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.