THIS IS IMPORTANT TO READ

Eric Maierson's post over at the MediaStorm blog is money.

Read it.

Print it out.

Read it again.

Then tape the last tip on the base of your monitor and read it every time you sit down at the computer.

Slideshow video app for Mac

If you don't have Soundslides or Final Cut and don't like iMovie you can use this free program, Slideshowmovie, to build quick and easy slideshows to be exported as a video file.

There's a ton of free apps on the Apple Downloads site.

Thursday, May 7

Kingsley's Crossing on MediaStorm by Olivier Jobard - The commitment and ethics of the six-month journey documenting illegal immigration in Africa and Europe.

:: Inciting change and becoming a part of the story ::

Nachtwey's XDRTB.org images
Preston Gannaway's "Remember Me" Pulitzer winning project

:: As you go forward ::

Thoughts and advice from the Magnum Photogs - download the PDF
Remember that making "good stuff" is worth more. Technology won't alter quality.


Some of you might remember the painter in Civic Center Park, Clyde Steadman. He sent me an email the other day, this was a part of his note to me:

So often photographs merely say "I was there" and nothing more. This makes me a little peevish as a painter, since so much of the artistic work is done by the painter at his easel. A painter in a photo establishes that someone thinks there is some aesthetic value to a scene, in a sense transforms the scene. When I paint a trash bin in an alley, folks walking by look at the alley differently. Someone with a camera taking a picture of me in the alley rarely adds anything. It might be a work of art to set up a shot like that, to bring a model to a trash bin in an alley. The distinction is the creative vision, it makes the difference between something created and something stolen.

Learning from the best

2009 Pulitzers and more

The 2009 Pulitzer Prizes were announced last week....the winners are.....

Patrick Farrell, of the Miami Herald, won the Breaking News Photography prize for his images of Hati victims of Hurricane Ike. Listen to his reflection of capturing the devastation and death.
Video of announcement day at the Herald.

Damon Winter, of the NY Times, won the Feature Photography prize for his images of Barack Obama's campaign.

Really strong work here. Analyze each photo for the use of light, composition, defining element and chapter of each story.
Go through and look at all the photography winners and decipher the storytelling.

______________

Own your work and style
I'd like to see more ownership of your work. Stand up for what you think works or doesn't. Need some inspiration?
Read this blog:
“It is no surprise that talented photographers are 99% pain in the ass to work with. They have strong opinions, are stubborn, reckless, and most of the time have an extremely bad character. But that is simply because they are constantly challenged by a reality that annoys them. Like being assaulted by mosquitoes, all the time. They don’t have an attitude problem, it’s the world that lacks one.” — From that goddam Bohemian.
Found via A Photo Editor

On to multimedia....

Here it is. Simple and sweet: 10 Ways To Improve Your Multimedia Production Right Now
because, even students getting training on producing multimedia don't get it right the first time.

If you are still trying to workout how to use SoundSlides, take a peek at this blog posting.

And before you even walk out the door with camera and audio recorder in-hand next time:
Storyboard And Photography

View more presentations from Vadim Isakov.

Ethics of Toning

So have a look at these images and decide if you think they are over worked or Photoshoped too much. A contest judging requested the original RAW files of a few images to determine if the entry should be disqualified. Has the photog gone too far with their toning or would it be allowable?

Share your thoughts in the comments...

Thursday, April 9

Ana's Story - by Allen J. Schaben at the LA Times


BONUS LINK

You should take a took at this TechCrunch article: Who the Hell is Enrolling in J-School Right Now?

Still have to have a storyline

2009 NPPA BOP Judging from Poynter Institute on Vimeo.

Interesting video about the judging of multimedia and video content for the 2009 Best of Photojournalism. Seems as though many people are capturing interesting looking video, but that storyline is lacking making viewers ask "what's this about?"

Still comes back to the storyline and the narrative. A bunch of pretty images and interesting sounds alone don't make for a quality production. The viewer/user still needs to be grabbed and drawn in to the story.

Sound Advice on Productions

If you don't follow Mindy McAdams' blog Teaching Online Journalism, you should.

But mostly you really REALLY should read this post about slideshows.

And if you don't know how to get to a point of putting it all together, take a look at this post on The Digital Journalist - 10 Tips for Dramatically Improving Your Videojournalism Stories

Want to know more about finding a good character to drive your producitons?
Read this from Kathy Strauss

Tues. March 31 2009

Advancing the Storyline with Multimedia

Finding a GOOD Story


More Ira Glass on storytelling
Tickets on sale on April 1 at 10am for one of his presentations in Boulder in Sept.

Sound
Use your ears to find photos. This American Life as visual audio.
Cameras on the Playground




●Quality sound is key for audio slideshows.
Friday Night Lights: Minus The Action – by Drew Angerer
Won 1st Place NPPA BoP Independent Sports Audio Slideshow


●Audio should encompass more about the feelings of the subject, not just restate the obvious in your images.
From the Suburbs to a Teepee – by Katie Barnes
Won 1st Place NPPA BoP Independent Feature Audio Slideshow


●Once you have good audio, primarily nat-sound, use it to reinforce the storytelling.
Weslaco Bullriders - Life Lessons Learned Over 8 Seconds – by Nathan Lambrecht
Won 1st Place NPPA BoP Small Circ. Sports Audio Slideshow


●Next step is to weave cinematic storytelling into your productions. The benefits of non-linear storytelling helps "hook" a viewer.
At Home on the Farm – by Chet White
Won 1st Place NPPA BoP Small Circ. Feature Audio Slideshow


●Utilize voice-overs for difficult subjects that need clarification and to limit text slides.
All out of Hope: Seeking Shelter in Pakistan – by Katie Falkenberg
Won 2nd Place NPPA BoP Small Circ. Feature Audio Slideshow


NPPA Best of Photojournalism Awards
BoP Audio Slideshow Feature Winners
BoP Audio Slideshow Natural Disaster Winners
BoP Audio Slideshow News Winners
BoP Audio Slideshow Sports Winners


Character Driven Storytelling
New York Times - One in 8 Million
Weekly audio slideshow on a character either recommended or found.
The Mayoral Maid
The Subway Busker
The Corner Druggist


What it takes for a complete package to be created and produced with a team.

Mindy McAdams "Flash Journalism Book"

PDN Student Photo Contest

PDN has announced the results of its Student Photo Contest which saw more than 1,350 submissions. The judges were Jen Bekman, David Laidler and Jill Waterman.

Have a look and decide if you think you could have competed. 1,350 submissions isn't that many really compared to NPPA's Best of Photojournalism or POYi.

Week 6

Law

Reporters Without Borders 2008 Freedom Rankings – The US is tied for 36th place.

Amtrak Photo Contest story on NPPA

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Nailed 'Em - Amtrak Photographer

Colbert Report Full Episodes
Political Humor

Joke of the Day
Stand-Up Comedy

Photography and the Law - Interesting site with cases and other info.


Copyright & Biz:
ASMP - Resource for photo business aspects

NPPA - Offer a student membership
NPPA Cost of Doing Business Calculator
NPPA Business Practices Toolkit

Copyright, licensing, work for hire & other questions

Copyright info at the Library of Congress

Homework: Transform

Take a look at this video. There's a lot to take from this very personal insight from a photographer, Zach Arias. Highly recommend watching it.



'nuf said.

Week 5

If you only look at one link from this week again, watch Christopher Anderson's interview and be sure to read the comments.


LA Times photog Brian Walski makes a composite photo of Iraq invasion.

Allan Detrich clones out legs in baseball photo.
Toledo Blade finds dozens of altered Detrich photos.

Reuters Photo frauds

Patrick Schneider overly saturates photos

Abu Ghraib photos

Shooting up on A1 - Harford Courant

War Images as Eyewitness

Pulitzer Prize winning photog's hidden identity


POYi Contest judging video casts.


::BONUS LINKS::

Ask the Recruiter: What Digital Skills Do Journalists Really Need?

Buy a good pair of shoes....Magnum's advice for young photogs. A MUST READ

Photo classics in Legoland

Week 4

Love in the First Person by Matt and Mellisa Eich – Is this a good example of passion? What elements in the images and video illuminate passion and emotion in the characters?

Moving On by Djamila Grossman – Evaluate the effectiveness of the photos individually as well as a collective. Then decide if the multimedia production is as effective.

Out of Prison, Still Doing Time by Greg Kahn – Bear in mind the pacing and reinforcing audio to the visuals. Does this piece deserve to be First Place over the next two productions?

A Chance to Die While Living by Michael G. Seamans – Is the audio or the imagery the more effective meduim in the production? How different is the connectivity between the photographer and the subject(s) in this piece compared to Kahn's or Grossman's?

Cowboys and Cul-de-Sacs by Lisa Krantz – How much different is the storyline in this production based on a group or community versus the previous productions on either a family or a more focused character? How are the images different in their statements of the story?

NPPA Monthly Multimedia Contest gallery and winners

WHNPA Student Photographer of the Year

The White House News Photographers Association invites undergraduate and college graduate students from across the country to enter and compete for the title of WHNPA Student Photographer of the Year.

Found this from my NPPA RSS feed.

Week 3 Part 2

Links associated to our discussion on copyright and the Obama posters:

Fair Use "explained"
John Harrington's umpteenth post on the debate
HuffPo story about AP claiming copyright over Obama "HOPE" original image.

Discussion thread on Metro Mushrooms

NEW ADDITIONS:
*An interview with the artist that created the Hope poster and more Harrington.
*Ira Glass presentation on the best elements of storytelling.

Photosynth demo and speech video at TED

Denver Post article with photo of dead gunman outside the governor's office that was run on the front page the next day, breaking policy of not having dead bodies on the front page. Here's the Wiki page.

Here's a Poynter Institute article discussing photo editing that is worth reading.
And another one discussing the Abu Ghraib photos and their use in news media.

Black Star Rising blog has an interesting comparison about copyright infringement to speeding in a car.
And as a side note on copyright here's an interesting posting about how broadband has changed the game for Hollywood. This will certainly effect the future of copyright and intellectual property.

Some Pages To Read

I won't go over these in class but I thought I would share them with you all.

How to Tell a Multimedia Story
Part 1 The Interview
Part 2 The Pitch

Also, here is a link to a bit of advice from a professor at the University of Florida, Mindy McAdams.

And this is a very good read from Magnum photo agency on advice to photo students.
As is this post about passion from Black Star.

I would really advise you all to start using Google Reader with your Gmail to get the RSS feeds of blogs and other sources of info. The more info you have the more you know where and what needs to be done with different situations. Networking is the key to open doors. If you don't know about them, chances are someone else does. Are you listening to them?

Week 3

Examples of multimedia and audio slide shows we watched on Tuesday:

63rd CPOY Winners This is your competition. Be aware of what they are producing as well as learning what the judges see in images that make them stand out from the pack.

Trapped by Jenn Ackerman

AirSick by Toronto Star

Ira Glass on Storytelling


Be sure to watch the other videos of him talking about storytelling. Though it is coming from the land of radio and television, the principas are still the same. In fact, storytelling on the radio is much harder than with accompanying visuals.

Common Ground by Scott Strazzante - Simple project grows into 14 year project.

Stuck in What? by Richard Hackett - Alternative audio for multimedia.

Kids Spa by Lauran Greenfield - Be sure to take a look at her career project of work covering the image of women as well.

Week 2

Audio equipment and gathering tools:

B&H Guide to Recorders Probably one of the better sources to buy gear from, be it audio or cameras.
Transom: What Mic Do I Get? Transom is a really good resource for audio techniques and equipment guides.
Two Mics you should know about - Dan Blank blog

Tutorials from B&H - News Videographer blog (You should add this RSS to your reader.)

Audacity audio editing program. This is a free program for either platform. Stay away from the beta for now.
Switch audio file converter program. You can use it for free but they have a pay version with more utilities.
SoundSlides is the program to build your audio slide shows in on the cheap or use full-use demo for free. You can use Final Cut Pro/Express if you wish, but SS is going to be much easier to learn and use.

Audio gathering info and guides:
MediaStorm Tips on multimedia gathering. This tends to go a bit overboard on some notions, but there is some real sound advice in there. Read all the parts and look at some of the productions they have created.
Audio Ethics are still of the utmost importance. Just as we do not alter or fake photos, we must take the same approach and cautions in audio.

James Nachtwey at TED


And his TED wish: XDRTB.org



Platon's talk at Eddie Adams Workshop.

Week 1

Here's what I have in a folder from the first week. If there was something that we looked at that you don't see here, make a comment below and I'll add it.

Aperture and f/stops


Depth of Field

Don't forget the Sunny 16 Rule: f/16 @ 1/____th (shutter) @/equal to ISO.
Exposure for sunny day using ISO 200 would be f/16 @ 1/250th.

Then carry that over into reciprocity. How to get the same exposure using different values on those three controls. Meaning f/16 @ 1/250th @ 200 is equal to f/4 @ 1/2,000th @ 100.

All of that works into the use of Ansel Adams' Zone System to get better exposures and resulting prints for difficult lighting situations.

Composition

Color Temperature

Inverse Square Law

The class is about long-form storytelling:
A New Dawn?
The Girl in the Window

Here's the links to the previous 3600 semester projects:
Meet Jesse
Animal Sanctuary
Music is Life

The Presidential Inauguration:
Big Picture on Boston.com

Class Blog instead

Alright gang, I've decided it will be easier for me to just post links to a blog than email you all links that may break in an email all the time.

This way you can just get the RSS feed at the bottom or look back for reference when needed. Hope that works for you all. You will also be able to post comments/questions on each entry to help direct the blog more.

If any of you are interested in becoming part of the blog and want to share content with the class email me and I will add you as a contributor to the blog.