Final Project

https://vimeo.com/94926225

I ran into issues because as I was doing my interview for Devora the battery on my recorder ran out.  There was music playing outside and no matter where you were in the house you could hear it in the background, and because I had to use the iPhone sound it picked up that background, and ruined a lot of the video.  I did think I did a good mix of broll and people speaking, and I think the quotes I chose to use were very interesting.  Other than the sound, I am happy with my project.

Video Assignment 3

https://vimeo.com/92525695

I don't really understand how to get the iPhone into good focus, no matter how hard I try it always ends up being blurry. Additionally, when I chose the topic I did, I did not realize how boring he broll would be. I found the research and place she worked interesting, but when I got there I realized it was mostly desk work. I think I did a good job of editing together the broll and I think I recorded good audio.

Video Assignment 2

I feel like I had the most troubles finding an event to film that people were okay with. I asked a lot of people on the mall and around the diner and got a lot of no answers. Therefore I resorted to a very generic thing to film. I definitely need to work harder at filming each frame for a long amount of time, it would make editing a lot easier. I need to just get more comfortable filming in general, because that is why I end up rushing through things. However, I think I did much better at really getting wide and medium shots, but my tight ones always end up being worse than I thought. I have a lot of work to do with video!

https://vimeo.com/92334518

Video Assignment One

I don't think I did well at guiding people to look at the camera instead of looking around. Additionally, I only took about a 30-60 seconds of video and audio per an interview which limited what I had to work with. I think I need to work harder at making the person I was interviewing more comfortable. I think I did well at picking a good place to interview because you could hear a little of the background from the soccer game going on at frat row. I think I also did really well at matching the audios togethether.

Audio Assignment Two

Educational leadership consultant Shay Galley visits the Beta Eta  chapter of Alpha Xi Delta at the University of Maryland for the first time on March 24, 2014.

I made the same mistake of forgetting to make sure the decibel level was at 10 for the interview. I also have issues cutting the audio in a way that still makes it sound natural. Additionally, I made the mistake of not telling the person I was interviewing to make sure her phone was on silent. You can hear a beep one time during the interview at a point where she is saying something that is too important to cut out. I think I did a good job of picking out what was the most important part of the interview out of the 5 minutes. Although it was hard to cut five minutes into one minute, I realized there was a lot of unnecessary content.

FINAL AUDIO ASSIGNMENT

I think I did much better at getting the recording at the right level, however I am still having difficulty getting it in between the -6 to -12 level. Additionally, my editing still gets a little choppy in places, and you can tell when things were cut off.  I realized having 10 minutes of natural sound recorded for a 1:30 interview also made it really difficult to edit as well. I think I picked a good interview though, and I thought I timed the natural noise and cut it well with my interview.

Junior Ali Harrington listens to a playback after a night of rehearsing with her acapella group DaCadence, at the University of Maryland on March 30, 2014.

Audio Assignment One

My first audio assignment threw a couple of obstacles my way. I noticed when I was recording that no matter how close I talked into the recorder, it would not go to -6. I assumed this was just a technological error because the audio sounded fine when I listened to it from the device through headphones. However, I did not realize that the gain was only at six, when it was supposed to be at ten.  Because of this, my audio was basically impossible to hear without editing. I also didn't realize that I could just put the voiceover on one track and add and delete sentences. Instead, I just kept rereading my entire script over and over again until I came up with the best result, and all of them were different tracks. In the end, it would have been a lot better to keep it all on one track, and the sound would have been better as well.  After listening I realized I also talk a little fast, and was not the easiest to understand.  However, I think that for my first assignment, I kept my voice at an even level, and I was fairly easy to understand.

Script and article:

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/mar/13/oscar-pistorius-trial-bad-wielding-moment-crucial

A crucial piece of evidence was examined in the murder trial of world famous paralympian Oscar Pistorious yesterday.  Forensic investigator Colonel Gerhard Vermuelen recreated the bathroom Pistorious shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp through, using the bullet ridden toilet door from the scene of the crime. Pistorious claimed in his opening statement that he knocked down the door with a cricket bat while wearing his prosthetic legs. However, Vermuelen recreated the scene by kneeling at the height of Pistorious without his prosthetics. His recreation showed marks on the door were low enough that Pistorious was probably not wearing his prosthetics when he knocked down the door, showing that he could have lied in his statement. Nonetheless, the defense claimed Pistorious was swinging the bat with his back bent, which could explain why the markings on the door were so low.

Pistorious, who has won multiple gold medals in the Paralympics earning the nickname blade runner, could spend the rest of his life in South African Prison if he is convicted of Steenkamp’s murder.

  

Final photo assignment:

I think I underestimated how hard it would be to take pictures at a wedding when you are not the photographer.  I do a Jewish studies program at Maryland and one of the requirements is that we attend an orthodox Jewish wedding, so I did not know the people getting married either. It was really hard to get really close to the bride, and due to Jewish traditions the men's reception is separate so I had to stand on a chair over a wall to get pictures of the men's side.  I also did not realize how blurry my and unfocused my pictures were turning out. If I had done this again, I would have chosen to do a different event in general, or different idea. I think I did well at getting components to as much of the parts of the wedding as possible from beginning to end. Although my pictures were blurry and unfocused I did have hundreds to choose from, so I think I did better at taking more pictures.

Chef Luke Olson, 26, at his first day in the Alpha Xi Delta kitchen on February 17, 2014.

I think I did well at getting Luke comfortable for the picture, and catching a genuine smile. I also think I came up with a nice variety of different shots and poses for the pictures.  However, I am still having issues taking quality pictures with the iPhone that are in focus and not blurry. I also still need to work on moving around more to get the best picture. Sometimes I think I forget to be more mobile and to take shots from different angles.

Sophomore Emilie Hoogewerff decorates the Alpha Xi Delta sorority house for bid day at the University of Maryland, College Park on February 10, 2014.

Junior Alpha Xi Delta president Zoe King finishes up a frame that will be used at bid day at the University of Maryland, College Park on February 10, 2014.

Juniors Alexa Olney and Katherine Mersinger add the final touches to the bid day banner at the University of Maryland, College Park on February 10, 2014.

I think I did a good job finding a lot of different things to shoot in order to tell the story for this assignment.  I think between the three photos someone has a good look into what sororities do in order to prepare for bid day,

However, I definitely should have taken significantly more pictures. I only ended up taking about 50 which really limited my options.  Many of my photos were blurry or had extremely poor lighting.  I also need to work on creating more of a distinction between wide, medium, and close shots when taking photos.  Many of them ended up looking very similar.  Instead of focusing on finding a lot of things to shoot, I think I need to focus on taking quality pictures of just one or two things.

Photo Assignment One

Link to story

Just as the story is a profile on Democratic candidate for Washington D.C. mayor Andy Shallal, the three pictures accompanying the story work together to give the reader a visual profile on the candidate. The first picture of Shallal is a close up of his face, which makes sense because readers need to be able to put a face to the name.  However, unlike most portraits, part of Shallal's head is cut from the picture and he is in an informal pose. Just as Shallal is an unconventional candidate for mayor, so is his portrait. Rule of thirds was definitely used in this portrait.

The next photo in the gallery is a good example of moment. The photographer caught the woman in the  picture holding the sign smiling at the right moment, and Shallal is standing behind the woman in a strong pose looking supportive.  The height difference between the woman and Shallal creates a leading line right to the face of Shallal, and rule of thirds was also used in this picture. Additionally, the pop of color that comes from the sign the woman is holding adds to the picture.  The photo works with the story because it shows Shallal working with the people, and dressed just like an average person in his baseball cap, tshirt, and jeans. Unlike the portrait, this shows the side of Shallal that attracts the "hipsters, artists, and bohos," described in the profile.

The third picture that accompanies the story shows Shallal in his home speaking to his campaign supporters. Since he is now dressed in a suit, this shows the professional side to Shallal. The way the staircase banister is placed in the picture creates leading lines directly to Shallal. Selective focus is also used, to highlight Shallal and make the supporters the background of the photograph. As usual, rules of thirds is also used in this photo. Moment is another element in this photograph. Shallal is caught smiling, and even though they are all blurry in the picture you can see smiles on his supporters' faces. Sense of place is also used because you can tell he is not at a podium, but in a home. Including a picture of Shallal inviting supporters into his home shows that he is appreciative for the support he has been given.