MM #2: What You Did

Here are some examples of your work. The comments are not being made to pick on anyone (in fact, these are some of the better examples of our work here) and no grades are being shared beyond me and the person whose work it is. 

But I am sharing comments to help us all get a sense of what we did well, and what we can do better, and how to do that. In my in-person class we'd be reviewing these vids as a group and discussing them, and that's what I'm trying to replicate here. 

So please take a look at EACH piece of work via the hyperlinks below, and see what ideas you can get by reviewing EVERYONE'S work to make your next multimedia assignment go as well as possible.

Off we go:

* Tabinda S.: graduating on time video and blog posts: Good B-roll here, doing what B-roll is supposed to do: show what people are talking about, as the interview subject is talking about it. Use your interviews as cues to what B-roll you need to shoot to illustrate the words of your interview subjects. 

Another thing to emulate here is the pacing. Instead of having one interview subject say everything they have to say and then the next, it goes back-and-forth, not ranked based on who is talking but what the issue is they are talking about. It's much more natural, conversational and structured for ease of viewer engagement.

Plus, let's make sure we stay within time parameters; for this assignment, it was 1-2 minutes; the video goes over 3 minutes. In the real world, you'd be expected to hit your time cue TO THE SECOND as a 30-minute newscast (23 minutes plus commercials) is literally scheduled to the second.

* Cassie B.: technology in theatre video and blog posts: Like noted in the previous post, the B-roll should illustrate what is being talked about. Here, it does not. The B-roll is of an empty theatre (which shows the theatre part but nothing connecting it with tech) and a person reading (which shows neither).

But the blog posts do a wonderful job of hyperlinking to background information. That's what hyperlinks do best; it provides that background in a second dimension so it doesn't clutter the written story for those who are happy with just a summary, but it gives those who want more the ability to get more information without having to go anywhere else. You give them a one-stop shop for subject exploration. Hyperlinks are one big difference between print and online journalism; giving the audience that two-dimensional presentation that allows for shorter stories without sacrificing background.

* Sarah A.: condom use video and blog posts: This was a challenge for B-roll, given the topic. But you worked around the problem and came up with a B-roll angle that worked: guys shopping for condoms. Whatever the topic, we need to think around the problem and get B-roll that matches the story. Video is a visual medium; we must show (in B-roll) the story the interview subject is telling (in his or her words). It can't just be a talking head.

Regarding the blog posts, in one we have links (listing the URLs) but not hyperlinks (having the URL hidden in a link that goes to story text). In another we don't have any links at all (the minimum here is two per post). In online journalism, we do background through hyperlinks; we must use them or it's just us doing print online.

* Nick K.: new restaurant video and blog posts: B-roll doesn't have to be spectacular; just illustrative. Here, in a story about a new restaurant we have a customer eating a sandwich and a counter crew running around behind the counter. And that's it. Just shoot what is being talked about.

* Andrew B.: student section video and blog posts: Another reminder: we need to shoot video with our phones in the horizontal position, so that we end up with a shot that actually fits a TV or computer screen without the black bars on either side of the shot.

The bigger problem is the lack of B-roll. We are telling a story about something animated -- fans at a game -- and yet there's no tailgating or close-ups of fans cheering in the stands or leaving out of boredom or anything like that. Video is a visual medium; we need to show what interview subjects are talking about.

* Whitney P.: student section video and blog posts: This is a similar topic as the previous post, but much more B-roll here showing the stadium and fans and students. But we need to slow down with our panning of shots; it makes what we're looking it a bit of a blur. Really, it's best to have a mix of fixed video shots -- taking two or three angles, each for a few seconds at a time -- than panning at all.

Plus, we need to shoot video with our phones in the horizontal position, so that we end up with a shot that actually fits a TV or computer screen without the black bars on either side of the shot.

* Kiara C.: living on or off-campus video and blog posts: We need to remember the rules we learned in doing print stories in class, that we start with the ending. We didn't do that with the video; the narration at the end would have been a perfect lede for the video. The structural rules from print should transfer over to video.

* Ivy H.: smoking on campus video and blog posts: We need to remember the rules we learned in doing print stories in class, that we use first and last names on first attribution. We didn't do that here. The structural rules for print should transfer over to video.

* Joey E.: protest video and blog posts. Not only are we lacking B-roll here, we appear to be using pictures we did not take. First, we should never be doing that for journalism; second, it also violates federal law. Taking pictures or words produced by someone else who you did not talk to is copyright theft. Even if you cite them, if you don't have their permission you broke the law. That's one big reason why we should ONLY use interviews with people WE interviewed OURSELVES and ONLY video and pictures WE shot OURSELVES.

The editing is also a bit sloppy. We end with a caption reading, TITLE TEXT HERE. That's not professional. Just like with print stories, we need to thoroughly proof our work and make sure it's ready for public presentation.

For the blog, we need to remember to follow the AP style rules we learned doing print stories. That means on second and subsequent attributions, use the last name only and not first names. The structural rules for print should transfer over to video.

* Danan T.: student experience video and blog posts. I'm not gonna harp on the quality of video in our assignments, as we're working with some pretty basic equipment, so let's please look past that. Nice generic B-roll here, but let's get specific. Let's follow around our interview subjects and show them living their student experiences: walking to class, taking notes in class, interacting with students on campus, etc. 

Plus, after we identify an interview subject via caption the first time, we don't have to reuse that caption? Why, when in print we do? Because in video, once we establish someone's idetification we have another cue: their face.

* Patrick K.: student talents video and blog posts: For the video, we are missing a title caption or narration that tells us what the story is about. Without it, it's like writing a print story without a lede: nobody knows right away what this is supposed to be about. Plus, be sure to put your camera on a steady shooting surface so we dong't get the extreme shake we see with the second interview segment. Shaky shots are extremely distracting and need to be avoided.

* Cassi W: out-of-state students video and blog posts: For the video, we are missing a title caption or narration that tells us what the story is about. Without it, it's like writing a print story without a lede: nobody knows right away what this is supposed to be about.

* Charisma T.: students of color video and blog posts: I'm not gonna harp on the quality of video in our assignments, as we're working with some pretty basic equipment. But I will harp on attention to detail like with the first video subject, where instead of getting her attribution we have a caption reading TEXT TITLE HERE. That's not professional. Just like with print stories, we need to thoroughly proof our work and make sure it's ready for public presentation.

Plus, we are almost entirely lacking B-roll, except for the scene-setting B-roll at the start of the vid. We need to show our interview subjects studying and walking to class and interacting with other students. We can't simply leave out B-roll. Video is a visual medium; we must show (in B-roll) the story the interview subject is telling (in his or her words). It can't just be a talking head.

Regarding the blog posts, we only have one hyperlink between the two posts. The minimum for this assignment is two per post. In online journalism, we do background through hyperlinks; we must use them or it's just us doing print online.

* Casey H.: marijuana use video and blog posts: The blog posts do a wonderful job of hyperlinking to background information. That's what hyperlinks do best; it provides that background in a second dimension so it doesn't clutter the written story for those who are happy with just a summary, but it gives those who want more the ability to get more information without having to go anywhere else. You give them a one-stop shop for subject exploration. Hyperlinks are one big difference between print and online journalism; giving the audience that two-dimensional presentation that allows for shorter stories without sacrificing background.

For the video, make sure that you don't have interviewees talking over explanatory captions; if there is something of the viewer to read, let the read it before they have to listen to someone talking, and vice versa.