Monday, August 20, 2007
Video training for print journalists
Sounds and images from our video training were captured by Mindy McAdams of the University of Florida in this SoundSlides project.
Friday, August 17, 2007
In conclusion ...
I can't believe the week has come and gone that fast ...
I learned so many new things this week, I almost feel like I was part of something illegal. Like some top secret, backwoods, underground information that I'm supposed to share with the world, yet not tell the world how I got it.
Whether it be John-John challenging a speaker on if his online publication was actually making money (it wasn't) on the first day or Team 7's constant clowning at the end, the week was full of memories.
The feeling of discovery when Mark Briggs introduced us to RSS feeds or Al Tompkins divulging new sites we can go to find damn near any information we needed was unmatched.
I think Mindy McAdams is my new secret girlfriend. She could've taught something all 6 days and I wouldn't have tired of it. Especially on how to use and edit audio for the web. I connected with that instantly because that's the stuff I've been wanting to do at my paper, especially now that I'll be doing sports. But Soundslides are such a powerful way of telling a story that I'm completely enamored with the idea.
The video info we received was informative as well. I know it's been a long time since I was able to do any video editing work but I feel like that's another future challenge that I'll be looking forward to tackling.
To the staff, instructors and presenters who organized the event, I'm very appreciative of everything. Kate, thanks for allowing me to be one of the first 21.
Yvette - my Nashville momma - thanks for taking care of everything as you always do. You're my homegirl.
Aunt Pearl, I only saw you for a couple days, but it was definitely good to see and talk to you for a bit.
John Seigenthaler - my favorite white man - thanks again for everything. Wikipedia can't hold a candle to who you truly are ...
And I also want to send a big thanks to Robbie Morganfield, who is leaving the Freedom Forum and Diversity Institute at the end of the month to pursue another chapter in his life on the East Coast. Robbie is the one who helped mold me as one - of about 80 other aspiring journalists (including Martin and Leah) - of many bold journalists taking knowledge into newsrooms all across the nation and keeping the "old guard" on their toes. I owe him a deep gratitude and put it down, Deacon Morganfield!!!
Okay, class. We're armed and dangerous with all kinds of potent information. Let's get to shootin'!!!!!!
Whatever endeavors you choose to partake in the future, just make it happen.
Thanks for a great week everybody!!!
Jonathan Babalola
The Noblesville (Ind.) Daily Times
- "I don't know the key to success, but I do know the key to failure is trying to make everybody happy."
I learned so many new things this week, I almost feel like I was part of something illegal. Like some top secret, backwoods, underground information that I'm supposed to share with the world, yet not tell the world how I got it.
Whether it be John-John challenging a speaker on if his online publication was actually making money (it wasn't) on the first day or Team 7's constant clowning at the end, the week was full of memories.
The feeling of discovery when Mark Briggs introduced us to RSS feeds or Al Tompkins divulging new sites we can go to find damn near any information we needed was unmatched.
I think Mindy McAdams is my new secret girlfriend. She could've taught something all 6 days and I wouldn't have tired of it. Especially on how to use and edit audio for the web. I connected with that instantly because that's the stuff I've been wanting to do at my paper, especially now that I'll be doing sports. But Soundslides are such a powerful way of telling a story that I'm completely enamored with the idea.
The video info we received was informative as well. I know it's been a long time since I was able to do any video editing work but I feel like that's another future challenge that I'll be looking forward to tackling.
To the staff, instructors and presenters who organized the event, I'm very appreciative of everything. Kate, thanks for allowing me to be one of the first 21.
Yvette - my Nashville momma - thanks for taking care of everything as you always do. You're my homegirl.
Aunt Pearl, I only saw you for a couple days, but it was definitely good to see and talk to you for a bit.
John Seigenthaler - my favorite white man - thanks again for everything. Wikipedia can't hold a candle to who you truly are ...
And I also want to send a big thanks to Robbie Morganfield, who is leaving the Freedom Forum and Diversity Institute at the end of the month to pursue another chapter in his life on the East Coast. Robbie is the one who helped mold me as one - of about 80 other aspiring journalists (including Martin and Leah) - of many bold journalists taking knowledge into newsrooms all across the nation and keeping the "old guard" on their toes. I owe him a deep gratitude and put it down, Deacon Morganfield!!!
Okay, class. We're armed and dangerous with all kinds of potent information. Let's get to shootin'!!!!!!
Whatever endeavors you choose to partake in the future, just make it happen.
Thanks for a great week everybody!!!
Jonathan Babalola
The Noblesville (Ind.) Daily Times
- "I don't know the key to success, but I do know the key to failure is trying to make everybody happy."
The Cherry on Top
What a whirlwind of new information, training and terminology this has been. These projects were great fun. And it's been so satisfying to see the finished products. We rock.
Thank you Freedom Forum for throwing me into this, putting awesome equipment at my fingertips and for bringing such gracious, knowledgeable teachers and colleagues to guide me through.
And the cherry on top -- Despite many complications and setbacks, I was able to finish my Sound Slide project this morning with the help of Tom Costello and his trusty Mac. Thank you Tom. Most satisfying.
I can't wait to go back to my newsroom and pitch my first Sound Slides project. I've got lots of ideas...
Cheers.
~Tonya Alanez
Thank you Freedom Forum for throwing me into this, putting awesome equipment at my fingertips and for bringing such gracious, knowledgeable teachers and colleagues to guide me through.
And the cherry on top -- Despite many complications and setbacks, I was able to finish my Sound Slide project this morning with the help of Tom Costello and his trusty Mac. Thank you Tom. Most satisfying.
I can't wait to go back to my newsroom and pitch my first Sound Slides project. I've got lots of ideas...
Cheers.
~Tonya Alanez
WHITE BALANCE!!!!!!
Team 5 ... (myself, Tonya Alanez and Tate' Finn) ... worked on our video presentation and it was three styles (though at times clashing) which came together and put together a pretty outstanding 80-second video piece. Big thanks to Glenn Hartong from The Cincinnati Enquirer, Thomas Costello from Asbury Park Press and Anne Saul from Gannett for all their help. I haven't done any video editing since my senior year at the University of Wisconsin-Madison- more than a decade ago and YES, I'm repping U-Dub- so things have definitely changed. I think we were all excited with how the final product came out although the project would've been perfect with just a little more
WHITE BALANCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(And yes, people, John Siegenthaler is a white man, not Cablinasian liked he looked on our project.)
Jonathan Babalola
Noblesville (Ind.) Daily Times
WHITE BALANCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(And yes, people, John Siegenthaler is a white man, not Cablinasian liked he looked on our project.)
Jonathan Babalola
Noblesville (Ind.) Daily Times
seminar reflections...
Last year I went to Poynter for a seminar on untold stories. My colleagues and I participated in a variety of lectures and assignments tailored to challenge how we view our sources and how we frame their stories.
By the end of that week-long training, our group leader said we had gone from "untold" to "well told."
I feel that same sense of accomplishment with the Freedom Forum's online training. I arrived last Sunday in Nashville with no prior experience using a flash drive or holding a microphone. I was unsure of journalism and its future direction.
What a difference a week makes.
I blogged. I told stories through sounds. I can compose a photo. I also can shoot video and will never underestimate white balance, clear audio, lighting and the need for enough B-roll.
The work involved in producing an audio slideshow or video presentation is long and detailed. It requires good planning, patience and precision.
The principles of journalism are unchanged. I've only picked up new skills and tools to enhance a reader's experience with stories. I'm excited about these platforms.
Thank you, thank you, Kate for making the seminar happen. Thank you speakers and trainers for your time and support.
Tom Costello and Glenn Hartong: You guys rock! Thanks for believing in Team 1 despite our 40-minute delay beginning our first interview.
Mindy McAdams: I'd move to Florida to take your classes.
Amy Eisman: "Dudette," thanks for your critique of my newspaper's Web site. Noted. I'll pass on to the staff.
Al Tompkins: Great dialogue about ethics in the online world. I had wondered whether our newsroom had guidelines but had not thought to ask. That's changed.
John Siegenthaler: Thanks for your wisdom and strong convictions. You are an inspiration.
-Jenny Espino
By the end of that week-long training, our group leader said we had gone from "untold" to "well told."
I feel that same sense of accomplishment with the Freedom Forum's online training. I arrived last Sunday in Nashville with no prior experience using a flash drive or holding a microphone. I was unsure of journalism and its future direction.
What a difference a week makes.
I blogged. I told stories through sounds. I can compose a photo. I also can shoot video and will never underestimate white balance, clear audio, lighting and the need for enough B-roll.
The work involved in producing an audio slideshow or video presentation is long and detailed. It requires good planning, patience and precision.
The principles of journalism are unchanged. I've only picked up new skills and tools to enhance a reader's experience with stories. I'm excited about these platforms.
Thank you, thank you, Kate for making the seminar happen. Thank you speakers and trainers for your time and support.
Tom Costello and Glenn Hartong: You guys rock! Thanks for believing in Team 1 despite our 40-minute delay beginning our first interview.
Mindy McAdams: I'd move to Florida to take your classes.
Amy Eisman: "Dudette," thanks for your critique of my newspaper's Web site. Noted. I'll pass on to the staff.
Al Tompkins: Great dialogue about ethics in the online world. I had wondered whether our newsroom had guidelines but had not thought to ask. That's changed.
John Siegenthaler: Thanks for your wisdom and strong convictions. You are an inspiration.
-Jenny Espino
In my own words
This might be my only chance to editorialize on something, so I'm going to take this opportunity to say how I feel.
This seminar has been an eye-opening experience. Not just because I learned a lot about multimedia journalism that I didn't know before. But I gained something that some people in this world simply choose to ignore: a future mindset.
What I mean by this is that some people you encounter on a daily basis would rather stay where they feel most comfortable. They refuse to change. But in reality, they're probably just scared of change.
And, in some ways, I used to be that person. I used to think that I could never be a journalist. But I've learned that when you step out on faith and embrace the future, only good things can happen.
So I am proud of the journalists who came here and recognized the need to learn multimedia, because they understood that in order to survive in this industry -- and to grow -- embracing the future of journalism was necessary.
Anyway, this may be a little abstract. But my point is this: We can't be afraid to think different or else we will never truly know who we can be.
This is Martin Ricard, signing off. Peace.
This seminar has been an eye-opening experience. Not just because I learned a lot about multimedia journalism that I didn't know before. But I gained something that some people in this world simply choose to ignore: a future mindset.
What I mean by this is that some people you encounter on a daily basis would rather stay where they feel most comfortable. They refuse to change. But in reality, they're probably just scared of change.
And, in some ways, I used to be that person. I used to think that I could never be a journalist. But I've learned that when you step out on faith and embrace the future, only good things can happen.
So I am proud of the journalists who came here and recognized the need to learn multimedia, because they understood that in order to survive in this industry -- and to grow -- embracing the future of journalism was necessary.
Anyway, this may be a little abstract. But my point is this: We can't be afraid to think different or else we will never truly know who we can be.
This is Martin Ricard, signing off. Peace.
Crash course
I've spent so much time learning new things at this seminar, I didn't have much time to blog. Here's my grab bag of thoughts on what I learned and what it was like being part of this experience.
The past three days, in particular, have been a blur. We had awesome equipment to work with as we practiced recording audio, shooting pictures, building sound slides, recording video and editing video. Jamming so much learnin' into a few days would drive most people crazy, but this happened to be a very ambitious and fun group. We just laughed and laughed and laughed at our mistakes instead of standing on the sidelines too afraid to take the plunge.
We completed soundslide and video projects in groups. And we're not competitive at all. Everyone says they have the best project. And guess what? Team Four really was the best. And so were the soundslides of Hillsboro Village. At some point, they'll be up on this blog for one and all to see. Enjoy.
Before I drag my tired self back to New Mexico, where it is stunningly cooler than Nashville, I have to thank all the instructors and organizers for being so patient with us. They answered every question under the sun and were really supportive. Mil gracias.
Iliana Limón, The Albuquerque Tribune
The past three days, in particular, have been a blur. We had awesome equipment to work with as we practiced recording audio, shooting pictures, building sound slides, recording video and editing video. Jamming so much learnin' into a few days would drive most people crazy, but this happened to be a very ambitious and fun group. We just laughed and laughed and laughed at our mistakes instead of standing on the sidelines too afraid to take the plunge.
We completed soundslide and video projects in groups. And we're not competitive at all. Everyone says they have the best project. And guess what? Team Four really was the best. And so were the soundslides of Hillsboro Village. At some point, they'll be up on this blog for one and all to see. Enjoy.
Before I drag my tired self back to New Mexico, where it is stunningly cooler than Nashville, I have to thank all the instructors and organizers for being so patient with us. They answered every question under the sun and were really supportive. Mil gracias.
Iliana Limón, The Albuquerque Tribune
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