Vuvox Photo Slideshow-Monday Assignment

Vuvox is an online multimedia tool that allows you to create photo slideshows featuring music and also video and other embedded content. For this assignment you will need to take a series of photographs of an ongoing news event or photographs that are related in theme or content. Although I still want you to focus on people, for this assignment photos of buildings or of a neighborhood might be appropriate to help set the mood of the piece. I will demonstrate how to create a Vuvox photo slideshow and give you more details about the assignment on Monday.

Your immediate assignment for Monday night is to come up with a proposal for a story subject for your photo slideshow. You will not be allowed to proceed on the project until you get a verbal approval from me on your proposed story subject. Unapproved projects will not be accepted. The deadline for this slideshow will be March 13 so if you are shooting an event, it will have to take place between March 4 and March 13.

Just to give you an idea of what is possible, below is an example of a Vuvox slideshow created by the Tampa Bay Times.

Example of a video upload

Clark Peters from Treme at Tipitina's in New Orleans, LA.

Video Assignment

Each student will establish an account on YouTube. You should then link this account to your other Google accounts. After establishing your account use a digital camera to take short videos with a common theme or of an ongoing or breaking news event. The videos should be between 15-90 seconds in length. One of the videos should be a direct quote from one of the participants in the event you are recording. Make sure to get the person’s name so you can write an appropriate cutline. Upload the videos (minimum of four-maximum of six) to your YouTube account and on each video include at least one caption about what is being seen. Embed your videos to your blog with appropriate cutlines and an appropriate headline. The video, cutlines, headline and captions should tell your story so there is no need for additional text. This assignment will be due on Wednesday, March 6th at 5 pm.

Instructions on how to upload and embed videos on YouTube.

1. You can download the videos off your camera using Photo Gallery. When you find a video you want to edit go to the Create tab and hit movie. That will import the video into Windows Movie Maker.
2. Or you can download the videos directly to the computer and open Windows Movie Maker. Hit add Photos/videos button. Find your videos and load them into the program. Once you have a video loaded open up the project button and make sure you are in widescreen. Select Save Project As and name the the project and save.
3. I won't go into all the details here but basic editing techniques can be found on this pdf about Windows Movie Maker. I suggest you print it out and keep a copy to consult. Trim the videos to appropriate lengths and add captions that give the viewer additional information.
4.  Log into your YouTube account and hit the upload button. Select your video(s) and upload them.
5.  For each video name it, tag it appropriately and identify it with the mapping function in YouTube.
6. In order to embed a video into another website or blog: Click the Share button located under the video. Click the Embed button. Copy the code provided in the expanded box.

                  ·You may also customize your own embeddable player by clicking on the embed code. 
                   When you click on the embed code the space below it will expand and reveal 
                    customization options such as:

                                              · whether or not to include related videos

                                              · whether or not to enable privacy-enhanced mode

                                              ·  whether or not to use the old embed code

                                              ·  the size

      7.       Paste the HTML code into the HTML window of your blog. Then go back to the compose
            window. Your video should appear.

Here is an article that gives some basic pointers on how to shoot video with a small digital camera. Here is a link to a fun video featuring innovative ways to use a GorillaPod.
This last link is an example of  how this assignment was completed in a past class: Airling Paradox: Ride With Us

The Rule of Thirds

Before you start working on your first photo assignment you should be familiar with the rule of thirds. The basic principle behind the rule of thirds is to imagine breaking an image down into thirds (both horizontally and vertically) so that you have 9 parts. With this grid in mind the ‘rule of thirds’ now identifies four important parts of the image that you should consider placing points of interest in as you frame your image.It also gives you four ‘lines’ that are also useful positions for elements in your photo.

To the left is a photo I took in New Orleans. You can see that the main point of interest occurs at one of the intersections on the grid.

The theory is that if you place points of interest in the intersections or along the lines that your photo becomes more balanced and will enable a viewer of the image to interact with it more naturally. Studies have shown that when viewing images that people’s eyes usually go to one of the intersection points most naturally rather than the center of the shot – using the rule of thirds works with this natural way of viewing an image rather than working against it. It is easy in Photo Gallery to check if your photo is following the rule of thirds by hitting the crop button that will place a grid like this on your photo. Then you can adjust the image correctly by cropping out portions of the photo you don't want. Here is another webpage that goes into a more detailed explanation of the rule of thirds and gives you more examples.

New Orleans Photo Slideshow Example

Photo Slideshow Assignment

Razor at Ground Zero

Each student will establish an account on the photo-sharing website Picasa for the Web.  This account should then be linked to your Blogger and other Google accounts. After establishing your account use a digital camera to take photos with a common theme or of an ongoing or breaking news event. Upload 6-12 photos to your Picasa account, write appropriate extended cutlines for each photo, map each photo and then create a photo slideshow. Upload your slideshow to your blog with an appropriate headline. The photos and cutlines should tell your story without the need for additional text. The deadline for this assignment is Wednesday, February 27th at 5 pm.

The photo slideshow below is composed of photos I took on a road trip to Memphis, Nashville and Clarksdale.

Step by step instructions on how to set up a photo slideshow using Picasa on the Web.

1. Log into all your Google accounts.
2. Either insert the cable supplied with your camera to the USB port on your computer or insert your SD disc into your computer. Open up Photo Gallery on your computer and import the photos you choose or drag and drop the photos from your SD disc onto a disc on your computer. You may use Photo Gallery to crop and adjust the images. Every image needs to be downsized. To do this hit the Properties/ Resize button and resize each image to small.
3. Once you have collected all your photos open Picasa on the Web. Hit the upload button and upload them to a new folder.
4. Give the folder a name and give each photo a caption. Make sure the album is available to the public.
5. Hit photo locations and drag each photo onto a location on Google maps.
6. Hit “link to this album” button on the right and then hit the Embed Slideshow button.  Choose the size of your slideshow and check the show captions box. Copy the HTML code out of the yellow box.
7. Go to your blog and hit new post and then the HTML button. Paste the raw code in the window and then hit the compose button. The slideshow should appear. 

Capturing Photos for Backpack Journalists

Monday we are going to be talking about shooting photos with a basic point and shoot digital camera. Here is a link to an article with some advice on how to use these kinds of cameras for mobile journalism. The camera that I have purchased for class is a Canon PowerShot ELPH 110HS. Here is a link to a getting started guide for the camera and here is a link to the entire camera manual. Take a look at the article and the manuals and we will talk about them on Monday. By the way you will have to purchase a SD digital memory card for class. I would suggest you get one that holds at least 16 GBs. You can buy them at the bookstore but they will be cheaper if you go to Best Buy or even Rite Aid or you can buy one online. You will need the memory card next week to complete the next assignment.

Linking Exercise

Your editor has asked you to write a brief  backgrounder presenting the contrasting points of view about a controversial topic. He/she wants you to write a 300-500 word synopsis which includes at least 6 links in the text which represent background, context or some other interesting information he/she should know.  Please post your synopsis on your blog site by 5pm on February 18th. Then post links on the class Facebook page and on Twitter with the appropriate hashtag.  Be prepared to talk about the links you chose and the topic in general on Monday night.

Sara B.-Should people remain virgins until they are married?
Aleshia-Should English be the official language in the United States?

Shelby-Should scientists be able to experiment in human cloning?

Stephanie C.- Should we remove the Electoral College system in presidential elections?
Alyssa C.-Should we ban drug testing in the workplace?

Kayla D.-Should gambling be made illegal everywhere in the US?

James-Do violent video games cause behavioral problems?

William-Should we legalize physician-assisted suicide?

Harmony- Should we legalize marijuana?
Levi-Should gay marriage be legalized nationally?

Sara M.-Should animals be used for research?

Ryan-Should we get rid of all affirmative action legislation?

Colton-Should we lower the drinking age to 18?

Kelsey-Should we get rid of the three-strikes law?

Stephanie S.-Should the government have a say in our diets ?

Bethany-Should cigarette smoking be banned?

Lindsey-Should creationism be taught in schools?

DJ-Does access to condoms prevent teen pregnancy?

Madeline-Are beauty pageants exploitative?

Here is an example from a previous class for you to peruse. Unlike Emma, please set up your links to open in a new window.

Should the government provide vouchers for students to attend private schools?

Linking and online journalism

Here are a few articles I would like you guys to read before Monday night. The first is another chapter from the Journalism 2.0 book : How to Report for the Web.  The rest of the readings relate to linking and the proper way to use them in online journalism. Take a look at these brief articles and come to class with an opinion about linking and how it should be used in online journalism. Here are the links:  Why we link: a brief rundown, Is linking to news journalism?, What Every journalist needs to know about linking.

Online Sources Assignment

You have been assigned to interview the person next to your name. You know nothing about them and need to do an internet search to gather background information so you can ask some intelligent questions.  Find the five online sources you deem to be the most reliable and the most informative. Use those sources to write a one paragraph biography of your assigned person including the first question you would ask them.  A link to a photo of the person would be nice too. Report the findings of your research as an entry on your blog with links to each source you would use and a brief explanation of why you thought the source was reliable. (Hint: Wikipedia is not one of them.) Once you have written your blog post please post a link with an appropriate headline on the class Facebook page and on Twitter with the hashtag #nmjatsru. Be prepared to talk about your decisions in class. This assignment is due at 5pm on  Monday, February 11th.   

Sara Bagiatis-Dilma Rousseff Aleshia Blanton-Aung San Suu Kyi

Shelby Burns-Joe Scarborough

Stephanie Cheek-Saad Mohseni

Alyssa Cirincione-Geoffrey Canada

Kayla Dunlap-Chris Christie

James Graner-Reed Hastings

William Howell-Amy Chua

Harmony Kaspar-David and Charles Koch

Levi Lewis-Derrick Rossi

Sara McDonald-Felisa Wolfe-Simon Ryan Oglesby-George R.R. Martin Colton Powden-Charles Chao Kelsey Reese-Jeff Bezos Stephanie Skinger-Sergio Marchionne Bethany Snedden-Katsunobu Sakurai

Lindsey Tettenburn-Sue Savage-Rumbaugh DJ Vasil-V.S. Ramachandran Madeline Williams-Anne Cox Chambers Emily Labovitz-Ali Ferzat

First Blog Post Assignment

BLOG PAGE: Each student must establish and maintain a blog page. You can start a blog page for free on this site: Blogger.  Here is a link to a brief tutorial on how to initially set up your account. There are other websites that allow you to start a blog but Blogger coordinates well with other Google related websites and is the easiest to setup and manage. The first blog should contain some basic information about you and why you are interested in new-media journalism and this class. Take the time to give your blog an interesting name and use the templates provided to make it look attractive. Once you have written your first blog entry please post a link with an appropriate headline on the class Facebook page and on Twitter with the hashtag #nmjatsru. (If you have not done so you will have to establish Facebook and a Twitter account prior to concluding this assignment.) The deadline for having your first blog entry online is 5 pm on Thursday, February 7th. The first blog should include, at a minimum, these links:
*Link to SRU home page
*Link to your Facebook page
*Link to your Twitter page
*Link to a significant traditional media outlet (Give a brief explanation of your choice)
*Link to a significant new-media outlet (Give a brief explanation of your choice)
You may include photographs if you like. In general, I am looking for informative, entertaining writing with facts used to back up opinions. For the purpose of the general blog entries I want you to write in a conversational style but don't ignore traditional rules of grammar, spelling and story structure. This blog is an opportunity for you to practice "community" journalism, not just spout off about your life. Although not required, I encourage you to post blog entries in addition to the ones required for class because more active blogs will attract more traffic and a bigger audience. Here is an example from a former class that will give you an idea of what I am looking for: Live Long, Laugh Loudly, Blog Boldly.
40 points