March 10, 2014 11:56
This weeks readings on audio were a little more complex and talked about situations and real world issues that one can deal with when working with audio. The first link was a man talking about audio mixing and the second link was an article on the use of music in news stories and if they are ethically good to use.
The first video on audio mixing and the questions that people asked were interesting, and were questions I hadn’t thought of. One question that stood out was the room size you needed if you were to audio mix, and as long as you have a good calibrated room, you would be able to mix down audio and do what you need to do. The other question I remember fondly was the one about what mic is best to use on vocals. The man in the video said his favorite, but also that vocalists voices act differently towards different mics, so they would have to find a mic that fits their voice characteristic.
The second article was about music in news stories. This is an issue that I have heard a lot of, and even heard about it more during the MMJ workshop this past Friday. Music is a tough thing to use in a news story, because you could be taking away from the story or misinterpret its meaning. Like I read, music in news stories is like athletes on steroids. It gives you the performance to do better but in the long run it hurts what you’re trying to do. I totally agree with the comparison to music.
Posted March 10, 2014 11:56
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March 3, 2014 00:51
This week the blog readings were on audio and different audio techniques. The first two articles on H4/zoom mics and the natural sound articles were very familiar to me, but it was a nice refresher. I really got in depth with the first article on zoom mics, and I did learn a few new things about the microphones that help get good audio for videos or packages. The H4 mic is by far my favorite. It’s not very difficult to use and it’s very efficient and to me it gets the best audio out of everything I have used.
When I learned about NAT sound back in my freshman year, I thought it was a waste of audio and took away from the story. Now that I have been working with it for a couple of years, I was very wrong. I love using NAT sound whenever I can, and the article about NAT sound really helped remind me the proper ways to use it and what to think about when gathering your NAT sound. It was a simple article and a good stepping stone about how to use NAT pops and sounds.
The last article was very interesting to me. When learning a couple of tips from professionals, it was cool to learn a couple of easy tricks to make your audio better. My favorite one was the one with the water cooler cup, where you cut out the bottom and stick your mic in there and tape it. You get more ambient sound that way and that is really cool to me that you can use other items not in your camera kit that can help your story be even better!
Posted March 3, 2014 00:51
February 10, 2014 10:56
All three articles read this past week really helped understand the different shots that we need to get when shooting video. The first one was a very basic review about the types of shots to get, and what each shot could mean to the audience. I liked the fact that it gave five beginning shots to think about if you are a beginner, because you can make a relatively simple story by using those five different shots.
The next article was a little bit more complex. It was a more advanced look at different shots you can shoot, and it had descriptions on how to shoot these different kind of shots. I found it interesting that back in the old days, the only shot used was a long shot. I never really paid attention to that and when I read that it got me thinking. Film and video have come a long way since it was only used to take people to different locations. Now it’s used to capture emotion, establish a new location, and get up close and personal with the characters of the film. Some of the names of shots I’ve never heard before, like the master shot and the insert shot. When the author was talking about reaction shots, I feel like those are the best ones to get, especially when something big just happened in the movie.
The last article was about video promoting and how one guy was able to do it so well. I always thought people got lucky about what they post online and get viewers that way. I didn’t think it was this process to build up an audience. What I really took away from this article is that if you have an idea, you better deliver it before someone else will.
Posted February 10, 2014 10:56
February 9, 2014 22:09
February 3, 2014 12:09
All the readings about improving how you shoot video and capture audio is all a review for the most part to me. The article I really liked reading was the UT Austin article, because I understood it all because that’s almost exactly what Kurt Lancaster taught us in his EMF 225 class, as well as mics we learned in Dr. Hoskins announcing classes. It was just great seeing that big schools use the same kind of style and tools to shoot good video and audio, as well as the good things to do rather than the wrong things to do. The lighting and framing were all very familiar to me as well, because I’ve been doing this for three years now in classes or at NAZ Today.
The last reading about tips from Darren Durlach were also very good, and I really liked the three C’s that he talked about. The three C’s are character, connect, collect. I found this interesting because of how easily he sums up being able to tell a story. You need the right person to help tell the story, you need to connect this story to the audience on a personal level, and collect enough content to put together a great story.
Overall all of these readings were review, but helpful nonetheless. These are the kind of tools that people should walk away with if they want to become great storytellers. Even I know I’m not the best storyteller, but I do feel like I get better every time I put together another story.
Posted February 3, 2014 12:09
January 24, 2014 12:06
This week’s readings were interesting to me and I liked reading about them more than last weeks. The first one was on brevity of storytelling, and I loved the example of the veteran and what most people think of them. Then the author talked about a workshop where people tell their story in six words or less. I could understand this to an extent, because whenever I put together a package for TV news, you have to be short, concise, and be able to tell a good story all at once. So I can see this as a different viewpoint.
The second reading was about scripts and actors once you are about to start your film. A lot of the tips the author gave in the article were more common sense than anything. Like the tips about how to get an actor, I figured those were the easiest ways to get that actor. I liked how the author went in a timeline on different components in the process of making a movie. There’s getting the actors, make sure the actors like you, and getting extras for the film.
The final reading was on being able to pay and finance your project so that it could become a reality. What really made this an important article was that the author showed how things use to be done in financing and distributing compared to what people can do now to get their movie out into the world. What really caught my eye was that nowadays you can use any camera almost to be able to make a movie, whereas in the old days people had to pay tons and tons of money just to basically get a down payment on an expensive camera.
Posted January 24, 2014 12:06
January 17, 2014 13:02
Video Essay Reflection
This week’s readings were on the forms of video essays, cinepoetry and examples of a one sentence animation project. Triquarterly had written articles about the growth of video essays, and were really talking a lot about writers autobiographies. I found it interesting in the first link describing video essays as being, “the mettle of the literary essay.” It was interesting to me as I read that because it was tough to understand how exactly a video essay with images and audio could be the same thing as a literary essay. As I kept reading however it started making a little more sense to me, especially when they started talking about all the autobiographies. No matter if it is just words or if images are including, you’re still telling a story to the audience in some way.
The videos on the one sentence animation projects were definitely something different than what I’ve ever watched. The first one I watched was on The Knowers, and I liked the organization of the video, but I didn’t really understand it. Then I watched the one on Home Run, and that one made a lot more sense to me as I was watching it. Some things were still a little confusing to me, like the baby in its crib, but other than that I liked the images, the call the announcers had, and also the person singing the Star Spangled Banner underneath the commentators calling the game. That video made a lot more sense and I understand the one sentence animation videos more now.
Posted January 17, 2014 13:02
December 12, 2013 13:08
The NAU men’s basketball team is currently on a four game losing streak after losing to Hawaii last weekend, and have a 2-7 record this season. This Saturday the Lumberjacks take on the Grand Canyon University antelopes in the Skydome for their third home game this season.
Grand Canyon’s record this season is 5-3, and they are riding a four game winning streak as they come up here to 7000 feet. The antelopes have played a couple teams that NAU has played this year. One is Loyola Marymount, who beat Grand Canyon 78-75, and who beat the Lumberjacks 90-78. The other one is San Diego Christian, and Grand Canyon won that game 91-61, and the Jacks won 83-59.
The Antelopes leading scorer is Demitrius Walker who averages 18.3 points per game, while Killian Larson averages 15.6 points per game but also averages 12.5 rebounds per game. These two players will probably be the players to watch out for this Saturday.
After this game against the Antelopes the Lumberjacks travel to Tucson to take on the University of Arizona Wildcats for their final non-conference game this season. Then begins conference play against Montana on Jan. 2, and that’s when the real fun starts.
Posted December 12, 2013 13:08
December 12, 2013 13:07
New Guys in Town
The NAU men’s basketball team is 2-7 so far this season, and we’re starting to see the production of some players really start to rise. At the beginning of the season, we didn’t know anything about half of this team. Now with all the freshmen and transfers getting more and more playing time, we finally get to know who these guys are.
Two transfers are in the top three on the team in scoring, and that’s junior Quinton Upshur who averages 14.8 points per game, and junior Aaseem Dixon is averaging 11.1 points per game. Quinton averaged 13.2 points per game at Kilgore College, and Aaseem averaged 10.5 at Arizona Western. So both of these players were able to come out of the junior college game and fit right into the system that Jack Murphy has created with the Lumberjacks.
“Out of the newcomers Quinton Upshur has done a really good job, and Aaseem Dixon stepped right in and really helped lead our team from the point guard position,” said coach Jack Murphy about players who have stepped up this season.
Other guys, like Max Jacobsen, also said that Quinton has really stepped up for this team.
“I think Que has been playing very well. He’s definitely stepped up his game defensively, and he’s been a really good offensive factor for us. We weren’t really sure who would step up this year and he’s really stepped up to the challenge,” Max said about his teammate.
Other players putting in good minutes are Christopher Miller, Kris Yanku, and Ako Kaluna, all freshmen in this new program. Between the three of them, they are adding another 15 points per game to this offense. All three of these guys have been very good secondary guys to go to in this Lumberjack offense. Now with more games done and more playing time with one another, the chemistry will only get better.
“The chemistry is great. A couple of things coach Murphy did during practice really brought us together, and we’re always communicating and enjoying each other’s company,” Dixon said about the teams chemistry. “We’re doing pretty good. We’re coming together as a team, and each game we’re learning.
With all the road games this team has played the team will only gel more and more. By the time this team hits conference play and the end of the season, everyone at Northern Arizona will know about this team and the players that wear the jersey’s on their backs.
Posted December 12, 2013 13:07
December 10, 2013 19:33
It’s A New Year
Basketball season is right around the corner, and with the NAU men’s basketball team starting practices last weekend, we can start looking at key players for this team.
With the team losing four seniors, the Lumberjacks are looking for some young players and even some transfers to fill in the spots that will be missing in that starting unit.
One senior especially, Gabe Rogers, will be missed for his incredible shooting ability and being the leading scorer on this team. The Jacks will be looking at sophomore DeWayne Russell to step in and become the go-to scorer for this NAU squad, which finished 11-21 overall and 8-12 in the Big Sky Conference last season. Russell averaged 14.4 points per game last season, only second to Rogers.
This team is relatively young, with the lone senior being Max Jacobsen, who really started to shine toward the end of last season, averaging 9 points and 5 rebounds per game. There are seven juniors, two sophomores, and six freshmen on this NAU roster, including all of the new transfers and recruits.
The Lumberjacks are in beginning stages of practices and displayed their talent before the Phoenix Suns scrimmage this past Saturday, participating in a 3-point contest, dunk contest and a skills challenge.
NAU begins its season on Oct. 30 when it hosts Arizona Christian for an exhibition game. Then they begin regular season play on the road at University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) on Nov. 9.
This will be a great season for the basketball team, and coach Jack Murphy could have these guys back in the Big Sky tournament in no time.
Posted December 10, 2013 19:33
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