I was looking for inspiration (multimedia inspiration, anyway) tonight as I edited sound bites for my final project. I found plenty in an audio slide show about Children's Hospital on washingtonpost.com. A few things struck me about the piece:
1. Both the beginning and end of the slide show were smooth. It started with about five seconds of natural sound inside the hospital, then moved seamlessly into the first sound bite, a piece of an interview with the chief of surgery.
The last 20 seconds or so brought the slide show to a natural close. The chief of surgery's voice was back, talking about saying good-bye to the old unit. As he spoke, a photo showed a patient looking over his shoulder as he and his mother waited for the elevator, presumably to leave the hospital.
2. There were a couple of segments at which the audio and photos matched perfectly. My favorite example was hearing a woman read from The Lion King while looking at a photo taken from an angle that let me look over her shoulder at the book and the tiny baby treated to story time.
3. The quality and variety of the photos-- vertical and horizontal; wide, medium and tight; and intense emotion. It seemed that each photo was more powerful than the one before it. And each added to the story.
At this point, I already have the raw material for my final project. Now I just have to edit it into the perfect audio slide show. I hope my work will bear at least a slight resemblance to the quality of the Children's Hospital piece.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Thursday, May 1, 2008
The Pope in the U.S.: Audio on Sites Big & Small
Pope Benedict XVI may have provided religious inspiration to Catholics during his recent visit to the United States, but he didn't stop there. He also seems to have inspired the news media...to use audio, that is.
I came across an interesting audio feature on nytimes.com: "Catholic Views, Catholic Voices," a collection of sound bytes from interviews with 25 Roman Catholics in five cities across the country. The feature shows an eclectic mix of opinions of Pope Benedict XVI himself and what the interviewees hoped he'd accomplish in his visit here. This is "man on the street" if I ever saw one.
Some of the interviews were conducted indoors, others outdoors -- think city street, birds chirping in the backyard, or just plain air. The second group was definitely more natural, while the indoor interviews seemed almost too formal. Each sound byte was accompanied by a head shot of the person speaking, which was a nice addition.
The only real problem I had with the piece was the case of a man who gave his interview in another language; his translator was a woman. Admittedly, it isn't too big a deal, but I have to wonder: Doesn't a company with the resources of The New York Times have at least one male translator?
Maryland Newsline, the University of Maryland's student-produced online newsmagazine, used audio in its reporting of the papal visit in a very different way. While The Times' piece was stand-alone audio, Maryland Newsline incorporated audio into its written story by linking to interview sound bytes from within the text.
This created an interesting layer to the story: After reading about a souvenir vendor at the Mass at Nationals Park, for example, I could hear him speak about what sales had been like that day. Although the recorded sound wasn't perfect, it worked well in the context of the article. It helped set the scene and gave me a taste of the vendor's personality without going on too long.
Whether it's a news site that's big or one that is small, audio can work for them all.
I came across an interesting audio feature on nytimes.com: "Catholic Views, Catholic Voices," a collection of sound bytes from interviews with 25 Roman Catholics in five cities across the country. The feature shows an eclectic mix of opinions of Pope Benedict XVI himself and what the interviewees hoped he'd accomplish in his visit here. This is "man on the street" if I ever saw one.
Some of the interviews were conducted indoors, others outdoors -- think city street, birds chirping in the backyard, or just plain air. The second group was definitely more natural, while the indoor interviews seemed almost too formal. Each sound byte was accompanied by a head shot of the person speaking, which was a nice addition.
The only real problem I had with the piece was the case of a man who gave his interview in another language; his translator was a woman. Admittedly, it isn't too big a deal, but I have to wonder: Doesn't a company with the resources of The New York Times have at least one male translator?
Maryland Newsline, the University of Maryland's student-produced online newsmagazine, used audio in its reporting of the papal visit in a very different way. While The Times' piece was stand-alone audio, Maryland Newsline incorporated audio into its written story by linking to interview sound bytes from within the text.
This created an interesting layer to the story: After reading about a souvenir vendor at the Mass at Nationals Park, for example, I could hear him speak about what sales had been like that day. Although the recorded sound wasn't perfect, it worked well in the context of the article. It helped set the scene and gave me a taste of the vendor's personality without going on too long.
Whether it's a news site that's big or one that is small, audio can work for them all.
Bringing it to Life
I fished around on washingtonpost.com for a good 20 minutes before choosing a story to bring to life with sound. The first article I saw was the piece on "the D.C. Madam" suicide. Not quite what I had in mind, so I kept looking. In the Post's religion section, I found an interesting story about a man who turned his auto body shop into a temporary Hindu temple. This one was ripe for audio, what with the "chanting devotees" mentioned in the story, but it also seemed ripe for photos. Once I saw an image of the elaborate alter the owner created, I didn't want to suggest that the story could be fully covered in audio.
After checking the politics section and some slide shows on the recent opening of the Newseum, I finally settled on an education story, "Time's Up on Multiple-Choice Test for College."
The article is about the decisions high school seniors face when choosing between various universities' offers of admission. It features James Watkins, a D.C. senior with a May 1 deadline to pick just one from among the eight colleges at which he was accepted.
An audio version of the story could begin with a few seconds of natural sound of students walking to class as the bells chime at an area university. The reporter could then say something to the effect of, "For the thousands of students walking to class on college campuses across the country, May 1 is just an ordinary day. But for many high school seniors, it's the day they must decide which college they'll attend in the fall. And for some, the decision is especially difficult. James Watkins of the District has been weighing the merits of eight different colleges at which he was accepted."
That could lead into a sound byte from an interview with Watkins. The reporter should "step in" to guide the story along where necessary, but as a listener, I don't want to hear too much from the reporter.
I'm more interested in what Watkins says about how he finally settled on Bates College in rural Maine, and what his mother (who was featured in the print story) says about the high value she placed on education as Watkins was growing up. I also want to hear a quick clip or two from Watkins' school adviser, who could provide an overall picture of the decision making process his students experience.
A nice addition: sound bytes from interviews with current college students discussing whether they made the right decision about which school to attend. Conducting these "man on the campus" interviews outdoors would bring a sense of natural space to the piece.
The presence of a reporter in an audio story like this one is important to set the scene, guide the listener through the piece, and tie it together at the end. But the strength of the audio story lies in the reporter's ability to capture (and edit!) articulate, to-the-point interview clips and interesting natural sound.
After checking the politics section and some slide shows on the recent opening of the Newseum, I finally settled on an education story, "Time's Up on Multiple-Choice Test for College."
The article is about the decisions high school seniors face when choosing between various universities' offers of admission. It features James Watkins, a D.C. senior with a May 1 deadline to pick just one from among the eight colleges at which he was accepted.
An audio version of the story could begin with a few seconds of natural sound of students walking to class as the bells chime at an area university. The reporter could then say something to the effect of, "For the thousands of students walking to class on college campuses across the country, May 1 is just an ordinary day. But for many high school seniors, it's the day they must decide which college they'll attend in the fall. And for some, the decision is especially difficult. James Watkins of the District has been weighing the merits of eight different colleges at which he was accepted."
That could lead into a sound byte from an interview with Watkins. The reporter should "step in" to guide the story along where necessary, but as a listener, I don't want to hear too much from the reporter.
I'm more interested in what Watkins says about how he finally settled on Bates College in rural Maine, and what his mother (who was featured in the print story) says about the high value she placed on education as Watkins was growing up. I also want to hear a quick clip or two from Watkins' school adviser, who could provide an overall picture of the decision making process his students experience.
A nice addition: sound bytes from interviews with current college students discussing whether they made the right decision about which school to attend. Conducting these "man on the campus" interviews outdoors would bring a sense of natural space to the piece.
The presence of a reporter in an audio story like this one is important to set the scene, guide the listener through the piece, and tie it together at the end. But the strength of the audio story lies in the reporter's ability to capture (and edit!) articulate, to-the-point interview clips and interesting natural sound.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
An Exercise in Listening
I listened to four reports from today's "All Things Considered" podcast on npr.org. I was surprised at how different they were from what I had expected.
After listening to the examples in class that featured piano movers and a ballgame beer seller, I had expected to hear relatively long interview clips and lots of scene-setting natural sound. I was waiting for the audio pieces that would paint the picture for me, make the story come to life. But those pieces never really came.
Instead, the reports were heavy on anchors' explanations and light on interviews and natural sound--the portions of an audio report I consider most interesting. For example, in a business story called "From Clunker to Cruiser, Ford Posts Quarterly Profit" (2:56), the anchors spoke almost the entire time, pausing briefly every now and then for quick interview sound bytes or the slightest amount of natural sound. But even the natural sound that was used didn't add significantly to the report: When the anchor mentioned trucks, the sound of passing cars played in the background. Similar sound played when the anchor mentioned another type of car.
Another business story I heard, "A Tale of Two Corporate Trends in Today’s Economy" (3:12), was even less like the examples we heard in class. After a brief introduction to the topic, the anchor welcomes his guest and proceeded to interview him for the duration of the report. I would be glad to hear longer portions of an interview, but the interview-in-its-entirety approach seemed less polished than a package combining anchors' reporting, interviews, and natural sound.
"Chairman Mao: An Unlikely Business Guru" (6:13) did a better job of using the different elements of audio reporting. After a short introduction, the anchor moved to a reporter on the scene in China. The background street noise while the reporter was speaking and the sounds of a cheering, chanting crowd helped paint that picture I was waiting to see.
After listening to these three reports, I began to think I was just choosing the wrong type of report. These had all been serious stories that don't necessarily scream "audio." So for the fourth report, I selected a story I thought I could expect to be driven by natural sound: "What Did I Do with My Violin?" (3:48).
But I was disappointed again. The report centered on the anchor interviewing a psychotherapist about the tendency of musicians to lose their instruments. And that nice natural sound I was expecting? It didn't show up until the last few seconds of the report.
Listening to these reports underscored the importance of natural sound in making a story come alive for a radio audience. Like the super-tight shot in still photography and the carefully placed details in a print article, capturing and using good natural sound seems to be the key to producing a compelling audio package.
After listening to the examples in class that featured piano movers and a ballgame beer seller, I had expected to hear relatively long interview clips and lots of scene-setting natural sound. I was waiting for the audio pieces that would paint the picture for me, make the story come to life. But those pieces never really came.
Instead, the reports were heavy on anchors' explanations and light on interviews and natural sound--the portions of an audio report I consider most interesting. For example, in a business story called "From Clunker to Cruiser, Ford Posts Quarterly Profit" (2:56), the anchors spoke almost the entire time, pausing briefly every now and then for quick interview sound bytes or the slightest amount of natural sound. But even the natural sound that was used didn't add significantly to the report: When the anchor mentioned trucks, the sound of passing cars played in the background. Similar sound played when the anchor mentioned another type of car.
Another business story I heard, "A Tale of Two Corporate Trends in Today’s Economy" (3:12), was even less like the examples we heard in class. After a brief introduction to the topic, the anchor welcomes his guest and proceeded to interview him for the duration of the report. I would be glad to hear longer portions of an interview, but the interview-in-its-entirety approach seemed less polished than a package combining anchors' reporting, interviews, and natural sound.
"Chairman Mao: An Unlikely Business Guru" (6:13) did a better job of using the different elements of audio reporting. After a short introduction, the anchor moved to a reporter on the scene in China. The background street noise while the reporter was speaking and the sounds of a cheering, chanting crowd helped paint that picture I was waiting to see.
After listening to these three reports, I began to think I was just choosing the wrong type of report. These had all been serious stories that don't necessarily scream "audio." So for the fourth report, I selected a story I thought I could expect to be driven by natural sound: "What Did I Do with My Violin?" (3:48).
But I was disappointed again. The report centered on the anchor interviewing a psychotherapist about the tendency of musicians to lose their instruments. And that nice natural sound I was expecting? It didn't show up until the last few seconds of the report.
Listening to these reports underscored the importance of natural sound in making a story come alive for a radio audience. Like the super-tight shot in still photography and the carefully placed details in a print article, capturing and using good natural sound seems to be the key to producing a compelling audio package.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Kids will be Kids
In the course of studying hundreds of images in and out of class over the last few weeks, I noticed that photos of children seem to be especially interesting.
Sure, anyone can have a funny expression on his face, but kids tend to have the funniest expressions. And anyone has the potential to be good interview material, but kids often seem more natural on video than even the most at-ease adults. So when I wanted a back-up plan for my final project, I went to a local elementary school.
My starting point? Lots of kids in matching uniforms at a special two-hour program in the middle of the school day. There would even be a birthday cake at the end of the program for the kid turning seven to share with his classmates. I was pumped.
I was counting on the kids being cute and funny and interacting with each other naturally.
What I didn't count on were the two or three kids whose greatest desire, it seemed, was to be caught on camera. They waved, they threw themselves in front of the screen, they made faces. And they ruined a lot of otherwise perfectly good footage.
So my list of things to keep in mind while filming got a bit longer: Hold the camera steady, use backgrounds that add to the story, shoot sequences of wide, medium and tight shots...and avoid camera-hungry kids.
Sure, anyone can have a funny expression on his face, but kids tend to have the funniest expressions. And anyone has the potential to be good interview material, but kids often seem more natural on video than even the most at-ease adults. So when I wanted a back-up plan for my final project, I went to a local elementary school.
My starting point? Lots of kids in matching uniforms at a special two-hour program in the middle of the school day. There would even be a birthday cake at the end of the program for the kid turning seven to share with his classmates. I was pumped.
I was counting on the kids being cute and funny and interacting with each other naturally.
What I didn't count on were the two or three kids whose greatest desire, it seemed, was to be caught on camera. They waved, they threw themselves in front of the screen, they made faces. And they ruined a lot of otherwise perfectly good footage.
So my list of things to keep in mind while filming got a bit longer: Hold the camera steady, use backgrounds that add to the story, shoot sequences of wide, medium and tight shots...and avoid camera-hungry kids.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
At Least You'll Make Better Home Videos...
When we completed the video portion of our non-print media course a few weeks ago, Nina said that even if we never used our new skills professionally, we'd at least be able to make better home videos.
It's too early to say whether I'll use my early video journalism experiences in my career, but I'm definitely approaching home videos in a more sophisticated way.
Over the last week or so, my mother has been putting together a digital slide show with photos of just about every family member in our family tree (and there are a lot of leaves on our tree). After experimenting with different audios over the still shots, she realized that with the right timing, she could create a nice effect by matching certain photos with certain bits of music.
And so it came to be that a close-up of my grandma pops up on the screen to the words "then I saw her face" from The Monkees' "I'm a Believer." And a few seconds later, which words from that song are playing when my grandparents' wedding photo comes up? "I'm in love," of course.
Though I can't take credit for what is to certainly be a savvier home video, at least I appreciate the way it's being created.
And maybe when it's time for the next family slide show project, I'll take a more active role in the production.
It's too early to say whether I'll use my early video journalism experiences in my career, but I'm definitely approaching home videos in a more sophisticated way.
Over the last week or so, my mother has been putting together a digital slide show with photos of just about every family member in our family tree (and there are a lot of leaves on our tree). After experimenting with different audios over the still shots, she realized that with the right timing, she could create a nice effect by matching certain photos with certain bits of music.
And so it came to be that a close-up of my grandma pops up on the screen to the words "then I saw her face" from The Monkees' "I'm a Believer." And a few seconds later, which words from that song are playing when my grandparents' wedding photo comes up? "I'm in love," of course.
Though I can't take credit for what is to certainly be a savvier home video, at least I appreciate the way it's being created.
And maybe when it's time for the next family slide show project, I'll take a more active role in the production.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Of Portraits & Profiles
This week I discovered my favorite type of photography: portraits.
I like the clear objective in taking a portrait. You find what stands out about a person, how they spend their time, what they absolutely love to do. Then you find a way to show them in that light.
As much as I like the clarity, though, I also like the flexibility that comes with taking portraits. The subject can be looking at the camera or looking in another direction. He can be smiling, or serious, or moody. You want to photograph only their hands? Okay, go for it. Just their feet? No problem.
I also find it interesting that portraits, unlike other types of photographs, can be posed and still turn out well. Over the past few weeks, as I hunted for worthwhile photos on and off campus, I found myself almost wishing I could just pose a couple of people to capture what I had in mind. Fortunately, the temptation wasn't all that great. After all, a posed photo is a posed photo. It doesn't look good-- it looks stupid.
But a posed portrait can look great.
In my print classes and on assignment as a freelance reporter, I've particularly enjoyed writing profiles. Basically, then, all I need is to write a strong profile and photograph a creative portrait to go with it, and I'm one happy camper.
I like the clear objective in taking a portrait. You find what stands out about a person, how they spend their time, what they absolutely love to do. Then you find a way to show them in that light.
As much as I like the clarity, though, I also like the flexibility that comes with taking portraits. The subject can be looking at the camera or looking in another direction. He can be smiling, or serious, or moody. You want to photograph only their hands? Okay, go for it. Just their feet? No problem.
I also find it interesting that portraits, unlike other types of photographs, can be posed and still turn out well. Over the past few weeks, as I hunted for worthwhile photos on and off campus, I found myself almost wishing I could just pose a couple of people to capture what I had in mind. Fortunately, the temptation wasn't all that great. After all, a posed photo is a posed photo. It doesn't look good-- it looks stupid.
But a posed portrait can look great.
In my print classes and on assignment as a freelance reporter, I've particularly enjoyed writing profiles. Basically, then, all I need is to write a strong profile and photograph a creative portrait to go with it, and I'm one happy camper.
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