Magzalez’s eyes on media

As promised, I’m back again with more grading of my Gainesville Explorer videos and slide shows. But before I begin, I have to point you to Mark S. Luckie’s blog, 10,000 words. This link came via Megan Taylor.

In ranking the top-seven student newspaper Web sites. he named The Independent Florid Alligator No. 1. While I’m excited about this because I will be officially employed by The Alligator in a few weeks, there is more immediate coolness. The first “standout feature” he mentions is MT’s very own brain child, the source of much of my love and my anguish, Gainesville Explorer! Hooray for us.

But back to what I came here for.

Lake Wauburg:

• The good: I really liked the opening shot. I always wanted to start one of my videos with my entrance into the place, maybe have the camera sticking out of my car as I drove through the gates. I never had someone to hold the camera while I drove, or drive while I held the camera, so I never got to do it. But getting this shot of the U.S. Highway-441 sign satisfied me at least a little bit. As far as shots go, I really think I got around and got some good ones. I like the interview that I took back when I thought this was going to be a Soundslides. I liked the photos I used. I also liked how I matched up the visuals with the audio well.
• The bad: It was a windy, windy day. Unfortunately, you can probably tell that from the video because of how shaky the camera was. I had a hard time keeping it still. For some reason, the actual video quality is worse on this video than on some of the others.
• What I might have done differently: I wish I would have had a video camera the first day I went out. I ended up just taking my photo camera because there was no video camera for me that day. But the first day, the director at Lake Wauburg took me out on a boat ride. It would have been nice to use some of that as video. Also, I should have put who was talking at the beginning of the video instead of the end. The other thing was that the establishing shot was too long–should have cut it by a few seconds. Overall, I didn’t have too many regrets about this one.
• Grade: B

Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail:

• The Good: One of the best parts about this story was actually going to the location. It was one of my favorites, probably No. 2. The good thing about this one was that I got it done. It was my first photo story since taking photojournalism a year ago. I liked the little motion thing I did with the bike riders, but the only really good photos are the one of the man and woman taking a break from jogging, right at the beginning and the one of the flower at the end.
• The Bad: The pictures just aren’t very good. I didn’t get enough pictures either. In my defense, the weather was awful, and I’m still a novice with the photo taking. The motion thing I did with the bike riders was good overall, but the first transition was off and weird. The voice over is pretty rough and boring, but this place was pretty boring–in a good way.
• What I might have done differently: I couldn’t control it, but I wish the weather could have been better. It would have made all the difference for the story. People would have been other there, the lighting would have been better and the overall atmosphere would have been more vibrant.
• Grade: C-

Gainesville Raceway:

• The Good: The opening sequence for this video is great. I like how it feels like you’re about to start a race. It was probably the only time that a shaky camera was a good thing. It looked like you were actually in the car. I really liked the interview. The guy was really sincere, he seemed to really love what he did.
• The Bad: There are some audio problems. I was very windy, and I picked that up on my mic. It wasn’t too bad though. I may have used one too many cross dissolves, but I don’t think it brought down the quality at all. The real mistake I made in the video was a shot of two cars ready to race, but in a lapse in judgment, I didn’t show them take off, oh well.
• What I might have done differently: I would have brought a different tripod, and by that I mean I would have brought the monopod. I had some tripod troubles with this video, but it was OK. This was one of my favorites, so I don’t have too many criticisms.
• Grade: A
  

Ginnie Springs:

• The Good: This was easily my favorite assignment, both in terms of location and outcome. I think I got some really good shots. The natural sound was great and so was the music I played over the natural sound. Heck even voice over was OK. My favorite part of the video was the part with the bus. The bus and the music had a very cool going-to-camp feel to it. It was the perfect amount of hokey. The other thing I noticed is that there is an insane amount of color going on in these pictures. It’s really cool. I’d say the best thing overall was my choice to shoot photos instead of video. I just don’t think it would have been the same as a video.
• The Bad: My one big criticism is that though the voice over is OK, as in my voice sounds good, the information is alright, it really gets lost with the really good natural sound, music and photos. Watching it over again, I found myself forgetting that I was even talking.
• What I might have done differently: Well, you can’t see this in the video, but I was carrying around a monopod the whole time, and that was annoying as hell because I didn’t even use it. The other thing is that I would have loved to have been able to do some of the stuff there, but alas I was working. If my camera was water-proof, I would have gone tubing and taken photos along the way.
• Grade: A+

Things definitely got better toward the end. So what did you think of the whole experience?

First thing’s first, I have been asked to be the assistant managing editor of online media at The Independent Florida Alligator. I will be assisting with multimedia editing as the up and coming managing editor of online media is more of a programmer than a media expert. Ken is a nice guy, and I look forward to helping him learn about the multimedia side of online media as well as some other tasks, duties and ideas I’d like to implement at the paper.

Most of my efforts this semester were centered around The Alligator’s Gainesville Explorer series. I shot six videos and two slideshows. I wanted to go over what I liked and didn’t like about each video or slideshow, what I could have done better and give an overall grade. So without further adieu:

UF Bathouse:

• The good: There are a bunch of cool nature shots. My favorite being the close up on the lazy gator. There is a nice variety of shots and good transitions. The footage of the actual bats is the most compelling part of the video, but kudos to Ryan Moulton for getting those shots.
• The bad: The voice over suuuucccckkkkkks. Other than that, I was suffering a bit from shaky camera syndrome, but I remember not having a tripod to work with, so the shakiness was kept in check considering the circumstances.
• What I might have done differently: If it was up to me I would have waited until later in the semester to do this video because the ridiculous 30-something-degree temperatures were not conducive to bat flying. I also should have gotten some interviews, but because the video was supposed to be on the bats, and the bats never came out, the interviewing didn’t really pan out.
• Grade: C

Gainesville Rock Gym:

• The Good: I like the opening shot. The consistent background was good to put the text over. I liked the interviews and the way I strung together the audio. There is a really wide variety of shots, which is great. It made for really good cut-away footage.
• The Bad: I goofed up at the end accidentally showing about a frame of the guy in the blue shirt. Other than that, I think I did pretty well on this video.
• What I might have done differently: Nothing really comes to mind on this one. Maybe I would have added little backgrounds for the titles and not screwed up that last frame or two. But mostly I really liked this one.
• Grade: A-

UF Butterfly Garden:

• The Good: The natural sound and all of the shots of the butterflies are great. I couldn’t screw up the interviews very much because Mark Boulware was really nice and really helpful. Again I got a variety of shots that made for good cut-away footage.
• The Bad: The camera got kind of shaky from time to time. I should have asked Boulware to turn off his walkie-talkie for a minute so that it wouldn’t come out in the audio. One more interview might have rounded out the video as well. Even though there was a variety of shots, it was hard to get things that were truly different from shot to shot. Because of that I had to devote a few seconds to a giant goldfish. I wish I didn’t have to do that.
• What I might have done differently: I should have gotten a wide shot of the butterfly garden from outside. I should have gotten one more useful interview, perhaps a guy? I should have put some sort of an opaque background over the opening title because the white words were a bit hard to read.
• Grade: B
  

Santa Fe Community College Zoo:

• The Good: The only good thing about this video is that in the face of adversity, I got it done. One good thing also came of this video, I went out and got a D-SLR camera so I wouldn’t have to depend on irresponsible photographers.
• The Bad: The video has a crappy voice over, crappy transitions, crappy pictures and crappy information. Someone told me the other day that the University of Florida’s beloved Mindy McAdams thought this was my worst Gainesville Explorer contribution. You know what I have to say to that? No shit. I guess the worst part of this video was the resentment I had when I was editing it. Also, I think I may have gotten sick that day.
• What I might have done differently: I would have had a damn photographer make a Soundslide! I never thought this should have been a video. Still, I should have done some interviews just in case I ended up having to make the video, which obviously I did.
• Grade: D- (because at least I got it done)

Woof, hate to leave you on that sour note, but this post is getting a bit lengthy. I’ll finish it up tomorrow. Just a recap of my recap so far, I’ve given myself an A-, a B, a C and a D-. Am I being too harsh?

Man I love shooting video.

Hooray for a truly successful photo story! I went out yesterday with my girlfriend, cousin and two of my friends to Ginnie Springs in High Springs, Fla., about 40 minutes out of Gainesville. Ginnie Springs was the last stop this semester for the Gainesville Explorer series at The Independent Florida Alligator, which, as you know, I have had a heavy hand in.

Well I went out to the springs thinking I was going to shoot a video. I have been taking my new D-SLR camera just in case–ya know, the way photographers nowadays are taking video cameras out just in case? I do everything backwards.

I started with some pictures of my friends and realized that the lighting was just too good not to take advantage of the photography. The springs is also a very low-key, relaxing place. There wasn’t a whole heap of movement going on. So with that in mind, I never even bothered taking my video camera out, I just walked around like a regular photog, fly-on-the-wall style.

I tried my best to adhere to some of the guidelines of composition I learned way-back-when in my photojournalism class, ones have been applying to video lately–rule of thirds, fill the frame, get close, repetition of shapes, etc. One of my hindrances in all of this is that I only own one lens, 18mm-55mm, so when I say I have to get close, I mean it.

All in all, the photos came out pretty OK, but it took more than pictures to make my Soundslides successful. I got very good, rich sound. I just sat by one of the springs for about a minute and a half and captured the sound of the water and people rustling and bustling about. Then I decided, rather crazily, that I would play “Swanee River” on my lap harp over the natural sound. Then I did a voice over. The voice over could have been better, but I couldn’t believe how nice the music and the natural sound went together. My first few shots are of a bus riding by with some inner tubes and a bunch of people. The sound of the laughter, water and music gave it a going-to-camp feel.

So check out my audio slide show of Ginnie Springs for yourself, and tell me what you think. It may not be the best Soundslides in the world, but this is the best slide show I’ve done since I made one about a dance teacher here in Gainesville a while back, and it is officially my favorite Gainesville Explorer piece.

Maybe for one of my next posts, I’ll recap all the videos and slide shows I made this semester for the Gainesville Explorer series, grade them and talk about the dos and don’ts I learned from them.

The ever-crazy Hearst awards season is fast approaching. I learned recently that a new category has been added to the existing writing, photojournalism and broadcast news categories–multimedia! Apparently the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications is pretty good at winning these things.

The managing editor of online media at The Independent Florida Alligator, who I so affectionately refer to as MT via e-mail, Megan Taylor, told me yesterday that she would be entering the Gainesville Explorer series for the multimedia portion of the Hearst awards.

Now, first I have to say, I’m not that into awards. I don’t need some crazy old guy or lady validating what I do by giving me some award.

Hearst award? Psh.

Peabody award? Psh.

Pulitzer prize? Pppppssssshhhhh.

Nobel prize? Hmmm.

On the other hand, it would be pretty sweet. More than anything, I was excited to see some recognition of online journalism from the Hearst awards program, until of course I saw that we were not being treated fairly and equally!

“*Note: There is no Championship component for the Multimedia Competition.“

That means, unlike writing, photography and broadcast news, the winner of the multimedia competition does not get to join his or her peers in a guided run-around of San Fran for a week to come up with new story ideas and make even more money. That’s kind of annoying right?

Not much to say except that it was loud as hell over there. Check out the video:

The video is also up on The Alligator’s web site.