U of M Multi-Media Mayhem Fall 2019: October 2018

Wednesday, October 31, 2018

Pre-Video Assignment: Roxanne Ready

Good example:

This is a depressing one! But I recently watched Vice's documentary about the white nationalists who organized the 2017 Charlottesville rally, and it's very good. However, please be warned that from timestamp 11:20-12:00, the video clearly shows the car plowing into the crowd. There are also shots of people injured, in shock and obviously terrorized lasting until 15:00.
https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/qvzn8p/vice-news-tonight-full-episode-charlottesville-race-and-terror

This is a powerful 22-minute documentary. The opening is intense, giving only the time and place as context as it leads into footage of the Friday night events. The juxtaposition of the nationalists and the counter-protesters was very well done. Throughout the piece, the events often speak for themselves, with just enough context given from the time/place/name stamps and surrounding interviews that the viewer can draw her own conclusions. The angles and framing are solid. I also didn't even notice, at first, the use of music throughout to create a connected narrative of building tension. The ending interview was a perfect bookend.

Bad (or at least not great) example:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/01/us/prisons-immigration-detention.html

First, the good about this one: This piece does a good job of centering a broad issue around a single person, making it easy for viewers to understand and relate to. The issue being discussed is newsworthy and important. The video cuts relate to what is being said, and the narration and quotes flow naturally from one part to the next. I especially liked the use of vintage footage. The producer did well with subtitles and with naming the interviewees through text. And I loved the shots near the end of Mr. Cortez-Diaz joyously talking about his release day.

That said, some of the visuals are quite dull. Shots of the building and of Cortez-Diaz walking around a random part of the desert--which was never given any context--are neither engaging nor enlightening. Reporters are not generally allowed to wander around prisons taking B-Roll and were not present when the events Cortez-Diaz talked about took place, so I understand some of the challenges the reporters faced. However, the film does include decent prison B-roll in the latter half of the piece--some of which would have directly related to what the voice-over was discussing--so I wonder why the producer chose not to use any in the beginning.

Audio Assignment #4, Wenck

Pre-Video Assignment, Solon

Good Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgBGwtk3qZY

This is an excellent feature story because it not only has great imagery and audio, but also tells a newsworthy, heartwarming and important story. The narrator introduces Tyler Trent as a huge Purdue fan, but uses a delayed introduction to bring in the fact that Tyler has cancer. The piece also uses the natural sound from Tyler’s home to capture a definitive look at his daily life. The voiceover is well-balanced with interviews and visuals of Tyler’s early life and struggles with bone cancer. The interviews also capture the true emotions of everyone involved, most notably when Tyler’s mother starts to tear up and the shot zooms in closer to her face and eyes. The complete story, from beginning to end, tells us Tyler’s background, excitement for Purdue, and his current struggles with his disease. Additionally, the reporter uses a lot of interviews to show the viewer a variety of perspectives on Tyler’s condition and fandom.

Bad Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B44MvjSUR-Y

This story lacks the necessary components to be a good feature. There is limited natural sound, poor interview quotes, and little visual proof of what the reporter is describing. The anchor introduces the jet noise as a big part of the story, but the sound of a helicopter is the first noise we hear. Furthermore, that sound is too strong and it is hard to hear the first interview. The next interview has a woman mention how quiet it is, but there are people talking in the background. Then, the reporter mentions “Big X’s” being drawn on the runway but shows no visual of this, only low-quality footage clearly taken from behind a fence. All of the footage focuses on airplanes, but the actual airport building is rarely shown. This feature package needs more close-up and detailed visuals and natural sound to better tell the story.

Pre Video Assignment, Guichard

Bad multimedia:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4a_BtUK1umw
This video had a good start with the alarm visuals and the close-ups of the cereal bowl was a good idea but it was blurry. The video is pretty shaky and not well framed. Even though it is filmed by the subject of the video herself, she should have been careful about not cutting her face when she films herself walking, and because she is walking and has no stabilizer, it is very shaky. The panoramic shots of the class rooms are both too short and too fast. The last shot of herself in the night is not focused properly on her face, so it gives her a blurry aspect. I think the idea of the video project was good and interesting, but it is hard to stay interested all along because of technical issues and because she only records her own voice, some ambient sound would have given a better insight on the life of a journalism student.

Good multimedia:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=65&v=w6HxyzhJDgU
The rhythm of the video is very good, the visuals match the music and the voices, it leaves the audience want to see more and to see the full episodes. There are many visuals, and all the shots are pretty short, but because they are well filmed and go well together, it works perfectly. The music is well chosen, it is powerful and at the same time emotional, this video gave me the chills. We want to know more about these 4 women, and even in 1 minute and 20 seconds we get to see that they are strong, determined, but also funny, and sometimes fragile. The multimedia project shows the rollercoaster of emotions thanks to a perfectly controlled rhythm.

Pre-Video Assignment, Palmer

Good Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccTn5gz3JiI The audio makes or breaks a package of this nature and in this case it was mixed very well. Everything flowed smoothly as the main topic's singing floated in and out of the background. There are no particularly ambitious shots but the video keeps things engaging by using multiple camera angles and multiple locations in the children's hospital, including good action shots of workers reacting to the singing. The interviews are done very well and are extremely informative, although if I had to nitpick anything I would wish they would have interviewed some children if possible. Bad Example: https://www.660citynews.com/video/2018/07/02/moose-on-the-loose-at-calgary-airport/ The audio and video are captured decently well, but the final product is not extremely engaging. The B-roll footage, especially in the latter part of the video, does nothing to engage with the topic at hand as they use the same shots of planes flying more than once (when the main topic is the moose getting in the way of planes). The interviews are not very informative, particularly the ones with foreigners. The delivery of the main narration also has issues with intonation that distract from the video.

Pre-Video Assignment, Reis

Vanessa Reis

Pre-Video Assignment

Good Multimedia project: https://nyti.ms/2yEQxGA
This is a strong multimedia project because it contrasts two distinct differences between Democratic and Republican women running for government positions. Furthermore, the New York Times does this using a variety of video editing that makes the video flow extremely smoothly and coherently. Background narration is heard while images of women running for government are shown, and several of these women's campaign advertisement videos are then played in between the narrator's comments on the significance and ideas behind each of these ads. All of these aspects go together very smoothly and make the video interesting, intriguing, and easy to understand and learn from, while their stance remains nonpartisan.

Bad Multimedia project: https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2018/oct/31/asia-bibi-protests-erupt-in-pakistan-after-blasphemy-conviction-overturned-video
This multimedia project is not good in my mind because there is no narration or explanation of what is going on, there is simply violence and yelling with no real context other than a vague title. I want to know what is going on in this video and why there is so much violence among these protesters. Furthermore, the opening is very abrupt and confusing.

Pre-Video Assignment, Neugeboren

Good Multimedia: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/25/world/canada/euthanasia-bill-john-shields-death.html

The New York Times does an amazing job with this multimedia piece, incorporating words, pictures, and a great 3-minute video to profile why this man has decided to end his own life peacefully. The video is powerful, well-made, interviews family members and friends, and it discusses the circumstances of assisted suicide and how it's an emotionally charged and under discussed topic. I was captivated throughout all the photos and video and thought the New York Times did a fantastic job giving all perspectives on a topic that can sometimes be very political.

Bad Multimedia: https://www.petoskeynews.com/life/multimedia/video-crooked-tree-arts-center-meditative-drawing/video_230abf0e-7bc4-50c8-9a19-bd8385ba68d7.html

I thought this multi-media piece lacked strong audio, narration, and visuals. The visuals oftentimes appeared blurry, and it's obvious that no real microphones were used as the audio quality seemed faded at times, making it hard to hear what they were saying. For a professional news organization, I would expect a more cohesive video piece but this one lacked that. To improve, adding an interview about the meditative drawing with a member, or have a narrator provide some context to the video piece other than the hard-to-hear natural sound and writing piece that accompanied it.

Pre-Video Assignment, Fontelieu

Good video:

https://vimeo.com/175567813

This video was very entertaining and kept my interest the whole time. It portrayed an interesting unison of two things that don't often overlap: queerness and "gangster" rap. It follows the life and career of "Deadlee" as he finds that he's unable to fit well into the queer community because he doesn't produce the typical type of music they like. His narration is very seamlessly interwoven into the video, in a way, where by the end of the 3-minute segment you feel familiar with him and want to root for him. There are a lot of shots of his face, but from a wide variety of angles and distances to keep it interesting.

Bad video:

https://vimeo.com/171242301

This video was about a hot air balloon festival in Sonoma, and it was honestly just very dull. The shots felt like things I'd already seen before; not a lot of creativity was put into the angles used. I also never got the point of why the festival was important or why I should care about it. The narration was from a man whose name flashed across the screen but of who no other information was revealed. He just talked about the mechanics of how hot air balloons worked for most of the clip, which felt odd for the subject of a news segment. If this video was framed around, a certain family's trip to the festival, it would have been much more interesting.

Pre-Video Assignment, Dobkin

Bad Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYLiSnemLdM

This video has a lot of shaky camera work because a tripod doesn't seem to be used in most shots. Also, the interviews and some b-roll shots are very long which makes the package a little more boring.

Good Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHun58mz3vI

While completely satirical about the exact formula of a broadcast video package, this has great framing, audio, b-roll, variation of shots, and is overall much better done than the other.

Pre Video Assignment, Feldstein

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GG_tO8HuBTs

Bad example:
This news segment was mildly entertaining but had they done a few things differently I may have been more engaged. First off, there was noise from the video during the voiceover which I found to be a bit distracting. Secondly, the interviews were not that substantive and did not offer much insight into the story. I think this piece could have been improved with better audio editing and more engaging and interesting interview questions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsIVxY6YoCw

Good example:

This audio mixing was much better and the transitions were smoother than the bad example seen above. This is the kind of video that I would consider very professionally done. The interviews actually added to the story and contributed to why this piece engaged me despite being almost four times as long as the bad example.

Pre- Video Assignment - Seaforth

Good example:

http://www.iamsyria.org/art-feature.html

I think this a great multimedia project. Similar to the first video, this is about refugees who are fleeing for a better life. This video hones in on Syrian children who have to flee the war. While this is only a two minute trailer to preview the project, I already feel connected and empathetic to the children and what they are going through. The natural sound and visuals in this video really hit home and makes you want to do something to help these children out. Showing the state of Syria and how everything is destroyed was a good way to send a powerful message. The music played throughout the video fit the tone and really made the documentary emotional. Overall, great visuals, great sound, great flow.

Bad Example:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTuX8wkBCNM

I dont think this video is a good multimedia project. I like the concept and the message trying to be conveyed about immigrants and refugees, but I would have approached it much differently. I think interviewing George Tarr who is a Liberian immigrant himself was a good idea, but throughout the video, the audio was hard to distinguish at times due to rain, wind, or background noises from people close by. I thought the transition to the video VO/SOT with President Trump wasn't very good. Rachel Mayer addressed the video afterwards, but I think the overall flow of this video could be better. I didnt feel connected or empathetic as one usually would with a topic this serious. Biggest things for me were audio and flow of the project and I just didnt resonate with it.

Tuesday, October 30, 2018

Pre-Video Assignment, Schorchit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNEJnMVsFD8

Good Example: It does not explicitly explain/or describe the journey for a South/Central American immigrant, especially immigrant children, crossing the Mexican border, but rather it shows the people's plight. The Washington Post uses individual characters like the 12-year-old boy Isaac and the woman named Doris to tell the story and, personally, I feel like that device helps tell the story even better. The Post could have used an interview of someone who speaks English as a voice-over to explain the situation of these caravans, but instead, they choose to keep the video purely in Spanish using English subtitles. This helps make the story more authentic for the audience, almost as if we're vicariously living through these individuals. It also keeps the story concentrated on the travelers and their immigration story. The voice overs in the video are very well done with essential footage that connects us and helps us truly comprehend the experiences of the interviewees.

http://www.wsj.com/video/what-is-gab-and-who-uses-it/9B9A1FBA-DECE-4C4E-BC23-68C9AA62C167.html

Bad Example: Although I wouldn't consider this video terrible, I have chosen it as a bad example. Firstly, the story, or rather the information, that the Wall Street Journal is trying to convey really does not seem suited for a video presentation. For this type of content and style of video, it could have been made shorter in order to keep the audience engaged. There were scenes in the video where there were pictures of documents and such being shown with caption and no audio, and I feel that these could have been incorporated as voice-overs, saving time and making the video more engaging for the audience. There were hasty cuts to the professor's interview towards the end of the video that could have been made much cleaner, and it could have smoother transitions if a voice over was used for those cut parts.

Pre-Video Assignment, Pravato

Good example:
https://vimeo.com/296648799
"How to Find Your Own Seafood" features Kirk Lombard, a unique subject who fishes for his own seafood in Northern California. The shots in the beginning of the project show him catching his seafood by pulling fish into nets and sticking his arms into the sand. This was a successful beginning since the activity is rare to see. The incorporation of music in the beginning (which is actually Lombard singing with his life) was also effective in drawing the viewer in.
Video that shows Lombard out at work includes close-up shots of the clams and mussels that he catches. It later shows him close-up cleaning them and preparing them before putting them in a stew.
The different types/angles of video work to profile Lombard as well as to explain his very niche activity. Also, only using his voice in the work rather than a narration with interview clips works effectively. It feels like he is taking viewers out to work with him.
Also, the drawings and cartoon graphics that appear throughout add to Lombard's carefree character, and are great visual additions to elevate the work. Some include the names of different sea creatures that he catches, others are listed as "Kirk Tips," and others are simple doodles. This was a visually creative way of allowing the viewer to follow along and remain engaged.

Bad example:
https://vimeo.com/23211764
"Robert is Here" is also a unique story, showcasing a roadside fruit stand with a variety of offerings. However, a lot of the technical elements of the production are distracting. The first shot of the store the viewers see is partially blocked by a poll, which detracts from the effect of seeing the stand for the first time. Also, the first shot of produce in the store shows a bug crawling on a cucumber. These are important to the story, so it does not feel like a great portrayal of the products. Both of these shots muddy the power that the story could have had.
Also, the narration's lower-quality audio makes the story feel less professional. However, the audio of interviews with Robert with better, so the narration/interview clip set up was still effective. Overall, this had a lot of potential to be a very interesting story and had many opportunities for great visuals, but the execution could have been better.

Pre-Video Assignment, Romero

GOOD:
The New Yorker: How Ramen Changed in America

The video takes advantage of its ramen topic to display enticing visuals off the bat. It has relevant transitions that introduce the next segment from the intro to how it became a convenient staple and ramen becoming a crossroads of cultures in cities like NYC where fusion restaurants experiment with different forms and flavors of ramen. Interviews from chefs and a food writer from the New York Times are seamlessly woven into the video and provide informative content. The interview soundbites were short and straightforward. However, the use of clips from an old '80s Japanese movie called "Tampopo" was kind of confusing since it was initially used as a transition without further introduction as to its importance, until later on in the video. It took awhile for the video to make the direct connection to how ramen has changed in America in the present day, but this point was solidified toward the end.

BAD:
AP Art History Project on "Shiva's Lord of Dance" from the Met

This project is a mix between still images and a video excerpt meant to embody a Smart History educational video which traditionally includes narration with photos relevant to the piece of art being described. The audio has inconsistent volume and at times is unclear. At some parts, the displayed image does not match the narration so there's a delay in knowing what the narrator is describing. The one video clip inserted was meant to be a comical pop reference and it was. But it was also shot poorly with low lighting and a shaky hand. The title of the video is also misleading since it has nothing to do with the art piece and doesn't mention it at all except in the description below the video.

Pre-Video Assignment, Fields

Good Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7UqYD_owgY I think the way that they started this video was a great hook. They showed the kids, said a quick narration and had a great quote by a parent before even introducing what the topic of the video was. This tactic got viewers interested enough to keep watching to see what it was all about. Throughout the video, they choose great B-roll of the children in the hospital while also highlighting a few kids' backgrounds. Great use of natural sound from the stadium to explain the "new tradition," and they also utilized pictures along with videos. The narration was calm and used pauses for emphasis. The sequence where the reporter is asking the head coach about his granddaughter that passed away was really powerful, with adding the reporter's voice telling him that the next topic would be hard and showing him break down and not able to speak. Bad Example: https://vimeo.com/165768937 This video is not very good, starting with the sound quality. Though they try to put in some natural sound, it is so windy that you can barely hear it. The interview gives a lot of good information but also the mic is not close enough to her to hear everything, and the wind is distracting from what she is saying. The second interview cuts in for a split second then it goes back to B-roll, but then it comes back to her a second later, which is distracting. There also was no narration, and therefore viewers had no background information about the turtle or any additional information. There really was only two different pieces of B-roll used, the turtle being released and it swimming into the water, so they could have added more variation, like showing a clip of the crowd that showed up to watch the turtle being released.

Audio Assignment #2, Reis

Pre-video assignment, Loewenthal

Good Example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5356zt0JiDY

While this video is a little long, it does a very good job integrating voiceovers, music, interviews, more action based clips, and photos. The change of environment and the way in which its shot keeps the viewer engaged and makes the video seem more personal.

Bad Example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsyHqv7ZkZY

The audio in the video is extremely echoy and the volume of the music distracts from the video. The transitions are stark and distracting. Also, for many of the clips of her dancing the camera cuts her off or parts of her move out of the frame in a distracting and unprofessional way. Some clips also seem extremely staged and prevent the viewer from making a personal connection. At times the camera is extremely shakey.

Gaskill, Audio Assignment #4

Pre-Video Assignment, Kumar

Good example:

This project, which is ironically about multimedia projects, is a great example of what we look for. It has numerous clips with a diverse set of audio clips. Towards the beginning, the audio comprises of different voices using one word to describe multimedia immersion. Although it begins with clips about a multimedia workshop, the project then follows one particular student's project about a Paralympian. The visuals here are incredible because they capture the student capturing his story. It then circles back to the workshop. Overall, this project incorporates video and audio, including natural sound, to bring to viewers a story about creating stories.

Bad Example:

Overall, this isn't a truly "bad example." The visuals generally flow well and the project is informative regarding fossil fuels. The main issue I found was in the audio. The music was simple and stayed constant throughout the project, but the speaker's voice did not blend very well with it. The music should not have overpowered the speaker's voice. Also, a small issue with the visuals was that the written facts disappeared very quickly and did not fully correlate with what the speaker was saying. I feel that the project should have had better audio/blend and more audio correlation with the visual facts.

Pre-Video Assignment Akerman

Good Example:

Coming from Nike, there was always going to be eyes watching it, but the fact that it was also made extremely well adds a lot to it. To begin, the video shows off perspectives from all types of different people, so the ad makes many people feel as if they are being represented. I also think that having Colin Kaepernick narrate over the ad worked well. The words he speaks are extremely inspiring. The transitions from story to story and clip to clip are smooth and I also like some of the creative editing done at 0:26, 1:01, and 1:17. Overall, there is essentially nothing wrong with the project and it is one of the best I've ever seen.

Bad Example:
While the drawing and animated characters are really well made, the issue that I have with this project is the blasting of the background music. I don't think that it works well with the video. Some of the music at the beginning was fine, but having it constantly playing was a little bit annoying. I also didn't like how at 0:31 one of the characters started to move across the scene extremely fast. It seemed as if the creator of the project just started dragging their cursor around the screen, not caring how it would look to the audience.

Pre-Video Assignment, Francis

Bad Video:

https://vimeo.com/2300896

This video had a good idea profiling a popular food market, however the video quality was not that great.
While you could still hear the people in the video, the audio was not great because the background noise
was very overpowering and distinct. Some of the video shots were shaky and blurry from moving too fast.
0:49- 0:59 was a shaky, blurry moment when trying to show the clothing stands outside the market.
The camera quality was overall not the best.

Good Video:

https://vimeo.com/97839512

The story this video is telling is very interesting, as it is a big Polaroid mural this company is showcasing.
This video is very captivating right off the bat from the great visuals.
They are intriguing, colorful, and creative. The audio is great, the music does not overpower the speaker,
whose voice is clear and easy to hear. The background noise of the event does not overpower the
interview. They do a great job showing off the Polaroid pictures they are highlighting and promoting their
mural project because of their great visuals.

Monday, October 29, 2018

Audio Assignment 4, Alas

Pre-Video Assignment, Wenck

GOOD EXAMPLE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WVD26iAwmw

This video was cinematic and captivating right off the bat. The story of Harlem Lacrosse was told through multiple perspectives and narrations. Each voice over was labeled with the speaker and his age so the audience always knew who was talking. The script was clearly written to the video and the video matched the script. The narrations were also well voiced and paced, which made it easy to understand. The editor pieced together a nice variety of wide angle, middle and close up shots. The camera’s unsteadiness in addition to the number of pans and tilts aptly reflected the instability the boys had in their lives. I also think that the slow-paced shots worked well in the beginning of the video and the fast, action shots paired well with the speed of the lacrosse practice at the end of the video. Every sound in the video helped add something to the story; there was great natural sound and appropriate music. Overall, I thought the video was very enjoyable to watch and the message was clear: sports matter.

BAD EXAMPLE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7g03W6k7q8

This video was difficult to follow as a viewer. While the message was clear, I don’t want to have to do a lot of thinking or reading or analyzing to be able to be receive additional information about the main concept: why play sports? The image and sound quality of the interviews were fantastic, but they got lost in the video. There was too much jump cutting between video, words and images. There wasn’t much use of b-roll and there was hardly any variety in the types of shots they used (wide angle, medium, up close, tilt and pan). The black screens with massive amounts of words on them were hard to follow. The still photos were difficult to see and understand, and needed some sort of narration over the top at a minimum. I also found the changes in music and type of music to be pretty distracting. Additionally, busy transitions were incredibly distracting; too much was going on at once for me to keep up with the story line. The flow of the entire video was very choppy and inconsistent. While the main concept of the video was explicitly stated, I don’t think they did a very good job of fully illustrating and expanding on the concept.

Sunday, October 28, 2018

Pre-Video Assignment, Hindle

Good video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRWcPOQG8Gc

This video is very well done. It brings the public into what may be an unfamiliar story, quoting locals and expressing their opinion on the song. The focus on the writer also allows the viewer to get an elevated perspective, something unfamiliar and unique. From a technical point of view, the camera work is quite well done. The best visuals are that of the stadium, and the camera stays on Anfield longer than it does Gerry. This keeps the viewer engaged. It also does a very good job of keeping the sound quality natural when talking to average people on the street.

Bad Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Me6T6Nh4Sg

This isn't terrible, but it could be better. The whole appeal of Jalen is that he can do amazing things with a basketball. My problem is that this video emphasizes it almost too much. Online, SLAM is known for its youtube "mixtapes." This video, trying to sell itself as a documentary, doesn't do enough to separate it from a highlight reel. It's more of a hype video than it is informational. From a production standpoint, the music is far too loud, and always playing. The input from his former coaches and friends would be interesting, but it's very hard to focus on what they're saying.

Pre-Video Assignment - Archana Sahu

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwC0I3Ob9sI

Good

The issue of hunger and why we need to help for this cause is very well presented in this short video of about 3 minutes. All parties involved in this student run organization Terp Against Hunger are being interviewed and their views presented. Varieties of shots are taken to give viewed the sense of how food are packaged and distributed to food pantry, shelters etc. Very nicely done to draw attention of viewers about the issue.

Pre-video Assignment, Bucchino

https://www.nytimes.com/video/world/americas/100000006175881/a-day-on-the-road-with-the-migrant-caravan.html

Good:

This multimedia project was a captivating piece that incorporated audio and video skills. It told the story of one family from Mexico attempting to migrate to the U.S. Throughout the piece, it really shows the ongoing struggle that these migrants experience everyday. Sleepless nights, hours on foot, continuous hunger – these are just some of the things that the video covers. One person narrates the entire piece, showing the problems that they encounter. The narration adds much description to the piece. The video had some compelling shots; one that really struck me was when the family was walking the streets during the night and the audio that is recorded is a baby crying. Transitions from video to video are clean and easy to follow. The video thoroughly captured the trauma and tiresome lives of these migrants.

https://vimeo.com/295437237
Good:
Love this concept. Everything about this video is great. I love the idea and how it was composed. The producer really dug deep into Ross MacDonald's life, showing his studio and the process of creating his masterpieces. MacDonald creates the paper that we see in movies. This paper can go from novels to newspapers to notes that instigate an entire storyline. One piece of paper makes a significant impact in a television show or a movie, so I think this was a really creative story to tell. I loved the emotional connection at the end of the video. MacDonald explains how happy it makes him to see just one piece of paper make a huge impact in a movie. This is a great topic because no one really thinks about who creates the pieces of paper plotted in movies. Transitions are smooth and the producer got some interesting shots – shuffling through paper, opening drawers, choosing which pencil to use. Loved this!

https://vimeo.com/286180073
Bad:
Although this was an interesting story, I wasn't too captivated by how it was produced. First, the photos presented of Jacques Bailly when he was younger were in front of bright colors that didn't really support the context of the video. Layered photos or just a classic black/white background would have been better. Also, they should have started with an anecdotal-type of introduction that made the audience hooked to what the video will be about. Instead, much of the video is the man sitting at a desk, flipping through a huge book and pronouncing words. The creativity behind this is lacking. I wish I learned more about how he got into pronouncing words and how this has impacted his life.

Pre-Video Assignment -- Pierson

Good

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/10/11/style/this-is-18.html "This is 18 Around The World"

This multimedia project by the NYT is an excellent blend of photos, video, colorful design and interactivity for readers. The piece invites us to see visually how different young women around the world live at the age of 18, when they are either just now reaching into the world of adulthood or being accustomed to it already through various cultural practices (i.e. child brides.) There are short clips of these girls living lives of both immense interest and typicality: applying makeup, hanging out with friends, or helping their mother cook. There are also short blurb Q&A's that provide us with a deeper context on the hopes and fears of these young women and helps round the full picture of diversity. The design almost mimics that of a collage or scrapbook, but works beautifully with the subject matter.

Bad

https://vimeo.com/96882063 "The church in exile"

This multimedia project had an interesting topic, but I felt the music was whimsical and didn't fit the theme of the subject. I also think some of the graphics pertaining to names at the bottom of the interviews didn't match the theme either. The video was full of lots of previous news clips and took on a strictly informative approach when I think there was room for more intimacy within the subject of a suspended Catholic Priest. The visuals were a bit fuzzy and boring over all as well.

Pre-Video Assignment, Audrey

Good

The Untold Story of America's Southern China

This documentary has everything from visuals, old photos, graphics with maps of the Mississippi, and good angles for interviews with a range of medium, close up shots. The wide shots of the landscape was aesthetically pleasing as well. The storytelling is easy to follow and the different shots of b-roll shows all aspects of life for the people being documented and makes the story come to life. The music was also very fitting because the country style and their southern accents meshed well together. The voice over of Dolly Li also helped narrate what was going on in the video and introduce the people.

Bad

Sugar Babies: Mini Documentary

I thought the introduction of the video with the definition with the graphics. However the music in the background was distracting because it was almost as loud as the voice over and went on continuously throughout the documentary. The change in music was good and set the mood for a more serious conversation. I thought the video interview of the profile could have her at the center of the shot instead of the right side. There could be more b-roll and close-up shots of her looking through the screen on the app. There was no narration of the filmmaker which could help the storytelling.

Saturday, October 27, 2018

Pre-Video Assignment, Revollo

Good Video Project

Bill Hamid Educates Men on Domestic Violence Awareness

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_22-wCcBUE

Comments: great story arc on current, highlighted subject in society; great visuals to contextualize different settings displayed throughout; good music choice to help carry the piece and acceptable considering sensitivity of subject

Bad Video Project

Kicking It With Juice – Episode 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCM-NTmzc-o

Comments: a lot of camera movement (broll and interviews); audio does not sound clean (sounds like audio picked up by camera mic, not shotgun or wireless mic); needs more tight shots to show ingredients and food being cooked rather than just wide/medium shots; not enough footage to break up monotony of video piece overall