Sunday, December 14, 2008
Back on Track
Ahh, the sweet comforts of power, finally. That ice storm really did a number on my yard; trees down, huge branches down everywhere, a thick sheet of ice at the end of the driveway, and no power for two days. But, alas, we're back in action, just in time to reflect on the course.
I was really impressed by everyone in class' projects. I particularly liked Jennesa's story out on the boat, and Erica's fun and clever story at the Waysmeet. I guess I was pretty happy with my own too. I ended up cutting a lot of the b-roll audio I had originally had in there because I found that the sounds of machines running over someone talking is really more of a nuisance than a colorful compliment. I stripped it down to only the actual spoken audio, and the audio from the video clips that I used, but I think it worked pretty well that way.
As far as the story itself, I think I could have provided the viewers with a little more of a back story and a little more technical information about the company and about the bat-making process. I chose to leave out several technical details because I wanted the story to be more personal than objective, but I found that many of the others in the class wanted to know a little more by the end. I guess that's the life of a journalist though; you spend about 10% of your life doing a story and the other 90% revising and fixing it. At least that's the way it seems to go for me.
But reflecting on the class, overall, I would say it was a great experience. I really liked the structure of the class and atmosphere we had every week. I always thought of it as somewhat of a think tank or public gathering where like-minded people would congregate to share ideas and stories and offer help to one another. It was really helpful having the class structured that way, as we were all able to talk to each other on a regular basis and give each other ideas, or show each other little tricks or shortcuts. This type of class, because of the way it works, really benefits by having an open structure like that, so that's props to Sandy. Rather than having the type of class where there's no talking, a mindless homework routine, and emphasis on tests and quizzes, we get to come in, eat popcorn, drink cider, and watch movies. It's great. Don't change anything about the class.
I was really impressed by everyone in class' projects. I particularly liked Jennesa's story out on the boat, and Erica's fun and clever story at the Waysmeet. I guess I was pretty happy with my own too. I ended up cutting a lot of the b-roll audio I had originally had in there because I found that the sounds of machines running over someone talking is really more of a nuisance than a colorful compliment. I stripped it down to only the actual spoken audio, and the audio from the video clips that I used, but I think it worked pretty well that way.
As far as the story itself, I think I could have provided the viewers with a little more of a back story and a little more technical information about the company and about the bat-making process. I chose to leave out several technical details because I wanted the story to be more personal than objective, but I found that many of the others in the class wanted to know a little more by the end. I guess that's the life of a journalist though; you spend about 10% of your life doing a story and the other 90% revising and fixing it. At least that's the way it seems to go for me.
But reflecting on the class, overall, I would say it was a great experience. I really liked the structure of the class and atmosphere we had every week. I always thought of it as somewhat of a think tank or public gathering where like-minded people would congregate to share ideas and stories and offer help to one another. It was really helpful having the class structured that way, as we were all able to talk to each other on a regular basis and give each other ideas, or show each other little tricks or shortcuts. This type of class, because of the way it works, really benefits by having an open structure like that, so that's props to Sandy. Rather than having the type of class where there's no talking, a mindless homework routine, and emphasis on tests and quizzes, we get to come in, eat popcorn, drink cider, and watch movies. It's great. Don't change anything about the class.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
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