January Academy

Russell Chun’s crash course in Flash was packed.  Chun is an educational media developer and the author of the Flash Visual Quick Pro Guides and the official Flash Classroom-in-a-Book guide.

Click here for his website.  

Here are some of the examples Chun showed the class of Flash on the web:

Picturing the Inauguration:  The Readers’ Album (nytimes.com)

Inside 9/11 (nationalgeographic.com)

On Being (washingtonpost.com)

And here are some of the links Chun shared to help students to get started.

Tutorials:

Storytelling Sample Lesson

Introduction to Flash

Examples highlighting specific features:

• Using motion tweening to simulate pans and zooms
• Using buttons to navigate the timeline for a step-by-step infographic
• Using Flash to display complex data
• Using Flash for unique interfaces
• Combining interactivity and video

Get ready to start making your own.

“What kind of typewriter did Hemingway use?” Jim Estrin, photographer at the New York Times for the last 20 years, asked his news photography class by way of an introduction this morning.

Nobody knew.  

“That’s because it doesn’t matter,” said Estrin.

Although his three-day photography workshop opened with the technical basics of photography, Estrin said that the less you’re thinking about the camera, the better.

“I’d rather see a mediocre photograph that makes me feel something than a perfect photograph that makes me feel nothing,” he said.

All the technical decisions, all the composition, is ultimately leading up to the moment – the human moment. 

Handy tips & links for mastering the basics (click for photos that demonstrate the tip):

• Rule of Thirds: a method of composition.  Divide the frame mentally into thirds horizontally and vertically.  Place points of interest in the four intersections created by those thirds.
• Layering the foreground and background 
• Do not be afraid of shooting too much
• Move around, change lenses, tight, wide, medium wide
• Composition is ultimately the best way of seeing the subject.  Don’t forget that rules are made to be broken.

And, here’s the Equipment Room-produced video on how to use the Canon Rebels, the school SLR cameras.

Students spent the afternoon shooting and reviewing a portrait assignment.  

                                    photograph by Heather Chin

“I know everybody’s dying to know whether they want to start their own business or not,” Joseph Kolb said. (bio here). With that, the seminar began.

The lay-out of the class: Kolb shared everything he did wrong when he started the Gallup Herald four years ago. Below are the tips, quotes, and slideshow breakdown from the three-hour session:

• The proper ratio of ad-space to copy-space: 40% ads to copy space
• “I got my MBA from the University of Hard Knocks.”
• Activity-based vs. outcome-based goals: It’s important to have a goal to strive for (seven 500-word stories per week on my blog) rather than a general goal (“I want to have the nicest blog on the internet”)
• Entrepreneurial spirit is more important now than ever, as now it is what separates those who keep their jobs from those who are getting laid off
• “I think a lot of people are more concerned with what’s going on around the corner than with what’s going on around the world sometimes.” With this in mind, Kolb said he thought the successful new ventures would be those that combine the best of these two knowledge bases.
• “Just because somebody’s your boss doesn’t mean they know everything.”
• On starting a new news venture: there is no outsourcing of smaller tasks. Kolb said you’ll find that you have to take care of so much stuff it will be hard to find time to produce anything at first.
• “If you’re going to do a website, you have to do video.”
• “Starting your own news venture is scary.” More so, Kolb said, when you think you know what you’re doing, but you don’t. The way to combat that fear is to be open minded and allow yourself to laugh at your mistakes.
• A question: If your venture is hyper-local, how do you generate enough hits to be profitable? Kolb’s response: although he doesn’t yet have a firm answer, he has a few ideas. One option is to make a trade agreement with local media outlets (give them free advertising if the display your site on their log-in page, for example).
• On running a new venture: “You learn how to be a circus act where you’re juggling too many balls.”

After the jump: Joseph Kolb’s News Venture slideshow

(more…)

This morning, during Lisa Lambden and Michael Rosenblum’s crash course in digital journalism, they asked students to discard many of the broadcast conventions they’ve learned so far this year.

Strict instructions from Rosenblum included:

• have interviewees look into the camera, not past it
• no b-roll
• no establishing shots

Rosenblum sent students out to shoot at least 15 minutes of video this afternoon that they will later edit down to a one-minute piece.  

Tips:

•  It’s unethical and inefficient to shoot a 60-minute interview, then only use 30 seconds.  Instead, tell the interviewee that you will only be using a clip and ask them for their best quote
• Spend at least 20 minutes observing and mapping out shots on-location before getting out your camera