The Official
Spectator Guide to Going
Web 2.0
by Karah-Leigh Hancock Valdosta state UniVersity
Š 2008 - Karah-leigh Hancock kphancoc@valdosta.edu http://karahleighhancock.com & http://vsuspectator.com This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.
The Official
Spectator Guide to Going
Web 2.0
by Karah-Leigh Hancock Th e S p ect a t o r editor-in-Chief 2008-2009
w w w. v s u s p e c t a t o r. c o m Va l d o s t a s t a t e U n i v e r s i t y
this book is dedicated to: Dr. Pat Miller, Leah Cassorla, Ted Geltner for helping me guide myself this far in this crazy journey through journalism. Sarah, Lee, Taylor, Ashley, Kate, Dana, Katie, Dustin, Adam, Rebecca, Carolanne, Carlos, Wendy, Danielle and all of the other Spectator editors and staff members, past, present and future. My Mama for always bugging me. My cats Piper, Phoebe and Pitty Pat for letting me know when it’s time to get off the computer. Love, Karah-leigh
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table of contents CHapter 1
Introduction to Web 2.0
page 4
CHapter 2
What is blogging?
page 6
CHapter 3
How to blog, Spectator style
page 8
CHapter 4
Audio and podcasting
page 13
CHapter 5
Video filming and editing
page 15
CHapter 6
Digital photography
page 20
CHapter 7
Convergent journalism
page 22
Footnotes
page 26
3
CHapter 1
introduction to Web 2.0 What is Web 2.0? 2.0 isn’t the junior version of the Internet. It’s actually a broad term that deW ebscribes where the Internet is going in terms of trends, creativity, networking, sharing and multimedia. Everything in the early years of the Internet has changed. No longer are there just regular personal sites with various photos and life updates. We now have blogging where journalists and regular civilians can discuss their lives and other topics at length. There are Web sites with uploaded user content such as YouTube. There are also the communities like MySpace and Facebook where users can contact and interact with one another.
Web 2.0 in the newsroom print journalism will always be print journalism, there are some new jobs opening up in newsrooms due to the Web 2.0 W hile invasion. - Graphics editor – While the Graphics Editor works in print, he or she also need to know how to make graphics for the Internet. - Web editor – The Web Editor is the brains behind the Web site. He or she knows where things go and know how to do it. - Multimedia editor – The Multimedia Editor is in charge of coming up with ideas for multimedia depending on the news stories that the reporters are working on. He or she may not always film the video or record the audio, but the editor is ultimately in charge of editing it and working with the Web Editor to place it on the Web site. - photo editor – While the Photo Editor is no new position, he or she needs to think in terms of the Internet. When looking for that perfect picture that can go in print, the editor also needs to take photos to place on the Web site in photo galleries or slideshows.
Web 2.0 in the newsroom ultimedia is the combination of different mediums that can be used together and is a big part of MWeb 2.0. Different media that can be used are: - Audio - Video - Pictures / Slideshows - Animations - And so much more.
a small digital video camera. 4
terms you need to know to think Web 2.0
Ftp FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. Most Web sites use FTP to upload files to their Web server. FTP is also the best way to send huge (1 1mb or more) files from one person to another. Several free FTP programs are: - FileZilla - http://filezilla-project.org - Coffee Cup - http://www.coffeecup.com/free-ftp/ - Ace - http://software.visicommedia.com/en/products/aceftpfreeware/ - GoFTP - http://www.goftp.com the Ws_Ftp Ftp program in use.
Google Google is a search engine, meaning you can type in something that you are looking for and possibly find millions of Web sites dealing with the subject. Google is also the home of several Web 2.0 tools such as Google Maps and Google Videos.
the front page of Google.
Most useful Google products: - Google Reader - http://www.google.com/reader - Google Maps - http://maps.google.com/ - GMail - http://gmail.com - Google Blog Search - http://www.google.com/blogsearch?hl=en
HtMl HTML stands for Hyper Text Markup Language, the language that is used to create Web sites. Web sites with HTML tutorials - www.lissaexplains.com/ - www.w3schools.com/html/html_intro.asp - www.htmlcodetutorial.com
HtMl code from the front page of the spectator.
XMl XML stands for Extensible Markup Language and provides a more accurate, flexible and adaptive way for your Web site to function.
Url URL stands for uniform resource locator and is also known as a Web address. It’s a mask for an IP location on the internet.
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CHapter 2 What is blogging? What is blogging? is a system for publishing online the past few years. While it started out as a personal blogging forum for people to post their opinions and thoughts, it has now evolved into print journalism with news sites and professional journalists keeping blogs on top of their usual news reports. According to Journalism 2.0, a 2006 study by the Bivings Group found that 80 of the top 100 daily newspapers in the U.S. have at least one reporter blog on their Web site. Each blog posts results in an individual blog page where readers and visitors can post comments. The most interesting thing about blogs is that blog posts are posted in reverse-chronological order with the newest post at the very top of the page. When blogs are set up, visitors can sign up for e-mail alerts to let them know that a site that they enjoy has updated. They do this through RSS feeds. They can also use these feeds and add them to feed readers such as Google Reader, FeedDemon, where people can read their favorite site updates without even visiting the sites.
W h at i s
“
Rss?
Some characteristics of blogs are: - They are frequently updated.
A format for delivering regularly changing web content.
- They link to other news sites and information on the Internet and the blogger (the person blogging) usually adds commentary to the posted information.
- WHatisrss.CoM
- Readers of the blog can add comments, letting the blogger know what they think of their post, or reply to another commenter.
”
establishing personality and trust must establish a personality. Writing in a blog is very different from b loggers writing news. You need to let your personality shine through in your writing.
establisHinG trUst
If you are a goofy person, insert that into your blog writing. If you are a serious person, show that as well.
Trust isn’t going to come quickly. It takes time.
You need to build a trust with your writer so that he or she keeps coming back to see what you have to say. When you write about subjects that others are talking about online, whether on a news site like CNN.com or on a gossip site like PerezHilton.com, link to the post on those Web sites so that readers see that you are not misleading them.
Web sites with more information on establishing personality and trust online - “Does your web site have personality?” http://www.interdream-designs.com/articles/personality.html - “Blogger Credibility” http://www.problogger.net/archives/2006/04/24/blogger-credibility/ 6
Trust is something that is earned. Watch what you post on your site. Recommendations and links drive the online world. Link when you can.
different types of blogs audioblogging Blogging that consists of audio or podcasts.
Moblogging Blogging on location or mobile blogging on a cell / mobile phone.
photoblogging A blog that consists primarily of photography.
Vlogging / Video blogging
the obvious - photos by titus bartos is an example of photoblogging. http://titusbartos.com/photoblog/
Blogging with video instead of text.
different types of blogs archives A collection of your older posts found in one place.
blogroll A list of links that may belong to your friends’ blogs or online community profiles or links that you enjoy such as musicians or sports teams.
Category This is the section in which your post belongs. For example, if your post is on the latest VSU Blazers game, your category would probably be “sports” or “football.”
Footer The very bottom portion of the blog, which usually contains a copyright notice.
Header The very top portion of the blog, which usually contains the blog title/image and/or the navigational menu.
Headline The title of your blog posts. Just like an article in a newspaper, each post has a name.
index page
blogging tips
The front page of the blog.
Jump / read More link The beginning of a story, and a link, which leads you to the permalink and the full entry / post.
permalink
bloggingtips.com http://www.bloggingtips.com/
A link to a specific post or article.
so you want to be a blogging star?
sidebar
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/20/technology/personaltech/20basics.html?_r=1&8dpc &oref=slogin
The column (or columns) on the side of your posts which usually contains a section about the blogger, links, etc.
blogging tips for beginners
tags Tags are basically subjects or keywords that are involved in your post. If you wrote a story about the Oscars, you would probably include “George Clooney,” “Julia Roberts,” “Tom Hanks,” “Awards Shows,” and “Oscars” as your tags. 7
http://www.problogger.net/archives/2006/02/ 14/blogging-for-beginners-2/
CHapter 3
How to blog - spectator style Wordpress
t
he Spectator uses the content management system (cms) Wordpress to manage content for vsuspectator.com. Wordpress was created in 2003 as a blogging system. It is an Open Source project, which, according to the Wordpress Web site, means that “hundreds of people all over the world work on the program.”. According to Wordpress.org, there have been well over two million downloads of the program since 2007. Since 2003, Wordpress has come a long way, implementing such items as RSS feeds, tags and photo galleries. If you have web and html experience, you can download the regular version of Wordpress and install on your own web server.
the administrator dashboard for the spectator’s Wordpress website.
For The Spectator’s Editor blogs, we use free Wordpress blogs that are available at http://wordpress.com.
How to get a free Wordpress.com blog
the “sign Up” link on Wordpress.com is circled in teal.
1. Click the “Sign up” button on Wordpress.com which is circled in the photo above. 2. Fill out the information as asked and hit okay. Make sure you check the “I have read and agree to the terms of service” that is circled in teal on the right. 3. Also choose the “Gimme a blog!” selection. 4. Go to you e-mail and click the confirmation link. 5. After you confirm your e-mail address, go to http://wordpress.com/wp-login.php and log into your account. You can also do this by clicking “Log In” on the main wordpress.com page.
the sign up page above shows where to sign up with your username, password, e-mail address and whether or not you want a blog.
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How to set up your Wordpress.com blog 1. After logging into your Wordpress.com account, click on “Your Dashboard” and it will carry you to the administration area of your blog. 2. Click on “Settings” which is located (currently) on the right side of the administration menu. 3. General Settings – a. Blog Title – Come up with a unique name for your blog. b. Tagline – Describe what your blog is about. c. Membership – You can decide here if you want people to have a Word press account in order to comment on your blog. (Note: This will reduce the number of comments you will get) d. Save Changes 4. After you save your General Settings, click on Discussion on the submenu.
after logging into wordpress.com, you can view your blog’s dashboard by clicking “My dashboard” on the top menu, or clicking the name of your blog under your personal welcome message.
5. Discussion a. Default article settings – If you to let people comment on a post, make sure that Allow people to post comments on the article. b. E-mail me whenever – Pick your settings on whether you want to be e-mailed when someone posts a comment. c. Before a comment appears – As a precaution, make sure that all selections are checked. You need to be able to approve comments before they appear on your blog. d. Avatars – It’s your decision whether you would like people to be able to have avatars (small photos representing them) next to their comments. e. Save Changes
the discussion settings page.
How to design your blog 1. Click “Design” on your menu. 2. You can decide on a theme (design) for your blog from those listed. 3. Design/ Theme Tips a. Visibility – Make sure that the theme/design that you choose is easy to read and is visibly appealing to your readers. b. For The Spectator side of things, make sure your blog design is simple and thin enough to be able to fit into the i-frames on your Spectator blog page. This means that when you go to your blog page (which will be set up by the Web Editor after you let them know that you have signed up for a blog), you do not have scroll bars at the bottom of your page and your entire blog fits well in the frame. 4. Find a theme that you like and click on the image. the design settings page.
5. A window will pop up and show you what the design will look like on your blog. a. If you don’t like it, click on the x in the left top corner. 9
the ‘x’ you click if you don’t like it.
Click to “activate theme”
b. If you do like it, click on “Activate [Theme Name]” in the right top corner. 6. After finding the theme that you like, click on “Widgets.” a. Widgets are different applications that you can add to your sidebar. You can also drag them around so that they are placed in the order that you like them to be.
How to make a blog post
the design settings page.
1. In your Wordpress Admin Dashboard, click Write on the menu.
‘Write’ tab
save & publish
2. After you click Write, a Write post page will appear. 3. Title – Place what you want the title of your post to be in the appropriate text area. Write your title here
4. Post – This is where you place your blog post. a. Menu – You can do various things with the text box. Just like Microsoft Word, you can highlight words to make them bold or italicized. You can also make bulleted or counted items.
Menu Write your post here
tags
5. After you finish your post, type in what your post subjects are in the Tags textbox. Click Add to add the tags. 6. Pick the category that you want to place your post in. If there isn’t one already there, click Add new category. 7. To save your post and publish it later, scroll back up to the right sidebar where it says Publish Status. To save the post and finish later, click “Save.”
Categorize your post
8. If you want to go ahead and publish your blog post, hit “Publish.”
tips to being a good blogger Think of your Post Title as a headline. Don’t write a headline that is very generic like “Madonna CD Review.” Use a title like “Madonna’s ‘Hard Candy’ is too sweet.’ If you cite a source in your post or mention another post or a news story, always, always, always link tothat source, post or story. Try not to think of your blog post as another article, but as a conversation that you are having with your blog reader. Some people seem to think that “pretend you’re writing an e-mail” is a good idea when making a post. Break up long paragraphs into smaller ones… just like in news writing. Handle your comments with a bit of maturity. Don’t attack a commenter if they don’t agree with your opinion. Sure, you might think that Tom Brady is the best quarterback since the invention of football, but Joe Block from Green Bay might think you’re wrong and will let you know it. 10
Ho w t o make a l in k Highlight the words that you would like to link. Click the icon on the right of the left – aligned text button that looks like a link a window pops up and you type in the Url for the site you would like to link. as a target, make sure you pick the link to open in a new window. Click okay.
Here are some other web tools to help work with your blog Flickr – http://flickr.com Flickr is an image hosting site in an online community format. Photos are tagged and can be browsed according to their tags. Flickr now also hosts videos. the spectator’s Flickr account: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vsuspectator/
Myspace – http://myspace.com MySpace is a social network where visitors can create profiles and keep in contact with their family and friends. They can also upload pictures, videos, blogs and more.
the spectator’s Flickr account.
twitter – http://twitter.com Twitter is a micro-blogging tool that allows users to send small updates to others and reader their friends updates. ‘Twits’ can be placed on blogs and is a good way to update Web site visitors of late breaking news such as a wreck on Patterson Street in front of the school or a bomb threat in a dorm. the spectator’s twitter http://twitter.com/vsuspectator the spectator’s twitter account.
the spectator’s Vimeo account.
a video on youtube.
youtube
Vimeo
– http://youtube.com YouTube is a video community where members can sign up and upload videos that they made. The videos can range from their original movies that they have created, cell phone videos, digital videos, and video blogs (video commentary). Multimillion dollar companies, such as the Universal Record Label and Capitol Records have created their own YouTube profiles and have posted videos by their artists.
- http://vimeo.com Vimeo is much like YouTube, a video community where members can sign up to upload videos that they’ve made. Vimeo uses a different embedding format than YouTube and you can tell the difference between them by looking at the examples above. Vimeo’s video is much clearer and crisp than YouTube’s video. 11
Wordpress tutorials official Wordpress tutorials http://codex.wordpress.org/WordPress_Lessons
Wordpresstutorials.com http://www.wordpresstutorials.com/
Can Wordpress solve our College publisher woes? http://www.copress.org/2008/09/30/can-wordpress-solve-our-collegepublisher-woes/
Wordpress tutorial: How to use Wordpress, Wp installation, Wordpress themes, Wordpress hosting, etc. http://www.siteground.com/tutorials/wordpress/
How widgets work http://wordpress-tutorials.ithemes.com/basics/how_to_use_wordpress_widgets/
the difference between a page and a post http://wordpress-tutorials.ithemes.com/basics/difference_between_posts_pages/
How to put photos on your page or post http://wordpress-tutorials.ithemes.com/basics/uploading_photos_in_wordpress
100+ Killer Wordpress resources http://blog.steffanantonas.com/100-killer-wordpress-resources.htm
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CHapter 4
audio & podcasting What is audio? udio is basically sound, something that goes along with a story. It can tell information with voice and sound instead of actual a words.
What are audio formats? ompressed audio formats download faster for viewers. That’s the one C thing that audio has over video. With video, you have the images and the audio to compress together which equals a slower download file. With audio, you simply have the sound to worry about.
Compr e sse d a udi o ty pes .mp3 - Mp3 / Universal
What is the best format to use audio in? format for audio on the Web site is MP3 (.mp3). Most computers t hewithbestWindows XP and Windows Vista can play MP3’s with various media players such as Windows Media Player, RealJukebox, WinAmp, iTunes and even RealPlayer.
audio recording tips When you’re recording audio from a lecture, speaker, or an interview, when the person says something of interest, make notes of the time on the audio recorder so that you can use that for sound clips. Remember to hold the audio recorder still during recording, especially if you use an extended microphone. The microphone will pick up every little sound that happens.
.wav - Wave / Universal .rm - real player / real audio .wma - Windows Media audio .mp4 - MpeG-4 / Quicktime .mp4 aaC - MpeG-4 / itunes
If you’re using the extra microphone, remember to hold the top part of the microphone towards the person speaking because their voice will pick up better.
audacity udacity is a free downloadable sound-editing program that is the aeasiest to use when creating podcast and editing audio. It was originally released in 2000. With Audacity, you can: - Import different files such as WAV, AIFF, MP3 and more - Record and play sounds - Mix different audio tracks (such as voice and music) - Noise removable - Edit using the Copy, Cut, Paste functions - Changespeed of audio
13
a mp3 file opened in audacity.
editing audio with audacity 1. Connect the digital recorder to your computer through a USB device. 2. Depending on the recorder that you used, you can right click and copy the audio file. Paste it to your desktop or another folder where you can find it. 3. Open Audacity. 4. Go to File and then Open and find the file that you just copied to your computer. This opens the audio file.
Lame MP3 Encoder In order to export .wav files into MP3’s with Audacity, you need to download the Lame MP3 Encoder. To download the lame_enc.dll file, go to http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/windows.
5. Play around with Audacity to learn how to crop out different parts of the audio that you don’t want to publish. a. To crop out the “bad” parts 1. Highlight the sections of the audio that you do not want in the final version. 2. Hit the delete button on your keyboard.
When you are done downloading the file, unzip it and save the lame_enc.dll file in your Audacity folder.
6. When you’re finished editing the audio file, go to File and “Export as MP3.” If you would like to add meta data interface information so listeners can remember what the audio is, you can.
When you are ready to export your file as an MP3, Audacity will ask you where the lame_enc.dll file is.
audacity tutorials official audacity Manual http://audacity.sourceforge.net/manual-1.2/tutorials.html
audacity tutorial - setting up preferences http://www.guidesandtutorials.com/audacity-tutorial.html
audacity tutorial for podcasters http://www.how-to-podcast-tutorial.com/17-audacity-tutorial.htm
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CHapter 5
Video Filming & editing What is video? to fbi.gov (yes, weird source), video is “the electronic according representation of a sequence of images, depicting either stationary or moving scenes. It may include audio.” Video is a little more complex than audio, especially for the Web. Not only do you have to worry about editing and cinematography, you have to worry about the quality of video.
Video For mat s .avi .mov
Audio Video Interleave Quicktime
What are some video shooting tips? hether you are shooting with a digital video camera or the video funcW tion on a digital camera, there are a few things you can do to make the video the best it can be.
Headphones .wmv Windows Media .rm or Real Player .ram .mpg or MPEG .mpeg .mp4 or MPEG’s for iPods, .m4v etc. .swf
Flash/Shockwave
If you have a headphone jack on your camera, use a set of headphones to listen and make sure that your sound is picking up.
lighting Make sure that there isn’t too much or not enough light when filming. If you are filming the subject, make sure that there isn’t a bright light behind him or her or else the subject’s face will turn out dark. If there is a light shining on the subject’s face, he or she may look washed out, or too bright.
Focus Make sure that the image on the camera isn’t blurry. If it is, that means that it isn’t in focus.
avoid panning Try your best to avoid panning the camera and spinning around. Not only will it make your viewer dizzy, it takes your camera out of focus.
How do i edit my video? ou don’t need fancy video editing softy ware to make a video, although they are the best (especially Avid and Premiere). For this guide, we are going to use Windows Movie Maker, which comes on all the recent versions of Windows (XP and up).
W i n d o w s M o v i e M a ke r t u t o r i a l s Windows Movie Maker: How to use http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/moviemaker/default.mspx
How to edit video http://www.windowsmoviemakers.net/Tutorials/HowToEditVideo.aspx
Movie Maker tutorial (Video) http://www.saskschools.ca/resources/techref/moviemaker/movie.html
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2
1 4 3
5 6
7
the sections of Windows Movie Maker tasks pane 1 Movie If you already have video filmed, this is where you can im-
Monitor Menu 5 preview The Preview Monitor menu is like a normal video menu
port it into Windows Movie Maker. You can also import audio, music and photos in this section or capture video from a web cam. This is also where you can add video effects, transitions, or titles to your video.
on the left with the play, pause, rewind and fast forward buttons. On the right, there are two other buttons: the Split scene button and the Take Photo button where you can split one clip into two or take a still photo from a video.
Movie Collections pane 2 When you click the collections button, a list of media that
storyboard 6 The storyboard is the default view in Windows Movie
you have imported into Windows Movie Maker will be shown where the Tasks Pane once was.
Maker. You can use the storyboard to look at the sequence or ordering of the clips in your project and easily arrange them.
Content pane 3 This section displays the clips that are contained in the col-
7 timeline The Timeline can be used to review or modify the timing
lection that is selected in the Collections pane. You can then add any of the video, audio, photos, etc. that are shown into the video timeline. preview Monitor 4 The Preview Monitor can be used for several different things. You can click on a thumbnail in the Content Pane and see what the clip consist of. You can also use the Preview Monitor to view what the finish project will look like. 16
of clips in your project. You can use the timeline buttons to change the view of your project, zooming in or out on details of your project, recording narration, or adjusting the audio levels. You can also use the Timeline to decide where to play overlaying titles or where to place background music in your movie.
Using Windows Movie Maker to edit a video 1. Import your video into Windows Movie Maker after you’ve saved it on your computer or click “Capture video from camera” in the Tasks panel. 2. The video clips will then appear in the Collections pane. 3. After importing all of your clips, save the project by selecting File and then Save. 4. Look through your clips and decide which ones are your best clips. From here you can trim and cut your clips. Drag the clips of your choice to the Timeline at the bottom in the order that you want them to show. 5. If you would like to see how long each clip is, make sure you are viewing the Timeline and not the Storyboard. 6. If you would like to add different audio to your clip, such as a narration by yourself or a clip of music, you can do one of the following:: add a narration You can add a voice-over if you have a microphone. 1. Click the Tools menu in Movie Maker and click Narrate Timeline. 2. Under Narrate Timeline, click Start Narration. 3. Speak into the microphone normally and possibly have a script in front of you to help your delivery flow. You can adjust the input level so that the bar is about 70 percent up when you are speaking. 4. Speak into your microphone as Movie Maker plays it. 5. When you’re done narrating, click Stop Narration. 6. It will save your narration as a separate file. Type in a name for your narration in the Save Windows Media File dialog box. Then click Save. 7. Click Play in the Preview Monitor to watch your movie and listen to your narration. 8. You can change the Volume of your narration if it is too loud or soft. 9. If your timing is off or you just don’t like the narration, you can click on it on the Timeline and click Delete. import audio 1. Under the Capture Video menu, click Import audio or music. (Be sure to read the Copyright box on the next page) 2. Find the file on your computer that you want to import and double click on it. Mp3 is the preferred audio format. 3. Find your audio file in the Collections window. Drag the song to the timeline and place it under the video where you want the song to begin. 4. The song is placed on the Audio/Music line. You can drag it forward or back so that you place the song in the exact place where you want it to start.
17
Using Windows Movie Maker to edit video continued
Copyright: Fact or Fiction
7. To add a transition (how one clip evolves into another) to your video, click on View video transitions under the Edit Movie menu. a. Select the transition that you want to preview and watch it in the viewer screen to see what it looks like. b. When you find the transition that you want to use, drag the transition to the Timeline where you want two video clips to merge into one. 8. To add a title, click Make titles or credits under the Edit Movie menu. a. You can pick which kind of credit you want to use, whether it’s one at the beginning, over the selected clip, or at the end. b. Go in and edit the text that you want to use and you can (Change the text font and color) and also change the animation (Change the title animation).
Most videos should only last at least two minutes. 1 to 2 minute video – 1 to 2 Mb 3 to 4 minute video – 3 to 4 Mb 5 to 6 minute video – 5 to 6 Mb
FiCton - You can’t just use a 30 second audio clip of any song in any video or audio clip. If you the clip is for an educational project, you can use 10% of the song or 30 seconds - whichever is less. For more information, visit these sites! U.S. Copyright Office - Fair Use http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html
University of Maryland University College http://www.umuc.edu/library/copy.shtml
Stanford - Copyright Law & Fair Use
c. Click Done and add the title to the movie.
typi ca l V id eo s i zes
FaCt - If you want to use the latest hit song as background music for your video, you must get permission from the performer’s record company.
http://www-sul.stanford.edu/cpyright.html
exporting your video for the internet 1. After you have edited your video so that it’s perfect, click Finish Movie and Save to my computer. 2. Enter a name for your video and choose a location on your computer to save the video. It may be best to save the video on the Spectator server so that the appropriate editor can have access to it. 3. When you go to the next screen, Movie Settings, click Show more choices. 4. Click the “Best fit to size” button and choose the appropriate size. 5. Click Next and your video will start to export.
remember that you should have at least 1 Mb per minute.
6. When the video is done, it should be saved in the location you chose.
Uploading your video to the internet The Spectator has used various video uploading tools such as YouTube and Google Videos, but currently is using Vimeo (http://www.vimeo.com), a new flash video service. To upload your video to Vimeo 1. Sign into the Spectator Vimeo account using the username and password that your Editor-in-Chief, Web Editor, or Multimedia Editor, will give you. 18
2. Click on Upload on the very top menu. 3. Click on the Choose a file to upload button and pick the file that you want to upload. 4. While the video is uploading, you can add a Title, Description, and Tags to the video. 5. After the video is uploaded, Vimeo converts the video which last anywhere from 4 to 7 minutes. 6. Then you’re done!
19
CHapter 6
digital photography “ As photojournalists we supply information to a
world that is overwhelmed with preoccupations and full of people who need the company of images….We pass judgment on what we see, and this involves an enormous responsibility.
”
- Henri -Cartier Bresson, a French photographer and considered the father of photojournalism
consumer digital camera, according to digicamhistory.com, was first created in 1990 but didn’t become affordable until t hethefirst late 1990s and early 2000s. Thankfully digital cameras are everywhere now and we don’t need to develop film. 2
That’s a good thing for journalists and convergent journalism. The biggest advantage about digital photography is the fact that the photographer can see the photo almost immediately after taking it. If something is wrong with the shot, the photographer can take another one right away. You can also take numerous photos and not be limited to the usual 24 pictures-per-roll on film. That is the main goal for convergence and photography because slideshows and photo galleries can be created. That can lead the print reader to the Web to see more photos.
things you should know about digital photography Megapixels A megapixel represents one million pixels and is used to measure the power of the digital camera. The higher the megapixel, the higher quality photographs you can take.
resolution Resolution is the measurement of pixels that are available to the human eye. For example, most Windows XP screen resolutions are 1024 x 768 or 800x600. That is a resolution. There are normally 72 pixels per inch.
Memory Card A memory card is the small (most of the time it’s blue) card that slides into your camera. It stores the photos you take on it so that you can remove it. The lower resolution, the more photos you can save on a card. The higher the resolution, the fewer number of photos you can save to a card. There are several different types of memory cards such as Secure Digital (SD), Compact Flash (CF), Memory Stick (MS), Multimedia Card (MMC), xD-Picture Card (xD) and Smart Media (SM).
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digital photography tips 1. lighting Lighting is one of the most important parts of a photograph, just like it is with video. There are three ways you can take a video with good lighting. a. With natural light facing the person or object. (the best) b. With a flash as the primary light source c. With a mixture of flash or natural light.
2. Hold the camera steady If you need to, prop your elbows up on something or use a tripod to hold the camera on. If you move while taking the photo, it will come out blurry.
a digital camera.
3. automatic settings If you’re not experienced with white balancing, f-stops, or any of the other fancy photography terms, make sure your digital camera is on the automatic settings.
4. Fill the frame When taking a picture of a person, make sure you get the person’s entire head. Focusing on the person’s eyes helps avoid this.
5. Change positions Try to avoid using your zoom because it makes the photo grainy. Move closer or move further away. Change your position to get different photos.
6. Horizontal / Vertical If you’re usually the type to take all horizontal photos, switch it up a little and take a vertical photo once in a while.
7. action Try to capture things happening instead of people just standing around. Even if something is looking at a book, they’re doing something.
8. backgrounds When taking a mug shot, make sure that you’re not placing the person against a wall or that anything is directly behind them because it will look like it’s growing out of their head.
Getting photos ready for the Web When getting photos ready to use on the Web site, you must remember that the photos that you take with your digital camera are huge in size. Therefore, they will need to be resized. When you resize the photos, remember to make a copy of the photo and do not tamper with the original. 1. Open the photo up in Photoshop by clicking the File menu, then Open and select the folder where the picture is. 2. Once the photo is open in Photoshop, click on the Image menu and pick Image Size.
did you know?
3. The Image Size dialogue box will appear. Make sure that pixels are picked under each of the drop downs. Also make sure that Constrain Proportions is checked below.
Even if you don’t have access to Adobe Photoshop, you can still edit photos?
4. Under Pixel Dimensions, type in the number of pixels that you want to size the photo. Depending on what you want to do with the photo is what size you want to create it.
Check these sites out: - http://www.pixenate.com - http://www.fotoflexer.com/ - http://www.phixr.com/
a. If the photo is going in an article on the side, make it around 250-300 pixels in width. The height will change automatically since Constrain Proportions is checked. b. If you want to resize the photo to go at the top of a page or for a slideshow, change the width to around 600 to 650 pixels wide if it’s a horizontal photo and around 450 pixels in width if it’s a vertical photo. 21
CHapter 7
Convergent Journalism What is convergent journalism? journalism is a type of journalism that uses various types of media, such as Convergent video, blogs, photos and audio to create a more engaging and more interactive type of story. The Web site is the main medium for convergent journalism with the use of multimedia.
according to others: “Print, broadcast and online news staffs forging partnerships in which journalists often work and distribute content across several news platforms.” 3 - Convergencejournalism.com “Convergence is a very polysemous concept that has been used to describe various trends in journalism that have something in common: the blurring of the limits between different media, professional skills and roles.” 4 - Four Dimensions of Journalistic Convergence: A preliminary approach to current media trends at Spain
Just a few things you can place with a story: Video
audio photographs Graphics animations Games
slideshows pdF Files
And guess what? We basically just talked about how to do all of that!
More convergent journalism reading What is Multimedia Journalism? Mark Deuze, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands http://convergence.journalism.indiana.edu/media/documents/convergence/De uzeMultimediaJS.pdf
the Convergency room A blog by students from the Missouri School of Journalism http://convergencyroom.blogspot.com/
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an example of a Google map with the latest presidential campaign stops.
How to make a convergent journalism story journalism story, you need to comtobinemakeoneaorconvergent more of the things mentioned in the previous chapters. The most important part of the task is think in the mindset of online media. When doing that, you need to plan time to actually do the media work of the story. Your first time editing a video is going to take more time than it would for someone who knows how to do so. The more you practice, the better and quicker you will become.
step 1: Come up with a story idea The first step in creating a convergent journalism story is to come up with an idea. This might sound easy but sometimes it’s harder than it looks. For example, you decide to write a news story about a new professor at school. There’s a few things multimedia wise you could do with that, such as an audio clip of an interview and a photo. You might do a little sidebar in the print and online edition of their teaching credentials. For my example, I chose to do a Feature piece on “The Clothesline Project.” The project showcases T-shirts that represent women and children who have experienced violence. It is a week-long event so there’s plenty of time to take photos of people viewing or hanging up the T-shirts.
step 2: plan out what you need After deciding on your topic, you need to sit down and plan out what you need to do and what you need.
1.Who will you interview? Me: For my story, I’m going to interview Dr. Tracey Meyers who is the head of the Women and Genders program at VSU. I also may talk to several other people for quotes, including students when I actually go to see the clothesline projects. You: What about your story? You should think about who you are going to interview and when would be the best time to do so. You should also make sure you interview them in a comfortable, neutral environment. Think about what kind of story you are going for also. Will it have a more serious tone or a more casual tone? 2. What kind of audio will I get? Me: I’m going to record the interview with Dr. Meyers so I will have audio from that and may be able to find a clip or two to place on the Web site.
You should also make “ sure you interview them
[the interviewee] in a comfortable, neutral environment.
You: Will you record the interview? You need to be prepared for different types of noise that will be going on in your interview area. Will there be loud construction? Is the air conditioning unit really loud? Will there be people talking nearby?
”
3. What kind of video will I get? Me: With my story, I could possibly get several different kind of videos, from Dr. Meyers possibly giving a tour of the Tshirt line to people hanging up the shirts. Instead, I plan on asking students as they walk by if they know what these T-shirts mean. 23
You: Will video be a good choice for your story? If your story is about statistics or something that would be hard to show with video, don’t use it. Having a video to go with your story really depends on your story subject. 4. What about photos or graphics? Me: I plan on taking a lot of photos for a possible slide show. I also have an idea for a graphic that I will give the Graphics Editor to do. It’s a design showing what the different colors of T-shirts stand for. You: What kind of photos or graphics will you use with your story package? Will your story be able to produce several different photos for a slideshow or is it something like a statistics story that would produce a great graphic?
things to use with your stories interactive Google Maps special Message boards, Forums a poll
5. Do you have anything else? Me: I could also possibly link to older stories on the Web site such as an Editorial on domestic violence month, a story from last Spring about the university’s rape statistics not being kept up-to-date. You: Is there anything else that you could possibly link your story to on the Web site? Are there any older stories or slideshows that go with you story?
step 3 – putting together you print package After writing your story and having it edited (or maybe you didn’t write it at all), sit down and think about how you are going prepare the package for the print edition of The Spectator. You know all of the items that you have: the text, a headline, a photo, a cutline, a byline and a graphic. Be sure, however, to let people know about the content that is available online. Try not to make just a gray box that’s boring and will make people’s eyes skip right over it, try to come up with a small, but creative graphic to lure people to the Web site.
step 4 – putting together your Web shell package What is a Web shell? According to “Principles of Convergent Journalism,” a Web shell is “a term used by journalists to simply mean a page or group of Web pages that centralizes all the content on a particular topic.” 5 After you have edited your video, edited your audio, picked out all the photos that you want for your slide show and made a Web version of your graphic, you are ready to put your Web package together for the Web Editor to put online. If your package is very specific, with links to older stories, etc., let the Web Editor know ahead of time so that he or she can be sure to link them on the post. Make sure the audio is ready to be uploaded and make sure the video actually works. Make sure everything is labeled in one specific folder so that the Web Editor knows that everything goes together and can put it online in correct form.
Web sites with good examples of convergent journalism 1. the Washington post - http://www.washingtonpost.com 2. the tampa tribune - http://www.tampatrib.com 3. Usa today - http://usatoday.com
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an example of a Web shell on the Washington’s post website.
step 5 – your end result If your story ends up like my example, you will have produced a thorough convergent journalism story with all the trimmings. To see my story that I used in the example, head to the URL below: http://www.vsuspectator.com/2008/10/09/honoring-the-victims-clotheslineproject-postponed-until-oct-20-due-to-rain/ What do you want your end product to look like? Think about what you want and be sure to talk to your Web Editor
Closing comments from the author Hopefully this guide will give you some idea of what you can do to make good journalism besides sitting behind a computer and writing a story. Journalism will never be just sitting and writing a story anymore. Thanks to the Internet and technology, so many things have merged to make our jobs more interesting and at times, fun. Change is scary for a lot of people, but if journalism doesn’t change, it can’t grow with the culture. You don’t need to know how to edit videos the way Hollywood editors do. You also don’t need to know how to edit audio like a record producer. You only need willingness to learn new things and you will be well on your way to becoming a convergent journalist.
C o n v e r g e n t Jo u r n a l i s m & W e b 2 . 0 L i n k s NewsU - http://www.newsu.org
Innovations in College Media - http://www.collegemediainnovation.org/blog
Flash Journalism - http://flashjournalism.com
Student Press Law Center - http://www.splc.org
Cyber Journalist - http://www.cyberjournalist.net
Edit Teach - http://www.editteach.org
Poynter.org - http://www.poynter.org
Journalistopia - http://journalistopia.com
J-Lab - http://www.j-lab.org
Knight Digital Media Center - Online Journalism Review - http://www.ojr.org
10,000 Words - http://www.10000words.net
I Want Media - Media News & Resources - http://www.iwantmedia.com
Journalism.co.uk - http://www.journalism.co.uk/
Online Journalism Blog - http://onlinejournalismblog.com
Mastering Multimedia - http://masteringmultimedia.wordpress.com
Online News Association - http://journalists.org/
The Journalism Iconoclast - http://patthorntonfiles.com/blog
College Rag - http://collegerag.net/
The Student Newspaper Survival Guide - http://collegenewspaper.blogspot.com Teaching Online Journalism - http://mindymcadams.com/tojou The Campus Buzz -http://www.thecampusbuzz.com
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Footnotes & Credits 1
“Journalism 2.0: How to Survive and Thrive,” Mark Briggs. J-Lab: The Institute for Interactive Journalism. 2007
2
“1990.” Retrieved October 5, 2008. http://digicamhistory.com/1990.html
“Convergence Journalism: Landmark U.S. Media and University Study,” Retrieved September 21, 2008, <http://convergencejournalism.com> 3
“Four Dimensions of Journalistic Convergence: A preliminary approach to current media trends at Spain,” Various Professors, Retrieved October 1, 2008, <http://online.journalism.utexas.edu/2007/papers/Domingo.pdf> 4
“Principles of Convergent Journalism,” Wilkinson, Jeffrey S., Grant, August E., Fisher, Douglas J., Oxford University Press. 2009 5
All photos and graphics are courtesy of Microsoft Word.
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Comparative File types byte 1 byte 10 bytes 100 bytes
A single character A single word A telegram
Kilobyte (1,000 bytes) 1 kilobyte 10 kilobytes 50 kilobytes 300 kilobytes 500 kilobytes
A few paragraphs Encyclopedia page, Web page Compressed document image page Average-resolution photograph 30-second audio
Megabyte (1,000 kilobytes or 1 million bytes) 1 megabyte 5 megabytes 10 megabytes 100 megabytes 650 megabytes
A short novel, 1 minute MP3 30 seconds of TV quality video One minute of uncompressed audio Two volume encyclopedia CD-Rom capacity, audio or video
Gigabyte (1,000 megabytes or 1 trillion bytes) 1 gigabyte 5 gigabytes 15 gigabytes 50 gigabytes
CD-quality symphony One standard DVD High-definition DVD Floor of books
terabyte (1,000 gigabytes) 1 terabyte 2 terabyte 20 terabyte petabyte (1,000 terabytes) 3 petabytes
50,000 trees made into paper, printed Entire contents of an academic library Printed collection of the US Library of Congress All media in US Library of Congress 5