MM #2: Let's Look At Your Work!

Okay, so here's the video/blog/tweet recap, posted in the order in which they were received. I ask that you please look at EACH multimedia package and read my comments for EACH MM package (not just your own!), so we can learn like we've learned from each other throughout this semester. If you're not looking at the work of others and the related comments, then you are not learning from this exercise.

Also, examine how the mediums complement each other: the preview does just that; the tweet stream allows you to follow what was previewed, as it actually happens; and the recap wraps it all up.

BTW, unless you received an email from me noting a specific grade, your grade for the Web posts, video and Twitter exercises was 4.0 on each.

One more thing: a number of people did not turn in this assignment at all. I need to warn you one last time that not turning in any assignment will do damage to your final grade. Not turning in many assignments will do much damage.

Here we go ... 


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Courtney C.: Road work video and preview post and recap post and tweets #constructionchaos

The video style here is what we call a "stand-up," which is literally that: a reporter stands in front of the camera and narrates the report. But notice the extensive use of B-roll throughout, especially within interview segments where we start with the talking head, then while the head continues to talk we switch the visual to B-roll that shows what the person is talking about, and then we return and finish with the talking head shot. Good story structure here. It's the video equivalent of pairing telling facts and quotes in print.

The Twitter stream shows a good approach for tweeting a non-breaking story, where basically you lay out the issue in a structure very similar to that of a written story, but you do it tweet-by-tweet instead of graf-by-graf.

The problem here was with the blog posts; not in structure but use of hyperlinks. The links were not embedded into regular text; instead, we embedded it in text of the link itself. Plus, we were far short of the two original hyperlinks per post minimum; we just have one link, twice used.

Rachel B.:Video games video and preview post and recap post and tweets #jcplaylis

The video could have used a lot more B-roll. Look at it this way: the story is about something visual: video games. We should show a visual story visually, with LOTS of B-roll showing the animated nature of what we're talking about. The more a story is inherently visual, the more we should use B-roll and show the animation.

Tweets show a strong play-by-play of one player playing video games, with tweet pics to show visually in addition to telling by text. And hyperlinks are not a problem here; one post has five. You can't have enough hyperlinks. That leaves it up to the reader to decide how much they want to explore a subject; if they just want a quick read, they read your post and be done with it. If they want to know more, they can use the hyperlinks without having to go elsewhere to more fully delve into the topic.

Hallie A.: Greek life video and preview post and recap post and tweets #

The video is totally inadequate. There's no editing or B-roll or captions whatsoever; it's just raw tape. Plus, the two interview subjects are conflicts of interest; they are related to the interviewer. The waiver from conflicts was for the first multimedia assignment only. Just as concerning, the sources have no actual connection or relevance to the subject. We were supposed to use the kinds of sources we used for our written out-of-class story.

The blog posts fail to embed hyperlinks within the content, and general grammar is sloppy. Online media needs the same attention to grammar basics as we would expect in traditional print journalism.

Shannon K.: City market video and preview post and recap post and tweets #rockfordcitymarket

LOTS of B-roll SHOWING what sources are talking about. Plus, four sources! Two is just the minimum; the necessary amount is however many you need to get a broad sense of things. The blog posts properly embed hyperlinks within existing text, and again exceeds the minimum. You can never have too many hyperlinks in a story. With the tweets, let's avoid offering opinion and endorsements; we are journalists, who should remain neutral. So, prompting your audience to do something is a non-no. Tell them what is happening, and let them decide what to do on their own.

Kenedi R.: Youth program video and preview post and recap post and tweets #detroityouthworks

Don't play music and have speaking audio at the same time; the former just blots out the latter. Let's not make it hard for the audience to hear what people have to say. Additionally, we needed captions to see who was being interviewed; we were short of our minimum of two people being interviewed; and while it was good that we used still pictures as B-roll, we simply needed more.

Plus, did we have written permission to use the copyrighted song for background music? If not, congrats: you have committed your first federal crime, as noted by the Student Press Law Center's Web site:

—Can I use a recent pop song as background music for a feature story on our school TV station?

Not without permission or purchase of the appropriate license. While you could use a short clip of the song, for example, as part of a bona fide music review of the CD from which it comes, using the song solely as background music would not qualify as fair use. For more information, see the SPLC’s Guide to Music Licensing for Broadcasting and Webcasting.

It's not enough to give credit; you must have permission.

The tweet stream does a nice job with a non-breaking event; it simply lays out facts and key points in a descending order of importance, like we would with a traditional print story. But instead of doing that graf-by-graf we do that tweet-by-tweet. The blog correctly embeds hyperlinks within existing text, and doesn't create redundant text just for the hyperlink spelling out the URL.

Kamen K.: Golf course flooding video and preview post and recap post and tweets #txgcfloods

OUTSTANDING B-roll here? What makes it outstanding? While a golf course official talks about a flooded course, we play B-roll showing the flooding from the perspective of a motorboat trekking across the flooded course! We show (via video) AND tell (via interview) at the same time. That's what we're aiming for; telling a story in two dimensions simultaneously.

Rachel F.: College tuition video and preview post and recap post and tweets #msutuitionincrease

Using graphics and charts as B-roll was a good idea, but execution could have been a bit better: it's not clear whether the first one represents percentage changes or dollar amounts or what, and on the second one we see the explanation key at the end of the B-roll shot; up to that point, a viewer had no idea what they were looking at. Always start with the key.

The blog posts were too similar. One should have focused on the action (the increase and why it's happening) and the other the reaction (what students have to say about it).

Natasha B.: Foster care video and preview post and recap post and tweets # fosteringincolorado

It would have been helpful in captions to identify the interview subjects not only by name but by title as well, so that the viewer can establish their credibility and relevance. Plus, for news articles (unlike for commercials and such) we should always us B-roll we shot ourselves, and not stock B-roll as I suspect was used here.

The tweets are another good example of how to tweet non-breaking news: as a stream of news facts, laid out in much the same was we do for an inverted pyramid style of written news story, with a lede tweet and then fact tweets in descending order of importance.

Nadia L.: College drinking video and preview post and recap post and tweets #drinkresponsibly

The video did a very nice job of using still pictures and a graphic as B-roll, but we only had one on-tape interview; the minimum was two. The blog posts have good content, but fail to embed the hyperlinks into regular text (don't make the text the URL!) and is sloppy with AP Style rules, in addition to lacking the minimum of two hyperlinks per post.

Sakiya D.: Staying fit video and preview post and recap post and tweets #getfit

In the vid, we want to use captions to identify sources instead having them say who they are. That saves tape time for what they have to say, instead of wasting a few seconds here and there for them to say who they are. The content of the blog posts are fine but we're missing a basic need: attribution! All because we're delving into new mediums doesn't mean we give up old fundamentals. Readers still need to know how we know what we know.

Aundreanna J.-P.: College prep video and preview post and recap post and tweets #preparingforcollege

One thing to remember when shooting video with your phone: you will end up playing video on a horizontal screen, so shoot horizontally and not vertically. When we shoot vertically -- the camera phone facing up-t0-down, instead of sideways -- we end up getting those black "bookmarks" on either end of the image, which we don't want. Plus, let's make sure transitions between segments are smooth; the video ends kind of abruptly.

Meghan C.: E-books video and preview post and recap post and tweets #ebooksvsprint

With the video, we offered attribution via caption every time a certain source appeared on video. All we needed was the first attribution via caption, and then none after that. Why? Because unlike in print where we need an attribution with every quote because that's the only cue that readers have as to who is talking, in video we have a second cue: the source's face and voice. So, after we attach a name and title to the face and voice in the first reference, the face and voice alone are enough to offer clear attribution in subsequent references.

Also, while we offer b-roll of traditional books, we never offer B-roll of an e-book. Just like in a print story we can't not quote a direct player, in a video story we can't forget to include B-roll of what they story is primarily about.

The only big knock I have on the blog posts is that you don't use two unique hyperlinks per post; you use the same links in each post. That's a no-no.