The assignment here was to find an issue or broad trend on campus and then try to find an individual that either represented the situation or was being impacted by it. My team decided to look at women's sports and the unique sense of community the create among female athletes at Roger Williams University.
We chose to focus on senior tennis player Haley McCraven, who has played tennis for four years at Roger Williams, as the individual representing our story. We also interviewed two experts on the subject, namely athletic director George Kolb and women's sports coordinator Kristen Raffa.
Overall I am happy with how the project came out; however, it does have some shortcomings. During the editing process we decided that we would put in pictures of every women's team that was mentioned during the voice over, which worked well until we realized there was no picture online for the women's swim team. As a result, we frantically looked through team-member's Facebook pages trying to find a team photograph and had no luck.
After about an hour of searching I found the only picture of the team, hanging in the Campus Recreation Center. I had no other option than to film the picture in the poorly lit hallway. Due to this last minute fix, I am not as happy with that section of the video as I would have been had I been able to get a better picture of the women's swim team.
Besides this flaw, I am, again, very pleased with how the project turned out. The only other criticism I have of myself here is that when my partner did her sign-off, I forgot to remind her that we were standing on first base and not third.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Interview with Guitar Player Jason Rodman
The assignment this time was to find and interview someone talented at Roger Williams University. My team decided to interview senior public relations major Jason Rodman about his guitar playing skills.
When we arrived at Jason's house to film the interview, we noticed that the sun was in a perfect position to film on the deck behind the house so we decided to film outside instead of inside. This was one of the best calls we could have made because the lighting was perfect and we were able to capture all of the tones in Jason's face. The sound also came out very well as a result of us filming outside.
We started the filming process by filming Jason playing his guitar for about five minutes. This video became the backbone of the final product, which I cut down to just under three minutes in the editing process. After we filmed Jason playing we interviewed him using the interview method that Prof. Michael Scully taught us and it worked very well.
We experimented with several different camera angles during the interview. In fact we changed the angle before every question in order make the video more interesting. I think this worked very well, as I was able to make the video extremely interesting in the editing process.
The only mistake we made during this video was the one shot where I accidentally caught my team's reflection in the sliding class door behind Jason. However, I was able to cleverly edit out by using b-roll of Jason playing with a voice over instead of using the actual video of him talking. While it was spurred by a mistake, I think this technique added a lot of depth to the video.
I feel that this is the best video my team has produced so far. So enjoy.
When we arrived at Jason's house to film the interview, we noticed that the sun was in a perfect position to film on the deck behind the house so we decided to film outside instead of inside. This was one of the best calls we could have made because the lighting was perfect and we were able to capture all of the tones in Jason's face. The sound also came out very well as a result of us filming outside.
We started the filming process by filming Jason playing his guitar for about five minutes. This video became the backbone of the final product, which I cut down to just under three minutes in the editing process. After we filmed Jason playing we interviewed him using the interview method that Prof. Michael Scully taught us and it worked very well.
We experimented with several different camera angles during the interview. In fact we changed the angle before every question in order make the video more interesting. I think this worked very well, as I was able to make the video extremely interesting in the editing process.
The only mistake we made during this video was the one shot where I accidentally caught my team's reflection in the sliding class door behind Jason. However, I was able to cleverly edit out by using b-roll of Jason playing with a voice over instead of using the actual video of him talking. While it was spurred by a mistake, I think this technique added a lot of depth to the video.
I feel that this is the best video my team has produced so far. So enjoy.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Senior Video
The assignment this time was to produce a story that had something to do with the senior class of 2008. One of my group members knew Courtney Fraser, a rider on the Roger Williams University Equestrian Team, who is planning on joining the Peace Corps. this spring after her graduation.
We agreed as a group that Fraser would be an interesting subject for our second news package. Overall I am pleased with how this project came out. I have to admit that I did not realize at first how hard getting b-roll for this story would be.
At our initial production meeting, I figured that the b-roll would be easy because I could just film Fraser riding her horse and insert the voice over. However, once we had tracked the script and started looking at the footage we had I realized we needed more. Luckily the Peace Corps. was on campus, which presented us with an excellent opportunity to get more b-roll and to do an interesting interview with Peace Corps. representative January Zuk.
Another lesson that I learned during this project was how difficult it can be to film around animals, namely the horses at the barn. My team's reporter tried to do his standup in front of Fraser's horse, but he kept hitting him and nibbling on his jacket. So we decided to try and film in front of a different horse that kept doing the same thing.
We eventually got a good standup, but it took a while. If you want to see a video of these outtakes check out the bloopers video, which is posted above.
We agreed as a group that Fraser would be an interesting subject for our second news package. Overall I am pleased with how this project came out. I have to admit that I did not realize at first how hard getting b-roll for this story would be.
At our initial production meeting, I figured that the b-roll would be easy because I could just film Fraser riding her horse and insert the voice over. However, once we had tracked the script and started looking at the footage we had I realized we needed more. Luckily the Peace Corps. was on campus, which presented us with an excellent opportunity to get more b-roll and to do an interesting interview with Peace Corps. representative January Zuk.
Another lesson that I learned during this project was how difficult it can be to film around animals, namely the horses at the barn. My team's reporter tried to do his standup in front of Fraser's horse, but he kept hitting him and nibbling on his jacket. So we decided to try and film in front of a different horse that kept doing the same thing.
We eventually got a good standup, but it took a while. If you want to see a video of these outtakes check out the bloopers video, which is posted above.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Radio Tower Relocation Story
The video below is my team's first real news package for our new media class. The story is about the relocation of the radio tower and transmitter of the Roger Williams University student-run radio station, WQRI.
The reason for the relocation is that the tower and transmitter are presently located behind the school's old dining commons, which is scheduled for demolition on May 11. The school's plan is to take down the current tower and replace it with an antenna that will sit atop one of the university's dormitories. This is just a basic summary, there are more details in the video.
Anyway, as I said earlier this was my team's first full news package and I have to say that I am very pleased with how well it came out. I am also pleased with how smoothly the production process went. When we first decided to do this story, I was a little worried about the visual elements of it.
I knew that the only b-roll we could possibly shoot would be of the old cafeteria and the radio tower, which I did on the first day of filming. However, as the story progressed we came up with new ideas for shots and actually put together a strong piece visually. The only visual elements I am not happy with are the two shots of my computer screen when we talk about the FCC and the web-casting of WQRI.
These shots were a creative solution for a lack of footage, but I still wish I could have gotten something better. Another disappointment for me is how poorly lit some of the shots are. We filmed our standup and several other shots in the WQRI radio booth, which was not the easiest light to work with.
Overall though I very pleased with how this piece turned out, and I think we managed the poor lighting as best we could.
Please enjoy the video.
The reason for the relocation is that the tower and transmitter are presently located behind the school's old dining commons, which is scheduled for demolition on May 11. The school's plan is to take down the current tower and replace it with an antenna that will sit atop one of the university's dormitories. This is just a basic summary, there are more details in the video.
Anyway, as I said earlier this was my team's first full news package and I have to say that I am very pleased with how well it came out. I am also pleased with how smoothly the production process went. When we first decided to do this story, I was a little worried about the visual elements of it.
I knew that the only b-roll we could possibly shoot would be of the old cafeteria and the radio tower, which I did on the first day of filming. However, as the story progressed we came up with new ideas for shots and actually put together a strong piece visually. The only visual elements I am not happy with are the two shots of my computer screen when we talk about the FCC and the web-casting of WQRI.
These shots were a creative solution for a lack of footage, but I still wish I could have gotten something better. Another disappointment for me is how poorly lit some of the shots are. We filmed our standup and several other shots in the WQRI radio booth, which was not the easiest light to work with.
Overall though I very pleased with how this piece turned out, and I think we managed the poor lighting as best we could.
Please enjoy the video.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Day Trip To Boston
On Friday I traveled to Boston, Mass. to visit the New England School of Law, which is one of the four that I have been accepted to. The school is located at 145 Stuart St and is only a block away from the Boston Commons in the heart of the city.
New England is one of the smaller law schools in the Boston area, which is the main thing that made me apply it. After my visit, which included a class visit and a tour, I can definitely say that I am highly impressed with the school and that it is one of my top choices.
Currently, my second top choice school is the Franklin Pierce Law Center in Concord, NH. While both schools are equally matched, I am having hard time deciding where I want to live. I know I would have a lot of fun if I lived and studied in Boston, but it would be a lot more expensive than living in New Hampshire.
Either way, I need to make a decision soon, which means I have a lot think about over the next few weeks.
Also, speaking of Boston, I am counting down the days until the World Champion Red Sox home opener on Tuesday, April 8.
New England is one of the smaller law schools in the Boston area, which is the main thing that made me apply it. After my visit, which included a class visit and a tour, I can definitely say that I am highly impressed with the school and that it is one of my top choices.
Currently, my second top choice school is the Franklin Pierce Law Center in Concord, NH. While both schools are equally matched, I am having hard time deciding where I want to live. I know I would have a lot of fun if I lived and studied in Boston, but it would be a lot more expensive than living in New Hampshire.
Either way, I need to make a decision soon, which means I have a lot think about over the next few weeks.
Also, speaking of Boston, I am counting down the days until the World Champion Red Sox home opener on Tuesday, April 8.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Interview With Professor Bob Blackburn
Professor Bob Blackburn is a member of the philosophy department at Roger Williams University. Blackburn has been a professor at Roger Williams for just over 40 years, he joined the university in 1968 after finishing graduate school at Brown University. He attended Brown for his undergraduate work as well.
Blackburn said he was attracted to teaching by the professors he had while in college. He said that while he had some great teachers as a student, he also had some bad ones. Blackburn said he was attracted to teaching by the ineffective teachers, because he felt that he could teach the material better than they could. Reaching this goal has been Blackburn's primary objective over his 40-year teaching career at Roger Williams.
Blackburn said his favorite part of teaching is how the classes are always different, even if he is teaching the same material he has already taught to hundreds of students over the years. He said he greatly enjoys the challenges presented by having different students every semester.
In this video, Blackburn discusses why he was attracted to Roger Williams after graduating from Brown University and he explains why he has remained a member of the faculty for so long.
Blackburn said he was attracted to teaching by the professors he had while in college. He said that while he had some great teachers as a student, he also had some bad ones. Blackburn said he was attracted to teaching by the ineffective teachers, because he felt that he could teach the material better than they could. Reaching this goal has been Blackburn's primary objective over his 40-year teaching career at Roger Williams.
Blackburn said his favorite part of teaching is how the classes are always different, even if he is teaching the same material he has already taught to hundreds of students over the years. He said he greatly enjoys the challenges presented by having different students every semester.
In this video, Blackburn discusses why he was attracted to Roger Williams after graduating from Brown University and he explains why he has remained a member of the faculty for so long.
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