The guest op-ed columnist for The Boston Globe attended UNH and reminisces over learning the basics of English:
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
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 guest op-ed columnist for The Boston Globe attended UNH and reminisces over learning the basics of English:
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.
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.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
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.
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.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
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.
We'll be more ambitious when it comes to layering sound and adding music for the next one. No more slackin.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
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!
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!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
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.
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.
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