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.

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