Looking back...

Taking this class was like going into uncharted territory for me. I had done video before, but only in a creative sense since back in high school. I had interviewed people before, but I had never intended them to be on camera. J198 made me a more thorough and complete reporter. The class also made it easier for me to look for story ideas through tools like Twitter and other social media outlets.

I had never been a fan of blogging, in fact, I don't know if I still am. But one thing is for sure: I realized the rising importance it is having in today's media. Building a blog isn't easy either, and that's what I feel I didn't accomplish to my expectations. Honestly, I thought it would be easier. There came a point where I just didn't know what to write about, and for the first time in my life I experienced writer's block. The fact that nobody was commenting on my posts also raised a lack of motivation. At the end of the day, I'm pleased with some of the content I came up with. If I had more time to think and dedicate to writing thorough blogs, I'm sure I would be more proud of them.

Twitter wasn't that new to me this semester. I had opened an account last year as a sidekick to my Facebook  music fan page, but I no where tweeted as much as I did back then. Twitter opened my eyes just for the sake of breaking news and trending. It became my go-to man for any problem I would have. The thing I don’t like is that I never get to read everyone’s posts because there are just so many. I’m sure there are many tweets I'm glad I overlooked, like, “I’m reading a book.” But the links proved to be a valuable resource even for news. My average consumption of CNN decreased since using Twitter this semester.

Without a doubt, doing videos was my favorite part of this class, and I feel it’s what I learned and did best. Editing wasn’t fun when I had to go through all the tedious process of Movie Maker. iMovie helped toward the end of the semester, but I wish we could have had Final Cut Pro to edit more seamlessly. Nevertheless, when you see the finished project, it's something you can be truly proud of. Finding story ideas wasn’t easy. We ended up shooting our documentary two days before it was due. And contrary to popular belief, we didn’t have it all researched and planned. We pretty much had a general idea of what we wanted, but other than that, we just went with the flow.

I’m glad I took this class. I plan to continue tweeting and blogging, but the skill I plan to use the most is making videos. I can see my self creating professional-looking music videos. In a way you’re still telling a story. You just use music instead of quotes to guide it. 

Final Project on Weebly

The intention of the site is to encourage people to get involved in Bethlehem and realize all it has to offer that goes unnoticed, as well as how their involvement will benefit the city's sense of community.

Ideas for inclusion in the top bar are:
Home
Voices of Bethlehem
Video Stories/Photogallery
Calendar
      Past Highlights
      Future Highlights
Spring on 4th
Blog
About Us

The right rail will include a twitter feed and podcast clip and link to the full podcast.

Main stories (below) will be covered via writing, video, audio through reporting, research and interviews.
WHY YOU GET INVOLVED IN THE BETHLEHEM COMMUNITY (homepage)

WHAT BETHLEHEM CAN OFFER YOU (included on homepage)

culture, history, pride, appreciation

Events:

Spring on 4^th

Musikfest

First Fridays

Spring Fling Sidewalk Sale

WHAT YOU CAN OFFER BETHLEHEM (included on homepage)

Get to know the city: feature different small businesses

Get to know the people: feature people from the Boys & Girls Club, Bookstore Speakeasy, Homebase Skateshop, CVS, Touchstone Theater, residents

The Greenway/its mission and how you can further it

Spring on 4th

Storify: Spring on 4th

Community Involvement

Vaness Rodriguez shares her feeling about community involvement and the relationship between the Lehigh and Bethlehem communities.

Embracing the South Bethlehem Community

The interviewee featured in this slideshow is Silagh White, administrative director of ArtsLehigh. I have spoken with White several times about several subjects, and I just take a general interest in her ideas and commitment to the city. As a member of both the often separate Lehigh and Bethlehem communities, she offers an important insight and understanding to improving the relationships within the city of Bethlehem and enhancing its sense of community.

I intended to capture images of the communal efforts toward improving South Bethlehem, while embracing it for what it is: a cultural city rich with history and home to the Bethlehem Steel Mill and Lehigh University. I also wanted to reveal to some extent the relationship between Lehigh and Bethlehem and the fact that moves toward integration can more easily be made than some might anticipate.

This, I discovered was difficult to do in  three minutes and thirty pictures. I think my message got a little lost in translation, but I expect to better understand how to coordinate image and audio after this trial. A second issue I encountered was having too much material to edit. This didn't cause problems, but it certainly lengthened the amount of editing time.

Student Mugging Slideshow

I interviewed Lehigh University student, Amber Czulada '13, about the recent increase of student muggings.

The Bethlehem Community

Slideshow of South Bethlehem Muggings of Lehigh University Students

South Bethlehem Revitalization News Story

View Lehigh student hot spots in the Lehigh Valley in a larger map

The map above provides ten locations often frequented by Lehigh students. Some information about when and why students can be found in these places is also provided, making the map useful to students looking for something to do, especially if they're looking for a meal. Incoming students or visitors to the area may also find this helpful as a source to discovering a few places highly regarded by those already familiar with the locations.

While each location marked can offer food of some sort, those that provide sit-down meals are indicated by a yellow marker. The Lehigh Valley Mall is distinguished by a green marker. Addresses, brief descriptions and often a photo can be found by clicking the desired location.

Pupular Places For Lehigh University Students

View Lehigh Students' Favorite Spots in a larger map


I've mapped out ten different locations where you're bound to encounter Lehigh students at some point at any given day. I gave brief descriptions of why those spots are so important and popular to Lehigh's students. I mainly mapped out restaurants and bars, which are color-coded blue. Also included are shopping centers: color-coded magenta, supermarkets: color-coded green, and libraries: color-coded yellow.

News Story #1

Our first news story posed an intitial challenge in a lack of customers, but many willing interviewees surfaced after revisiting Home & Planet at a more convenient shopping time. Our primary issue with speaking to sources was asking the right questions that would take us to concise, usable answers. We managed to find some good quotes through the editing process. Also an issue was background sound, whether from cars outside or music in the store. Jon offered to turn down the music during our fist interview, but picking a different location in the store might have solved this problem also.

This type of store with so many different products and "eclectic" pieces challenged us to get shots that weren't to cluttered and contained a clear focal point. I addressed this by just looking through the camera for a while before filming and choosing to focus on some of the more less ambiguous pieces in Home & Planet. Lighting was fairly uniform throughout the store. I just had to make sure subjects weren't directly under one of the lights because it cast shadows on their face when they moved, especially when it was darker outside. Lighting was best during the day time when natural light was in play.

I am learning more and more that I prefer to interview, rather than recite a scripted stand up. This project was a good opportunity to practice interviewing while filimg, which is new to me. I learned how people respond differently when I have a camera in my hand instead of a pencil. This was definitely a learning experience I enjoyed and expect to improve upon next time. The recited introduction in front of the camera, however, was not my forte. I gave it a few shots but could quite get it this time.

News Story #1

For our first story Jessica and I chose to interview the owner and customers of Home and Planet, an eco-friendly furniture/jewelry store. We asked the owner about what the store specializes in, what the demographics of his clientele are and how he got the idea to create the store. We included several voice overs with b-roll to better explain the story. We also included two or three soundbites that were visually appealing and fit in well with the rest of the footage. To introduce the story, we made a standup followed by a voice over to guide the viewers into the store as if they were walkin into the store themselves.

Probably the hardest things to accomplish were getting people to talk to us and being able to film the standup outside the store in E 3rd St. with all the traffic roaring by (it was both distracting and hard not to laugh).

Also, keeping the camera still seems to be a recurring problem with all all of our videos. Throughout our videos there is visual progression. We'll just keep practicing at it.

We chose this location because we had never heard about it so we thought it would be a good way to start our tv reporting skills.

Home & Planet

South Bethlehem Greenway!

Adrian and I intend to focus on the South Bethlehem Greenway that's in the works right now, and we would like to implement a "revitalizing the South Side" type of theme. I actually just finished a practicum class in which 12 students in varying fields of study created a formal proposal for the city for the most efficient use of a designated space on the greenway. A huge part of the city's objective is integrating the Lehigh and Bethlehem communities. Although it's not apparent on campus, residents, small business owners and stakeholders are really involved, or at least interested, in the project and have a lot to say. City officials and a few people on campus would really like to see the Lehigh community gain some knowledge about the project, too. I know there is quite a number of people to speak with about the project both on campus and off, and this is a pretty monumental project in Bethlehem with significant purposes.

The blog could track the progress of the construction of the greenway when it resumes during warm weather and follow the city's plans for it. We would like to relay the many reason the greenway is being created by informing our blog readers about the city of Bethlehem's plans for revitalizing the South Side. This could be achieved through research, interviews, updates and video images of the area. An objective would be to include the perspectives of everyone in the area from resident to officials to kids to Lehigh students in order to show the significance of the project the impact it could have in contributing to improving the state of living in Bethlehem.

#J198 Twitter Scavenger Hunt

1. School spirit!: I stood in the entrance lobby of Linderman Library with the hope that someone looking spirited in Lehigh garb would walk by. Luckily, Jack York walked by in an LU sweatshirt and hat, and he was very will to talk to me about Lehigh's spirit and how he shows it.
2. At my favorite spot to eat off campus: I went to my favorite spot to eat off campus, Subway, waited for a customer to finish ordering, and asked her what her favorite sandwich is and if she ever switches up her meal. (I also initially sought the "fanatic fans" answer here but only chatted with two people who haven't been following Lehigh sports this year.)
3. Professor on the street: Spoke to a female professor walking out of Drown on my way back up from a class at Linderman. She said social media is like a catalyst for social change because as soon as something alters, media like Twitter is there to make sure everyone knows it right away. Unfortunately, I can't find my notes that included her name, department and quote... So I resorted to asking my chef for her answer at the last minute just so I had a photo and quote to put up.
4. News source of a person on the street: Adrian and I went to the Goose, and I asked a cop in line to order where he gets his news and how familiar he is with some social media outlets.
5. Academic excellence: A few of my friends have done research with Lehigh. I knew Taara's opportunity in particular was interesting in that it incorporated contemporary American literature and society's perception of the environment, and she is studying for degrees in English, psych and environmental science.
6. Scenic spot: I spend a lot of my time on this balcony, and I think it and its view will leave an impression on me after college.
7. Little-known fact: This information was gathered at the same time I spoke to Jack York in Linderman. Mari offered other facts she knew through ASA, but this one was interesting and the easiest to share in 140 characters.
8. Fanatic fans: After several attempts at questioning boys both in Subway and on campus, I turned to actual athletes who were guaranteed to know about their sport at least.
9. Adrian and I in our favorite spots on campus: Adrian photographed me in Taylor Gym, where I exercise and have a work study job, both of which I enjoy. Adrian photographed himself in the theater where he performs and also spends a lot of time.
10. Extracurricular extravaganza: Lauren's involvement represents a range of opportunity at Lehigh. I intended to photograph several friends together holding skis, a stethoscope, a cheer bow, etc., all in representation of what they're involved in, but I could gather everyone, and I don't know how well that would photograph.

Yes, I did use a mobile for this project, and I borrowed three smart phones in the process. I'm admittedly not the most tech-savvy college student, but I do feel like this lab made me learn a lot about twitter and all its possibilities, in addition to the simplicity of downloading an application on a phone that let me complete most of these tweets on the move. Some of my friends were proud to see me using twitpic.

A couple of my tweets were retweeted by classmates, and my partner, Adrian, mentioned me for number 9, of course. I liked going through #J198's tweets, but I what I found more interesting was the interaction between the schools involved in this. I noticed a few #j4801 students posting and communicating more often most and wonder if any of this communication will go beyond this project.

The "Twitter Scavenger Hunt" really exemplified the networking abilities of twitter that I was unaware of before this class. It reinforced the realization that something I once thought of as just fun and pointless for people, really does have a point. People who opt to follow me have an interest in what I'm saying and create a (kind of unfamiliar) type of relationship by doing so, just as when I follow others. Also, plenty of pages take me to an individual's blog or other website that further my interest in what that person communicates or how they share information.

The thing I would have done differently, now looking back at my tweets, is to have tweeted with a little more general description so that people outside of Lehigh would have a better understanding. My twitter knowledge was definitely enhanced by this project. Right now, I think I'm still adjusting to being comfortable with twitter and really getting used to tweeting outside of class expectations.

J198 Scavenger Hunt

1.) School Spirit: I approached a freshman from Guatemala exiting Christmas Saucon.
2.) My favorite eating spot off-campus: The Goose.
3.) Ask a professor about social media: Ryan Kathleen is a statistics professor and was explaining to me the correlation between social media and social change.
4.) Person on the street: A Bethlehem police officer told me where he got his news from.
5.) Academic Excellence: John W. fulfilled his dream of getting hired by a construction company through the hard work he learned in IPD.
6.) Scenic Spot: I chose the courtyard outside Rauch and Zoellner. Shame it was covered with snow.
7.) Little-known-fact: I was walking through Zoellner and saw a plaque about Bethlehem Steel. I did some research afterwards and realized that they contributed some of their last casts for the building.
8.) Fanatic Fans: I was searching for football (excuse me, soccer) fans but didn't find any so I quoted the biggest Real Madrid fan, myself.
9.) Favorite spot on campus: I practically live in the Diamond Theater. I have great memories in that theater.
10.) Extracurricular Extravaganza: I was early for a theater rehearsal and the scene shop workers were still on the set building it, so I took a picture to show how two different organizations work together. They both belong to the theater department but one is performance-oriented while the other is hands-on craftwork-oriented.


For this scavenger hunt I limited myself exclusively to using the Twitter for iPhone app. It gave me a lot of freedom and flexibility in posting my tweets and pictures. I liked the fact that I could post a tweet as soon as I finished interviewing someone. The sense of immediacy is vital in news reporting.

Seven of my tweets were re-tweeted by class members, mostly fun facts they didn't know before or things they agreed with, such as school spirit. I also got replies from students and professors from the other universities, which was pretty cool because it showed me how easy it is to get exposed nationally just by using hash-tags and building a network. I learned a lot of interesting facts I didn't know about my campus before as well as learning the tastes and preferences of my classmates. My perception of twitter hasn't changed. It just has expanded. I always had an idea of what it was capable of, but I never really experienced the exposure as much as I did during this scavenger hunt.

I would probably tweet half as much if I didn't have a smartphone, but copying and pasting is a lot easier on a computer. That's the main issue I'm working out on my phone now.

After putting this video together, I can recognize the differences in video quality depending on lighting and location. As the interviewer, I also feel like I was able to watch each of these interviews from two perspectives and have gained an understanding of what a difference position, lighting and location can make.
Outdoor shade clearly creates the least amount of shadow that can potenially distract viewers from the person speaking on camera. Shade is also preferable to a very sun-lit area when snow is on the ground because is decreases the glare of the sun's reflection off the snow. The most distacting amount of shade was that wich partially covers the person speaking or immediate background. A face half in the shade casts different shadows on the subject every time he/she moves.
I also noticed the natural light let inside by windows looked better than the lighting in both an office and medium-sized indoor space.
In the case of this video, I preferred a view close up to the person on camera. The close up view increased focus on the suject, while all the movement cought in the background of a long view created distraction.
The rule of thirds was sometimes distracting with movement in background because the movemnt and distribution of passers by could change the focal locations created by the rule of thirds. Lastly, the rule of thirds doesn't seem as necessary when interview is taken close up and inside against a pretty plain background, as it was applied in the office setting.

Lab #3: Video Quality

The sunlight off to the side of the head of the interviewee turns out to be the worst shot. The shadows that are produced on half of the face prove too distracting. The face of the interviewee in long shot is divided in two colors, and as we move closer in shots, the shadows are more detailed.

The angles in which the sun was today worked well for when we interviewed people standing between the sun and the camera. It didn't cause a blur, but this is probably do to the sun's high position.

Having the interviewees stand in front of the sun doesn't work out well for them, but in our case we had the interviewees look to the side where the interviewer was, and this provided a clear shot with a lot of light.

I applied the rule of two thirds in most of the interviews and it does make it easier for the viewer to focus on interviewee, especially when there was a lot of pedestrian traffic.

Taylor Gym Supervisors

Claude Esposito and Cameron Gerald

Bill Holmes

Lehigh University's Recording Engineer describes his job.

First J198 Interview: Ben

First Interview

Morgan from J198