From Then to Now

 The move to Convergence

This semester in convergence journalism I have grown as a student. Making the transition from being a sophomore and being in one hour of a video class and doing many different things to having two hour of convergence journalism and focusing on one major thing, ONW Now.

Ive come a long way from the beginning of this year to now. I've been able to learn some many new things that I can incorporate into my projects and also things I that will be valuable in the future.

Being able to take on new tasks and make new experiences enables me to grow as a student in convergence journalism. From learning how to work with our new studios equipment to working on improving my news packages every week.  Im really proud of the work that i've been doing this semester and I hope to keep improving and get my projects to be the best that they can be.

The Art of storytelling 

As the new school year was here. In convergence journalism class I began to learn new things that would improve the outcome of my video packages. One major aspect of a good video is the story behind it. Having a beginning, middle and end in a video really pulls it together. With this idea out makes a story flow better and makes the audience want to watch it more. Having no storyline behind a video really defeats the whole purpose of the video. 

A part of having a storyline in a video package is the footage that makes that up the story. I learned this year that when getting b-roll for a video sequencing makes all the difference. What I mean by sequencing is the 6 shot system. What i've drawn from this system is that if you put it into your video along with the 180 rule you tend to see a difference in the way your videos look. 

Interview setup with Allie Carroll

Overall from learning these ideas the outcomes of my videos have improved greatly. I can really see the changes that I've made have made an impact on my videos and grades. 

From Old to New

The best part of being in this convergence journalism class is being able to have the opportunity to do ONW Now. Being a sophomore last year I wasn't able to be apart of that experience. A lot has changed for the production of ONW Now last year to this year. Changing the setup of our studio from an actual desk to a green screen. With the green screen is the major change which something called the tricaster. What the tricaster is a program that allows us to have a fake studio that looks real. 

Working with the new tricaster.

At the being of the year when this new program was first introduced I was able to learn how to use the tricaster. Its really cool to learn to something so complex. With the tricaster we've only learned a part of it and what it can do for just our ONW Now set but there is so much more that hopefully we will be able to learn and do with this program.

Overall having this program has really improved the way ONW Now looks and works. There is so much growth from last year to this year and the production of ONW Now. 

The Process of Video Editing

Final Cut pro: the editing program.

Every week before ONW Now is made, video packages that go on ONW Now have to be edited. The editing process can either be long or short depending on the amount of footage you get. This year i've learned that while editing my videos its easier to favorite all the clips that look good and that you might use. Then I learned that put the interview in first then put the b-roll in according to the interview clip you have. Then last you  put voice overs and any other finishing touches to your video in. 

Following this process really helped my videos improve. Learning these new ways to edit made the process more efficient. Overall the outcome of my videos from the beginning of the year to the end shows how I've grown. 

Goals for next semester...

1. Becoming a better writer: As we finish off this year and come back next year I hope to become a better writer. Next semester as we begin to write news stories for the website. I hope to improve my writing. By this I mean i hope yo become more familiar with blogger.com and they layout/setup that is used to write blogs and new stories. 

2. More ideas for news packages: This year something our class struggled with was coming up with story ideas for new packages. Hopefully next semester we will find new innovative ways that will allow us to come up with interesting news stories. Coming up with more story ideas will improve the production of ONW Now and make searching for story ideas not as complicated.

5 Tips For An Awesome Interview

1. Plan for the interview: To get a good interview you will want to plan out the questions your going to ask so you get the best answers. When asking questions you always want to start with the easier questions then make the questions harder by the end. The answers are the main part of an interview so you wan to make sure you get the best from your interviewee.

2. Be setup and prepared before the interviewee arrives: For a more efficient and better interview setting up before is the best way to go. Make sure that the camera is setup in a good spot with good lighting hitting the interviewee. Also before make sure your audio is working. You always want to make the interviewee comfortable so put them in a chair and a place that will fit their needs. Don't forget to put the interviewee in the rule of thirds with you diagonal to them so they are looking off to the side of the camera and not directly at it.

3. Location of the interview is very important: Having an interesting interview always starts with the location of the interview. The location should be based on what your interviewing the interviewee for. This spices up the interview when you have an interesting background. You  don't want to put them in front of a curtain or a window unless it goes with the topic of the interview. Like the picture up above we interviewed her because she was in the play and its a dramatic interview so it was appropriate to pout her in front of a curtain. No matter where you decide to do your interview try and make it as interesting as possible.

4. White balance the camera: Before your interviewee arrives at the interview always white balance your camera to get the best the hue. If you forget to white balance your hue could either turnout yellow or blue. To white balance hold up your hand or a white piece of paper in front of the camera then there should be button somewhere on the camera to change the color. It may not work the first time so keep trying to get the color you feel is the best.

5. During the interview stay quiet: As the interviewer you are responsible for making sure everything is perfect and nothing messes up but sometimes the interviewer may not know it but they could be the one to mess it up. During the interview remember to stay quiet the entire time. Don't laugh or comment to what the interviewee says because that could mess up the great answers your trying get. To make a interview efficient and great keep quiet until your completely done recording.

Follow the Yellow Brickroad

Wizard of Oz production 

 Olathe Northwest presented The Wizard of Oz, this video tells people what its about and who is featured in the play. Also this video shows sneak peeks of the songs and the overall concept behind this musical.

Well we knew that the musical was coming up so Samantha and I started thinking about interesting ways to promote the musical. Then we decided to choose the two main roles in the musical to interview which would be the wicked witch played by Allie Carroll and Dorothy who was played by Grace Horvat. After we interviewed our 2 main characters we went to one of their rehearsals after school to get some b-roll. Later we edited the video.

 From making this video I learned that interviewing them in interesting places will make it more interesting. Also I learned that nat noise really does spice up a video and is more appealing to viewers.Lastly I learned that getting more than enough b-roll really makes the editing process way faster.

I really liked the outcome of this video. Im really proud at the b-roll we got and how nicely we put it together. But somethings I would change about it was maybe interviewing the two lead roles together and maybe interviewing them in a more interesting place

There are a lot of things I would do the same on my next video like using a lot of nat noise on my b-roll and getting lot of interesting b-roll with sequencing. Lastly choosing interesting characters to interview.

Im really happy with the outcome of my video. I hope to continue to make good videos like this one. I feel like I really did a good job promoting the musical and hopefully persuaded more people to go and see it.

Shannon Smith reflection

1.This project was a feature story over a unique artist at Olathe Northwest who expresses herself through her appearance. By appearance I mean that she paints her face based on her mood that day. She also talks about what her plans are for the future and talks about her attitude about the road ahead for her.


2. A week before we had even started talking about what we were going to do for this video we wanted to find a unique person at ONW who wasn't afraid to express themselves. After we had chosen Shannon we started planning out what we were going to do, like what the interview was going to look like so then we wrote interview questions. After that we interviewed her and started to get B- roll of her in her art classes and we wanted something that would make the video come together really nicely and so we decided to have her paint her face for us and we would use that as some of our b-roll. Then of course we put all the video together to create a story that would show our school who Shannon was.



3. From making this video learned that getting a sequence of b-roll really does make the video look better as a whole but also makes it so that you don't have to go back and keeping more b-roll. Another thing I learned was that when you do 2 different angles on an interview try not to get to far on the side of her face get more in between the side and the front.



4. Overall I think this video is the best video I've ever done there is not much I would change about it. One thing I would have changed was the second interview angle was too far on the side of her face and that day she had face paint and we should've put the second camera on the side with the face paint on it would have definitely made that angle more interesting.



5.This video to me was a really good one. I think there are a lot of things I will do the same on my next video like getting good sequencing for b-roll and getting good interviews. Also choosing interesting characters who have interesting things to say. Im really proud on the outcome of this video.



6.Some experiences I would draw from this video like I said is get good sequencing and try and do interviews different ways to make the video more interesting.



7. Im really proud on the outcome of this video. For me I feel this is the best video I'm made this year so far and I'm going to continue and try to make good news packages like this one. I feel like this really told a great story about a unique artist here at ONW that some people may not have known.

Student Teachers

Video Reflection:









1. This project was about the Student teachers throughout ONW. They told us about what its like being a student teachers, what work goes into it, what their hopes and fears were about being a teacher and much more.



2. Our process of making this video was first we had to figure out which student teachers in the building would tell a good story and would want to be out in front of the camera. After we found our subjects we started to get b-roll of our subjects in the classrooms, then we wrote interview questions and got our 3 interviews for this video. Lastly we put the video together to make a story.



3. From making this video I learned not to do interviews in front of windows and also to get more than enough b-roll. Another thing I learned is to always bring headphones to make sure your audio is working during an interview.



4. This video could have been a really great video if we would have taken more time on it. Something I would have done differently is make sure the audio works during interviews by making sure I have headphones because redoing an interview takes up a lot of editing time. Also I would find better places to  do interviews instead of in front of a window because it makes the quality of the video not look very good if the lightning isn't good.



5. Something I would do the same is choose characters like these ones because they all had good things to says that were interesting and weren't juts one word answers they all actually explained their answers. Another thing I would do the same is some of the shots we got were really good so I would definitely try and get shots like these on my other videos to make it more intersting.



6. The experiences I would draw from this project are like I said to make sure the audio works and don't film in front of windows and lastly get more than enough b-roll!



7. Overall I felt like this video could have been way better if we would have put more effort and time into it I feel like we kind of rushed to put it together and thats why it didn't turn out the way we wanted it to.

6-Shot System

6- Shot System

The 6-shot system is a sequence of shots that shows a subject doing something. These shots are used in all sorts of videos like new packages commercials, music videos, movies and many more. A rule of the 6-shot system is the 180 rule, what this means is when filming a subject you have to stay on one side of that subject and don't cross over to the other side. 

 Close-up of hands: Shows what the subject is doing closer up.

 Close-up of face: Shows how they feel about what they are doing.
Close-up shots are more appealing to viewers

Medium Shot: A shot that shows whats going on around the person but only taken from the subject waste up.





Wide Shot: A shot that shows what the person is doing and what is going on around them. It also takes up the whole frame with their body making them the main focus.

Over the shoulder: This shot shows the point of view of the character and what they are doing. These type of shots are also really interesting to viewers.





Extra Wide shot: This shot is the establishing shot. It shows what going on all around the subject. This shot is probably the least used shot in any video because it doesn't focus on the character/subject as much.

Example:

Web vs. TV stories

INDI COWIE

1. My favorite version of the story was the New York times one which would be the second web story. This one was my favorite because I liked how they had shots of her at her house and around her family and also interviews of her parents talking about what she does.

2. From all these videos the things that are the same is she is sharing what she does and how passionate she is about it, also she tells us how she started playing soccer at a young age and wants to play in college, lastly the videos talk about how she learns a new trick and how much she practices.

3.The differences in these videos are the first one was just of her talking and playing with the ball the whole time, in the the second one in focuses around her but also her family is apart of the video. Lastly the third has a guy telling the story for her while in the other 2 she is telling the whole story.

4. In web videos the character or main person tells their story themselves and in TV stories someone tell the story the for the main person and sometimes they talk or mention something. Web stories are more informational because you get their view on things instead of someone talking for them and they could leave something out.

5. Something that I could use in my new packages is the way they set up the web videos where she is talking the whole time and sharing her story which makes it more interesting. Also something I wouldn't take from the TV story is when the guy telling the story is standing in front of her while she is juggling her ball in the back and that looks really awkward on screen.

Q&A with Astin McAfee

Q:State and spell your name.

A: Astin McAfee

Q: What Grade are you in?

A: I am a Senior so 12th grade.

Q: What activities are you involved in here at ONW?

A: I do Theater, Im the manager for the cheer team and I'm in orchestra.

Q: How long have you been interested in cheerleading?

A: Ive been interested in cheerleading for a really long time.

Q:What Competitive cheer team are you on?

A: KGDC's 360 Allstars.

Q:What are your goals this year for your team?

A: I want to win a bid to the summit compete well and win jackets.

Q: What challenges do you face being the only guy on your team?

A: It gets stressful because I get pointed out a lot because I'm the only guy and I stick out.

Q: What are your fears this year for you team?

A: That we won't be able to get over all of our issues and drama and ultimately not be able to win.

Q: What do you hope to accomplish before you leave ONW?

A: I hope to make sure that everyones feels like are apart of the raven family.

Q: If you were to live anywhere in the world where would it be and why?

A: I want to live in California so I would have the opportunity to be on California smoed or Cali Allstars and compete.

Teachers as candidates

I chose to do this project because i thought it would be interesting for viewers to see what homecoming was like when our teachers were in high school. Also I thought more people would like to see their teachers experiences being in the homecoming court. This video was meant to be fun and interesting to the student body and also something for homecoming week. I don't think there has ever been a video like this before and I'm happy i got to be a part of making the video.

For pre-production my partner and i had wanted to get about 4-5 teachers that had been in the homecoming court with a bunch of pictures to put in our package. The idea was to get teachers with all different experiences of being in homecoming court so the the school could get to see that. As we were putting our story together we didn't include some of those ideas. We had interviewed 4 teacher 2 girls and 2 guys. We had to tried to get pictures from all the teachers so we could put them in our package. As we had started editing we realized that we didn't have much b-roll of the teachers and it was hard to find time to get the perfect b-roll we had needed. As the ending result came along we had, had to take out an interview because that teacher had not given us photos of her and we couldn't  get any b-roll of her. Somethings I had learned were that you never have enough b-roll always get tons because if you feel you have enough you probably don't. Don't take advantage of your time because you may feel you have time but the deadline came faster that we thought.

Something I would do differently is that I would get tons of b-roll. Also another thing i would do differently is not take advantage of the time i have to get it done because there is a lot to get done and it may not seem like it. Lastly something i would do differently is i would try and improve my interview questions and try and make my video better.

Somethings i would not change about this video are the idea was pretty good idea and I'm happy i got to film it. Another thing wouldn't change is the teachers we chose because they had good things to say   and really wanted to be filmed. The last thing i wouldn't change is the way we edited the video i liked how we started out with the b-roll and the nat. noise.

Some experiences I would draw from this package is the whole idea behind it. We tried to choose something that everyone would enjoy and they did. To enhance my next project I would take some of the b roll we got and i think they photos we in our package were a major bonus to the video i feel the photos made the video better as a whole. So for my next project i am going to be sure and add interesting facts and get good b-roll/ photos.

Overall I'm pretty proud of the outcome of the video i think lots of teachers and students enjoyed it and hopefully i can make a fun video like this again for a spirit week or an important event.

New Teachers to Olathe Northwest

Reflection

1. Our interview with Mr. Fouquet went well also we got some good be roll of our subjects.



2. I learned that before you start conducting interviews and getting b roll you should know exactly what your story angle is going to be so when you go to edit it will be easier.



3. Get lots of b roll so you don't have to go back and get more while you are editing your video, get my video done on time, don't mess around and pick subject Im more interested in.

New Teachers to Olathe Northwest

Reflection

1. Our interview with Mr. Fouquet went well also we got some good be roll of our subjects.



2. I learned that before you start conducting interviews and getting b roll you should know exactly what your story angle is going to be so when you go to edit it will be easier.



3. Get lots of b roll so you don't have to go back and get more while you are editing your video, get my video done on time, don't mess around and pick subject Im more interested in.

Kurtis Huff

I think the interview went well for us the subject was really engaged and was excited that he was being noticed. Also we had a lot of b roll from the pep assembly and good nat. noise.



The only thing that didn't really go well was the color in our video was a little yellowish orange and mostly thats because of the gym lighting.

Reflection of Video package

Reflection

1. Our interview with Mr. Fouquet went well also we got some good be roll of our subjects.

2. I learned that before you start conducting interviews and getting b roll you should know exactly what your story angle is going to be so when you go to edit it will be easier.

3. Get lots of b roll so you don't have to go back and get more while you are editing your video, get my video done on time, don't mess around and pick subject Im more interested in.

Goal Setting

1. I hope to get better at making news packages, editing I also hope by the end of this year I will be able to make videos easily and not stress about it. To accomplish my goals I am going to try to take everything more serious this year and not joke around, also I wan to spend more time on making my videos good and not rushing through just to get them done.

2. For the class I hope to make ONW Now better, by that i mean to come up with new ideas to make ONW Now more appealing to the students at this school. I want more students to interact with ONW Now. To accomplish this goal I think as a class we need to work together and try to get more people involved also we should come up with ideas that are appealing to everyone.

3. For e-comm as a whole I hope to get all the strands together and to get to work on projects together. This will make e-comm stronger as a program and it will help to appeal to people into e-comm if we are a strong bonded program. To accomplish this goal I hope to work on as many projects that involve all the strands as much as i can.

Responsive Web Design

Responsive web design is a web page that resizes itself depending on the type of device it is being seen through. Responsive web design is important because some many more people these days are using tablets and smart phones more than computers and responsive web design allows the web page from a computer resize to the web page on a tablet or smart phone.Media Queries is a CSS3 module which allows content rendering adapt to conditions such as screen resolution. Media Queries gives us greater control over rendering over different devices. Breakpoints are temporary markers you place in your source code to tell the debugger to stop your application at any given line or variable.

http://www.nscs.org

The Layout of the wide one is really spacious and shows a lot of the site. There are a lot of columns an menus to click on for different information.

 The Layout of the medium web page isn't as spacious as the wide one but it pretty much still has everything on it to understand the concept of the site. The image size gets bigger in this one and the is a little bigger but the content in the middle is all visible.

The Layout of the narrow web page still has just as much information  ad content as the wide one does its just put together differently. As you can see the photos that were on the side on the first 2 make up most of the content for this one. But there is still a menu that you can pull down. The narrow web page is just as handy as a very wide one would be.

Vector web designs

Two really good websites with vector web designs.

1. DIY
https://diy.org/featured

I like the vector designs on this vector website because they very different and creative. Also all the designs show what the website is about and whats on it. I like how all the pictures kind of look like cartoons in a way. The characteristics of this website is fun and like I said it shows creativity.

2. English Workshop

http://www.cursos-verano-inglaterra.com

I like the vector designs on this website because its simply but it shows what the site is for. In the design  there are basic simple shapes put together to make something different. There aren't that many designs on the page but the designs that are there have a meaning to the site.

Web design with Adobe Illustrator

I never knew that you could use Adobe Illustrator to make a web design. There are some really useful tools when making a web design in Illustrator. Some of the things I learned are how to texturize your designs and the 3 different ways to do it. Also I learned how to use gradient on editable texts and strokes of all elements. There are some many cools things that i've learned from just looking at this article and watching the video who knew that all those components from Illustrator could be used for web design. Another really awesome thing I learned is that you can adjust Illustrator to fit your needs. Although I like photoshop better maybe after trying out these new tools i've learned. Maybe I will start to like Illustrator more.