It's good to promote yourself via social media, so here are some screen shots of my posts on Twitter and Instagram.
Story Pitch Form:
1. Subject/Slug: High-End Healthcare 2. Based on my research so far, the focus of the story is: “Alcoa Pines, a Benton nursing home, revitalizes their facility to entice new residents.” 3. A summary of previous coverage of this story/issue: There has not been any previous coverage of this story. The events just recently took place. 4. The main central question I hope to answer is: Where can an elderly relative go to get care and also feel at home? 5. This story is important because: Eventually we will all be put in the position to care for an elderly family member. It is important to stay educated on the changing healthcare environment. 6. Why this story at this time: The healthcare industry continues to change in order to attract the vast amount of baby boomers that are approaching the age for additional care. 7. The potential sources/stakeholders in this story are: The Assistant Administrator and the staff of the nursing home are involved in this story. Elderly needing healthcare assistance are impacted by it. Family members seeking care for their elderly loved one would be interested in the story. Elderly people who are looking for additional help could also benefit from this story. 8. The information you need to gather in order to tell this story effectively: To effectively tell this story, I will gather visuals and natural sounds from the facility, and I will also interview the Assistant Administrator. 9. I have ALREADY CONTACTED the following sources for this story: Amber Richart, Assistant Administrator Phone number: 501-658-5176 Email addresses: [email protected] 10. How did you come up with this idea? I came up with this idea as I was working in Central Arkansas this week. I made a cold call to this facility and was looking to gain an edge by proposing something different to them. I asked Amber to participate in this story by letting her know they could use the info to promote their facility.
The purpose behind this blogpost was to learn how to set up and shoot a video interview. My wife, Lauren was once again gracious enough to allow me to use her for this assignment. I shot this interview with my iPhone 6 and a tripod. I used our house for the location of the shoot.
I chose a room that was facing away from the sun. This prevented any bright glare from taking away from Lauren’s profile. The windows in the shoot provided a good amount of natural light. The only complication I had with this shoot was the extender I purchased through Amazon did not fit into the headphone jack on my phone. This resulted in a less than accommodating distance between Lauren and the camera. I intend to order a stereo jack splitter from Amazon before my next project. Here’s the video, I hope you enjoy it.
This blogpost shows the results of a short video composition with additional music background. I chose to film my wife, Lauren, for this project and she graciously accepted my request. My wife and I both have home offices, so it was easy to film her as she went through her day to day routine.
Lauren works for Cars.com, so she spends time both at car dealerships as well as at home doing computer work. She spends her office time answering emails and building advertising plans for dealerships in the Northwest Arkansas area. She spends a lot of time working through sales plans with her corporate office based out of Chicago. To build this composition, I used a tripod with a smartphone adapter and my iPhone 6. I tried to incorporate different actions as well as different lighting angles. The room in which the filming took place faced due South with a slight overhang from the roof. There were sections with plenty of sun, but the overhang also caused some unfortunate shadowing. I used iMovie to edit this video. I also chose to use the stock audio for my background music. We spent about 45 minutes filming this project. I also spent about 30 minutes editing the film. Here’s the film. I hope you enjoy it.
For this blogpost I took a story about a local company that teaches young girls about computer programming. The company is unique in that it focuses on something most young kids don't have the resources to do. This was an interesting and motivating topic.
Here are the things I needed to do to complete this project: 1) Clean edits of soundbites 2) Eliminate jump cuts, flash/black frames and gaps 3) Consistent sound 4) Natural pace for the story Here's my video. I hope you enjoy it. In this weeks blogpost, I'm pitching an idea for a slideshow project. I'm doing the research this week and then the shoot next week. Consumers have the tendency to disregard world events when it comes to the survival of local businesses. This is not always the case, as many local business are directly effected by changes in the world economy. For this post I've decided to profile "Mike Jordan Company." This is an oil and gas pipeline company based out of Fort Smith. I grew up in Fort Smith and I always wondered how this company works and why it was based out of Fort Smith. My job has required me to be in Fort Smith for the next two weeks, so I figured this would be a perfect time to do some research on this company. On Thursday, I called Margi Clements, the office manager of the business, and explained to her what I was doing and why I would like to meet with her regarding this blogpost. Margi was very friendly, and she agreed to meet with me next week to work on the story. Here is my pitch. STORY PITCH: 1. Name of the Business/Story Slug: Mike Jordan Company
2. Based on your research, the headline for this story might read: Local Company Deals With Global Oil Crisis 3. If there was previous coverage, a summary of previous coverage of this story/issue: There has been no previous new coverage. 4. This story is important because: It will show the effects of world events on a local business. 5. Why this story at this time: The oil and gas industry is a popular news topic. I want to find out how this company survives in such a volatile industry, especially when the industry is down. 6. The potential sources/stakeholders in this story are: The office manager, Margi Meeks and VP Fred Jordan 7. The information you need to gather in order to tell this story effectively: Interview the office manager and VP for 10-15 minutes. Take shots of Margi and Fred handling daily operations. Natural sound for the slideshow. 8. I have already contacted the following sources for this story: I stopped by and met with the office manager to discuss the project and she agreed to do the story. She said the VP would be happy to assist if he is not called out for business. 9. Describe visual components that will make your story interesting: Probably Margi or Fred working on the computer and taking phone calls. 10. How did you come up with this idea? I have always wanted to know why this company was in Fort Smith, and now I would like to know how the troubling oil market is effecting them. My goal for this post was to find a place/location and tell a story through a series of photos. I chose to use the Walmart on Mall Ave as my location. I visit this Walmart several times a week, but I rarely focus on the people inside. I wanted to avoid the unnatural lighting usually found inside the store, so I put focus on the garden center and the adjacent nursery. I liked how the check out area resembled a green house. I also took several photos in the large garden center annex and adjacent nursery. I liked how the light worked its way through the large open doors in the annex. I also liked how the flowing canopies above the nursery provided breaks in the sunlight. I decided to take photos of and interview Walmart employees. I wanted to get a feel of how each of these individuals plays a role in day to day operations. I am using an iPhone 5S and Photo Editor- app for editing my images. I spent right around an hour at this Walmart and I came away with 77 images. Here are some of the images as well as my comments and captions. Caorlyn Kyger, sales associate, calls the customer service department to check on a returned item. Image #1: I visited with Carolyn for several minutes, and explained to her what I was doing. I liked how the light entered this room through the glass facade. Carolyn has worked for Walmart for 5 years, but has only been in the garden center for a few months. She said this is the best place in the store. Unidentified employee waters the plants in the garden center nursery. They try to water in the morning when the store has less customers. Image #2: I liked how this image separated the greenery with the metal fencing. There were several different variations of light due to the canopy above the center and the shadows from the fencing. I did not get a clear shot of this woman's face, so I did not feel the need to ask for her permission. I played with the contrast of this image. A possum climbs the fence on the outside of the garden center as an unidentified woman drives by in her vehicle. Image #3: I walked around the corner of the garden center and I immediately saw this possum climbing the fence. I thought this was very strange since it was out in the open during the daytime. I also liked how the fluttering tents that were hanging up provided different texture next to the chain link fence. The woman's face is unrecognizable, so there was no need to get her permission. Jim Hull organizes the pool supplies on the shelf. He was in the process of moving seasonal items. Image #4: I visited with Jim for a while, and told him about this course. He was very engaged and was willing to help me out. Jim has been working for Walmart for 3 years. There was a large open door directly behind me which allowed a small amount of outside light to brighten this image. Rob Clowers, store associate, was using a telzon to check the inventory of clearance items. Image #5:I explained to Rob what I was doing, and he was more than happy to play along. This was not a staged photo, as I asked him to continue doing his job as I took the shots. I was standing in front of the entrance to the nursery, so the natural light played perfect into this shot. I made a slight adjustment to the contrast, but other than that I made no other edits. A water hose leaks in the nursery as people shop on the opposite isle. Image #6: I liked how the light was coming through the canopy providing shadows on the plants below. I also liked how the pooling water provided a reflection of the above scenery. I adjusted the shadows and a little of the contrast to this image. I took several different shots, but it was difficult to find one that had a clear image of a shopper.
For this post, I used my smartphone camera to capture professional and creative images. The color red is the one commonality between all of the images. I went to several different locations to get the desired shots. I used Camera+ to edit my photos. Image #1It took me around 20 minutes to get this close up shot of the hummingbird. I slowly inched myself closer to the feeder until the hummingbird became comfortable with me. I like how the action of flight is captured in this shot. Image #2I took this photo at Sassafras Springs Vineyard. There are a few different red objects, but what I like most is the variety of things captured in this photo. Image #3This was taken next to a field with bales of hay. I noticed this red branched flower, and thought the hay bale in the background was a nice touch. I really like the variation in light in this photo. This is my favorite photo because of the lighting and texture. Image #4This was taken just before a rain storm hit. There were only small hints of red in the ball and the basketball rim, but I feel like they are both in good contrast to the trees and white back board. I liked the light breaking through the clouds. Image #5This photo was also taken at Sassafras Vineyard. I liked the contrast between the red berries and the sheet metal tank in the background.
For my first blog entry, I'm going to discuss an article by Professor Rick Dunham.
http://rickdunhamblog.com/2014/04/11/professor-dunhams-ten-commandments-for-journalism-ethics-in-a-multimedia-world/ I like to think of myself as a life time learner, so I am always excited to learn new things. I would like to gain a better understanding of multimedia journalism and how it works compared to that of traditional journalism. I don't currently work in the field of journalism, but my job does require me to use multimedia devices for marketing purposes. Ethics in multimedia journalism: I think most of the points Professor Dunham made about ethics apply to all forms of journalism, except multimedia is instantly available. This requires the journalist to be thorough and precise. There is very little room for error, and mistakes are not easily forgotten by the consumer. You must be original and fair. Like most other forms of journalism, it is never a good idea to let money decide where the story will go. |
AuthorHi my name is Mathew and I have recently gone back to school to finish my degree. I have a full time job, but I look forward to learning new things about multimedia journalism. Archives
November 2015
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