We have been presenting our projects these past two weeks, and I am very impressed with many of the videos. Good audio makes the world of difference, as evidence in many of my classmates' projects. I am mad at myself for not having ensured that my spaces I interviewed in were "audio friendly."

I thought the most powerful piece during the first week was Emma's--her photos looked stunning, and I thought it was extremely powerful how she used photos from places on campus to illustrate the night. While the photos looked great, I was most impressed with the sound.

I enjoyed Chantel's project as well, particularly the beginning. I loved the flashing magazines.

I took some of the suggestions in class and edited my video. Now, at least, I hope, it flows better than it did before.

Interviews...

So I have no real footage or audio quite yet, but I do have two interviews this week. Taras, the Hall Director of Fairchild Hall (the new international dorm) agreed to meet with me at the end of the week, and I have an interview with Lisa MacFarland this Thursday. Lisa is the "point person" in the plans to internationalize UNH. I hope to get all the details on the plan from her.

Next week could also hold some possibilities for some good material; next Tuesday there is a celebration in the Strafford Room welcoming the Chinese officials from Chengdu University. The PCAC is also holding an exhibition with Chinese art for the new institute.

There will also be some Chinese Performance Artists performing in Portsmouth next Wednesday.

I am not positive how this will all work together quite yet, but as of right now, I'd just like to get as much material as I can.

Final Multimedia Project

I have decided to write a story on the international students at the University of New Hampshire. It's a topic that is especially prevalent in today's society. The world is becoming smaller and smaller, with travel becoming easier and communication becoming even more accessible. A semester abroad has become something of a norm in today's education, and while it's evident in the number of UNH students who leave each year for Italy, England, Australia, and South America, it's also evident in the number of International students at UNH, and in the intent to increase this number.

Right now there are 50 international students at the University of New Hampshire. This number isn't extremely large, but it is growing; UNH hopes to increase the number of students from abroad to 500.

I want to find out the reasoning for this intent to increase; is it to make UNH more worldly? More diverse? Or does money have something to do with it, too?

The will to increase would be the "journalism/newsworthy" connection, but another thing that fascinates me about interviewing the international students is learning about their reasoning for studying in the U.S., particularly in New Hampshire. I'm actually hoping to see if I can find a student from a country that is significant in U.S./World relations right now--perhaps from the Middle East? China? Asia? What does America look like in his or her eyes? Is it different from what he or she expected? What are the expectations of students from the States vs. where he or she is from?

I'd like to get interviews with the Department for International students to get more of the inside story on this development, but I am unsure as to whether I'd like to take the approach and interview many students, or if I'd like to just focus on one or two.

I would like to get footage of them in a kind of natural setting; maybe of them doing homework, playing games of some sort, walking to class, etc. I want photos of their lives at school, but if they have any, I'd also like to see if I can gather any from their homes. This would provide more juxtaposition; how different/similar are the places? It would also be great if I could get a bit of audio of him or her speaking his/her native language (for a couple of sentences...then he or she would translate)

While I am hoping to inform a newsworthy piece about how the University wants increase the number of international students and increase the diversity, I also want it to be a piece about cultural identity, stereotypes, and eventually present the idea that we are all not that different, even if we are from different ends of the planet.

Fall Multimedia Project

I've been thinking a lot about the multimedia project that I would like to pursue for my project this fall. I've had a hard time thinking of topics because I feel that there are a lot of news stories that would not necessarily work well in multimedia. I have, however, come up with a few ideas.

Sports, I think, are topics that are almost always better in multimedia form. Each year the Women's Crew team takes in new rowers and introduces them to the rowing culture. It is during the fall season that the novices actually learn to row, and it it is during this season that I would get the best variety of footage (they will have two races, I can get footage on the water, and I can get footage of them working out). Whether or not I am able to do this particular project is determined on whether or not I can get the coach's approval. This project is journalistically significant because it would introduce a culture that many people do not know about, and it would introduce it while the subjects are being introduced to it. The people who stick with the sport are generally hard-working students, so it would be interesting to film the evolution/introduction of rowing.

I also thought it would be interesting if I could find a story that involves the drama department. These students are trained to tell stories and perform, and so i think they would be great subjects to talk about. I know that I personally overlook the theater department, but there are some incredibly talented theater and voice majors at UNH. In the project I could highlight the students' ambitions, and perhaps learn exactly what it takes to make it big in the entertainment/theater industry after school is through.

I also had the idea of interviewing and telling the stories of international students at UNH. I think the most interesting way to tell this story is to find one person who is willing to let me compose a feature/profile piece on him or her. Why did he or she want to come to UNH? What is it like where he or she is from? Differences? Similarities? Culture shock? What does he or she propose to do with the education he/she earns at UNH? I heard a rumor that UNH is trying to increase the number of international students at UNH, and I might be able to incorporate that into this story as well (why do they want more?).

I'm pretty excited, but I'm nervous, too; multimedia reporting is much more "in your face" than regular reporting.

The People that make UNH Work

When I thought of people who make this school work, I naturally thought of the people who feed us. Hungry students do not perform as well as well-fed students. I talked to Deb Scanlon, the face of Holloway Dining--aka, the woman who swipes your cards when you walk in and asks, "how are you today?" She was incredibly easy to talk to, especially as she enjoys what she does. She also says that the students are her favorite part of her job, so it was easy to get good audio--she had a lot to say, and I felt she was very eloquent. I am not as good of a photographer and I still struggle with taking good "action" shots without being awkward. They usually end up blurry even if I'm trying not to be awkward.
The thing I struggle with most now is managing my patience with the camera, with soundslides, with audio, and with audacity. Once I get going and work on my own, I find that I don't mind putting together these shows; however, that is dependent on how quickly I can learn to the new medium. I became much more frustrated trying to transfer my audio and photographs on the computer than I was simply interviewing and taking the photographs.

Taking Still Photographs

Yes, nearly everyone has taken a still photograph at one point in his or her life, but that doesn't mean we're all good at it. When I studied in London last September, I didn't put any photographs on any blogs or on Facebook until three months after I had been back. I took pictures, yes, but half of them were blurry, and I was too impatient to sit with my camera (as my mother would do) and take seven takes of the same shot in hopes that one would turn out decent.
But really...you have to do that. Or at least, I found that it was true for me, as a beginner. Half of the photographs I took are not in focus or look incredibly boring. I tried to be "artsy" by taking photographs of small details instead of large frames, going against what I usually would do. I found that I had my best luck when I wasn't trying too hard. I attended a UNH soccer game, and the ref got in the way of nearly every picture I took. But then, it happened: the ball was finally on our side, and the players were coming closer. I took a picture right before the ball hit the person next to me.
It was a great shot.
The photo, not the soccer ball. I think the ref gave the player a yellow card.
I forced myself to look at things in a new light--to look at the lighting, the angles, the colors. How can I make this most appealing in a single shot? (Photo shot)

Introduction to Multimedia

My introduction to multimedia...well...To be completely honest, I am not taking this class because I enjoy taking photographs and videos; I'm taking this class because I am only a few steps above my grandmother in my understanding of computers, cameras, and video recordings. I actually became so frustrated trying to find a template for this blog that I asked my younger sister to help me. She told me to click on the template button.
This semester, I hope to become somebody who hopefully not only can use multimedia to tell a story, but I hope to learn to enjoy it, as well.
Although I do not enjoy the process of taking pictures, I do appreciate the product. In multimedia, you have to have great material, because essentially, the material is the "voice," if you will; this could be a good or a bad thing. I am excited about creating profiles using multimedia, primarily because I prefer writing profiles and feature stories. I am still terrified, though, that I'll do something stupid like conduct an entire interview, only to have not pressed the "record" button.
I suppose I am just nervous because I have never worked in this form before. I know that it is essential to learn in order to become successful in this field.