Athlete Mentors

Video to come

Uploading my video as soon as possible - the file size is HUGE thanks to Final Cut. I may go back and edit for the UNH Athletics website, I've been in touch with Cathy Coakley. I'd like to include better visuals, and footage of the two of them at a UNH hockey game. (As well as pictures detailing Micaela and Linsey's pasts.)

Stay tuned!

Final Presentations: Day 2

Nicole: The Graduate
I loved her clean video - great shots and easy to understand audio. Everything was pieced together tightly - nothing about it was sloppy. As she said, if she had more time and was able to follow up on whether the graduate got her job or not, the piece would have been more compelling. But I was attracted to the simplicity of the story line, lighthearted college music, and statistics. Great shots of her in front of the mirror before the interview.

DJ: Alabaster Blue
God, the closing scene of this reminded me so much of being in high school choir. Sitting and listening to the recording - something you've worked so hard on. I loved the smiles at the end - and the candids - the dancing while recording, the records in the background during the interviews. Splendid job. I think the sound and video quality could have been improved, but it's Windows Movie Maker - understand. Great professional voice over.

Brittney
Phil said it all: she might as well have gotten naked in front of the class with her revealing, intimate story of losing Justin in 2007. I had the privilege of watching the video three times, as well as seeing the pictures before she put her project together. I cried every time. It's hard to critique something when you can't even find words after watching it because of the emotion in your throat. The silence, the images, it said it all. Just the fade ins and fade outs are areas to work on - and I think I can only think of that because Sandy said something...

Phil
That project was TIGHT!! Phil was right on with his editing: the sounds of the tattoo needle, the coloring of the tattoos, his minimalist approach - only showing the tattoo, no faces, plain backgrounds...it was beautiful. Completely newspaper-website worthy. And artistic. I loved it. Just right.

Val
Including the student perspective (showing that students actually care) about the durham water quality was cool - as was the shot of the women on Oyster river and the historic town photos. I thought there could have been a way of including better shots of the students - but she made something I'd normally fall asleep listening to relevant and enjoyable.

Justin
Justin had a solid concept - especially considering hockey's popularity here on campus. As DJ pointed out - leaving out any first person would have worked in his favor, as well as fine tuning the audio and developing a cleaner story line. Good shots of people camping out for hockey tickets, and audio of the "orgy" chant that shocked Phil. Made me want to pack the arena.

Final Presentations

It was fun watching everyone's final presentation, comparing software and techniques, and getting to show off what we'd each worked on individually. The following is a breakdown of the presentations of the last two weeks:

Sylvia: A relationship, through college and high school
I was immediately struck at the difference between her final presentation and initial presentation. Good for her for getting started with ample time for tweaking the subject matter. Her story, with additional text screens, had a comprehensive story arc that made the relationship increasingly relevant throughout the piece. Especially with the ending, where each admitted they were reaching a crossroads and didn't really know what the future would bring. Great screen text, candids, and better order.

Mike: The Press Project
Mike's colors were really artistic - all a consistent muted orange-red-black-brown tone...that combined with the beats from the live show made his compelling and entertaining. Sometimes I struggled to hear the voices over the background noise, and found it hard to tell what was going on, but he put it together nicely with the ending: just freestyle from one of the shows. Made me wanna go watch one (that and the history of the band with close ups of boston venues - well done.)

Cam: NYC Marathon
Duh. What can I say? Phenomenal. Set the bar high for all of us following him. Took the time for diary entries, music, photo shopping for color, a comprehensive history and chronicle of a relationship with his dad. I left feeling queasy about my project. Spectacular job. Although I CAN say this: I do think once he learns final cut, he'll be making even better movies - so if this was done on premium software, I don't know how, but I imagine there would've been some way to improve it.

AJ: Pease Greeters
Solid subject matter and overall message - I was impressed with some of the interviews and unique history of the piece. I love feel-good stuff, and this was one of those. I do think some improvements could have been made with editing - the story arc, and making the audio easier to hear. Overall, some of the personalities she captured shined through, though - definitely an interesting story.

Danielle: Medical Marijuana
Some great quotes, great pictures. I love how she added the stairs at the start - she needed that, since the rest is in his room, where he feels he is a prisoner. She found someone willing to share and be completely open with the camera - just his simple audio paired with black and white pictures gave the desired effect - a little spooky and depressing. Great job Danielle.

Athlete Mentors rough draft and scoop

Audio accidentally deleted. Unfortunate circumstances resulting in missing out on TWO hockey game opportunities. Camera dying on extra last minute photo shoot. Trying to learn imovie before scrapping it for the familiar: Final Cut.

Unable to upload this last night.

On the bright side: strong audio.

Still have to: add music, change text color, and Ken Burns effects.

Thats all folks. Presentation in approx. 12 hours.

Ciao!

project paranoia

I'm crossing my fingers that I can switch with Cam Kittle or any other generous multimedia student...

Turns out the hockey game I had planned to go to is at Northeastern tomorrow, and I have no way of getting there - and one of my interviews fell through last week. So if I somehow have an extension I'll have time for more interviews and photo ops to put the final presentation together by the 9th.

Again, I'm crossing my fingers. And praying. Double duty.

Meeting for a substitute interview on Monday, looking to go to another get-together, and looking into future home games.

That's all for now!

Breaking news: more project scoop

Had the chance to talk via phone to my athlete mentor, Micaela Long today. We are set to meet on Thursday in person and for an excursion to Newington to meet with Linsey, the girl she is mentoring.

This pairing is slightly nontraditional, considering the fact that Linsey is a sophomore in high school. The two met last year when they were randomly paired - Long's teammate is the mentor of Linsey's twin sister.

Long said the two go on walks, play tennis, mostly just talk for about an hour or two every week. Long said that although Linsey isn't that into sports, she goes to Long's hockey games throughout the year, and Long supports her efforts in the band at school.

I'll be meeting with Long at the bare minimum on Friday, along with Cathy Coakley, and friends of Long throughout the weekend. Long said she was surprised at how well the two bonded after learning more about each other over the year - it's awkward at first, but becomes less so with time.

I'm looking into finding pictures of Long for the slideshow, and pictures of Linsey. I know Linsey comes from a single-parent home, so I'll be looking for other angles to make the story compelling. Music, audio of their get-togethers, and interviews will help bring it together.

Calling calling calling...finally a pair!

After calling Annaliese Fisher, the coordinator for the Newmarket Rec Center's Club Chameleon (which works with the UNH Athlete Mentors program), I finally got an answer and a pair with history.

Micaela Long, a senior hockey player, has been participating in the project for multiple years in her time at UNH. She and the child she is mentoring have a history. I've contacted her and will have some background to present to the class tomorrow - this will determine the artistic direction I take with the soundslides, as well as the particular locations I choose to shoot. I plan on attending a practice, getting insight from her teammates and coach, as well as the child on a future outing. All before Thanksgiving break so I can put the finishing touches together by Dec.2.

That's what I got. Slow but steady wins the race...(I've been anxious for a while...) more updates to come soon!

Project update

Made the phone call to Annaliese Fisher, the coordinator for the Newmarket Rec Center's Club Chameleon program this week. Analiese said she'd set me up with a pair that had a long history and established rapport.

After talking about our projects with Sandy and our groups, I decided to go with a focus on the athlete and how he's changed - along with the more visible changes in the child he's mentoring.

Locations, in my head, included wherever their activities take them, the Newmarket Rec center, the child's home environment, and places around UNH.

I'd like to get interviews from people who know the two really well.

But as Sandy pointed out, it all depends on the pair I get assigned to. I'll check in later this week and start gathering as much as I can right here on campus with the athlete. Next week I'll have the time to make it out to Newmarket.

The rest of the challenge will be making the project as visually appealing as the time we're given allows - Sandy's really given us a chance to make this beautiful. There's more opportunity than other news outlets have with throwing stuff together - now's the time to be a perfectionist and make it look good.

Theme: it's not just "make it work." It's "make really, really good looking." Taking a cue from Derek Zoolander.

Video: Career Fair

Young's Slide Show

Project thoughts - Athlete Mentors

I was glad that I had just come from meeting with one of the Athlete Mentors coordinators, Cathy Coakley, right before class on Monday. Everything was fresh in my mind: after meeting with her, I had started visualizing what I wanted for the project.

I'm planning on following certain athletes who are paired with an underprivileged youth associated with the Newmarket Recreation Center.

The Newmarket Rec Center started The Chameleon Club years ago in an attempt to teach kids from tumultuous backgrounds the essentials of staying active. UNH Athletics became involved a few years ago - in essence, an athlete is paired with one of the children (from elementary school to high school) and does an activity at least once a week with them. They act as a role model one of the kids wouldn't normally have.

Cathy suggested focusing on two pairs: a female mentor and her female kid, and a male mentor and his male kid. That way I could see the different dynamics between the two.

However, after talking in class on Tuesday, I relayed the story of a mentor Cathy had mentioned just last year. One of the skiiers had taught an 8th grader how to ride a bike, make healthy food choices, and find fun outdoor activities. The kid ended up losing weight and walked away with tons of confidence - the two had met throughout McNamara's career at UNH.

Telling the story prompted suggestions from my group on focusing on the personal side of the story. Though it may be invasive, interviewing the children's family members, as well as tagging along and interviewing those who work at the Newmarket rec center, would give me a meatier story. The background would provide the context to have my project mean something.

Now, I hope to target one specific pair, get a full glimpse of their story, including the child's past. What kinds of role model did the kid have before? What do his parents or single parent think? What is he getting out of the program? Why did he join?

I still need to ask what pairs are availabe and decide if I want someone just starting out, or a pair continuing their mentor relationship this year. If I choose the first, I'd get great first meetings and genuine awkwardness or admiration (I hear the boys admire the athletes more than the girls do). But if I choose the latter, I'd have an extensive background to comb through, and specific results to cite.

Cathy Coakley and those with Newmarket Rec would provide a context and have valuable outside commentary.

The bottom line is that the class cemented my idea and helped me go with more of a personal story - I have the focus, now I just need the pair to meet, interview, tape, and creat a story from.

Shootin some video

For our latest assignment, we were to get out there and record some shots of people. As in, video...with a point n' shoot camera.

I took my trusty Nikon and did the best I could at Monday's UNH Career Fair. People were streaming in and out of the building from noon to 4 p.m., dressed in suits, pants, dresses and heels, carrying their resumes.

When I tried to go inside, Nancy Hoff, one of the Career Advisors, stopped me. I needed a prior appointment.

Immediately, I wished I had taken video at the Making Strides Walk to Cure Breast Cancer in Dover, NH. There, I had a steady stream of walkers behind me, many dressed in t-shirts with names of survivors in brilliant colors. Would've made for some cool visuals.

Instead, I was directed to the balcony at the top of the MUB, where I could take unlimited video. OK, a bird's eye view is fine...except for the fact that a point n' shoot can only do so much with close-ups. And my angles couldn't get that interesting. I ended up focusing on the room as a whole and then some interesting stations with good looking dialogue between employers and students.

I came back downstairs and interviewed students, one-on-one. Then, in a lucky chance meeting, I ran into Jason Whitney, the director - who I happened to know from past appointments and interviews.

He happily stepped aside and talked about the career fair.

Not that interesting. And the lighting was definitely not Fred Field quality.

But I got some interesting interviews, from students eager to learn. We'll see what happens when it comes to piecing it together. Hoping for the best.

Photojournalism: Freda Degannes

The New York Times' feature "One in 8 million" captures the essence of photojournalism - snapshots of the lives of every day New Yorkers.

In the feature on Freda Degannes, the photographer pairs pictures of Freda on the street with the beginning of Degannes's narration. We are, literally, "meeting" Degannes for the first time. These photos provide the perfect bridge into her life. She finds out about her blood disorder from a "tiny cut." The journalist is letting us see the surface of Degannes' life.

From there, shots of Degannes in black and white - profiles, up close, on the subway - let us into the intense uncertainty she describes in her story. Most striking to me was when she describes the doctors telling her, "if you don't take this surgery, you have a 99 percent chance of surviving." The camera is closer to her face, which is in a semi-profile - Fred-Field style. Her stare off into space, remembering the shock. Her mouth almost forms a smile - she is clearly back in that time of her life.

And then: scars. The scars running across her belly last for several seconds on the screen. A simple close-up that tells more of the story than anything else. This was major surgery. Again, the photographer is using a shock of light on left, with a hazy shadow falling to the right, much like Fred Field. The light shines on the raised surfaces of the scars, the recesses of marks along her stomach.

This photo is the turning point in the story. From here on, were are inside Degannes' life - inside her home, where she is seen in the kitchen, next to artwork and plants that tell her personality.

The final shot of Degannes brings her story full-circle. From puzzlement, to uncertainty, to shots of Degannes post-surgery, of her stomach and home, we can watch Degannes grow and change. the photos grow more intimate as the story progresses, and her final look - laying back in the chair - captures her newfound appreciation for life. She says she doesn't feel like the same person - she has a belief in God and a wonder at the world around her.

The photographer for the New York Times used many of Fred Field's tricks. He's a fan of contrast - soft shadows on right side, balanced with shocks of light on the left. He's able to use backlight without obscuring many of the fine details- the ripples of the curtains are still visible in the picture where Degannes contemplates what she's given up.

That final toss of the hair in the soft light of the window perfectly captures Degannes' spirit and attitude. The pictures, largely profiles in the beginning, become focused around the front of Degannes' face. The photographer has a way with getting her to express her emotion - emotion never leaves the story. An underlying sense of tension, then joy.

The photgrapher's lighting of Degannes' face and movements captures all.

Senior Portraits

Wednesday's class with Fred Field was in one word: awesome. I realized that no one had ever sat me down and specifically explained to me the use and importance of photojournalism. Or the use of light. Or that photography was all about using light - what was it that Fred said? Photography is..."drawing with light."

Here are my group's "Before" pictures (two of Phil and Brittney):


















And, the "after" - after Fred Field's fabulous lesson (Hint: windows are God's gift to photographers - provide the perfect filter for natural light) :

The legacy of Donald Murray lives on

Ran across this article today, valuing the essence of the English language and those who aspire to become reporters.

The guest op-ed columnist for The Boston Globe attended UNH and reminisces over learning the basics of English:

The writing craft, from hand to hand

Thought any journalism student or prof might enjoy.

Posting Pics

While pondering what in the world I was going to take pictures of for this week's assignment, I noticed that Houghton's Ace Hardware (located next to my apartment) had been demolished last week. And I hadn't heard anything about it.

So I took advantage of some morning sunshine and snapped a few pics.

Then, after selling programs, I snapped a few photos of the football game against Dartmouth. (Not the best, but I do like the concession one).

Brittney Murray helpfully pointed out my better photos - the ones where a person took up 25 percent of the space.

Still, I have some room to grow as a photojournalist. I was wishing I could have found something a little more unique for a newsworthy photo - something a little flashier.

UNH Police

For my group's second project, we decided to tackle one of the constants in every UNH student's life: the UNH police.

On Friday I joined a UNH PD officer for a ride-along. My mission was to pick up b-roll for a narrated story of sorts.

The officer pulled up to the department and after a series of questions and my signature, took me out to the streets of Durham. I hadn't realized just how mundane many of the activities they went through ever day were.

When we pulled over a woman who hadn't stopped at a stop sign, the officer left his door slightly ajar. He explained the significance:

"You never know when someone could jump out and shoot at you - you need to be ready to jump out and roll to the ground at all times."

I pictured a scene from James Bond. He always knew how to dodge the bad guys.

"Have you ever had to do that?" I asked.

The officer grinned at me sheepishly. He had been on the job in Durham for almost 20 years before switching to the smaller UNH PD a few years ago.

"Well, no. But you should always be prepared."

From handicapped parking (a "major pet peeve"), to crossing a solid line, to uncalled for tones of urgency in fellow officer's voices on the dispatch radio, the live of a UNH cop looked quite complicated and fulfilling.

Still, I got some great noise when we pulled over the violaters - even him explaining their offenses - along with sirens, the radar, and dispatch. Plus, we learned about a state grant that pays for the Durham and UNH police to work together without quotas - they can make unlimited arrests on the weekends between 9 p.m. and the early morning hours. The UNH officer did say that little changed when he switched departments - that working for the UNH PD was essentially the same as working for the Durham PD.

Brittney interviewed a repeat offender yesterday, someone who definitely felt the effects of the state grant. And all of this while one of our TNH columnists ranted about the pointlessness of searching ceaselessly and arresting students for intoxication, even when almost at their rooms.

We're looking into the grant, interviewing Paul Deen, and putting it all together before noon today, with narration.

Wish us luck.

Success

So, Cam's software made it in time for a quick edit before class. Luckily, Steere's interview was so animated, it required little editing.

We'll be more ambitious when it comes to layering sound and adding music for the next one. No more slackin.

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Audio Adventures

How appropriate: this week's multimedia assignment gave my group a lesson about the simultaneous joys and pitfalls of modern technology.

We eagerly prepared for the audio piece about someone who "makes UNH work" - along with great B-Roll.

Brittney had the idea to cover someone who drives one of the UNH buses. It worked - so many people use the buses, both on and off campus to places like Portsmouth and Newmarket, we decided to go for it. Brit offered to hop on one of the UNH buses for some B-roll. All of us found a bus driver, John Steere, who was known for animated anecdotes.

The lack of batteries on Brittney's first trip on the bus hardly put a damper on things. She simply replaced the batteries and made a second trip, returning the recorder in time for Steere's awesome interview. It was great. Steere could ramble on and on, and somehow every half minute or so, he would have one of us rolling with laughter.

Crazy bus incidents, his opinion that a lot of UNH students could be "lazy" and probably wouldn't make it to class half the time with the buses, the 70 laps required of a night on the Woodsides loop, and his first day on the job...he was full of good stories.

Then it came time to edit the audio. We had used an audio recorder of Cam's, which worked well - until we found out that it wouldn't work on the mac operating system, and he no longer had the software with him (or with his old computer, where it had been downloaded.)

Panic.

We finally decided to get the software express mailed so we could do a late edit. So here we go, banking on the disk's arrival and quick edit before class - a day later than the deadline.

Such is the downside to poor planning/operating-system-specific software.

Things to keep in mind when purchasing my own audio recorder - make sure it can work with multiple operating systems.

Back to work on it tomorrow, crossing our fingers!

Some multimedia relief

In an era of increasing uncertainty for journalists, multimedia looks to me like a promising area of interest.

Focusing on new technology can only help the young and eager student looking to make their mark on the world. It's the wave of the future.

Interning for the Kitsap Sun allowed me to try my hand at actual multimedia reporting. It was fun using some of the skills I'd acquired in my high school video production class and past television internships. The lingo - "B-Roll," "shotgun mike," "video capture," was all old and familiar. What was new was finding a distinctive multimedia style fit for a print publication website.

It's definitely different than T.V. Different than a fully narrated five minute morning magazine clip for WCBS news. Or an extended public service announcement.

Wading through the waters was a bit murky at first. I had to write a story as well as shoot, edit, and upload video. It was overwhelming. What should I focus on? Should I interview for the video or the article first?

Here's one project I worked on over the summer. The Kitsap Sun videographer had some great pointers and I learned a lot.

It became clear that there really is no defined formula for web multimedia. It was about two minutes to capture the highlights of the story - when pressed for time. But given more time and freedom, there really were no limits.

Which sets a pretty cool standard for the future. Is this where innovation is possible? Definitely. It's time for us students to go out there and take a hold of our journalistic future.