I’m HUngry! From a freelancer, to the POST, a SACBEE sting! and back to the Star.com, again!

Albino Crow MultiMedia - Jan Sturmann

Quiet, straight forward slide shows. Wonderful images.
_____________________________________

Tackling Life - Virtual photo gallery - sacbee.com

I don’t care what you think of the interface or how ‘flashy’ it might be, BRAVO to them for even attempting, risking, trying, failing, etc. I’m so tired of the same old thing, everybody following the same rules of journalistic multimedia presentation. Take a chance every now and then, try something new (or at least new for you), grow, throw caution to the wind, fall on your face! Try a text slide instead of a voice-over or vice versa. Explore your artistic and creative side, there is room for everything and everybody in journalism as long as we keep our standards high and or sense of ethics even higher.
_________________________________

In the same breath as above, I think these post presentations have a great sense of design and clean presentation.
Colombia’s Coca Battle (washingtonpost.com)
The Invisibly Wounded (washingtonpost.com)
_________________________________
Blind boxer never lost sight of hope
SOLID, worth your time! Nice images, audio and story.
_________________________________

TheStar.com - Video Viewer - Haiti

Wonderful music, scoring, pacing, use of text slides, inspiring!
_________________________________

enjoy!
-r

TheStar.com shines! On The Line, rocks! The Stumping Grounds, nice! Easy as Pi, sweet! Rob Finch, soars!

I  can't stop myself from raving about this piece– work of art. For me and maybe you, a pinnacle of how we can use the web and the talents of both writer and photographer to just plain kick some ass. I'm gonna go so far as to say….well….no, I better not…last time I got my head knocked around….you guys are so harsh!……Anyway, you should see this. And if anyone knows Lucas, please have him email me, I wanna podcast his process with this story.
TheStar.com

Photographer Lucas Oleniuk and columnist Jennifer Wells reflect on the Conrad Black trial.

 ________________________________________________

Bravo! Solid offering. Worth your time, big time!

On The Line: Economic Hardship in North Carolin

This is the final product of JOMC 481, Documentary Photojournalism students at UNC. This site looks at personal stories of poverty in North Carolina, from homelessness to underemployment to poverty-related crime. From the site's intro "Today, more than half a million people in North Carolina live below the poverty threshhold. While not an exhaustive study, this project explores the individual stories of those wavering on the line between comfort and need – hope and despair."

 

__________________________________________________

Wonderful idea, inspiring images!
**The Stumping Grounds**
________________________________________________

Videos are well done, hard subject presented and edited very well.

Easy as Pi (washingtonpost.com)

VIDEO: Kat Hogue: | PRODUCER: Liz Heron | INTERACTIVE DESIGN: Adam Kipple

________________________________________________________ 

More Props! I love everything about this sensitive and bold story and presentation.
I didn't pimp it out enough last time. And stay tuned for a podcast with Rob Finch!
Next: Lovelle Svart - The Oregonian » Lovelle Svart - An Introduction

enjoy!
-r

NERD!: iMovie gets DUMB, The answer to the Archive Dilemma? Flickr Toys, Photoshop Brushes, USAToday

Being a nerd and an Apple geek, I am always in shock and awe by most new, upgraded and improved products. So, I was the first in line to buy the new iLife. Why?  We at the Merc were ‘born and raised’ on iMovie. When we couldn’t get $$$ or support to ‘do’ video/multimedia we went with what we already had, iLife pre-installed on our company laptops. I have preached the wonders, joys, price (very cheap $79) and simplicity of this product to anyone who would listen.  I’ve seen some amazing work done by this little program. For me it’s all about simple storytelling, not buttons and whistles, and iMovie gave us just what we needed to get the job done and a little more. And it was so damn easy. We still use it today. There are staffers who don’t see the need to graduate to final cut, and I tend to agree.
I guess I wasn’t really paying attention, becasue when I installed it, I kept waiting for the familiar interface to show up, thinking that all this cool new scrubbing and importing features were just that, a new first step before moving to the familiar set-up. Boy was I was wrong! Basically it’s a brand new program that you’ll have to learn all over again. What’s more, all the menus and buttons  have changed, it’s even lost tons of features that made it great, like extracting audio. I’m not gonna go into a point by point rant, but just wanna say,  buyer beware! Please read tons of reviews and see for yourself before you plop down the money and upgrade, losing your old friend iMovie07. This reminds me of the “new” Coke roll-out. I say, give me classic! You can move my cheese all you want, just don’t replace it with rat poison.
You can read more here:
i-movie 08 review by andydickinson.net

_________________________________

The one question I get asked several times everyday is, “How do you archive video/multimedia?”  My basic answer is ,”buy lots of external hard drives.” Not much of an answer I know.

When I have the chance to ask other pros questions, that’s usually my first one to them!

It seems to be the Holy Grail for those of us in the newspaper video profession. My philosophy is to deny that there is a problem and hope someone else figures it out for me. If you’re reading this and you have a solution, bring it on!

But I think I found something impressive and affordable. You’ve got to check out Drobo! I was so impressed I bought one, it should be here soon and I’ll review it, but in the meantime YOU’VE got to check it out.
Drobo™, The World’s First Storage Robot

________________________________

INETR

Interactivity - USATODAY.com

Behind the Scenes of multimedia
________________________________

Some fun stuff here:
fd’s Flickr Toys: Producers of fine toys and amusements for your digital photographs
________________________________

Multimedia Designers say YES!!!

The Brushes - May ‘06 to May ‘07

_________________________________

enjoy!
more to come! of course,
-r

TimeToRollOne: Lunatic, Artistic flash sites, Departures

Lunatic online photo mag, worth a look for some inspiration.

_________________________________

30 Artistic Flash Sites
_________________________________

This is just a great idea I could see a newspaper take on as a cool staff project.

KCET Online - Explore Ca - Departures
__________________________________

enjoy these ’smokes’, while i get ready to post “Video Compression Secrets of the Rich and Famous.”

-r

HearThis!: A little Sunday Church for the God(Bill Moyer)Fearing

PREACH IT BILL!!!!!

Tnxs to http://www.melissaworden.com/blogs/xdegree/ for this nice catch!

 

PART ONE:

PART TWO:

enjoy,
-r

READTHIS!: Albert Hastings and Understanding Comics

MultimediaShooter Books - The Day-to-Day Life of Albert Hastings

When Albert Hastings was eighty-five years old, a photographer named KayLynn Deveney moved next door to his small flat housed in an old Victorian in the town of Newport, Wales. KayLynn took notice of the small rituals and routines—gardening, laundry, grocery shopping—that made up Bert’s life. A friendship slowly developed and soon KayLynn began documenting parts of Bert’s day. Bert and KayLynn developed a simple yet effective rapport. With her photographs and his handwritten text, the pair began a project that became much more than a diary or an art project. It evolved into a poignant and profound chronicle of aging, living alone, and the small things that make up our daily lives and bring moments of happiness—a cup of tea, lying in the sun, a hot breakfast, a good whiskey. The book includes seventy-five photographs of Bert in his surroundings from his home and garden to the streets of Newport, all annotated in Bert’s own hand. In addition, Deveney has added a number of illustrations, such as poems written by Bert, his clock drawings, and his personal family photographs. The Day-to-Day Life of Albert Hastings gives the reader a glimpse into one man’s life. We can only imagine what stories are left untold, both in Bert’s life and the lives of those around us.

This review said it best, I just love this book, my new favorite! Inspiration galore.

Customer Reviews

Masterful work!

Don’t know where to start:
great concept, total package optimized for peaceful enjoyment. Loved the feel, fonts, script, cover, size and color of the book.

Now to the important part (from a photographer’s angle :)) Ms. Deveney’s artful photographic view is extremely engaging and subtle.
The reader/observer is drawn into scenes where one is allowed a personal privilege to study an ordinary life nearing it’s completion.
Her view point is not judgmental, enhanced or exaggerated. It’s almost like a camera’s view was snapped by accident, but I know better.
These are beautifully conceived and simple… the hardest type to achieve.
Enjoy the simple pleasures of a folded pair of clean “P-jays”, shot of whiskey and a stately daffodil on the window sill.
The Day-to-Day Life of Albert Hastings is a gift to share with the hurried world.
_____________________________________

MultimediaShooter Books - Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art

More than just a book about comics, this gets to the heart of how we deal with visual languages in general.

I have recently learned more about transitions, symbols, editing and visual language from this book than any on the subject of film or video, so worth it!

-r

BUZZED: I just gotta know WHY???

newsobserver.com | Video: Workers cool off
newsobserver.com | Video: Drought at Lake Michie

Excuse the caffeine overload but really…

Please tell me why these have seen the light of day? No dis-respect to photographers Chris and Jason, I know this is coming from above you, at least I hope, but WTF. Most of us in the industry are fighting not to do 'video just because we can' and you guys are doing this! Really, what is the point? I just have to know. Have they given the photo staff video quotas?
I am going to use these as examples of the wrong way to approach newspaper video.

Editors who thought this was the right thing to do, defend your position. This line was changed due to the comment below.

-r

NERDTIME: your images as stickers, PDN, show off your work, damn youo foolks in NYC

MOO | Stickers - Print stickers using your images

___________________________________
Oh the possibilities!!!!

__________________________________

When’s That High-Res Camcorder Coming Out?
Note to the camera makers: Work faster. News photographers are already salivating over a camera no one sells yet, the high-resolution digital camcorder that gathers top-notch stills, motion and audio at the same time.
___________________________________

New iMovie rocks! looks like it anyway…..just got invited the the Mothership to try it out, will report back.

Apple
_____________________________________

2007 Knight-Batten Awards Finalists
_____________________________________

Poynter Online - Bonds Interactive
_____________________________________

Multimedia Revolution
Newspapers are embracing online multimedia, and photographers are scrambling to learn new storytelling skills.

August 2007

Multimedia Revolution Newspapers are embracing online multimedia, and photographers are scrambling to learn new storytelling skills.

____________________________________

Where to show off your work (and get noticed) at LifeClever ;-) Tips for Design and Life
____________________________________

Multimedia Evangelist

The Multimedia Journalist Tell your story with podcasting, video, Flash, and photos WHEN: Wednesday, August 22, 6:30-9:30 pm WHERE: Mediabistro.com, 494 Broadway, (Spring & Broome) New York, NY 10012 PRICE: $65 Course Details: This seminar will take a look at the options that are available to the multimedia journalist. You will learn how to plan and produce work that integrates written copy, audio, video and photographs into an appealing package. You will also learn about new types of content like podcasting, and be exposed to media technologies like Flash that can help take your work to a new level.

___________________________________

enjoy,
-r

SMOKETHIS!: Candy, Data Visualization, soundtransit, more

Candy

Some of the best visual inspiration to date!
_____________________________________

Data Visualization: Modern Approaches
____________________________________

http://www.moa.pl/

Love this site and the light tunnel is the real work I wanna do, not that you care.
____________________________________

Fun, great idea.

:: soundtransit :: home
____________________________________

http://machinemolle.com/
___________________________________
enjoy!
-r

FEEDME: Bonds, The Future, Newser, Baghdad, Lovelle Svart, Shadow City

USATODAY.com - Making baseball history

Way to go Robert, simple clean, effective!

____________________________________

Audio and Video Podcasts from washingtonpost.com

______________________________________ 

The Initiative on the Future of Journalism
______________________________________

Fixing D.C.'s Schools (washingtonpost.com)

Nice, but please stop all the pop-outs!!!!!!

__________________________________________

Newser - Faster, Smarter News

______________________________________________

Production, Post and Online Distribution for Hometown Baghdad | Studio Daily

Production, Post and Online Distribution for Hometown Baghdad MiniDVs, Avid Xpress Pro and YouTube Prove to Be a Winning Combination

________________________________________________

Next: Lovelle Svart - The Oregonian » Lovelle Svart - An Introduction
ROB THIS IS AWESOME!!!!!!! WAY TO GO!

________________________________________________ 

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive
The City: The Shadow City

 

________________________________________________

 

enjoy!

-r 

NERDINABOX: New cams, Chumby, 40 cozy, x-ray, wired, and hitler?

Kirix Strata: Access and Manipulate Data from the Web

____________________________________

The Best 80 Photoshop Text Effects on the Web
_____________________________________

SANYO > Digital Media Camera
_____________________________________

MUST HAVE!!!!!!!

chumby › what is a chumby?
_____________________________________

http://www.40cozystore.com/

This kinda thinking will save the newspaper!!!!!!!!!!
___________________________________

TED | TEDBlog: 100 Websites You Should Know and Use
___________________________________

So will this!

Pachyderm 2.0
___________________________________

XRAY :: for web developers
___________________________________

Mixbook | Create Amazing Books With Your Friends!
___________________________________
THIS IS JUST WRONG!!!!! BUT VERY FUNNY!

enjoy, or not,
-r

SHOWME: Make a great site, Audio solutions, tools, StoryMaker, more…

The Making of a Great Photography Website: Three Distinct Approaches | Layers Magazine

____________________________________

DV - Columns - Audio Solutions: Decapitation

______________________________________

Tools & Utilities for filmmakers

ou've now entered the Dependent Films Download Center. It's unbelievable 1) how much these files can help, and 2) how hard all of these tools are to find on the net. Thus, this is why we've assembled this compilation for all of you aspiring filmmakers out there. Best of all, they're all FREE (a favorite word for all independent filmmakers). These programs have really helped our productions, and hopefully they can help yours as well. If you have any other programs you know of online or have questions about the origins of these files, dfnet79 @ dependentfilms.net , and we'll link them here.

Brightcove Storymaker Home

EXPOSÉ: America's Investigative Reports . É-Tools . LOOSENING LIPS: THE ART OF THE INTERVIEW | PBS

Training Tips and Trends : Art of Editing: United 93
enjoy!
-r

HEARTHIS! Media Fellow, Videographer, job description

Center for Citizen Media: Blog » Blog Archive » Berkman Center Looking for Media Fellow

JournalismJobs.com — Job Listing

robcurley.com » A few job descriptions for a newspaper’s new-media team

EXPOSED! Rachel Leventhal , Thad Allender | Multimedia

Thad Allender | Multimedia

Also,
Image Stories by Rachel Leventhal

CRYBABY: Why we are doomed, reTHINKing the Mercury News and way more..

howardowens.com: media blog » Blog Archive » Media bloggers must-reads

Media bloggers must-reads Not too long ago, Shane Richmond did a post asking media bloggers to call out their favorite media-related articles and blog posts.

News Blog - Daily Brief: Rethinking the Mercury News - Portfolio.com

The San Jose Mercury News, Silicon Valley's struggling paper of record, is embarking on an ambitious and unusually public campaign to figure out how to contend with the rapid changes — many of them originating with its readers — that are transforming the newspaper industry.

Advertising Age - MediaWorks - Stand-Alone News Brands Are Doomed

The Longest Day - washingtonpost.com
Why don't you just ask me to stop breathing!!!!!!!!

Videojournalism: How-to implement it and why newspapers can beat TV - Editors Weblog- Analysis

Google News Blog: Perspectives about the news from people in the news

Knight News Challenge | Home

innovators worldwide, from software designers to journalists to citizens and students of any age.

STOP bitching and do something!!!!!!!

10 portfolios that get right to the point at LifeClever ;-) Tips for Design and Life

9 Ways for Newspapers to Improve Their Websites » The Bivings Report

Become an Autodidact: 10 Ways to Become a Self Taught Master - Dumb Little Man

I wish I could change my blog to 'dumb little man' AWESOME!

5 Ways to Develop Independent Thought

How to survive the paper industry

A fundamental way newspaper sites need to change | Holovaty.com

The Inksniffer

10 Articles All Bloggers Should Read (at least once) | Performancing.com

BASTARDS!!!!!

Sports Leagues Impose More Rules on Coverage - WSJ.com

Learn to fold a Pressman's hat, before it's too late!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://deseretnews.com/sesqui/photos/dnfoldhat.pdf

The 7 Highly Effective Habits of Successful Freelancers

When Do You Stop The Presses?

enjoy!
-r

Ooops, I did it again! Time to start FRESH, REboot!

If you've read this blog with any regularity, this will come as no surprise, I changed the look! Now I've heard a few people comment that I change the look of this blog as often as I change my underwear. Well, I'm at it again.

If you think I have nothing better to do with my time, think again.

I want for you what I want for myself, abundance. Abundance of knowledge and inspiration when it comes to multimedia and the art of creating it. I want it fast and easy, "just get me to the good stuff." That's what I hope this new design will do.

Here's what's  swimming around in my head, besides my larger than life ego.

All the Categories are gone. Not really gone, but I've changed them into features, look left and right, you can't miss 'em. The front page of the blog will only show the most recent post. I will blog more often—so cancel your email subscriptions now, cuz I'm gonna blog whenever the hell I feel like it–and i'll cover things outside of traditional journalism. I hope to make the posts shorter and sweeter, more focused. Here's the run down of what you'll be getting:

BUZZED

This is where I'll go on my alcohol and caffeine fueled rants…….more of those I promise.

SMOKE THIS!

If it "moves"  and it's 'on FIRE' then you'll find it here. This is where I'll post all the non-journalism related multimedia.

HEAR THIS!

Home for all the multimedia jobs that I hear about, and maybe a little 'chisme.'

SHOW ME

Home for tutorials, more of these, I promise.

INSERT PODCAST HERE

Enough said, yeah yeah, I promise.

CRY BABY…

Links to industry news about the death of newspapers or interesting articles about our changing industry.

FEED ME INSPIRATION!

Links to the best of journalism multimedia.

EXPOSED!

A place to feature portfolio websites of individual artists.

NERD IN A BOX

It has taken me a few years to come out of the box with my 'nerdiness' "Hi, my name is Richard and I'm a nerd." This is the place to let my inner geek out of the box. Expect gear talk, Star Wars, graphic novels, gadgets, etc.

DON'T READ THIS!

This is where you come in. I'll write book reviews on industry relevant items and link to them, if you like them buy them from the MMS bookstore or click on the link and Amazon sends me a few pennies.

enjoy or not,

-r