Wednesday, December 5, 2012

In the face of tuition increases and lean economic times, many students turn to affordable housing such as cooperatives when looking for a place to live. A proposed change to the MF-4 zone, which includes West Campus, could slow down and even hinder some affordable student housing from being built in the future.

Proposed by the Central Austin Neighborhood Planning Advisory Committee, or CANPAC, the proposal would make group residential properties in the MF-4 housing zone conditional, which means they would be required to obtain permits from the Planning Commission on a case-by-case basis.

"What they want to do is to make a decision that would basically make you have to get permits to build cooperatives or fraternity and sorority buildings," Cheyenne Dansby, Taos Cooperative Board Representative, said. "It's a really difficult thing to do because it takes years and lots of money, and co-ops don't have a lot of money anyway."

Current group housing properties, including existing cooperatives as well as Greek houses, would be exempt from the change, but if they wish to expand or remodel in the future they may be forced to obtain permits for their current property as well. It has been said that the existence of high-density student housing lowers property value in the area for single-family residences.

The decision, which is to be voted on by Austin City Council, has been pushed back several times for a multitude of reasons. The current vote is tentatively set for December, but co-op residents plan to request a delay until February in order to allow students to participate at a time when school is in session.

Representatives from CANPAC declined to comment on the decision.

Video Story Telling Project

Garrett Callahan
Michael Liang
Faria Akram

There was a problem between our camera and FinalCutPro. Our settings were fine when we shot, however FinalCutPro does not recognize some type of settings and also does not let the user know this. We edited our entire project in FinalCutPro without knowing that in the end it would cause multiple problems in playing. We asked both Angela and the lab assistant to help us, and they did so multiple times, however both came to the limits of their knowledge and this is the best we were able to get after working on the video for several hours.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cnuv-VzSBek&feature=youtu.be

Sorority stereotypes news video

Since Greek life is so prominent on the UT campus, Anna Fata, Victoria Garcia and Ryan Haddox decided to investigate some sorority stereotypes.

First Time Voters

First Time Voters

Christy
Will
Darren

This year’s election brought a whole group of new voters out to the polls. New voters express their opinions about their first time experience as voters and discuss their thoughts over how much impact they feel their vote made, especially in a predominantly red state like Texas. We find students’ real feelings on the voting process and the importance of getting the vote out!

First Time Voters

Jasmin, Tiffany, Minza Christmas Video

While some establishments choose to decorate for Christmas from mid November or early December, others decorate for the holiday at the end of October and early November. Whether they are aware of it or not, these decisions affect their customers in different ways.

Some may be turned off by the festive cups Starbucks offers at the beginning of November. Others find joy in the Christmas light displays at Mozart’s.

RTF Junior Alex Michaels feels that the holiday season has been tainted by consumerism. A frequent Starbucks studier, Michaels said the festive cups bother him because they are sold to customers so early. He said this promotes a sense of commerciality instead of true holiday spirit.

Aliya Ispahany, a dedicated Mozart’s patron, disagrees with Michaels. Ispahany said though the decorations are in fact set up early, it only adds to the Christmas spirit. She said the early set up encourages her to feel excited with holiday spirit, not consumerism.

Though members of the Austin community share conflicting views regarding the proper time to decorate for and celebrate Christmas, one thing remains certain: it is apparent from these interviews that holiday overload either enhances or hinders business.

Christine, Britny and Hector's video project

Hex Rally 2012: Texas vs. TCU

As the longstanding rivalry between The University of Texas and A&M ends, the University prepares for a new Thanksgiving football game against TCU. Before each Thanksgiving game, students participate in putting a hex on their opponents. Since 1941 UT has been hexing A&M, but this year the candles will be lit for a new team. Students, Texas Exes organizers and fans have differing opinions on the transition. Some are hopeful for the change in tradition while others lament the end of an era. As the rally slogan goes, "same hex, same spirit, new game."

By Cori Baker, Omar Longoria and Alex Vickery

Credits:

Photos by The Daily Texan:
Tamir Kalifa
Elisabeth Dillon
Puying Huang
Lawrence Peart
Paul Chouy
Julia Bunch

Larisa, Andy, and Vivian's Video Project on Student Soldiers

This student media project investigates the role that the military has had or currently has on University of Texas students. Interviews present two common situations: a veteran that has returned to school, and a student that is currently in the Army Reserves.

R.O.C.K.: A Different Kind of Therapy

By: Cheney Slocum, Celina Fontenot, and Alexis Chastain

R.O.C.K., otherwise known as the Ride On Center for Kids, is located in Georgetown, Texas. Established in 1998, the organization focuses on helping those that live with disabilities through unique types of therapy. These methods include hippotherapy and therapeutic riding. While the students gain physical benefits, such as strength and balance, their relationship with the horse provides emotional development and cognitive progress.

South Lamar Plaza renovation displaces local business

The Fear of Being a Minority

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J29uFZrnlFw&feature=youtu.be

Everyone Can Play

No one imagines the blind involved in America's past-time. Many are unaware that blind people around the world play baseball. They adjust the game to fit their strength, hearing, and are able to play in a way that many able people might find difficult.

Taking a news clip and making a rap song.

"Ain't Nobody Got Time for That"

Good Video Example

Why All the Interest in Pinterest?

I like the way this video personalizes an explanation of a new online technology. Rather than relying solely on screen shots that demonstrate the logistics of how a website works and discussing the statistics of Pinterest use, it illustrates the impact and utility of the social media site through a specific Pinterest user who uses it as inspiration for jewelry design. I like the way the video starts with a close-up of the designer's hands working and intercuts the interview with action shots of her typing and scrolling from multiple angles. I thought the tight side shot of the designer's eye, where the glow of the screen on her face makes it obvious what she's looking at, was a particularly effective way to align the video with what the narrator was saying about the visual nature of Pinterest. Overall, I felt that the sequence and content of shots in the video was pretty dynamic for a piece on a website -- which is visually static itself. The only thing that seems to present a notable opportunity for criticism, to me, is that the video occasionally lingers on the interviewed designer just a bit too long.

Pretty Good video example

Today Show Affair Story

I would label this a good quality story with some minor negative qualities.

The story idea is good. It is a good feature on a timely subject- focusing on the affair of General Petraeus. Choosing to interview an expert on affairs was a good idea for the reporter. Some of the video footage they used was not good quality; zooming in and panning on the couple was not aesthetically pleasing for the viewer.

Although they did not use a lot of their own video, the video they chose to include was great! I loved that they included the clip from SNL. It brought humor into an otherwise serious story. Overall, I think the story was interesting, relatable, and newsworthy.

Video Example

http://abcnews.go.com/m/video?id=17755168

Friday, November 9, 2012

Video example

http://f2009.texasangle.com/6/ (Exposure therapy)

Project Idea

This post is a bit late, but here is the project idea for Hannah Jane, Andrew, and Ricky:

We plan to do an overview on the MF-4 zoning decision that will determine whether or not group housing will be furthermore banned in West Campus. This will mean that group residences (i.e. Greek houses, co-ops, and other types of group housing where residents share a kitchen) will no longer allowed to be built in West Campus from here on out. So far, the City Council vote on the decision has been delayed for months. The story has received some coverage in newspapers such as The Daily Texan, but a video project could really put in perspective how important this vote is for the day-to-day lives of students.

We would like to do a comprehensive look at why group housing is important at such a large university and get footage/interviews of residents and their feelings about the MF-4 vote, as well as get the input of those who would like to see group housing banned in order to get the whole story.

Barbara Jordan Media Awards

College Student Category for Disability Coverage
http://governor.state.tx.us/disabilities/awards/barbara_jordan_media_awards/

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Video Example

I think this is a classic example of not only shoddy video work, but terrible reporting in general. First of all, the over-use of stock footage, sometimes only tangentially related to what is being talked about, only serves to distract the viewer from what is being said by the reporter. In addition, on the few occasions when Fox actually shoots their own footage, they try for dramatic angles or lighting that in most cases simply ends up looking ridiculous. Finally, there's the fact that a lot of the information given by the narrator is blatantly wrong or overly dramatic to the point where it's hard to take anything he says seriously.

Monday, November 5, 2012

Updated Belo Video Project - Alex, Cori, Omar

Above is the updated Belo Video Project

Tiffany Hinman, Jasmin Carina, and Minza Khan's video project idea

Our project is going to be about the most important matter/holiday that all of us should have started officially celebrating November 1...CHRISTMAS!!! Fear not, this is not just a project over our strange obsessions with Christmas cookies/sweaters/music/food/lights/decorations/etc (though rest assured, we are total Christmas crazies). We're actually going to be addressing questions such as "When is it socially acceptable to begin acknowledging Christmas?" and "Why do people and businesses begin celebrating Christmas at this time?" This story is significant because people constantly hear stories about some organization doing a Christmas toy drive or a big house that made the news because their light displays are visible from space, but no one ever takes the time to ask people if they are ready for this abundance of Christmas talk. This project will not have a bias; it will present perspectives from both the Christmas crazed and self-proclaimed Grinches. This is also why our story is unique: because it's not just another story on how great Christmas is. We're going to be excellent reporters and get to the bottom of each opinion thoroughly.

We're going to try to contact establishments that have already decorated or that will decorate before Thanksgiving, like Mozart's, Barton Creek Mall, and Zilker Park for comment. We're going to ask them why they chose to decorate early, and how it affects their customers. We're also going to contact places like the SAC to find out why they choose to wait until after Thanksgiving to decorate and if this decision is catered to the wishes and desires of their customers or if it's a matter of funding the means to pay for the decorations. In addition to establishments, we want to interview students on campus to get their opinions on establishments who decorate early or not, and why.

Furthermore, this is "newsy" because CHRISTMAS IS FAST APPROACHING! AHHHH! Get excited! It's also news worthy because this is an issue that everyone seems to complain about as soon as Wal-Mart or Hobby Lobby starts setting up Christmas merch months in advance, but no one ever actually creates a story about it.

So yeah. We're pretty pumped about the story.

Until you get to see our Christmas video, here are a few wise quotes from Buddy the Elf to last you until December...

"The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear."

"I love smiling, smiling is my favorite."

"SANTAAAAA! I KNOW HIM!"

"Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color?"

Video Story Idea - Alex, Cori, Omar

Video Story Idea

Recently, A&M left the Big 12 Conference. For our project, we wanted to focus on changing traditions, from the longstanding Hex Rally against A&M to a new rally against Texas Christian University. We will focus on the reactions of students and others to the new rally and the idea of creating a rivalry against TCU as opposed to the rivalry, over a century old, against the Aggies. A little bit of comparison to the old tradition would be involved, but the project will focus on the present and future of this new change here at UT. As an issue that isn't currently that well known, we would like to bring this to light and present something interesting and new to those involved and to our viewers.

The text component involved would be a companion piece to the video, telling the same story and using the same interviews and quotes as the video, while being more than just a transcript. Sound bites that we do not use in the video for time constraints or other reasons could be developed into fuller story with more detail. This would enable viewers to get more information if interested.

Subjects/organizations to use:

1. Interviews with students; street interviews to gauge the opinion of random people on this issue; this would give a good impression of what the student body as a whole might think about this change

2. Members involved with Texas Exes (the initiators of the change and new plans for TCU rallies)

3. Interviews with those experienced with the A&M hex rally; i.e. Cheerleaders, members of spirit orgs, etc.

Bonus: find some Aggies, see what they think!

Darren, Will, Christy - Video Project Idea

Idea

We will be interviewing first time voters at the Jester watch party for the election tomorrow night. The focus of our story will be their opinions/feelings on their first time voting in a Presidential election. We may ask questions such as:

"How much influence in American politics do you feel you have as a new voter?"

"As a new voter, what particular issues in the candidates' platforms were most important to you?"

"What are your expectations for the election?"

At this time, we do not know for sure who we are going to interview, but our plan is to interview one Obama-supporter and one Romney-supporter. We will provide names and political stances in the video.

Text Idea

We will provide a piece of contextual writing to accompany our video online. This text will include background information on the event we covered and the people we interviewed. We will also explain why we felt this event was newsworthy for this project.

Stereotypes vs Reality of the Northeast- Story Idea

Our story idea stems off our Soundslides project in which we analyzed the stereotypes versus the reality of Texas. In this project we are focusing on what Texans think about the Northeast, which includes Massachusetts, New York, and other surrounding states. In this project we are basically doing the reverse of what we did before. This time Texans get to stereotype the Northeast instead of outsiders stereotyping Texans. This project will focus on analyzing how people outside the Northeast see the area and then how the area is in reality. While this is an overall look at all of the Northeast, there might be a little focus on Massachusetts due to the fact Garrett is from there and will be interviewing many of his friends from back home.

This video will work very well with the text component. While analyzing the stereotypes of the Northeast we can use the text to introduce different questions that are asked to the interviewees while also giving sub information to the background video and interviews.

Three potential subjects that we can interview:

1.) Garrett's friends from back home- these interviews will be used to see how they think people see the Northeast while also see what the area is actually like.
2.) Native Texans- these interviews will be used to see what Texans think the Northeast is like especially compared to how they grew up in Texas. Questions such as "What are your stereotypes of the Northeast?" will be used to find out the imagined look of the Northeast.
3.) Faria's friends that work in the Northeast- these interviews can be used to once again see how people from the area think people see the Northeast and what the reality actually is.
4.) People who have lived and experienced both areas (Texas and the Northeast)- these interviews can be used to see how people who have experienced both areas of the country think people see the Northeast and what the reality actually is. Also this is a good mix since they have heard all the stereotypes while also living them all.

Project by:
Garrett
Michael
Faria

Story Idea

We are going to do our story on reality vs. stereotypes of sorority girls. Our story is going to consist of video that will be having B roll of sorority girls and the sorority house. We will be interviewing not only sorority girls of why they joined a sorority but also random students at UT and what they feel are stereotypes of sorority girls. The video works together with text because it is giving more detail of the feelings of the sorority girls and also elaborate more on how the students feel. Sorority life has had a controversy and has had a lot of stereotypes said and made among students and we are going behind the rumors to see what is reality.

We can interview sorority girls, non greek students

Vivan, Larisa and Andy: Video Project Idea Proposal

Our idea for a creative, relevant and do-able video project is centered around the story of student veterans and their experiences transitioning to college life. The video footage will consist of scenes from "Write a Note, Get a Float!", which is an week-long event occurring on West Mall (starting 11/5); it is an event where students write appreciative notes to American soldiers for their service, and receive root beer floats in return. We think there will be plenty of interesting video roll to capture at the event, considering the general lively activity of West Mall and the expected popularity of the cause.

We are looking to interview students writing notes at the event, and also actual student soldiers (or veterans) - most likely outside of the event on our own terms. Throughout the video, we would have a few seconds of the interviews playing (to show the faces of the interviewees and make it more personable) and then transition to b-roll, while the audio from the interviews continues to play and compliment the b-roll. The general theme would be an analysis of Student Veteran Services, and how comfortable student soldiers feel attending The University of Texas at Austin after experiencing service abroad. How smoothly can the transition from solider to student go?

Christine, Britny, and Hector's Project Proposal

The focus of this project is to expand the coverage and knowledge of the worldwide sport, Quidditch. It will cover the origins of the sport (how it materialized into a game played in real life, as opposed to just something in the pages of the Harry Potter series), the students at UT who choose to play, and what could possibly lay ahead for the sport, professionally (will it become something more recognized - as important as football and soccer?). Despite its interesting premise and back-story, Quidditch hasn't received too much coverage. With luck, this story will serve to inform people who don't know too much about it and peak their interest. We have no real target audience - the aim is to communicate with as many people as possible and get as many people interested in the sport as we can, without sounding like a promotional video.

Due to its being coverage of a sport, the project will be primarily centered around video, as opposed to text. We will use the text portion as a means of summary, brief and to the point, so that people will be interested enough to click play. The video will allow the viewers to see a live action example of what Quidditch actually is, and how unique the sport is (being, as mentioned before, a fantasy-based sport from a book has been incorporated into the world in which we live).

Three potential organizations/subjects we could interview are: 1) the University of Texas Quidditch team, 2) people at the Office of the Dean of Students, and 3) game spectators. We could interview team members to get first-hand accounts of what it's like to play the sport, people at the Office because that is where student organizations have to go to get certified, and game spectators to get outside point-of-views on Quidditch as a sport.

Kylie and Stacie Project Proposal

We would like to do a piece on Historic Preservation in Austin, focusing specifically on how historic landmarks are important to the culture in Austin as a city that serves as a State Capitol, cultural center, and center for tourism. In a fast developing urban center, the historic preservationist societies are often at odds with city planning commissions and urban developers, and there are potential economic benefits from preservation or demolition. We believe this is a unique story, because most historic buildings and sites and the issues facing historic neighborhoods torn between the past and the future usually fly under the radar, so to speak. We would like to coordinate an interview with representatives from the Austin Historic Preservation Agency, Texas Historical Commission, etc. to learn about community impacts, legal issues, and the economic standing/future of historic buildings around Austin, and how it is decided whether the community benefits of preserving v. demolishing are greater.

Story idea

Because Larissa and I did our soundslides project on disability awareness, we were able to find out about a baseball game for the blind that was going on. We developed interest in this and decided to do our video project on beep baseball (baseball for the blind). We were interested in how exactly the game worked, and discovered that Austin has a beep baseball team that is actually quite known. They have gone to the World Series for the blind, and most recently got second to Taiwan. We plan to have our project centered around how the game works, the players, and family involvement. We thought this would be a good project because people who are not disabled or blind usually are not aware that games like this even exist.

We plan on interviewing the captain, parent, and a player.

Video Story Idea: Jessica, Paige, Helen

Our group is working on a story about the Alamo Drafthouse and the Highball closing for renovation. Both these businesses are owned by Tim League, who agreed to the renovation despite the fact that there was originally no desire to change the beloved and iconic theater. The developers who owned the plot of land claimed they would have developed the land whether League wanted in or not. Some of the businesses in the same center will close or move, but League decided to stay through the renovation.

The issue we want to reflect in our video story is gentrification and how it is affecting business, such as the Highball and Alamo Drafthouse.

We plan on speaking with students, active movie-goers, employees of the theater and owners of shops located around the theater to get different opinions about the renovation.

Video Story Idea - Monday Lab

The topic would be on ROCK, the Ride On Center for Kids in Georgetown. The organization focuses on hippotherapy, a therapeutic technique that uses horse riding to help people with sensory and motor disabilities. ROCK primarily helps kids, although they also provide services for adults, such as returning veterans. We believe this story is unique because people don’t usually don’t focus on horse therapy. News on disabilities and ways that people treat them is prevalent, but this is a different approach to a common problem. We plan to use the text narrative as a way to provide background information to the story. The possible video sources would be volunteers, instructors, ROCK board members, and (if permittable) the kids in the classes. The video would then allow for a more intimate viewership.

Video Example

I liked the story of this video. The video began by talking about Austin's Race for the Cure. Then it included interviews with survivors and the co-chair of Race for a Cure. Finally, the video ended by mentioning how the Susan G. Komen for the cure event helps out cancer patients and the community. The video had many good angles, good visuals, and great audio. I liked that the interviews used a good rule of thirds, and that they used the 'two eyes' one ear rule. I liked how there was audio at the beginning and end before and after the reporter's voice over. Also, there was good background noise throughout the entire package.

The reporter had three panned clips in the package, but only one of them bothered me because the angle was crooked. It was around the 1:00 mark. Also, I wish the videographer would have given the interviewees more headroom in their shots.

Overall it was a great video that was engaging and kept my attention every time.

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Thou shalt not

... do this in Journalism:

http://tumblr.tastefullyoffensive.com/post/34984952414/the-sun#.UJcKHRyJkec

Friday, November 2, 2012

To buy or not to buy: Resources for video editing

Price of Final Cut Pro
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/06/apple-releases-final-cut-pro-x-for-just-300-mac-app-store-exclusive/

Final Cut or iMovie Pro?
http://techcrunch.com/2011/06/23/final-cut-pro-x-or-really-imovie-pro/

Free video editing tools
http://desktopvideo.about.com/od/editingsoftware/a/freevidedit.htm

Online editing services
http://desktopvideo.about.com/od/editingsoftware/tp/onlineediting.htm

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

New Approaches to Photojournalism

Smartphones and Instagram

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbercovici/2012/11/01/why-time-magazine-used-instagram-to-cover-hurricane-sandy/

Panorama shots:

An image from our former photojournalism grad student Jose Castillo,
who is currently designing iPad apps for American Express Publishing
in NY. This view of the storm impact was shot from the roof of the
loft in Greenpoint Brooklyn. It was picked up by the NY Daily News blog and Huff Post.
http://i.imgur.com/FbYl5.jpg

"360 Panorama" app

http://occipital.com/360/app

http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/4fdba1e6eab8ea0368000006/360-panorama.jpg

http://burningbushhk.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/everest360panorama.jpg

Be enthusiastic about photography!
http://imgur.com/OQta8?tags

Multimedia Reporting on the New Building

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151969959875393&set=o.112872708797108&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf

http://youtu.be/mqxMduedL0g

J302F Video Project: What do you think about the new building?

BMC Video Project

by Alex Vickery, Cori Baker, Omar Longoria

Belo Center Project- Tiffany Hinman, Jasmin Carina, Minza Khan

Vivian, Larisa and Andy- Video Project

The quality's a bit grainy because it was uploaded as an mp4, but it should be fine.

Belo Center Project- Fata Haddox Garcia

Anna Fata
Victoria Garcia
Ryan Haddox

Belo story:

Here is our video!

Darren, Will, and Christy's Belo project

New Belo Center

Opinions about the Belo Center

Assignment 4: Video Shooting

Final Cut Project

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tZ_7sT7J5Q&feature=youtu.be

Final Cut Project

Alexis & Celina

Our Project!

Belo Center Interviews

Assignment 4

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Helen and Jessica's audio project (soundslides)

A Fresh Look at Cafeteria Food!

Monday, October 29, 2012

Celina and Kylie's Soundslide

Britny and Chris's SoundSlides Project

Harry Potter: The Boy Who Lived On

We hope everyone enjoys it!

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Tiffany Hinman and Jasmin Carina's project

After much, much technical difficulty, and two field trips to the tech services in the CMA, here's our project! Hurray!

Also, we're not a bunch of weirdos posting pictures of men in thongs. This was the Austin Thong Jog, and proceeds went to the homeless. It was in memory of Leslie Cochran!

Tiffany and Jasmin's project! Woooooo!

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Victoria Garcia & Ryan Haddox's soundslides

https://webspace.utexas.edu/lg22535/untitled folder

Darren Mills and Will Korn's project

https://webspace.utexas.edu/whk264/project

Cori Baker & Alex Vickery Soundslides Project

15 Minutes of Fame

by Alex Vickery & Cori Baker

Garrett and Michael Slideshow

https://webspace.utexas.edu/gcc427/Project1/

Minza and Faria- Ross Bennett Audio Slideshow

Ross Bennett Interview

Vivian and Anna soundslide project

file:///Users/vgo64/Documents/wine%20pics/wine/index.html

Britini Shaw and Stacie Richard Soundslides

https://webspace.utexas.edu/bs24739/shawrichard

Duncan Park

Hey guys! Here's Andrew Huygen and I's SoundSlides project:
https://webspace.utexas.edu/rl22654/duncan_park/

Casie Kruppa and Larissa Liska's Soundslide Project

Bridging the Gap Soundslide Project

News Video Example

'Walmart moms': The women who could decide which man wins

I thought this was a great example of a "good" news video. The video focuses on a relevant issue of today, which is a mother's view on the presidential candidates. The reporter decides to get two mothers with varied viewpoints, presenting their opinions through interviews at home, at work and while shopping at Wal-Mart. I thought it was a smart decision to only include the audio of those interviewed and not the interviewer as they are the focal point and through their answers we are able to realize what was being asked. Cinematography wise, the reporter chose a number of varied and unique shots while filming the mothers at work and while shopping, which added visual appeal to the story. Also, the decision to include superimposed facts over the video pertaining to the story was educational and relevant.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

The Other Side

The project that Christy Reynolds and I did!

Which is here:

https://webspace.utexas.edu/ojl76/publish_to_web/index.html

News Video Example

NEWS VIDEO EXAMPLE

Tallest Man Receives Size 24 Shoes

I thought this was a great example of news video. The reporter from CNN.com begins with a short and direct introductory to the topic. Throughout the video, the narration is very "to the point", and the intonation of her voice keeps the viewer/listener interested. At first, I was a bit skeptical on the importance of the topic - aka: why should we care? Then the reporter answers that question by revealing the beneficial aspects of these shoes to the overall wellness of Igor's life. I also thought she did a nice job transitioning her interview clips with short narrations. In addition, the video clip was a perfect length. I didn't have any issues staying focused or getting bored with it.

Soundslide Assignment

The Other Side (ACL project)

Here is our project! Hope all enjoy!

-Christy & Omar

Monday, October 22, 2012

Breanna and Hector's soundslide

We are very happy with the result of our work
https://webspace.utexas.edu/jhg666/highmaintenance/

Larisa and Andy's Audio Slideshow

Balcony behavior in West Campus: Have you been a target?

always remember...

never forget

Sunday, October 21, 2012

News video example

http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_c2#/video/us/2012/11/13/co-ufo-sightings-in-denver.kdvr

I thought overall this was a pretty good example of a news video, even though its a bit of strange topic and there were a few things I took issue with. At the beginning, the music they used in the background kind of gives the piece a bit of a satirical slant, like they aren't taking the story very seriously. I know UFO's are a goofy topic, but if you're going to run a story on one, at least make it appear serious. I liked the different use of the camera angles, for instance when they're filming the reporter through the lens of another camera. And I thought it was creative how they illustrated that they used their own cameras which still picked up the same sketchy video. I also liked the confirmation they got from the agencies about the story, adding a bit of validation to it.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Interesting audio slideshow!

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/07/18/business/global/18shirt-audioss/index.html

I enjoyed this audio slideshow, minus some details. The beginning threw me off a little because of the Spanish audio clips. I understood what they said but how are other non Spanish speakers going to know what they said? The music is very well matched with the content and pictures. The narrator's voice is good because it is calm but not monotone. It was a very clear and simple narration, easy to follow. There were definitely more pictures than there was audio but it worked. It wasn't overwhelming with the amount of information. It gives the listener time to look at the pictures and really focus on what is going on. I enjoyed the pictures that were outside of the factory because it shows the outcome/effect of the new factory. It is interesting to see the people working inside the factories as well. However, there could have been a transition intro to when the pictures change from the factory to the homes. It would have flowed a little better. Overall this slideshow was very enjoyable.

-HF

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Good Audio Slideshow Example

http://video.ft.com/v/1620120242001/Audio-slideshow-Where-China-bends-to-meet-the-world

This is a good audio slideshow because it has a good and clear storyline, showing how China bends to meet the world from the angle of one of the most modern cities in China, Shanghai. At first,the pictures in the slideshow have a theme set with the black and white content that depicts the old history of the city. Later, it shows how Shanghai has developed throughout the years by combing its history in the past with the western culture in the present. I like the slideshow pretty much because it has interviews from lots of foreigners of different occupation, telling their own experiences while working and living here in Shanghai, showing us that China has really taken progressive movement to meet the world.

Q&A

Audio formats: How does FLAC compare with MP3?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FLAC

Audio Slideshowwww -Omar J Longoria

http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/nyregion/1-in-8-million/index.html#/michel_kramermetraux

This is a great audio slideshow which is just one of many in a great series on New Yorkers of all kinds and occupations, a way to take a look into the lives of 'average' people in what is generally viewed as a not-so-average town. This slideshow in particular might be a bit monotonous in the fact that it is mostly just the sound of the voice of the subject in question, Michel Kramer-Metraux, a wedding wardrober, speaking on his own history and on the methods and various seemingly random details of his life and occupation, it is interesting in that it follows the storyline of Michel himself, just sort of rambling on about who he is and what he does and whatever he personally feels is conducive to an understanding of the subject, himself, and his relation to it. The images themselves, while at time a bit staid, have a good variety, showing the subject at work, with other people he is involved with, and using different angles, lighting, mise-en-scene, and distance, with detail shots and such thrown in for variety and, well, more detail. Overall I think this is quite the cute little audio slideshow and a great series of audio slideshows, so the Grey Lady scores again.

-Omar J. Longoria

P.s. I don't feel like clicking on the link up there but if it doesn't go straight to it (Flash and all), just Google 'One in 8 Million' NY Times, and the one I used should be the very last one in the little, list thing, with the subject's name and occupation in the title and all.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Audio Slideshow behind the process

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-child-abuse_ss,0,3522985.htmlstory

This audio slideshow I think has a very good storyline and is clear throughout. The LA County Department of Children and Family Services is giving out second chances to troubled parents so they could keep kids from foster care. It is an experiment that they say is promising but also risky putting children back into homes. The pictures have a theme set with the black and white content that depicts a sad tone. I like how they interview different people through the social services and focus on one person , Darlene Compton, that is having her son taken away but are giving her a second chance. What they could have done better is getting more interviews and had more people talk. Or to even have a narrator or background noise.

Audio Slideshow on Homelessness

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/audioslideshow/2012/oct/10/homelessness-mario-story-audio-slideshow

For the most part, this extremely detailed audio slideshow is a good one. The photos are not only captivating but genuine, as the photojournalist describes that she documented his journey step by step. Every single event the journalist talks about is accompanied with a relevant photo (i.e. when she talks of him getting shot by air pellet gun, there are actual photos of the surgery!)

The progression of the story, from the moment she encounters him to the happy ending of him finally having a living space of his own and work, keeps you attentive as there are fallbacks along the way (moments when he has to return to sleep in the park, and the journalist is afraid he'll freeze to death as winter approaches).

My two criticisms for the video is the narrator's voice and the length. Considering she spent so much time with this man, you would assume she could sound a bit more emotional and engaged, but she persists in a monotone drone that makes you question how much she really cares.
The video is a bit lengthy, but this is understandable considering the elaborate topic. I think if the problem of the narrator's voice was fixed, the video wouldn't seem to drag out for so long.

Good example of an audio slideshow

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-19060390

This audio slideshow is a little less than 4 minutes long. It has a very emotional message for the viewer, which is why I selected it as an example. While the narrator can be hard to understand at times, the slideshow provides high quality pictures that tell the story of an oppressed Somalian people in a secluded coastal town, in need of urgent medical care. The pictures appeal to the viewers' emotions, and this is the greatest strength of the slideshow.

Monday, October 15, 2012

bad podcast

http://kids.learnoutloud.com/Kids-Free-Stuff/Literature/European-Classics/Childrens-Fun-Storytime-Podcast/23099

I picked this podcast because I figured that out of all the podcasts out there that are political, informative, sad, etc, they all have their tone. This is a website that have podcasts of childrens books. Like this one, Peter Rabbit, is a childrens book well known. However, when I was listening to the the podcast, I was very disappointed in the recording! Usually, people who read childrens books or narrate childrens books should take into account that CHILDREN would be the ones to listen to these podcasts and should be entertained. This podcast is narrated by a male who for all the voices, keeps the same tone! In the beginning it even seems forced like there is no enthusiasm like he does not want to do this or was forced to do it. He sounds so sarcastic. Another thing is that I feel like it drags and drags. Personally This story did not appeal to me because there was no "story" going on. Nothing in the podcast was entertaining. I honestly feel like If i showed this to a little kid, he/she will be bored out of their mind. Children have a big imagination, these books are supposed to be read with different voices, not like you are reading the constitution... BORING!

Good Podcast

http://app1.kuhf.org/articles/1344961767-Hundreds-Of-Undocumented-Houstonians-Prepare-To-Apply-For-Immigration-Program.html

The message is concise, straight forward, and informative. It's a short poadcast posted on the KUHF site on Houstonians applying to a new immigration program giving, "qualifying undocumented immigrants work permits and temporary relief from deportation." Although she could have spoken up with a confident tone, I think she did well telling the story and quoting people. I personally have a short attention span so the fact she made it 2 minutes long was perfect. I also think background noise makes it a bit more interesting.

Podcast example

Kennedy missile crisis anniversary.

This is a little longer than 4 minutes, but you can get the gist of what is good and bad about this podcast prior to that. One of the most annoying things is the old recordings directly from the time of the crisis that you can't understand a word they are saying. I would just as well they kept these specific ones out and had the narrator just quote them. It is almost as annoying when she repeats word for word what the recorded clippings just said when they are actually clear and understandable. The narrator herself has an even pace and rarely stumbles. She does over enunciate at times, especially when saying words that start with a 'p'. The lady in charge of the memorial for the crisis uses the phrase uh or um several times and stumbles decently frequently. Overall I like the concept, and using the clippings from the time is interesting. I just wish they stuck to the ones that were clear.

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Good audio podcast ex.

Listen to the podcast here!

I selected this podcast from The Texas Tribune’s website, which originally aired on KUT News. The podcast, entitled “For Doctors in Politics, Medicine Often Trumps Party”, informs listeners about how doctors have always had a reputation for having scattered political views, some physicians considering themselves very liberal and others considering themselves rather conservative. For most physicians, though, their occupation trumps their political stance, meaning that being a democrat or republican will not compare to the experience they have had in the medical field and the opinions about health care they have formed because of this. According to the podcast, the number of doctors in politics is increasing.

The podcast includes sound bytes from some very important public figures, such as Congressman Ron Paul, Senator Bob Deuell and Congressman Michael Burgess. Because these are popular politicians, the podcast seems quite credible. The speaker also maintains a great balance of telling factual parts of the story while letting the sound bytes tell opinionated parts of the story. This balance of both the speaker and sources telling the story helps the podcast flow easily while maintaining the interest of the listener without becoming bored with too much information from either the speaker or the sources. The speaker’s voice sounds genuinely interested in the story he is telling, and uses phrases, such as “put him in hot water”, that make the listener feel like the speaker is talking directly to them on their level. The speaker also does his best to explain any issue that may be confusing to a listener that isn’t familiar with.

This is a very good informative and straight to the point audio podcast, but there are some things that could have been done to make it better. For example, the sound bytes all sound as if they are conducted via telephone, which make it a little less personal. It could have seemed a little bit more personal and convincing had the sound bytes been from an event at which the politician spoke at and thus gave these opinions. This would have also created more ambient noise from the audience, which the podcast lacked.

All in all, this is a good podcast that could have improved with some minor changes.

Friday, October 12, 2012

Good Audio Podcast Example

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/10/12/162733830/the-secret-to-genius-it-might-be-more-chocolate

This podcast, from NPR's All Things Considered, highlights a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine that reports "a country's propensity for producing Nobel laureates might just be correlated to its national appetite" for chocolate. The study, described in the article as "tounge-in-cheek" displays the correlation between flavanols, which occur naturally in products like tea and chocolate, and the regression of cognitive aging as well as a correlation between chocolate consumption and Nobel winners. The podcast itself is a brief overview of the topic; the narrator speaks quickly but enunciates enough to be understood and does so with a humorous inflection. It is a good example of an audio podcast: clear and engaging as wes all brief and informative.

Political candidates in photos

Those Paul Ryan Workout Pics Are Nuts! But They Won't Hurt Him.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2012/10/12/paul_ryan_workout_photos_those_time_magazine_photos_are_nuts_but_they_won.html

http://lightbox.time.com/2012/10/11/paul-ryan-all-pumped-up-for-his-closeup/?iid=lb-gal-viewagn#1

What Was Newsweek Thinking?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/taylor-marsh/what-was-newsweek-thinkin_b_362086.html