http://vimeo.com/13768695
Posted by Riley Stephens
Friday, March 23, 2012
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Video review assignment!
Please work on your video review assignment. It is not optional and will be count toward your grade. It is part of a learning process. Do it now because it is due. And I expect you comments on others too.
If there isn't a lot of you getting the review done, I will have to come up with a way to make you view them. Maybe a quiz base on the videos.
If there isn't a lot of you getting the review done, I will have to come up with a way to make you view them. Maybe a quiz base on the videos.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Documentary review- Jenny
"In My Space"
This is an audio slideshow 3:12 long with audio and photos captured from at least three different periods of time. I was interested in this link initially because I've considered offering birthing photography services, either at home or in the hospital.
I like the movement and transition of this piece overall, it goes through an at home visit by a midwife, snapshots of a regular day and then the birth itself. You can hear the baby's heartbeat, along with a photo of measuring the belly, and the dad placing an ultrasound device on the mom's belly within the first 30 seconds. The midwife introduces herself at :30 and talks about the growing trend of parents taking control of the birthing process by having their children at home instead of in a hospital. At 1:05 she also talks about preparedness for unexpected complications, which adds depth. The photos used are well composed and help tell the story. The pace keeps up with the interviews and adds context.
The mom then talks about how she didn't like her first experience with an OBGYN during her first son's pregnancy, and during that part of her interview its showing her home, chores, tasks and normal life. The overall tone was that the mom wanted to enjoy birth in her own space, on the baby's terms. It was interesting and showed a different perspective toward pregnancy than what I'm used to.
I love the establishing shot at 1:53, which shows the family's home in the middle of the night, when labor was in progress. The editor does layer ambient audio with the mother's voice during the photos of labor and baby. But I thought the ambient audio would include screams, or comforting of the husband, of the mother pacing and maybe rythmic breathing. Instead it was subtle noises layered beneath an after the event interview from the mom. I thought that was the point of receiving this glimpse of birthing at home. The photo from 2:08 of the baby being born, with the mother on all fours on her bed made me want to ask a hundred questions about the moments leading up to that moment, especially since I am not familiar with home births and have never seen that position used for hospital births.
I enjoyed it and think the presentation worked well as an audio slideshow.
Changing gears, the second video I watched was "Too Young to Wed: the Secret World of Child Brides."
This video is 10:42 in length, I didn't notice the time pass as I watched it the first time, but the second time I realized, that by the 4 minute marker, most of what will be illustrated or said has already been documented and is just reiterated with another personal story and interview.
It was a very hard video to watch, since my daughter is of marrying age in those cultures. It was emotional and blended stills, audio interviews, b-role, video event coverage, voice over from the journalist and interviews to create an emotional documentary detailing the life and struggles of cultural rituals, early marriage and poverty. It also uses indigenous music and ambient audio and has the interviewees speaking their native tongue, with a translator overposed on the audio.
I really like how smoothly it transitions between visual mediums throughout the entire piece, at :16 it pans a still photo while beginning an interview, then cuts to a video interview where the girl is showing how her husband covered her mouth during sex, then it cuts again to a still of a girl crying while she talks about crying during the event and how it traumatized her. All this happened within the first 30 seconds of the film.
This is the first documentary I've seen that uses a visually stimulating and creative title page. You need to see it for yourself, it's from :36 to :50.
I cried several times, especially from 1:46 through 2:05, where it shows a smiling little girl, carefree, in video then transitions to stills of her at her wedding ceremony, crying and blank faced. This video to still transition happens a lot in this film, and I believe it helps pull emotions toward the end goal which is pushing a cause.
It also does something I'm not used to seeing, it uses the journalist's words for VO. Her voice monologues during video and stills, but works to tie everything together and add data to the piece.
One more surprise, which really shocked me, since I'm used to editing myself out of video taken, is from 7:10 to 8:02, The journalist, Stephanie Sinclair's voice is asking a question to a girl interviewee and a translator gives the girls answer, and at the end, Sinclair's hand comes in frame to rub the girl's haajib to comfort her while she cried after answering one of her questions.
It was a long video, but powerful and the way it is edited uses the best of audio, photos and video to convey the story.
Review by Jennifer Ytuarte
This is an audio slideshow 3:12 long with audio and photos captured from at least three different periods of time. I was interested in this link initially because I've considered offering birthing photography services, either at home or in the hospital.
I like the movement and transition of this piece overall, it goes through an at home visit by a midwife, snapshots of a regular day and then the birth itself. You can hear the baby's heartbeat, along with a photo of measuring the belly, and the dad placing an ultrasound device on the mom's belly within the first 30 seconds. The midwife introduces herself at :30 and talks about the growing trend of parents taking control of the birthing process by having their children at home instead of in a hospital. At 1:05 she also talks about preparedness for unexpected complications, which adds depth. The photos used are well composed and help tell the story. The pace keeps up with the interviews and adds context.
The mom then talks about how she didn't like her first experience with an OBGYN during her first son's pregnancy, and during that part of her interview its showing her home, chores, tasks and normal life. The overall tone was that the mom wanted to enjoy birth in her own space, on the baby's terms. It was interesting and showed a different perspective toward pregnancy than what I'm used to.
I love the establishing shot at 1:53, which shows the family's home in the middle of the night, when labor was in progress. The editor does layer ambient audio with the mother's voice during the photos of labor and baby. But I thought the ambient audio would include screams, or comforting of the husband, of the mother pacing and maybe rythmic breathing. Instead it was subtle noises layered beneath an after the event interview from the mom. I thought that was the point of receiving this glimpse of birthing at home. The photo from 2:08 of the baby being born, with the mother on all fours on her bed made me want to ask a hundred questions about the moments leading up to that moment, especially since I am not familiar with home births and have never seen that position used for hospital births.
I enjoyed it and think the presentation worked well as an audio slideshow.
Changing gears, the second video I watched was "Too Young to Wed: the Secret World of Child Brides."
This video is 10:42 in length, I didn't notice the time pass as I watched it the first time, but the second time I realized, that by the 4 minute marker, most of what will be illustrated or said has already been documented and is just reiterated with another personal story and interview.
It was a very hard video to watch, since my daughter is of marrying age in those cultures. It was emotional and blended stills, audio interviews, b-role, video event coverage, voice over from the journalist and interviews to create an emotional documentary detailing the life and struggles of cultural rituals, early marriage and poverty. It also uses indigenous music and ambient audio and has the interviewees speaking their native tongue, with a translator overposed on the audio.
I really like how smoothly it transitions between visual mediums throughout the entire piece, at :16 it pans a still photo while beginning an interview, then cuts to a video interview where the girl is showing how her husband covered her mouth during sex, then it cuts again to a still of a girl crying while she talks about crying during the event and how it traumatized her. All this happened within the first 30 seconds of the film.
This is the first documentary I've seen that uses a visually stimulating and creative title page. You need to see it for yourself, it's from :36 to :50.
I cried several times, especially from 1:46 through 2:05, where it shows a smiling little girl, carefree, in video then transitions to stills of her at her wedding ceremony, crying and blank faced. This video to still transition happens a lot in this film, and I believe it helps pull emotions toward the end goal which is pushing a cause.
It also does something I'm not used to seeing, it uses the journalist's words for VO. Her voice monologues during video and stills, but works to tie everything together and add data to the piece.
One more surprise, which really shocked me, since I'm used to editing myself out of video taken, is from 7:10 to 8:02, The journalist, Stephanie Sinclair's voice is asking a question to a girl interviewee and a translator gives the girls answer, and at the end, Sinclair's hand comes in frame to rub the girl's haajib to comfort her while she cried after answering one of her questions.
It was a long video, but powerful and the way it is edited uses the best of audio, photos and video to convey the story.
Review by Jennifer Ytuarte
Children Full of Life is a winning award video. This video
has five parts taken through the school’s year where students in Japan learn
lessons of life (compassion) from a teacher. One of the interesting features is
that the video is taken from the children’s eye level. It is full of B-rolls
that show the reaction of children to the situations they are living and
emphasize the point that the speaker is telling. Including the teacher’s
thoughts at the end of the episode emphasizes the point on each part of the
video I think that music is very appropriate.
Panning and zooming, sometimes is too fast and made me feel
dizzy. There are many parts where that happen. A couple of them are at the
beginning of the first part of the video 1, panning from the teacher to the
students, another is when the teacher is reading the notebook
letters going from some papers to a single word (happiness…). I think that
videos are very good; the topic is great. “Lessons of Life”
Different from the
first videos, this one is video recorded in a controlled ambient. It is the
lesson that Dave LaBelle teaches
through his work and passion. The interviews with the photographer and some
students are in color; and the photography slideshows are in black and white. The transition in photos is smooth all
the way through. The story, outside the interviews, is told using text with a very soft music in the background. All the different elements were very well managed and controlled to put together this video.
Reviewed by Carmen Sanjuan
Saturday, March 17, 2012
"Machine Man" by Alfonso Moral and Roser Corella
See the video at: http://vimeo.com/23877963
From the beginning, during the shots of people working around the coal at 1:00, usage of a blurred, circular focus to point out feet against coal. It's hard to look at, but that's the point. The view shows the harsh impact of the environment against the workers.
After that scene almost five minutes into the video, it feels like the blurred circle used to draw focus is used far too much. It looks like it's in every scene, which is disappointing as there are scenes which need the full frame to be in focus. During minute six, I would've loved everything in focus to see all the bags and workers sort them out clearly, it would have a much greater impact. Instead the six minute section is far too limited. At 8:24, it would've been nice to have the full shot in focus to see the boats and how they tie into the pollution.
Throughout multiple interviews, text is misspelled. It looks like a rushed job, but you can still understand what whoever is speaking is trying to say.
I can't tell if the circle blur is on purpose or if something is wrong with his camera, but at the 10 minute mark I'm feeling just as bothered by it, because what you want to see is not always in focus.
That being said the entire documentary is an amazing view of the people that make India run. the footage combined with interviews is a powerful punch to the viewer, from the interview with a woman who says she disobeys Allah in her work (1:00), to the Rickshaw who discusses his work (10:20).
Review by Jacob Beltran
From the beginning, during the shots of people working around the coal at 1:00, usage of a blurred, circular focus to point out feet against coal. It's hard to look at, but that's the point. The view shows the harsh impact of the environment against the workers.
After that scene almost five minutes into the video, it feels like the blurred circle used to draw focus is used far too much. It looks like it's in every scene, which is disappointing as there are scenes which need the full frame to be in focus. During minute six, I would've loved everything in focus to see all the bags and workers sort them out clearly, it would have a much greater impact. Instead the six minute section is far too limited. At 8:24, it would've been nice to have the full shot in focus to see the boats and how they tie into the pollution.
Throughout multiple interviews, text is misspelled. It looks like a rushed job, but you can still understand what whoever is speaking is trying to say.
I can't tell if the circle blur is on purpose or if something is wrong with his camera, but at the 10 minute mark I'm feeling just as bothered by it, because what you want to see is not always in focus.
That being said the entire documentary is an amazing view of the people that make India run. the footage combined with interviews is a powerful punch to the viewer, from the interview with a woman who says she disobeys Allah in her work (1:00), to the Rickshaw who discusses his work (10:20).
Review by Jacob Beltran
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Video Documentary review
http://mediastorm.com/publication/never-coming-home
This documentary had great audio slide show throughout the video,very well organized. Also I wanted to point out that it had good b-roll as well it really gave a sense of the story being told. One comment I would like to make is I would of wanted the story to begin right away then taking a few seconds, I felt like it threw me off a little bit to where I feel like the audience will draw away. I really recommend you see this video it was very touching and informative in many ways.
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2012/03/02/automobiles/collectibles/100000001395090/auto-ego-three-wheels-and-a-spare.html
This video had great b-roll it gave a sense of the documentary also it had a great introduction to where I can see where this is going to take place. The transitions could of been a lot smoother in the middle of the video, I felt like it was jumping to one thing to another. I really enjoyed this video I thought the vehicle was pretty neat because I had never seen one like this before so this was a great video the help me learn and see something new.
Reviewed by: Valerie Salazar
This documentary had great audio slide show throughout the video,very well organized. Also I wanted to point out that it had good b-roll as well it really gave a sense of the story being told. One comment I would like to make is I would of wanted the story to begin right away then taking a few seconds, I felt like it threw me off a little bit to where I feel like the audience will draw away. I really recommend you see this video it was very touching and informative in many ways.
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2012/03/02/automobiles/collectibles/100000001395090/auto-ego-three-wheels-and-a-spare.html
This video had great b-roll it gave a sense of the documentary also it had a great introduction to where I can see where this is going to take place. The transitions could of been a lot smoother in the middle of the video, I felt like it was jumping to one thing to another. I really enjoyed this video I thought the vehicle was pretty neat because I had never seen one like this before so this was a great video the help me learn and see something new.
Reviewed by: Valerie Salazar
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Video Assignment Ivie
http://mediastorm.com/publication/undesired (women suffering in India)
The video Undesired was shoot by Photojournalist Walters Astrada. There were lots of still images which portrayed the everyday life. In some photos I could see how it seemed to be used as women were in the background to relate to the topic. Silent moment photos where the lighting is dim when the mood was down and then when the mood was up there was bright lighting and beautiful colors. Very good use of colors, but of course the Indian culture seem to have bright colors, the photographer took use of that. I did not see many video clips in India, it is only in the interviews of Dr. Mitu Khurana and Journalist and Activist Ruchira Gupta, but the few video clips was used as B roll for the journalist to speak Dr. Khurana to speak. The Close ups showed excellent emotions. The composition was great with the elderly lady singing for money. The b roll of the young lady pumping water as Khurana talks about women being used as machines related to her talk.
The documentary video of Undesired was touching and just had me reflecting on how luck I am to be where I am today. I recommend that everyone watch it.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/nation/muslims-in-america/ (voice of the Muslims)video and photography: Ben de la Cruz and Alexandra Garcia. Design and development: Grace Koerber. Project editors: Lynda Robinson, Jonathan Forsythe, Andrew Pergam, Steven King, Sarah Sampsel. Additional interviews: Liz Tenety, AJ Chavar. Production assistance: Kristen Boghosian, Cristina Fletes, Jayne Orenstein, Daniel Sircar.
The Washington Post created a video which is like reading a story, which I find to be great. The people who were involved had Muslims and non Muslims of all backgrounds in the United states who answered and asked questions according to a particular theme such as Radicalization, the way Muslims see it, the divided and more. The video clips were able to bring it into on conversation that allow the viewer to get a sense of what is happing in todays society. The close ups in the video and hand gestures made the it personal as if you are actually talking to the individual. This video was all about timing and matching the puzzle piece.
The video Undesired was shoot by Photojournalist Walters Astrada. There were lots of still images which portrayed the everyday life. In some photos I could see how it seemed to be used as women were in the background to relate to the topic. Silent moment photos where the lighting is dim when the mood was down and then when the mood was up there was bright lighting and beautiful colors. Very good use of colors, but of course the Indian culture seem to have bright colors, the photographer took use of that. I did not see many video clips in India, it is only in the interviews of Dr. Mitu Khurana and Journalist and Activist Ruchira Gupta, but the few video clips was used as B roll for the journalist to speak Dr. Khurana to speak. The Close ups showed excellent emotions. The composition was great with the elderly lady singing for money. The b roll of the young lady pumping water as Khurana talks about women being used as machines related to her talk.
The documentary video of Undesired was touching and just had me reflecting on how luck I am to be where I am today. I recommend that everyone watch it.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/nation/muslims-in-america/ (voice of the Muslims)video and photography: Ben de la Cruz and Alexandra Garcia. Design and development: Grace Koerber. Project editors: Lynda Robinson, Jonathan Forsythe, Andrew Pergam, Steven King, Sarah Sampsel. Additional interviews: Liz Tenety, AJ Chavar. Production assistance: Kristen Boghosian, Cristina Fletes, Jayne Orenstein, Daniel Sircar.
The Washington Post created a video which is like reading a story, which I find to be great. The people who were involved had Muslims and non Muslims of all backgrounds in the United states who answered and asked questions according to a particular theme such as Radicalization, the way Muslims see it, the divided and more. The video clips were able to bring it into on conversation that allow the viewer to get a sense of what is happing in todays society. The close ups in the video and hand gestures made the it personal as if you are actually talking to the individual. This video was all about timing and matching the puzzle piece.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
About reviewing the docu. video
Folks,
A few things to remind everyone when post reviews:
1. Leave your name at the end of your review such as: Review by xxxx.
2. Make the URL (web address) of your video into active links by clicking on the "Link" above. Such as go check out the Ranger at: www.theranger.org
3. Please give concrete examples in the video when giving your reviews. Don't just say something like "the transition is not smooth." I expect you to point out and describe where in the video the transition is not smooth. We are not in the business of guess work or relying on feelings. Another example is if you said "there is not enough b-roll," do you mean a certain part of the video or the whole video? If we are to learn from this group discussion, we will need to be more specific so that we understand what we are talking about.
Anyone wants to comment on Jolene's video? It is part of your assignment to comment on others review.
Dr. Lo
A few things to remind everyone when post reviews:
1. Leave your name at the end of your review such as: Review by xxxx.
2. Make the URL (web address) of your video into active links by clicking on the "Link" above. Such as go check out the Ranger at: www.theranger.org
3. Please give concrete examples in the video when giving your reviews. Don't just say something like "the transition is not smooth." I expect you to point out and describe where in the video the transition is not smooth. We are not in the business of guess work or relying on feelings. Another example is if you said "there is not enough b-roll," do you mean a certain part of the video or the whole video? If we are to learn from this group discussion, we will need to be more specific so that we understand what we are talking about.
Anyone wants to comment on Jolene's video? It is part of your assignment to comment on others review.
Dr. Lo
Video Review
http://www.rickgershon.com/gettyimages/cooper_projects.html
This video shows point of view from the people and shows great transitions from moment to moment. When they are speaking it gives a sense of place with a slideshow of the effects of what happened after the storm. The b-roll needs some work though. The zoom is not so good and they need to adjust time.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/2011/best-of-the-post/#/videographers/contreras=0
They could have used a tripod or a monopod to keep it straight. They definitely captured the moment with the crowd cheers in the background. It was a really great idea to have just one person talking in the background to give one point of view rather than an entire group. Because of the setting, the motion was all over the place. It was hard to know where the camera angle was going to be next. If the person was a few feet away it might have been a better shot.
Posted by Riley
This video shows point of view from the people and shows great transitions from moment to moment. When they are speaking it gives a sense of place with a slideshow of the effects of what happened after the storm. The b-roll needs some work though. The zoom is not so good and they need to adjust time.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/2011/best-of-the-post/#/videographers/contreras=0
They could have used a tripod or a monopod to keep it straight. They definitely captured the moment with the crowd cheers in the background. It was a really great idea to have just one person talking in the background to give one point of view rather than an entire group. Because of the setting, the motion was all over the place. It was hard to know where the camera angle was going to be next. If the person was a few feet away it might have been a better shot.
Posted by Riley
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Assignment: Documentary video review
Here comes the documentary video lists.
Please consider this as a group learning opportunity. Everyone of us has to contribute our parts.
Everyone has to pick two videos to watch and analyze. Copy and paste the links to the videos on this blog and immediately follow by your detail comments. I would like to see at least a few paragraphs with good facts relating to the videos, what are good and what are bad. Cite examples from the videos.
Please try to find videos that others has not been discussed unless the lists run out.
Your comments on other classmates reviews are required. Please response and join the discussion, with good facts and examples from the particular video.
This is a very crucial and effective way of learning. Be serious about it.
The latest for you to finish viewing, critiquing and commenting to these videos is March 18 before mid-night. That means you have two weeks to do this assignment (even though you might still be in Cancun).
Enjoy!
Dr. Lo
Please consider this as a group learning opportunity. Everyone of us has to contribute our parts.
Everyone has to pick two videos to watch and analyze. Copy and paste the links to the videos on this blog and immediately follow by your detail comments. I would like to see at least a few paragraphs with good facts relating to the videos, what are good and what are bad. Cite examples from the videos.
Please try to find videos that others has not been discussed unless the lists run out.
Your comments on other classmates reviews are required. Please response and join the discussion, with good facts and examples from the particular video.
This is a very crucial and effective way of learning. Be serious about it.
The latest for you to finish viewing, critiquing and commenting to these videos is March 18 before mid-night. That means you have two weeks to do this assignment (even though you might still be in Cancun).
http://mediastorm.com/clients/restored-for-ron-israeli-md (about plastic surgery)
http://mediastorm.com/publication/undesired (women suffering in India)
http://mediastorm.com/publication/love-in-the-first-person (Reveal of a love story)
http://mediastorm.com/publication/never-coming-home (America soldier’s family)
http://mediastorm.com/publication/friends-for-life (Two friends helping each other)
http://2010.soulofathens.com/passage/in-my-space (audio slideshow about home birth)
http://kobreguide.com/content/Children_Full_of_Life (A special way of teaching)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/video/2010/06/11/VI2010061102442.html (sculpture with vines)
http://www.rickgershon.com/gettyimages/cooper_projects.html (housing after Katrina)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYleXcpbzKY (Child brides)
http://unc.news21.com/index.php/stories/323.html (Coal queen pageant)
http://2010.soulofathens.com/expression/wee-wrestling (Wee wrestling)
http://unc.news21.com/index.php/stories/330.html (Protest against air pollution)
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2011/10/01/nyregion/100000001084915/wall-street-protesters-speak.html (Occupiers of Wall Street speak up)
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2012/03/02/automobiles/collectibles/100000001395090/auto-ego-three-wheels-and-a-spare.html (A three-wheel-car experience)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/nation/muslims-in-america/ (voice of the Muslims)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/2011/best-of-the-post/#/videographers/chavar=0 (Memorial site of Shansville, PA where the one of the 911 plane crashed)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/2011/best-of-the-post/#/videographers/contreras=0 (Naval Academy training)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/2011/best-of-the-post/#/videographers/garcia=0 (Illegal immigrant being deported)
http://www.mercurynews.com/china (China heading toward capitalism)
http://mediastorm.com/publication/new-york-reacts (how people reacts to 911)
http://vimeo.com/23877963 (machine vs man power)
http://vimeo.com/7866068 (Dave LaBelle, the great photojournalism teacher, a must view)
Enjoy!
Dr. Lo
Friday, March 2, 2012
California Wildfire
http://www.spokesmanreview.com/blogs/video/play.asp?file=20071023_wildfires&filetype=swf
posted by Riley Stephens
posted by Riley Stephens
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