Cher Phillips
Views on online media and journalismArchive for Tools
HTML/CSS Class Notes
I took some pretty serious notes during the 11/8 class for one of our classmates who was out that day. Messing around with Google Docs finally gave me an idea on how to link them here.
Funny. Looking back at them now, they probably don’t make sense to anyone but me. Further, I don’t know how anyone can learn HTML or CSS without trial and error. I just had to break and fix pages when I was learning it before I finally understood how it worked.
Since so much of what I learned in the beginning MMC class several years ago was stuff I sorted out online, I liked hearing Mindy’s take on the roles of CSS and HTML and the greater purposes they serve within a web site. I admit, I’ve misused style with the HTML in my time, rather than relying as I should have on the style sheets. But I’m getting better.
Most of the chotsky stuff we added to our blogs I already knew about. Those that I didn’t, I didn’t find necessary in my life. I’ve been thinking about how these tools are very much about personal preference. Therefore, as far as I’m concerned, I only want to put what I use to collect feeds and what-not on my site. It seems like a pain in the butt to have to put ALL of them on your blog. But when you think about hosting a blog that appeals to a lot of people, there’s the reason to pop all those services out there on your blog in terms of greater blog exposure and in terms of having buttons that mesh with the services potential readers use. I’m still not a fan. But I see their value.
Kobre C & D — tagged to remember
Section C
Photo Story
Oh, the boob pictures upset me. I call the Kobre book “the Butt book” in my office, because it seems like the danged thing has someone’s naked rear end, or other part is every chapter. Not that I’m complaining. But I’m also excited to get books in the mail and opened this book in the McIntosh Post Office. I was flipping through it and page 86 fell open showing the full page image of the kid playing with the other kid’s bottom. There were little old ladies in the post office with me, and I had to slam the book shut before someone in town dubbed me a sicko for looking at nekkid kid pics in the post office.
Anyway. The breast cancer pictures chapter 8 really worked me over. The crack babies in chapter 4, along with the torture victim on page 74 were up there on my I-have-to-look-but-I-need-to-cringe-while-I-do-it list. I think the thing I like about photojournalism is its raw honesty. Even the nekkid parts. I hope we never get to a place as a society where we don’t put that out there, or put ourselves out there, because we’re so afraid of upsetting the readership.
Newspeg. This is what I feel like our soundslides are missing. It doesn’t feel like journalism to me with out a newspeg of some kind. Maybe soundslide three will feel different since there’s an issue involved.
Motel Dad. I’ve seen this online, but the images in the web package didn’t include some of the images in this photo project.
Section D
Lighting: I always wondered why they sold photographic filters. I knew that anything I took under fluorescents came out kind of green and had to be corrected in Photoshop. Although, I have to admit that I would have to have a key to carry around to figure out what filter goes with what type of light. I also never realized that normal lightbulbs are called tungsten bulbs.
Web: Do platypuses have pouches? I looked them up on Wikipedia but couldn’t tell. From the reading… if a journalist is going to fill so many roles as a platypus does, it sure would be nice to have a pouch to carry around all this crap in. It makes me a little scared to learn video.
Law: I love the graphic on page 281 of where is OK to shoot and where it is not. I need to print that out and put it on the other side of the “what filter to use” sheet. Kobre wrote, “Press passes entitle you to nothing.” Just because you’ve got the clearance to shoot it doesn’t make it legal. Having no OFFICIAL press credentials… this sentence made me feel a little better after reading the first tip for avoiding jail, which is to always carry your press creds.
Digital Darkroom: I learned Photoshop when I was still at SFCC by working the overnight shift at Target Copy. You wouldn’t think that’d be a great way to learn it, but you’d be amazed at how fast you pick up how to fix miscellaneous issues in PR campaign projects at 3 a.m. so they’ll print right. Everything else has been self-learned trial and error. I never picked apart an image to correct like the book shows in the step-by-step guide. But I’m going to give this a try, I think.
And, oh yeah, cropping — I always need to be reminded to crop aggressively.
Spread Out
The University of Florida Policy Debate Squad Captain Amanda Kelly explains the challenges of policy debate, including spreading — a debate technique of accelerated speaking that’s three or four times faster than normal speech. Kelly shares how being part of the UF Debate Team formed her experience as a UF student.
Click on the image to view a Soundslide focusing on the policy squad.
Fresh eyes, story shape
In class last week, Brittany and I pulled up our Photo 1 assignments, excited to showing someone else the images we’d collected.
My subject is the UF Policy Debate team. When I was picking the images for Photo 1, my criteria in choosing each picture was “Does this tell me something about the team?”
To me, all the images seemed very different.
But I realized this didn’t necessarily come across the same way to someone who wasn’t there when I was taking the pictures. It really hit home when I showed Brittany the pictures I’d taken. I knew what the team members were doing in the images because I’d been there.
Mindy had sent some great feedback that caught some things I needed to collect in later shoots to have a better final package. One point was a good number of my images were taken from the same distance.
Most of the pictures were of students were standing here and there from the mid-thigh on up. I shot the images in two sessions for Photo 1. The first was while the team was packing up their evidence for a tournament one night, and the second caught them packing the van the next day. Each of the four squad members packs a giant Rubbermaid tub full of accordion folders with evidence from news clippings and articles on a central theme. They each prepare a 10 minute argument that they read like an auctioneer, which they call spreading. I chose this subject because I had absolutely no understanding of this kind of debate and the spreading sounds cool.
But sounding cool doesn’t necessitate a variety of images.
In the following image, they’re preparing evidence. I chose it because of the flurry of movement with the paper.
One of the problems with debaters is that they don’t seem to be sitting down very much. They’re packing or arguing. Shooting and recording a practice debate the other day, I overheard their coach correct them and ask them why they shouldn’t sit when they’re cross examining an argument. The answer: sitting puts the person standing in the room in a power position.
I ran into some challenges with the size of the room. There were some pictures I took from the center of the room that I just don’t think I’ll be able to use because I was in the reflection in the window.
Debate doesn’t have that many dangers. But paper cuts can be one of them. On that same note, there’s not a ton of variety of action for debaters. So, I was pleased to catch Amanda nursing a nasty paper cut. Although, she wasn’t too happy about it.
The good thing about the timing for the Photo 1 assignment was that I had a chance to go back and get some of the detail shots and some variety that Mindy mentioned I would need at a later photo shoot. I was able to get some close up detailed shots of the coach’s timer during the debate. Time is a key element in their work, so my hope is to be able to weave that into the slide show later.
So far, I’ve collected about 1,800 images. I’ve figure out that I cull them down by viewing them in the Windows viewer. Anything that works for me, I pull into a file I call “decent.” Then, I use screen shots to print a thumbnail sheet on 11 X 17 black and white paper. After that, I circle the ones I want to tell a story. I can number them and scribble outside the lines with paper.
Soundwise, I’ve collected about two and a half hours of practice debate, which will serve as ambient sound. Due to the team’s travel schedule, I’m still waiting on my main interview with the team captain.
I feel a little unsure because the shape of the story is still not very clear to me. I don’t know how to explain this in any other way. When I write, I can feel the shape of the story in my head, logically and stylistically. At times, when I’ve been unsure of the story shape like I am now, it’s a signal that I need do to more reporting.
I’m hoping after I get my audio logged and the photos organized, this feels like it’s got more of a shape.
PTR: Sept. 27 read, examine, listen
READ
PTR: (Points to remember)
1. Videomaker
- Natural sound makes scenes seem more real, gives them context
- Abbreviations: “NAT SOT” = natural sound on tape, “Sot Full” = full volume sound,”BG” = background sound and serves as the glue for the rest of the audio
2. Newslab
- Figure out your story structure early
- Look for the strong close asap
- leave an extra recorder running for wild sounds
- mic the peeps
- ask double-barreled questions to get ‘em talking, make observations — sounds like natural conversation and easier for them to respond
- collect sounds from different location
- it’s OK to look stupid — like any reporting
- collect more than you’ll use – like any reporting
- OH! log your sound before you edit
3. Transom
- Comparisons of eight mics – all too expensive for me right now
- I liked mic B – the Condenser hypercardoid
- Handheld is better than a lavalier and the transom people can’t spell: “…they’re almost alwasya a comprimise.” [sic]
Examine
Chicago Tribune: The Art of Listening
I didn’t like the intro on this. For some reason, Jesse explaining herself seemed out of context to me. The last two-thirds of the sound slide was smoother. In the Jesse intro, the lack of images and long pauses in the transition from image to image didn’t make sense. With the images of the animals, it gelled. My question: would it have been better with the statement “I’m Jesse” at the end? Or set back a little? The structure didn’t work for me. The quality of the recordings of Jesse weren’t as good as her recordings of ambient sound. That leads me to another point. It seemed like most of this work was Jesse’s and not Matt Pope’s.
Listen
Normally, there is something about the sound of NPR that makes me feel … like I am in a vacuum. Therefore, the ambient sound, birds and walking, in the koala piece is nice. You can hear a number of different locations, too. But am I going to hear a koala at all? Ah, finally. And they closed on the koala. Very smart.
Photo editing: GIMP
My brother Tony suggested an open-source, photo editing program to me yesterday, GIMP — the Gnu Image Manipulation Program.
He said Kathy, my sister-in-law, uses it in addition to Photoshop to retouch images. She worked as a freelance photographer, shooting weddings, etc. They both work for a prominent photography corporation, although not as photographers. Tony said Kathy’s used GIMP to put hair on a bald man and completely remove someone from a picture.
Granted, I realize photographic hair implants are a big no-no in our world.
But I was very intrigued by the idea of Photoshop-style shareware. Adobe programs can be really expensive, and it’s hard to find huge chucks of lab time if you don’t have the program at home.
I downloaded GIMP today and checked it out. It’s got most of the same things Photoshop does without the price.
I edited a photo I shot last week for my assignment.
I was able to use an auto color feature, as well as adjust the levels and curves manually. I cropped, adjusted image size and resolution. One thing I found that was missing is the save-for-web feature. It also did a weird export thing when I was trying to save as, at one point. Since I didn’t read the directions and just jumped in, it could have been a user-interface error. (My bad!)
Otherwise, it’s a decent, cheap version of the real thing. Hot keys like control-z, etc. even seemed to work in GIMP the same way they work in Photoshop. I found it to be comparable to PS, especially since GIMP is free and Photoshop costs $400 on a good day with an education discount. (Actually, I found it on sale for $289.)
There were a number of different places you could download it. I choose the automated installer for Windows, and I downloaded their GTK+ 2 Runtime Environment first. If you are interested, you can click through the windows to find the download. I also noticed that GIMP is available is a wide number of other languages. I had to look to find English when I installed it.
I know Kathy uses a Mac with PS and with GIMP. I’m a PC girl, myself. But Tony says she really likes it.
I’d love to know if anyone else has had experience with GIMP and what you think.
On covering McIntosh… the Edna box and breaking the photo barrier
I’m a fan of Edna Buchanan.
I love her books and jokingly call them “reporter porn.” They’re mysteries where most of the time the reporter is the good guy, the hero or the heroine, the smart one who solves the mystery, gets the story, the girl or guy, escapes from the clutches of the bad guys and all around wins when they play by the rules of fair reporting and good ethics. Basically, reporter porn. Some of Carl Hiaasen’s books are the same but more kitschy and … lacking Buchanan’s tips.
One tip I picked up from Buchanan is to carry your tools in your car. Her character Britt Montero keeps a Miami city directory in her back seat, as well as a change of clothes and shoes.
Being computer geeks, you would think that we would be able to find ANY phone number online. When you are covering a town that’s circa 1880 and socially stuck in the 1960’s, folks give out their phone numbers out like this, “I’m at 3551.” In McIntosh, the 591 prefix is a given. My home number is 591-3551. (Don’t bother calling me though. I rarely answer and keep a landline for the sole purpose of having DSL.) McIntosh is a dinky little historic town. A large segment of the population consists of retirees. The town is so small that some people and businesses just don’t show up in Google searches. This presents a problem for me periodically.
So, I created an Edna Buchanan box for the backseat of my car. I keep a McIntosh area phone book in my car and in my office at UF.
I also keep in my Edna box: a camera tripod, a mic stand, phonebooks for McIntosh, Ocala and Gainesville, a Florida Sunshine Law manual, a copy of the McIntosh Land Development Code, a copy of the McIntosh Comprehensive Plan, extra pens, notebooks, batteries for my digital recorder and camera. I take my camera bag in and out of the car, because I don’t want the electronics in the heat, or to get stolen. This is Florida, after all.
I carry the camera tripod because my old digital camera had such a terrible vibration problem. This paid off for me once. Last December, I ran down to the little grocery store in McIntosh. While shopping, someone ran into the store and yelled for someone to call 911 because a car struck a man outside on U.S. 441. I was able to take pictures of this scene. It was just past dusk with my earthquake camera, so the images were pretty bad.
Ironically, some residents chastised me for posting them, even though I decided against running the image I had that was more of a close up. I was also caught in a tug of war between local residents who wanted me to post his name and residents who didn’t. One woman told me that if it was important enough to run his name, The Gainesville Sun would do it. The Sun never mentioned the accident, and I finally put the name in the comment section under discussion, where it would be less likely to show up in a Google search. While the town has done little about crosswalks at U.S. 441 as a result of the story, the broken street lamp directly over where the man had been hit was promptly fixed.
There are a number of reasons I’ve rarely used photos in the my blog. Some of them have been the negative reaction from the community. But the main reason is that my old camera took such horrible pictures. I bought a new Canon a week or so ago that I’m loving, which means I’m going to start posting more pictures in the McIntosh blog. We had a council meeting last night where I took a whole bunch of shots. Posting them means facing the sensitivity in the community, so I’m giving some thought today and this weekend on how to use them.
I’d love to read about what other reporting tips the rest of the class has like the Edna box.
Separating the Pros from the Rest of the Internet
My core objective in taking Journalist’s Toolkit is to better learn what separates the amateurs from the professionals.
I have a laundry list of practical and theoretical practices that I’d like to learn about collecting audio, photos and video. What I really want to walk away with is an understanding of how to produce professional, credible online news. Anyone with an Internet connection can put content out on the Internet. But that doesn’t make it professional journalism.
The first reason for wanting to understand this line in the sand is practical. I want to work in the field one day.
Another reason I would like to understand this line better is more personal. The process of collecting news to present in a blog has always felt shy of journalism to me, even though I do it myself on a regular basis.
For the last year or so, I’ve been keeping a hyperlocal blog on the municipal government in McIntosh, Florida called the McIntosh Mirror. I started the blog when there was great deal of angst in the community because residents didn’t understand what was going on with the town council. I used a blog as my venue for the sole reason that it was cheap, free and easy.
A year later, there is still a great deal of angst in the community. I’m not sure residents understand their town government any better. Readers in the comment sections can be vicious to each other and to me. What started out for me as a method of giving people a voice has had some unexpected results. A year ago, residents were turning up in record numbers to vote. This year, the town has had a hard time getting people to run for public offices in town. Some blame the blog. For these reasons, I spend a lot of time thinking about what my role as a community journalist is and should be.
The McIntosh Mirror has been an incredible learning experience, but the blog itself was not something I’ve kept up as part of an academic project. For that reason, it’s something that I am very alone in doing. I rarely get to talk about the McIntosh blog with other people who study online media academically.
Blogging is intensely connected to community and that’s one thing I’d like from this class blog. I would like to build a community of other people like myself who have an academic and professional interest. I’d like to post about some of the issues that come up with the McIntosh blog.
Finally, I’m hoping to finally produce decent photos. I’ve taken two photojournalism classes as an undergrad. I never could get film to perform for me. I need to be able to make more mistakes and see them as I go along than film allows. I just bought a new camera, and I’m hoping to jump that hurdle this semester.
