Multimedia for Social Change

YOUTH RADIO

When I first signed up for MM4SC I really didn’t know what to expect. After the first day I knew this would not be like any other class. What I really enjoyed about the class was the unconventional methods the class to approach topics. Also, students had an active voice in what is being taught. On the first day we brainstormed on topics and skills we would like to learn about. From that, we formualted a tenative syllabus for the semester.

Although the class is still in the developing stages there is still great potential for future students to fine-tune the class. There are some tribulations I faced this semester. For example, because the class is
open for exploration it is easy to be over ambitious. How the class is structured you start working with your non-profit on the third/ fourth week. Thus, time because of the essance.

I learned that working a non- profit can be challenging. I faced lack of resources, miscommunication, and cooperation by participants.
When working with a non-profit or and organization collaboration and compromise becomes key to your project.

To future students I have three essential recommendations.

1. Have a focus plan. This will help you with time management but also give your community partner an over outline of what you are
going to do.

2. Know what your community partner needs and be able to distinguish that from their wants.

3. Take this class for four units. It’s worth it.

Finally, to all those who are considering taking this class. I enthusiatically say Do it! The class always you to be involve with an underserved community in LA, learn and produce multimedia, and in the smallest sense create chanege.

YOUTH RADIO FINAL PRESENTATION

GAMES 4 CHANGE

After last weeks play sessions with Susana I was interested in seeing how my nieces and nephews would react to a game such as Darfur is dying. Over, the thanksgiving break I had three of my nieces and two of my nephews, who are not too familiar with Darfur to play the game. To my surprised they instantly became infatuated by the game.  After they played I asked them a couple question about what they thought and was surprised by their immense curiosity.

My nieces and nephews ages range from 8-11 so, they are old enough to understand more complex ideas. After talking with them they expressed that they enjoyed the drama of the game but also because they had created attachment to the characters. What left me most enthralled was their enthusiasm to learn more about what was happening.

So, what I did was I created just a simple info sheet for them about what was happening in Darfur and how there are many organizations try to help out. My nieces and nephews were so motivated to help out that they decided to sponsor a family. Unfortunately, we didn’t have to access to a family in Darfur so we decided to sponsor a family from our hometown that has young children and who is struggling financially.

When I step backed from all of this I realized it al had started with the Darfur is Dying game. What is so great about games like Darfur is Dying and other games for social change is not solely their entertainment values but the enlightenment they bring to viewers. What one receives from theses games is a consciousness, affection, and consequently an investment to solve the problem at hand.

Youth Radio Update

This week I worked on the final cut tutorial and filming the marketplace video. Everything was going well until we ran into a problem. After filming and uploading them we figured out the files were avi and we need them to be mov. I found some programs that would convert them but most cost money or only converted half of it.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to any other alternatives or free converter programs?

Also, I added something to my list of to-do’s. After talking to many student interns I realized many of them will be graduating soon and will either apply for college or a job.

What I decided was to help the students create an online resume. We will create a blogger account and embed their works with a bio and references. This blog will be constantly updated by them and allow to display  their new works.

Update: Youth Radio

Update:

This past week has been a stumbling block for me. I was out sick and had to deal with some family issues. I was unable to conduct the soundslide workshops and have postponed them. I decided to go with soundlide because even though it is difficult to share and embedd it allows for more control then other picture slide show counterparts. Right now I am just struggling with time management.

I have received the topic for the video project which will be what current film would best describe the current economy?

Here is the link to what the video will look like when it is finished.

http://marketplace.publicradio.org/projects/project_display.php?proj_identifier=2009/10/12/financial_futures

FINAL CUT PRO TUTORIAL

Part 1

Screening and Marking in the Final Cut Pro Interface

Upon completion of this lesson, students should be comfortable performing

the following tasks:

• Launch Final Cut Pro

• Open and close projects

• Navigate the Final Cut Pro interface using menus, keyboard shortcuts, and

the mouse

• Play and navigate clips in the Viewer

• Play a sequence in the Timeline and Canvas

• Mark clips in the Viewer

• Importing video to final cut
• If you are importing Flip video you will have to compress it

Part 2

Editing Clips to the Timeline

Upon completion of part 2, students should be comfortable performing

the following tasks:

• Manage project elements

• Make Overwrite and Insert edits

• Manage Timeline tracks

• Import clips

• Edit audio clips

• Move clips in the Timeline

• Use drag-and-drop editing

• Change volume of sequence clips

Part 3

Finishing the Rough Cut

Upon completion of  part 3, students should be comfortable performing

the following tasks:

• Set edit points in the Timeline

• Add cutaways

• Edit narration and music tracks

• Import folders into the project

• Copy and paste clips

• Work with markers

Part 4

Trimming to Refine Clip Duration

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Upon completion of  Part 4, students should be comfortable performing

the following tasks:

• Understand trimming

• Trim using the Ripple tool

• Trim clips in the Viewer

• Trim an edit point by dragging

• Trim clips in the V2 Track

• Extend an edit point

• Trim using the Razor Blade tool

Part 5

Trimming and Adjusting Two Edit Points

Upon completion of Part 5, students should be comfortable performing

the following tasks:

• Trim two edit points at the same time

• Slip In and Out points

• Roll edit points

• Extend edit points

• Slide a clip

• Reposition a clip

• Keeping clips in sync

Part 6

Upon completion of Lesson 6, students should be comfortable performing

• Create subclips

• Create subclips using markers

• Use markers to sync clips

• Change poster frames

• Create a storyboard

• Replace edits

Part  7

Upon completion of Lesson 7, students should be comfortable performing

the following tasks:

• Reconnect unlinked media files

• Play multiple formats

• Work with master clips and match frames

• Log notes in Browser columns

• Find and label project items

Part 8

Upon completion of Part 8, students should be comfortable performing

• Use cross dissolve

• Use the points to fade in and out

• Use effects  on transition

A great video tutorials:

http://files.lynda.com/files/finalcutstudio/index.html

PICTURE SOUND SLIDE SHOW

1. Soundslides

http://soundslides.com

PROS:

• Soundslides operates in a single window creating a straightforward interface
• You can work on a slide show without being on the internet
• With sounslides pro you can manipulate movement of your photos.
• You can create transitions.
• Soundslides has been in use at major media outlets and public relations offices around the world since 2005,

CON:

• Uploading to a blog can be very time consuming. For a sound slide you need an url but when you export a soundslide it creates a flash document.
• When you upload audio it cannot be edited to fit the images. All that work needs to be done before hand.

2. Photopeach

http://photopeach.com/

PRO:

• You can embed in blogs very easily
• You can grab songs from youtube, itunes, or from you own library.
• You can get pictures from Flickr
• You can share slide show via email, twitter, link, or facebook

CON:

• You need to have Internet to use it.
• You can’t control the movement of the photos.
• You can only pick from standard text.
• The audio is not synced with the actual slideshow, if the viewer were to pause the audio would continue

3. Joggle

http://beta.joggle.com

PRO:

• You can keep a library of audio
• You incorporate videos
• Your joggle site can serve as your personalize website
• Easy to embed

CON:

• Maneuvering through website can be confusing
• You can’t add captions to the photos
• You have to be connected to the internet
• Autoplays the audio which is a sure way to drive users crazy
• Plays the audio on a loop

4. Flowgram

http://flowgram.com

PRO:

• Very user-friendly
• Uploading images is a breeze
• You can set individual times for each photo, sync audio
• You can record audio directly into the slideshow

CON:

• You can’t add captions
• When I embedded the final project some images were missing

5. Anitmoto

http://animoto.com/

PRO:

• Very easy to use mostly because the online tool does the customization for you.
• You can share you slide show through many social networking sites.
• You can upload images from facebook, flickr, photobucket.
• You can include videos

CON:

• Animoto creates the piece for you. You have no control.
• While this is great for the casual slideshow maker it will not suffice professional journalists

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BEATNIKS VS BEACH BOYS

This week we discussed the flows of information, products, and ideas between subcultures and the mainstream cultural industries.

I had recently read an article by K.G. May entitled, “Golden State; The California Image in Popular Culture” that explored post WWII California.  The article resembles much of what we talked about in class.

May first focused on the surf culture in California post WWII. Surfing was not accepted by mainstream culture. It was associated with being surfers. Surfers where categorized as lazy, troublemakers, and as hoodlums.

After WWII there was a shift in America and California was seen on the forefront of this change. As companies grew and America was reaping the benefits of war, youth became buyer’s new focus. Youth, at this time became consumer with substantive purchasing power. At this time the Beach Boys began to climb up the charts and revamping the face of California.  The Beach Boys represented a clean-cut, slightly rebellious, blue-eyed, blonde hair surfer male.

Companies sold that image to American youths-and it worked for the most part.  Ironically, the surfer future once seen was disdain was the topic of songs by the beach boys like “Surfin’ U.S.A.” and “California Girls.”

Further in article may introduce the “beatniks” of Berkeley.  Beatniks were a term coined to describe UC Berkeley students who protested against the University’s unlawful policies.  They were described as grungy, long-haired, and misfits. May describes this movement as youth frustrated with mainstream culture. May says that many retaliate against the All-American surfer image because they were not included in it.

What I find interesting is that there is a push-pull effect.  Corporations appropriate culture cues from a subculture and make it into a commodity. If that commodity does not satisfy its audience then there is retaliation.  In an article by M. Fredrickson, he describes the LA riots in the 60s as frustration of the American Dream and how citizens felt excluded from it. As a result they no longer where invested in it creating a vicious backlash.

I wonder if a mass riot or a counter-culture movement could occur today? With today’s technologies and media there are countless way to connect with others. Will everything be niche-orientated? If so, how will that effect large corporation whose success is dependent on appealing to the masses?

 

* May, K. G. Golden State, Golden Youth; The California Image in Popular Culture, 1955-1966. 2002, University of North Carolina Press, Chs. 5 and 7, pp. 95-115 (“Wish they all could be California”) and 135-167 (“Berkeley and Watts”).

 

 

UPDATE

Last Friday and Monday I spent a lot of time talking to Sabiha about the direction of the project. I informed her about what I discussed with you (Sasha) about hosting the workshops in the IML. She was a bit apprehensive because most students are limited with transportation. Also, since many of the participants are paid and are limited to working 10 hours a week she is unsure how the logistics will work out. She also believes that with the time constraint I should just focus on the seven participants currently working with Youth Radio. She believed it would be best if I gave the workshops at the Youth Radio studio.

What we decided is that we will have each participant pitch a story and use that data and work with in the workshops. Thus, we will be killing two birds with one stone; the students can learn new multimedia skills and produce content for the Youth Radio Website.

Sabiha also wanted me to spend one workshop on how to think of a story in a multimedia terms. In other words, how does one decide what medium would be best for a certain story. I was wondering if you there were any literature you could suggest that I could build a lesson plan on. I have my one perspective on this topic but I would like to incorporate what scholars say. For this workshop I was going to present different pieces that utilize already published multimedia and discuss the strengths presenting it an that particular medium.

Training participants in Final Cut and Soundslide will be the two main focuses. We discussed having the first workshop Novemebr 2 and the rest would occur ever following Monday. Having the workshops a week apart will allow for participants to develop their stories and less overwhelming.

This timeline is dependent on the approval of the LA bureau chief, which is still pending.

Soundslide Workshop:

Student will submit a Soundslide story and be given the week of Oct 26 to gather their images and sound.
On Nov. 2 I will have a soundslide tutorial. Students are expeted to have both sound and images.
Rough Draft of Workshop

Intro: Why Soundslide?

“Ridiculously simple storytelling”

Soundslides allows storytellers to concentrate on the story, rather than the application. Created for journalists and other storytellers on deadline, Soundslides is designed to make quick work of slide show production.
Fast and intuitive

Soundslides operates in a single window on your Windows or Mac OS X computer, with a straightforward interface that leads you through importing your images and audio. Editing tools are familiar and behave the way you’d expect.

Built for storytelling

It doesn’t do print layout. You can’t use it to mix your band’s new demo. What Soundslides does is make it easy for you to present your images with impact, then sync them seamlessly with any audio track.

From blogs to full-screen

Are you a photojournalist needing to document an overseas trip in a full-screen presentation on your organization’s Web site? Soundslides makes it simple. Are you a public relations officer documenting your firm’s projects in a blog? Soundslides does that too, with online tools that make embedding easy.
Field-tested on deadline

Soundslides has been in use at major media outlets and public relations offices around the world since 2005, and it’s a favorite of university media labs. Whether it’s breaking news or a project that landed on your desk at the last minute, Soundslides provides the simplicity and reliability to get your project online with time to spare.

Hands On: upload images
• Telling a story with images.
o Using variety of images
o Building and overarching theme
• Beginning, middle, end
• Show examples
o Sound and images should compliment each other.
• Nat sound vs. Voice over vs. Nat sound/ Voice over