Magzalez’s eyes on media

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.