MM #3: Let's Look At Some Vids And Blog Posts!

Here are some examples of your work. The comments are not being made to pick on anyone, 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.

So please take a look at EACH piece of work (in order received) 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.

*********

Ian K.: eating on-campus vs. off video and blog posts. Good variety of B-roll, but it didn't always match what was being spoken about at that moment. The posts nicely complement each other.

Catherine B.: choosing your passion video and blog posts.

Katie K.: art in education video and blog posts. The posts are wisely split between what experts say and what people actually doing in think.

Dakota H.: music influence video and blog posts.

Rachel Y.: mopeds vs. bikes video and blog posts. I like how the video is broken down by topic rather than source. Likewise with the posts; with one offering the bike viewpoint and the other the moped side of things.

Nick F.: social media use video and blog posts. The B-roll was a bit repetitive. Mixing angles and distances can help us create a variety of shots from the same subject. Posts complement each other by getting the expert take and then looking at what really happens in the real world.

Shannon L.: student stress video and blog posts. Strong B-roll mix.

Jabari S.: students saving cash video and blog posts. We could have used more B-roll toward the end.

Audrey P.: eating healthy video and blog posts. Attribution captions should come when we first see and hear the speaker, not before. And B-roll should go over A-roll, not just after it.

Jack K.: living on-campus video and blog posts.

Jared C.: student stress video and blog posts. The second half of each interview needed B-roll specific to what was being talked about at that time. The blog posts go together very well.

MM #2: Let's Look At Some Vids And Blog Posts!

Here are some examples of your work. The comments are not being made to pick on anyone, 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.

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:

Dakota H: housing options video and blog posts one and two: Good B-roll over the A-roll so we show while we tell. The blog posts are nicely written, but are entirely missing hyperlinks. We always need hyperlinks to value-added background info related to our posts.

 

Shannon M.: anti-Semitism video and blog posts one and two: Even when we think we're holding the camera super-steady, there is still a bit of wiggle. Use a tripod whenever possible. 

Rachel Y.: recycling video and blog posts one and two: Good variety of B-roll over A-roll.

Katie K: agriculture at MSU video and blog posts one and two: A-roll subject should be framed using the Rule of Thirds. Better B-roll would show activity: people working on plants, people walking and observing plants, etc. Look for activity. The blog posts complement each other without copying the angle: one is an ag student's view; the other is a non-ag student's view.

Audrey P.: "Rape Trail: video and blog posts one and two: Good A-roll with the video, but the B-roll needed to go over the A-roll, not after it. Plus, the two blog posts essentially copy each other: both are about female students being uncomfortable walking there. Having posts that complement but not copy each other would have meant having one post about what students think and the other post about what cops and school officials have to say about it, for example. Or one post about students who feel unsafe there and the other about students who feel safe, regardless of reputation.

Ian K.: students who work video and blog posts one and two: Instead of being stuck on our first B-roll shot here for an extended period, it may have been better to shoot the same machine from different angles and distances, and mix up those differing B-roll perspectives from that same B-roll subject. While the blog posts each involve student views; the posts complement but don't copy each other because the students offer differing views: one student says working is good; the other says it adds stress.

Jabari S.: fitness video and blog posts one and two. Nice B-roll showing the power of different angles of the same thing. Watch our audio. The blog posts were lacking the minimum number of hyperlinks and adherence to AP Style. What do you think would have made good hyperlinks here?

Catherine B.: personal brand video and blog posts one and two. We are better off shooting different angles and distances of B-roll rather than panning. Nice use of still photos for B-roll. Watch your sound and use a tripod to minimize camera shake. The blog posts complement but don't copy each other; while they are both about students, each student offers a different approach to what they are doing. You compare different students doing different things; not different students doing the same thing.

Shannon L.: The "freshman 15" video and blog posts one and two: Good narration and B-roll. The first blog post sets up the second; the first one defines the "freshman 15" and lays out the issue; the second gets student reaction on what they see in their daily lives regarding that.

Jack K.: Getting around campus video and blog posts one and two. With bus shots, shooting the bus from different angles and distances could have helped break up that one static shot from the same angle and distance.

Remington S.: libraries video and blog posts one and two: Make sure your captions show up well and don't blend into the background, like the second one here. The blog posts complement each other, as the two compare what MSU's library is like versus a traditional library. Each post takes one of those angles.

Jared C.: polluted river video and blog posts one and two: Good use of still pics as B-roll. Good hyperlinks on the first blog post, but the second required two different hyperlinks; it just had one, and that one was from the first post.

JRN 200: Your Homework For Wednesday 11/8

More multimedia work! Here we go:

*** For your second multimedia assignment, we will use video and blog formats like those in our first assignments, but instead of having sorta irrelevant topics, you will take all of or an aspect of one of your first two out-of-class stories, and do a video/online preview/online recap for it.

That would include:

... a 1-2 minute video, uploaded to YouTube, with B-roll and at least two source interviews on-tape;

... a 100-200-word look at one side of the issue, posted to blogger.com and done in a journalistic style, taking a look at one aspect of the issue, with at least two relevant working hyperlinks embedded in the text;

... and a 100-200-word look at the other side of the issue posted to blogger.com and done in a journalistic style, taking a look at an aspect of the issue that's complementary (and not copying) the aspect from the first post, with at least two relevant working hyperlinks embedded in the text;

For this exercise, you may re-interview sources from your previous stories or interview new sources. You may also use what you gathered and your notes from your original stories in putting together your new media news products.

Also, when I say you can do the entire comprehensive story or just an aspect of it, this is what I mean: let's say you did a story on the pros and cons of living off-campus vs. on-campus. The video may just look at one aspect, such as opinions on the issue. 

The first online story might look at the experiences of on-campus residents; with the second looking at off-campus viewpoints. Or maybe one post looks at the pros of being on-campus, with the next looking at the cons. Or the first talks to the people who run off- and on-campus housing, and the second talks to the students who live on- and off-campus.

None of the mediums necessarily have to look at the issue as broadly as you did in a traditional text story (though you may do so if you so choose).

*** Your deadline for the second multimedia assignment will be 9 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 16 via email to omars@msu.edu. Please put ALL your links to your work into a single email, with the subject line of MM2. 

*** Also, on Friday, Nov. 10 we will NOT have class! Please use the time to work on your upcoming multimedia work. Class will resume Wednsdat, Nov. 15.

If you need any assistance, contact me ASAP. And good luck, everybody!

MM #2: Some Examples From The Past

Below are links to the second video assignment from some JRN 200 classes in the past few years. Now, in looking at these don't focus too much on technical quality. Like you, they were taking their first real journalism class, and like you they were using basic equipment of varying quality.

Instead, look at the principles they're trying to establish: thorough interviews of a broad variety of sources -- everyone from direct participants to neutral experts. Good B-roll that shows what is being talked about. Frequent use of captions and attribution.

Let's take a peek, shall we? 

Here we go:

* Smoking ban video

Simple yet strong B-roll here. It's a story about a smoking ban; we show people smoking in different environments. That's all it has to be.

* Road work video

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.

* Multitasking students video and blog posts:

GREAT variety of B-roll, both in terms of different scenes (working, skating, studying), mediums (video and still pics) and types of shots (wide/medium/tight). THIS is what we should be aiming for, as video is a visual medium.

Video #1: Let's See What You Did

Okay, so here's the video recap. I ask that you please look at EACH video and read my comments for EACH video (not just your own!), so we can learn like we've learned from each other throughout this semester.

Overall, I thought we did pretty well on this assignment, especially considering it was a first-time video in this class. Lots of good B-roll, good story flows, etc. Certainly some things that can be tweaked, but that's to be expected. 

Let's look for what worked and what didn't and what we could borrow for the next time and what we need to avoid doing again.

The biggest problem, really, was that several of us didn't do the assignment. Let me remind everyone again: there is no quicker way to get a bad final grade in this class than to blow off assignments, so if you're missing stuff here and there and you're shocked by your final semester grade, don't say I didn't warn you.

BTW, unless you received an email from me noting a specific grade, your grade for this exercise was a 4.0, with it equaling a practice story in final grade weight. (Future assignments will be evaluated and graded much more specifically based on execution and will be of higher grade weight, though).

Here we go:

Katie K.: We could have used more B-roll specific to what was being talked about: shots of people at work, in class, etc. Plus, watch our sound; the first interview subject is hard to follow.

Dakota H.: Here, the B-roll is fairly specific to what is being talked about.

Catherine B.: Good mix of B-roll. For news stories, we want to get as much "natural" B-roll as possible -- B-roll of a real and not staged activity.

Rachel Y.: Good framing of shots, good sound and good B-roll but not enough B-roll; we're stuck too long on the A-roll shot of the second interview subject and show too little of what she is talking about. (Yes, I know it would be more work to go to her church and such to get more B-roll, but this is a visual medium. We can't do everything we need to do in one meeting or just by phone; we need to go to the places where the things that are being talked about are happening.)

Ian K.: Good mix of B-roll and natural sound with the second interview subject; the first one would have used more B-roll, and a greater variety of B-roll.

Jared C.: Let's tighten up our A-roll shots a bit by getting a bit closer. Look to go from the armpit to about two inches above their head.

Shannon L.: This one used still photos as B-roll, which is a great way to be able to show things you weren't able to shoot by asking the interview subject for pictures to use. We can add a bit of animation to still pic B-roll by slowly panning in or out of the image, too.

Jabari S.: We had a technical issue with adding captions here, but the shots are nicely framed and decent B-roll. Again, better B-roll means we have to go to where the activity is happening -- to the subject's IM volleyball game, for example -- and get B-roll of him playing volleyball.

Nick F.: Good mix of B-roll with wide/medium/tight shots in strong use here. Very good sound.

Jack K.: We need to use B-roll while A-roll sound is still rolling, not just before or after. We also needed a greater variety of B-roll, shot from different angles (show us what they're watching, for example) and wide/medium/tight.

Nick S.: Having the person say who they are and posting an ID caption is redundant; cut the former. Also, we need to follow the rule of thirds when framing our shots. We need to show B-roll while A-roll audio is rolling, and not just before and after. Running A-roll and then B-roll instead of having B-roll video and A-roll should run simultaneously wastes time. We want to show and tell, simultaneously.

Remington S.: Good sound, framing and B-roll here; the problem is that we miss the assignment minimums of 1 minute in length and 2 on-camera sources.

Video #1: Your Video Tutors ...

... are ...

Shannon Line, at shannonline16@gmail.com or 586-246-0533

Shannon McGlone, at mcglone3@msu.edu or jmatbooks@gmail.com or 313-405-6625 or @sfmcglone

After reviewing all related posts and watching all related videos connected to the first video assignment, if you still have questions on technical aspects of shooting, editing and/or finishing a video story, please ask one of your tutors for assistance.

If you have a broader question about the assignment that is NOT related to a technical aspect, please ask me as usual.

Hope this helps! And good luck! 

JRN 200: Some Multimedia Tips ...

• on what is B-roll, and how to shoot it.
• The difference between wide, medium and tight shots.
• The Rule of Thirds.
• Natural sound.

Vid #1: Some Examples From The Past

Michael D.: Overall a nice job, but for B-roll we were stuck on doing just medium shots; we could have used some tight shots as well (fingers strumming the guitar strings, fingers typing on the keyboard, eyes glancing at the laptop screen) to mix in and show different perspectives.

Tony B.: A strong mix of tight, medium, establishing and re-reestablishing A-roll (interview subject and main action) and B-roll shots here. Note how the first head shot doesn't follow the rule of thirds but the second does; doesn't the latter look better? There is also natural sound the compliments but doesn't overwhelm the interview subject's voice.

Allia McD.: Strong variety of B-roll in terms of content and medium/tight shots. But we don't need to have the source saying their title as the caption already IDs the persons' titles for us. To do both is redundant, and using the caption lets us save story audio time for substance and not identification.

Alan W.: Don't be too fast with B-roll snippets. The first one comes and goes so quickly the viewer barely has any time to absorb the content. Give a shot three or four seconds, at least, before you move on.

Kayleigh R.: Once again, a nice range of B-roll showing many of the different things people are talking about, as they talk about them. That's what B-roll is for, showing people while the subject is telling people about what they're seeing.

Yujin O.: Here, we open with B-roll, which is kind of a video version of an anecdotal or alternate lede. That's fine. The shooting, editing, B-roll and sound bytes are all solid and well-organized here.

Mary S.: Lots to like here, but sound could be better. Really watch for spaces with echoes or distracting background noise, and avoid those areas. Use interview areas where sounds are unobstructed and clear.

Honda C.: We see some wide shots here, which are fine. Again, a good mix of head shots and B-roll.

Ben C.: More great examples of B-roll and wide/medium/tight shots (with probably more wide shots that many previous examples, which is okay).

Austin G.: Nice mix of still shots and video for B-roll here. Nice framing of interview subjects using the rule of thirds.

Vid #1: Vertical Videos

This is important!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bt9zSfinwFA&t=28s

Video #1: What Are You Doing?

For the first video assignment, I am asking you to do a news video on the topic of, what are people doing with their semester?

For this assignment, you will have to interview at least two people on-camera about what they've been up to this semester.

The videos must run between 1 and 2 minutes long. Each must start out with some sort of a title caption (sort of like a lede), so that the audience knows what the story is going to be about. The story should include video of your interview subjects talking (sort of like quotes in a story), and those subject shots should include captions identifying the people who are speaking (sort of like attribution).

Of course, the stories should have no fatals -- not in terms of what people are saying (it must be true), and captions should have proper spellings and titles. All because it's video doesn't mean we operate at a lower standard than print. Be sure you do thorough double-checking of the information you gather.

(See? Lots of concepts we worked on are true regardless of medium.) 

Also, the videos should contain B-roll. What is b-roll, you ask? It is video showing what your story is about, that you use to break up segments of the video.

For example, let's say you are interviewing people about what they're doing this semester, and one interview subject is making burgers at McDonald's, and the other is going to the club every day. B-roll would be showing what they're doing: shots of one person flipping greasy burgers, and of the other person clubbing it up on the dance floor, etc.

Then, we would use some of that b-roll to break up the interview segments. For example, you know that standard shot of someone talking in a video interview, where you just see their head and they're talking blah-blah-blah? You would start a segment with that, then while they're still talking, you roll some b-roll over the sound, so that people can see what the person is talking about at the same time they're talking about it.

(That goes back to a print concept: show the audience; don't just tell them. At the same time, it breaks up that monotonous shot of someone just talking).

Then, you return to the head shot and end the segment.

Also, B-roll can be used during transitions between segments, to help illustrate those transitions.

MM #3: What You Did

Jocelyn T.: social media use video and blog posts: We find a sensible way too split the posts: the first offers general background on the issue, and the second has personal reactions and observations.

Tony B.: club sports video and blog posts: For the blog posts, we need to make sure we still follow basic rules like offering a first and last name and title on first attribution.

Katie K.: campus commuting video and blog posts.

Honda C.: college stress video and blog posts: Very good video structure. The structure isn't in order of source; it's in order of topic, and we hopscotch back-and-forth between sources, like in a real conversation.

Austin G.: school construction video and blog posts.

Alexis G.: bikes video and blog posts: With the blog posts, you can never have too many hyperlinks. Give the audience an array and let them choose whether they want to delve further into your topic, or not.

Alan W.: picking majors video and blog posts.

Mike D.: college sports video and blog posts.

Yujin O.: writing center video and blog posts.

Jingjing N.: safe ride video and blog posts: With the video, we needed the b-roll to be spread out a bit more with the first interview subject; we used all the B-roll early in the head shot and then stayed locked on to that re-establishing shot for too long. Plus, we needed the subject to be front-lit, light-wise. For the blog post, we need to re-establish in the lee what it is we are writing about; don't assume people read the previous post. Write every post as if it is the first post people read.

Allia McD.: sleep deprivation video and blog posts.

Ben C.: therapy dogs video and blog posts: you can never, ever go wrong with pets as B-roll.

Nicole B.: creative rituals video and blog posts.

Mary S.: local pizza video and blog posts.

Riley M.: parking tickets video and blog posts.

Britney V.: art exhibit video and blog posts. We're missing identification caption with the speaker. Instead of panning the camera, we should show a mix of steady wide/medium/tight shots. The story ran long; we were supposed to hit a 1-2 minute window and in the real world we must hit our assigned lengths to the second. The story assignment called for two sources on camera; we have only one.

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.

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:

Tony B.: multitasking students video and blog posts: GREAT variety of B-roll, both in terms of different scenes (working, skating, studying), mediums (video and still pics) and types of shots (wide/medium/tight). THIS is what we should be aiming for, as video is a visual medium.

Jocelyn T.: student workers video and blog posts. Watch your audio! The space here was way too echoey to get good sound. Good range of B-roll here.

Kayleigh R.: out-of-state student struggles video and blog posts. No need for the narrated questions; just get straight to the answers. Plus, let's be sure to follow assignment parameters: the minimum number of human sources on tape is two. 

Alexis G.: squirrels video and blog posts: First, we need to make sure when we are shooting an interview subject that they camera is steady, the subject is front-lit (and not backlit) and we are following the rule of thirds. For the B-roll the angle was too repetitive; let's try getting a variety of angles and wide/medium/tight shots to make the visuals a bit more varied. On one of the blog posts we only have one hyperlink; the minimum on this assignment is two.

Allia McD.: dining halls video and blog posts: The first video interview subject took a lot of time; I might have broken it up by starting with the first subject, then going to the second subject and then closing back with the first person. It would make the story flow more conversationally and back-and-forth. A good variety of hyperlinks with the blog posts; two is the assignment minimum, but ideally we should have many more than that.

Michael D.: employed students video and blog posts: For B-roll let's be sure to have some sort of animation; instead of shooting a sign, shoot the sign as somebody walks past it, for example. And let's make sure we have our subjects front-lit, so they are not lost in shadows. The blog posts are intended to be independent stories, so we shouldn't be referring to the video (but it would be okay too hyperlink to it); we should anchor the story on the subject itself.

Mary S.: social media video and blog posts: I think we could have used a greater variety of angles for the B-roll; show hands from one side and then the other; do a tight shot of the person's face and expressions while playing with their phones, etc.

Honda C.: young entrepreneurs video and blog posts:  Watch out for background noise! The blog posts very nicely complement one another; the first is about resources to help entrepreneurs at MSU, and the next are personal stories of MSUers entrepreneuring.

Yujin O.: living alone video and blog posts: Here, we didn't have an opening caption and we didn't need one. The first words out of the interview subjects are something along the lines of, "The pros of living alone ...," which offers the lede. But watch for echoes!

Alan W.: IM East video and blog posts: We could use less panning and more wide/medium/tight shot mixes of the same activities. Show someone lifting weights in those mix of shots; for a basketball game show a wide shot of people playing, a medium shot of a one-on-one matchup; tight shots of the ball going through the net, etc.

Jingjing N.: recycling video and blog posts: For the video, we need more animation, like people walking by the bins (we have one such shot at the end), and putting things in the bins, etc. Plus, let's watch our sound levels and make sure they are even throughout.

Ben C.: sports branding video and blog posts: Make sure your B-roll shots are relevant. When someone is talking about logos they like, a shot of the top of their head or someone taking notes doesn't show what he or she is talking about. Showing the types of logos he's talking about does. Plus, less panning and more mixes of tight shots. The blog is smartly cleaved between a post showing pros and another showing cons.

Austin G.: immigration ban video and blog posts: Interview shots should always have the camera on a steady surface. Look at the shake here. The bigger problem is the lack of B-roll during the interview segments. We could get shots of diverse students in class, with a mix of medium and tight shots; diverse students walking through campus, etc. After all, the story is about fitting in on campus  let;s show them literally doing that. We need to think through the problem and come up with shots, even if shots are not obvious. This is a visual medium; we MUST tell stories visually, and beyond the talking head shot.

Nicole B.: feminism and sexism video and blog posts: The B-roll with the first therapist is good improvisation on a hard-to-shoot topic in that it shows her setting up for what she does. The second was weaker in that regard, because it didn't really go to what she did that she is talking about now. Maybe showing her interacting with male coworkers would have better set the tone. The posts are less complementary and more intertwined, as one sets the main points and the other details them. A better complementary approach that wouldn't just seem like Part 1 and Part 2 would be having one post detail reverse sexism, and the other outright sexism.

Riley M.: state of media video and blog posts. The B-roll is off base here. The story is about perceptions of media, but we're not really showing people engaging media: watching a newscast, discussing news with friends, reading a newspaper, etc. Plus, the B-roll is repetitive; we keep showing the same thing from shots that aren't very varied. We need to shoot wide, medium and tight; we need to shoot facing the person and over the shoulder and such. Mix it up.

Katie K.: student employment video and blog posts.

MM #2: Some Examples From The Past

Below are links to the second video assignment from some JRN 200 classes in the past few years. Now, in looking at these don't focus too much on technical quality. Like you, they were taking their first real journalism class, and like you they were using basic equipment of varying quality.

Instead, look at the principles they're trying to establish: thorough interviews of a broad variety of sources -- everyone from direct participants to neutral experts. Good B-roll that shows what is being talked about. Frequent use of captions and attribution.

Let's take a peek, shall we? 

Here we go:

* Smoking ban video

Simple yet strong B-roll here. It's a story about a smoking ban; we show people smoking in different environments. That's all it has to be.

* Road work video

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.

* City market video

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. 

* Golf course flooding video

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.

Do these give you any new ideas on how you'd like to do YOUR video, or the best ways to do it?

Vid #1: Let's Look At Some Videos!

Okay, so here's the video recap. I ask that you please look at EACH video and read my comments for EACH video (not just your own!), so we can learn like we've learned from each other throughout this semester.

Overall, I thought we did very, very well on this assignment, especially considering it was a first-time video in this class. Lots of good B-roll, good story flows, ect. Certainly some things that can be tweaked, but that's to be expected. 

Let's look for what worked and what didn't and what we could borrow for the next time and what we need to avoid doing again.

BTW, unless you received an email from me noting a specific grade, your grade for this exercise was a 4.0, with it equaling two practice stories in final grade weight. (Future assignments will be evaluated and graded much more specifically based on execution and will be of higher grade weight, though).

Here we go:

Jocelyn T: LOTS of great B-roll and medium/tight/establishing shots here, which is what we want. Video is a visual medium; we need to show what people are talking about, and not just show people talking. But we don't need to have the source saying their name as the caption already IDs the person for us. To do both is redundant, and using the caption lets us save story audio time for substance and not identification.

Michael D.: Overall a nice job, but for B-roll we were stuck on doing just medium shots; we could have used some tight shots as well (fingers strumming the guitar strings, fingers typing on the keyboard, eyes glancing at the laptop screen) to mix in and show different perspectives.

Tony B.: A strong mix of tight, medium, establishing and re-reestablishing A-roll (interview subject and main action) and B-roll shots here. Note how the first head shot doesn't follow the rule of thirds but the second does; doesn't the latter look better? There is also natural sound the compliments but doesn't overwhelm the interview subject's voice.

Alexis G.: Good use of still pics as B-roll, but a big problem: unless you have written permission from Miley Cyrus's agent to use her song, you are committing a violation of federal copyright law! No, it's not enough to cite them; you need permission. That goes for just about anything we find on the Internet: pictures, music, videos, etc. (Hyperlinks are okay because you are directing traffic back to the original site.) Also, make sure your subjects are facing a light source (a lamp, the sun, etc.) and are NOT backlit, and try to keep sound levels steady.

Nicole B.: Again, a good sampling of medium and tight shots, but not enough variety in terms of content. The office shots are a bit repetitious; ideally, we would want to see B-roll of the treatment program itself being performed. We're also missing a title slide or narration or a firm opening statement from a source to let people know what we're getting into.

Allia McD.: Strong variety of B-roll in terms of content and medium/tight shots. But we don't need to have the source saying their title as the caption already IDs the persons' titles for us. To do both is redundant, and using the caption lets us save story audio time for substance and not identification.

Alan W.: Don't be too fast with B-roll snippets. The first one comes and goes so quickly the viewer barely has any time to absorb the content. Give a shot three or four seconds, at least, before you move on.

Kayleigh R.: Once again, a nice range of B-roll showing many of the different things people are talking about, as they talk about them. That's what B-roll is for, showing people while the subject is telling people about what they're seeing.

Yujin O.: Here, we open with B-roll, which is kind of a video version of an anecdotal or alternate lede. That's fine. The shooting, editing, B-roll and sound bytes are all solid and well-organized here.

Mary S.: Lots to like here, but sound could be better. Really watch for spaces with echoes or distracting background noise, and avoid those areas. Use interview areas where sounds are unobstructed and clear.

Honda C.: We see some wide shots here, which are fine. Again, a good mix of head shots and B-roll.

Ben C.: More great examples of B-roll and wide/medium/tight shots (with probably more wide shots that many previous examples, which is okay).

Jingjing N.: In the same way we wouldn't lede a story by just saying, this is a story, we probably should lede with the title of what our story is about -- " what are people doing this semester at MSU?" -- rather than just "JRN 200." Let's also make sure the sound level can clearly be heard by the audience. Good variety of different shots for B-roll and good natural sound, like the sizzling sound with a cooking segment.

Austin G.: Nice mix of still shots and video for B-roll here. Nice framing of interview subjects using the rule of thirds.

Britney-Ann V.: Great B-roll subjects; what's more animated than dogs? But less panning and zooming and more steady shots taken from different angles and distances (tight, medium and wide) like with some of the other video examples here. We're also missing attribution within the video segments in the form of name and title captions, as well as a lede caption or narration. Again, look at some of the other videos for examples. Let's also get tighter talking head shots -- armpits to an inch above their heads -- and get the mic closer to their mouths. Good natural sound where the source shows (via B-roll) and tells (via sound bytes) and says (via nat sound).

Vid #1: Vertical Videos

From one of youze ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bt9zSfinwFA&t=28s

JRN 200: Your Homework For Friday 3/24

Now that your second out-of-class story and blog/tweets assignments are in, I'll start going over them. Here's some work to keep you busy until then:

First, start working on your third and optional fourth out-of-class story pitches. Use the same formats as before. If you choose to do a fourth story, it will replace your worst grade from your other three stories. Your pitch deadline is no later than 9 a.m. Monday, April 3 to omars@msu.edu.

Second, we now have a video story assignment. For this assignment, you will be asked to create a news video no shorter than 1 minute long and no longer than 2 minutes long, on the subject of, what have people been up to this semester? Your interview subjects can be working or going to classes or hanging out; whatever. 

You will be required to interview at least two people on-camera and shoot b-roll (a video camera would be great, but a simple Flip cam or a good smart phone will suffice); edit the raw video using iMovie or FinalCut Pro or some other comparable video editing software; create an edited news video with a lede and attribution and such; upload the video to the YouTube account you were supposed to create for this class; make sure that the YouTube account is set to a public setting (and not private); and then email me a link to the video to omars@msu.edu, with  a subject line of video #1.

As long as you meet the basic parameters of this assignment, I will give you a 4.0 equal to that of a practice story. Those parameters include:

-- staying within the 1-2 minute range and on-topic
-- containing at least two human interviews on tape
-- containing B-roll
-- showing signs of editing; that is, not simply pasting entirely unedited tape onto YouTube. You want to create a video story using raw video as a base to be edited and moved around, in the same way we want to write a text story using raw information as a base to be edited and moved around.
-- containing NO fatals

The penalty for failing to meet these parameters is 0.5 of your grade, per error. In addition, a fatal resulted in a 1.0 grade. And failure to turn it in, of course, is a 0.0. Please review the video links provided in the earlier blog post to get an idea of what this assignment may look like, in finished form.

These same deductions will apply on all future multimedia assignments. But future assignments WILL include consideration of content and journalistic value.

The deadline for this assignment will be no later than 9 a.m. Thursday, March 30 via email to omars@msu.edu. Again, you should be emailing me links to your YouTube account, and not an attached video file.

If you are unsure about your topic or fuzzy on some of these concepts like B-roll or captions or whatever, or if you have any questions whatsoever, PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT ME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!

Third, I will have your graded out-of-class stories back to you in the next few days. Your optional rewrite deadline will be no later than 9 a.m. Monday, April 3  to omars@msu.edu.

Now, how do you do the video assignment? Follow along in the following posts, and good luck, everyone! 

Video #1: What Are You Doing?

For the first video assignment, I am asking you to do a news video on the topic of, what are people doing with their semester?

For this assignment, you will have to interview at least two people on-camera about what they've been up to this semester.

The videos must run between 1 and 2 minutes long. Each must start out with some sort of a title caption (sort of like a lede), so that the audience knows what the story is going to be about. The story should include video of your interview subjects talking (sort of like quotes in a story), and those subject shots should include captions identifying the people who are speaking (sort of like attribution).

Of course, the stories should have no fatals -- not in terms of what people are saying (it must be true), and captions should have proper spellings and titles. All because it's video doesn't mean we operate at a lower standard than print. Be sure you do thorough double-checking of the information you gather.

(See? Lots of concepts we worked on are true regardless of medium.) 

Also, the videos should contain B-roll. What is b-roll, you ask? It is video showing what your story is about, that you use to break up segments of the video.

For example, let's say you are interviewing people about what they're doing this semester, and one interview subject is making burgers at McDonald's, and the other is going to the club every day. B-roll would be showing what they're doing: shots of one person flipping greasy burgers, and of the other person clubbing it up on the dance floor, etc.

Then, we would use some of that b-roll to break up the interview segments. For example, you know that standard shot of someone talking in a video interview, where you just see their head and they're talking blah-blah-blah? You would start a segment with that, then while they're still talking, you roll some b-roll over the sound, so that people can see what the person is talking about at the same time they're talking about it.

(That goes back to a print concept: show the audience; don't just tell them. At the same time, it breaks up that monotonous shot of someone just talking).

Then, you return to the head shot and end the segment.

Also, B-roll can be used during transitions between segments, to help illustrate those transitions.

Some good b-roll examples can be found in the following videos from some past classes, where the topic was, "What have you learned sofar in JRN 200?" Classmates were used as interview subjects. Like your assignment, it required two human sources on tape per video. 

Off we go:

Andrea 

Shanin T.

Emily

Julia