Landis.

Landis balances work and school because of his dream.

“I have always enjoyed reading their articles, I can’t wait for the day my name is written under a column,” said Landis.

What NOT to do on the final project…

As the semester comes to a close, brains begin to disengage. Focusing in class becomes a struggle, instead of listening students are day dreaming. It gets even worse when the 50 minute lecture is over and students are left to their own will. Well, the semester isn’t over! Now is the time to buckle down and finish strong. 

The final project for J2150 is a pretty hefty one. It includes a text story, a video story, an audio story (or audio slideshow), a picture porfolio and a neatly done website. This project is a big part of student’s grades and today in lecture we were reminded of the things we should not do for this project.

For the text story, we should be aware of the nut graph. Students must not forget the importance of a nut graph in an article. Also, we need to watch the length of the piece! Nobody wants to read a three page article. For the video story students should NOT behead people, place interview subjects in front of a window due to incoming light, and interview people anywhere besides eye level.

Common audio mistakes that must be avoided are: no nat sounds, non-normalized levels, handling noise and speaking to quickly. As for the picture slideshow and portfolio it is important to watch for focus, underexposure, and unimaginative angles. 

All semester long we have been learning the “do’s” and “don’ts” of multimedia story telling. Now is the time to show what we have learned!

Below is a link to information regarding nut graphs:

http://www.thenutgraph.com/about/

Here is a link to storytelling techniques:

http://www.amandalewan.com/blog/digital-storytelling/25-21-awesome-storytelling-techniques

 

 

Responsibility when dealing with ethical decisions…

Journalists follow a code of ethics. There is no written rule for what is appropriate and what is not; it is up to journalists and their editors to decide that. The best rule of thumb is: “If you’re not sure, don’t. If you still believe you should, ask.” The ethical standard a journalist applies to their work is their responsibility, no one else’s. 

Unethical things happen in journalism. These unethical things can occur at every publication. Examples of unethical actions are plagiarizing, making up a story, and copying information from the internet. All of these actions break the code of ethics. They belittle the profession of journalism. 

Do the write thing. If your doing something you wouldn’t tell your parents, grandparents, and professors about, don’t do it! Don’t add sources that don’t exist, don’t alter a pictures content or tone, and don’t edit video or audio that changes the meaning of someones words. It’s all wrong. The job of a journalist is report on and tell the truth. 

The bottom line is to be honest. Make good choices that won’t shun you or the profession. Readers and viewers deserve the truth about what is going on in the world around them. Tell the truth, it’s your responsibility as a journalist. 

 

Below is a link to the SPJ Code of Ethics.

http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp

 

Story Telling Essentials

Journalism is about telling a story. It always has been and it always will be. Over time, technology has allowed story telling to take on new forms: video, audio, print, online, the list is seemingly endless. The foundation of story telling will never change. The first question every journalist should ask is: “What’s my story?” The key to finding and portraying a good story is emotion. Without emotion, the story won’t go anywhere. It won’t hold your attention or your audiences attention. 

Video story telling has been happening since the early 1930’s. During lecture, the entire hall watched an earlier work called Night Mail which was created in 1936. Ironically, the work had similarities to the works we are accustomed to today. Yes, the film was in black and white and the graphics, well, lets just not go there. But, what the work did have was technique. Over the course of the semester, J2150 has taught journalism students, such as myself, the importance of proper technique. Night Mail shared these techniques. The work included: cutaways, close-ups, establishing shots, and many different angles for the various shots. The story also included emotion. Although this work was not what many of us are accustomed to, it still held our attention. The use of techniques made the work enjoyable to watch.

Night Mail was filmed with very large, heavy equipment. Today; however, the new trend is to use smaller, light weight equipment. Currently, video productions are being captured with small cameras such as Canons, Nikons, Black Magic, and Red DSLR cameras. These are most commonly used in Hollywood and for documentaries. Technology has come a long way and using smaller equipment helps get the story collected better. These types of cameras are producing many types of work: time-lapse stories, self-produced documentaries, image building for advertisements, and micro-documenting. All video story telling is a collaboration. 

Over the years, a lot about story telling has changed. Mainly due to technological advances with the equipment. The core of story telling has not changed and probably won’t for years to come.

Below is a link to the work Night Mail (1936). Take note on the similar techniques used then and now!

 

 

Outline, Outline, Outline!

Storyboarding is essentially a visual outline. It helps a reporter think through a story before they get out in the field. For reporters, this is a critical step in organizing shots, interviews, and B-roll. It is very easy to get to the story and forget the essential components such as B-roll, which I have personally done, shots of certain things, special interview points; the list is endless. What a storyboard does is allow the reporter time to sit down and think. Think about the shots, angles, interviews, b-roll, and everything else needed to make a good story come to life. 

 

There are two ways to storyboard: front end storyboarding and back end storyboarding. Front end storyboarding is used primarily for commercial environments. In these environments, it dictates nearly everything that is done. This type of storyboarding gives the project structure. It allows journalists to keep their story tight by creating shot lists. Essentially a shot list, is as it claims to be a list of shots. By having one of these, a journalist can simply check off the different shots as they take and collect them. 

 

Back end storyboarding is primarily used for documentaries. It is formed from the foundation of what you found and logged. Here, a reporter goes into the field, collects the information and then creates a story outline. This becomes the outline of how a reporter wants to tell a story. It can be general or detailed. 

 

Storyboarding, regardless of what type, is an essential key to organization. A lot of items go into making a good story great. With the help of an outline, a reporter is prepared to capture and collect the necessary items while at the scene. It also allows reporters to collect more information and shots while there because they aren’t focused solely on getting the required shots. Storyboarding is a efficient way to organize story ideas before going out to shoot. 

 

Below is a link that further explains storyboarding.

http://multimedia.journalism.berkeley.edu/tutorials/starttofinish/storyboarding/

 

Journalism on the go!

Another week, another lesson. Today’s lesson was different than the previous lectures. Rather than discussing traditional ways to develop journalism stories, the speaker spoke about an up and coming way to gather the same information. The topic was mobile journalism. With technology on the rise and the need for immediate coverage journalism is beginning to think of new ways to get the news to its audience. Mobile journalism is one route being tested and it’s happening here at the University of Missouri.

There are three types of mobile journalism: mobile gathering, single platform, and gatekeeper less. Each of the three types are done with less equipment than the traditional way of gathering the news. Mobile journalism centers around the idea of less equipment, more mobility. iPads, iPhones, and other new technologies are used instead of cameras, tripods, and camcorders resulting in less bulk for journalists to carry from action to action. Lately, I have dealt with the annoyance of lack of mobility due to a tripod in a small room. I can only imagine how nice it is to use an iPad to capture the moment instead of a handful equipment and cords. 

One very positive aspect about mobile journalism is that it is less expensive than traditional equipment. With journalism as a whole facing facing major changes and trying to make ends meet, this could be a very good thing for outlets around the United States. Sadly, every good thing has it’s drawbacks. For mobile journalism, the equipment lessens the quality. So what is better quality or price? I suppose that is up to individuals to decide. 

Read the link below to see what an MU Professor says about mobile journalism and it’s future 

The Future of Journalism Is Here, MU Professor Says

Here’s a link to a site that lists essential items for a mobile kit!

The Essential Mobile Journalism Kit

More on video!

This week’s lecture was about making good video. The guest speaker, whom I believe works at KOMU, gave the lecture hall tips for collecting and reporting good videos. For starters, he spoke about the importance of “say it, see it.” This technique is rather simple in concept; once an interview subject says something, you should try to show it right after the person says it. So, while collecting video it’s a good idea to listen to what the subject being interviewed says so you can collect a shot of the individual doing the action he is speaking about.

Another tip given was action, reaction. Action, reaction is a simple technique that allows a viewer to see something happen and then see the audiences reaction. For example, there’s a fire. So the reporter would gather a clip of the fire and then turn around and catch the reactions on the bystanders faces. Essentially, this allows the video to have emotion; it gives the viewers a sense of the scene.

The last helpful tip given during lecture was to start and end a video with your best shot. The beginning is important because it grabs the viewers action. The end is important because it leaves the story with a finished feeling. Many times, people open with a wide shot so the audience can get a sense of context. 

This weeks lecture was interesting to sit through because he showed a lot of good video examples. The guest lecturer not only explained his tips but showed us them within his own work. 

 

Below is an example of a good video. The beginning of the video sets the scene and as the individuals talk about certain things, they show it also. These simple tips make a good video even better. 

 

http://www.today.com/id/54565135/ns/today-today_food/t/mardi-gras-recipes-crawfish-spring-rolls-corn-relish-more/#.UxYevHlupg0

Good Audio is Imperative

Good audio is essential because it allows the audience to have a better understanding of the story. Viewers will watch bad video if there is good audio; however, they won’t watch good video with bad audio. Needless to say, good audio is a must. 

In order to get good audio individuals must be themselves, learn to listen and make the dialogue a conversation. Audio for multimedia involves many different sound types. For production purposes, a journalist should collect an interview, ambient sound and natural sound. Ambient sound and natural sound are two different things. Ambient sound is room noise while natural sound is something being done for example a teacher clapping his hands. For post production purposes a journalist could use a voice over or add music: voice overs and music add environment to the audio. Good sound creates space, meaning, rhythm, mystery, continuity and emotion all qualities journalists strive for and viewers enjoy. 

Audio is extremely important, as a matter of fact a bulk of production time is spent on audio. Tips for collecting good audio are: always wear headphones, keep the meter between -6dB and -12dB and keep the microphone close to whoever is speaking. Good audio enhances stories. Create a sense of environment for your viewers by giving them good audio!

Below is a link to a website that summarizes the dos and don’ts of good audio slideshows. Enjoy!

http://themultimediajournalist.wordpress.com/2013/03/15/what-makes-a-good-audio-slideshow-the-dos-and-donts/

 

Think First

There are many ways to approach a project or assignment; however, the first step remains the same: THINK. Sounds simple enough but without a well thought out plan, a project can take a down hill spiral rather quickly. There are many aspects to consider when planning a project: questions, shot sequence, where the project should be filmed, equipment, sounds, and so on. All these sound rather simple in theory; however, when the time comes to do it, ideas get lost and technique flies out the window. 

 

A video project MUST be well thought out. Before shooting, take the time to write out your ideas. Go into the project with a “workable” outline that way when it comes time to shoot you include what you originally set off to capture along with any other creative ideas that come to mind in the midst of shooting. Remember, the goal is to tell a story. In order make a good story great, use different angles, lighting and shots. 

 

During lecture this week, Professor Rice showed an incredible video titled “Tell A Story, A Thousand More.”  As a viewer, one could tell that this video was thoroughly thought out. It told a great story and made it wonderful with the use of lighting, shot sequences, great interviews and different angles. 

Planning ahead really does make a difference in the final product. Think first, shoot second. 

Below is a link to three good examples of video storytelling:

http://adamwestbrook.wordpress.com/2012/02/20/three-more-examples-of-video-storytelling-at-its-best/