Professional Article Review.

I read an article called "Use of E-Cigarettes by Young People is Major Concern." The article is about the rising use of E-Cigarettes by the youth and how this increase in its use is posing a major health risk for them and those around them. It talks about how e-cigarettes are much more harmful than most people think.

In this article the author argues that e-cigarettes are now a major public health concern and are the most commonly used tobacco product among youths. Because it's the youth that's taking up this unhealthy habit, the effects of e-cigarettes are much more devastating since they're still developing. This explains why the argument was more centered around the effects on youth rather than adults, since adults are far more developed than teenagers; however, adult use was mentioned, but the author quickly digressed. 

The author of this article mainly used facts and previous studies to support their argument. One interesting fact the author used was that e-cigarette use among High School students has risen by 900% from 2011-2015. On top of that, 38% of High School students have admitted to trying e-cigarettes at least once. A study done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 16% of High Schoolers used e-cigarettes in 2015. That percentage is up from 13.4% in 2014.

A strength of this article is that it uses shocking facts and legitimate studies to back up the claim. These facts were relevant to the main argument and it felt like they added to the article instead of just being thrown in there for the sake of having some sort of truth. However, a weakness of this article is that it doesn't elaborate on the interesting facts it provides and doesn't provide any deeper insight into them.

The author concludes that there needs to be greater education among parents, teachers, and coaches about the risks of using e-cigarettes.

I find the main point of this article to be still relevant today and significant. E-Cigarette use is not only a problem, but it's becoming more and more prominent in today's society. This was an article that needed to be published and hopefully it opens some users' eyes about the hazards of e-cigarettes. The evidence used is also very convincing. The author doesn't just tell you not to do it to avoid possible negative effects, rather the author tells you the statistics of the negative effects caused by e-cigarettes taking their toll on the user. 

The only application I see for myself as a Journalist is to use more facts in my written stories. These add to the credibility of my articles and can help make them more persuasive if that's the goal.

How to Import Footage in Final Cut Pro (Technical Tutorial)

First, open up the Final Cut Pro Program.

Then, once it's opened and everything is loaded, click on "File" in the top left. Then, click "Import," then click on "Media..."

After you've clicked Media, a new window will pop up giving you options on where to import from. Select your SD Card from the left column under Devices. The SD Card is usually called "CAM SD" or something like that.

Once you've selected your SD Card from the left column, scroll down the list of clips until you find clips dated with today's date or whatever date you filmed on.

Select all of those clips. This can be done easily by shift left clicking the first clip and then shift left clicking the last clip. Then, click "Import All" in the bottom right.

After clicking "Import All" in the bottom right, Final Cut Pro will exit out of the window and begin actually importing the clips you selected. There will be loading circles in the bottom left of each clip if you've done everything correctly to this point. Please wait until the loading circles in the bottom left of each clip have disappeared completely before safely ejecting your SD Card.

When the loading circles in the bottom left of each clip have disappeared completely, the process is done and you've successfully imported your selected footage. You can now close out of Final Cut Pro and safely eject your SD Card.

Professional Project Review

I recently watched a KCTV5 story over the Missouri Board of Education's progress of Kansas City Public Schools. The scope of the story was to highlight the progress students in Kansas City, Missouri have made; test scores of the students are rising and they plan on keeping the momentum going.

The news story starts out with a stand up which I thought was interesting seeing as how most stories start with an interesting clip or soundbite to grab the audience's attention. The beginning stand up broke down why the rising test scores were a big deal and used the Kansas City Neighborhood Academy as an example. I think they used that academy as an example because they scored at full accreditation level. Following this was b-role of students at the Kansas City Neighborhood Academy doing paperwork. I thought the b-role matched well with the emphasis of the story and the shots they used were all in focus and steady.

The story was told through facts, a press interview with the superintendent and an interview with who I believe is a teacher in the school district.

One element from this story I would apply to my own stories is a stand up. They're a good transition and put a face to the voice the audience hears. Something I've learned that is in this story is J & L edits.

I think that one thing the journalist did well was match the b-role with what they were talking about. For example, when they were talking about Kansas City Neighborhood Academy,  they showed footage of students from the academy working and did a stand up right outside the academy.  However, an improvement they could make to this story is adding names to the people they interviewed. There was no lower third in any of their interviews and it made me question the credibility of those being interviewed since I didn't know who they were or how they were associated.

Overall, it was a good news package and very informative. My only major issue with it was the missing lower third in the interview. The voice over was solid and audio levels seemed to be consistent and at the right volume. The story also had 2 interviews. I'd give the news package a 9/10.
                                 

Semester 2 Final Reflection

Throughout my time in Convergence Journalism this year I've learned a lot, and although some of what I've learned is minor, it all contributes to the overall quality of my packages.

One of the first things I learned this year is that being able to work with a team is vital. While I am responsible for my own packages, it's important to collaborate with others to ensure that the show is quality and all of the packages that are scheduled to air are shown. I learned this time and time again when I didn't tell the producer the status of my package so they had to check up on me.

I've also learned that two interviews is the minimum for each package that I complete. This is offers more than one perspective and gives the viewer more information about the event. Depending on the package and angle being taken, the interviewee usually tells the story. If only one interview is shown, there could be missing information from the package that is key to the story. It's also important to know as much as possible about the event you're filming so that you can tell the story correctly. On top of all that, I've also learned a lot about my strengths and weaknesses as a journalist.

I believe that one of my greatest strengths is my voice overs. I think it's the correct tone and extremely clear; there are also no breathing noises or random pauses. My voice overs add to the quality of the package and if the package is to be professional, then a solid voice over is essential. I also believe that my voice overs have gotten better since the beginning of the year; however, there is always room for improvement. Another one of my strengths is my editing.

When it comes to video editing, I think that I am able to consistently keep my audio where it needs to be, color correct dark interviews or shots, and make the cuts necessary if some shots do not help the story, or cut an interview sound bite short if there is excess information that isn't needed - without making the cut obvious. My editing abilities have helped me enormously as the editing process is when the story comes together. I plan to pursue video editing as a career in the future, so everything I learn now will surely benefit me far beyond High School. While I do excel is some areas of Journalism, I am still a work in progress and struggle at both script writing and in some aspects of filming.

One of my weaknesses is script writing. Both for the live show and for voice overs in my packages. Although my scripts tell the story as they should, I don't think they are at the level they should be at. In some of my packages, such as the Raven Pops story, there are holes in the script that are important to the story. Specific the Raven Pops package, all of the solo and duet performers were not recognized. I am fault for this and will continue to look for ways to improve. Another one of my weaknesses is filming, ironically.

To say the least: my filming is subpar. Many of shots are out of focus, and others are shaky. When it comes to focusing shots, it can be difficult to tell whether or not they're in focus as the screen on the camera doesn't always make it very clear. It's not uncommon for me to be under the belief that my shot is focused only for me to import my footage later on and discover it was far from it, and sometimes also shaky; however, shaky shots are completely my fault. I don't use a tripod and that's something I will do next year. My filming is the only thing I would change because of all my simple mistakes that are easily corrected.

Putting all of this aside, I've truly enjoyed being in this class even though I don't always show it. If my filming is corrected, I know there is a future for me in Journalism. I'm looking forward to Senior year and making ONW Now much better than it was this year. As long as the incoming Juniors are committed, there are no limits.

ONW Orchestra Concert

Enrollment

Semester Reflection

I think that I've done a lot this year. I did my best to get stories out every other week and with many of my stories I had to stay after school or travel elsewhere to film B-Role.

STORIES

Brendan Dunwiddie Story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN78pQwXfQw

  This was a story over Brendan Dunwiddie and his decision to make the switch from Football to Cross Country. I covered this story because my partner Alex and I, during hallway committee, asked him what sports he was participating in and found out he was moving from one sport to another; the two sports (Cross Country and Football) are completely different. I went out and filmed this outside of school as well as edited it with the help of Alex. The story took us about 6 days, or possibly 5, from start to finish. The outcome of this story was a minute long news package that told a, in my opinion, decent story.While we were working on finishing this story, I learned that I need to figure out ahead of time the easiest way to film a sport's practice because I ended up running with the Cross Country team in jeans and a long sleeve shirt in the heat- this wasn't my best idea.

Concussions Story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfq30NqejxA

  This was a package over the Blue Valley Little League Football League and the concussions that often occur in Football. Me and Alex chose this story because we were interested in both Football and just how common concussions are in the sport. I went out to the League field and filmed this outside of class, as well as I edited most of the video. Creating this package was an experience in that we got to travel to a league we'd never heard of to watch 5th and 6th graders play football. This package took about a week to make since filming was a bit of a challenge to schedule because the league normally doesn't allow anyone to record the games; we also had to in and out point around 400 clips. The outcome was one of my favorite packages and a video full of great B-Role that includes numerous hard hits to emphasize injuries and concussions. After making this story I learned that the B-Role needs to help tell the story, just as much as the voice over.

Band Marching Festival Story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEBPl3otGv4

  This is a story over a marching festival our school's band participated in. We decided to cover this story because this was a big deal for the band, and many other school bands were going to be in it as well, so I went out and filmed this. This story took about 4 or 5 days to complete; the outcome of this story was a music filled package that told a great story of the band's stunning performance that they worked so hard to prepare for. After completing this story I learned to always white balance the camera before I start filming to avoid clips with very different lighting since. What makes lighting difficult is that it is always noticeable when you cut from one clip to another and that takes away from the quality of the package.

Plagiarism Story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hem34XfkGc

  This is a package over Plagiarism and how it is a problem in every school, as well as steps our school and many others, are taking to prevent it. We chose to to cover this story because our former teacher Mr. Allam suggested that we address the issue in a news package, and that's what got us going. I filmed B-Role for this.This package took a week to make because of all the interviews scheduled on different days and finding classes to film B-Role in; The library just wasn't cutting it when it came to quality B-Role. The outcome of this was a factual, informative package that I think enlightened students on plagiarism and its repercussions. I learned that I need to test the mic before going to film an interview because they may not always work and this took away from the quality of many the interviews Alex and I filmed.

Week of Giving Recap: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sbr7GpZysq4

  This is a recap over the Week of Giving that took place at ONW. I ended up working on this project alone. I chose to work on this package because I had never done a recap before and this would be a new experience for me. This was a package I did by myself so I filmed all of the B-Role and edited it. This story took 2 days to complete; one day to film and the other to edit. This was pretty rushed since I was on a crunch for time. The outcome of this story was a short and to the point recap of the Week of Giving at ONW that told students what they might have missed. Overall, I think this package did what it needed to do, considering the time frame I had to finish it. After making this package I learned that when I'm short on time I really need to get to it since there is no time to waste. While I did finish this in time, it's a great lesson for future reference.

Groundbreaking Playground Ceremony Story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sbr7GpZysq4

  This is a story over the groundbreaking ceremony on College and Lone Elm for a new park being made for special needs kids. We chose to cover this story because we thought it was great that they were creating a park accessible to special needs kids and wanted to find out more. I filmed B-Role for this and Alex did all of the editing since I was out sick the day we were going to edit it. This package only took two days to complete. The outcome was a heart-warming story over a new park soon to be built for special needs kids. After completing this package I learned that I need to dress appropriately for the weather conditions that I might be filming in. I learned this the hard way since it was most likely below 40 degrees and I only had on a thin jacket and no gloves.

STRENGTHS

  One of my strengths in Convergence Journalism is editing. I am able to make precise cuts and organize B-Role in a way that helps tell the story. I can also balance audio pretty well and avoid having random clips that are extremely loud compared to the others. I maximized my strengths by volunteering to edit and doing the best editing I could when I was given the opportunity.

 Another one of my strengths is knowing what types of shots I want to get before I film. Often times I'll imagine what shots would look good in whatever type of package I'm filming; 9 times out of 10 thinking about the shots beforehand and what would work is enough to lead me through the filming process. This is extremely helpful when I go out to film because it allows me to waste no time thinking about what my next shot will be.

WEAKNESSES

 My weakness is filming. That's pretty ironic considering that I do a lot of filming in most of my packages. While my concussion story had great B-Role, I think that I need to use a tripod to eliminate shaky shots. Shaky shots have been the bane of B-Role for me and I plan to use a tripod in all of my future packages to prevent them.  This semester I did try to use a tripod in my stories but eventually got away from it since it was a burden to move a tripod from one place to another. Although I guess that's the cost of still shots.

REFLECTION

Through-out this semester I've learned a lot. One of the biggest things I've learned is to white balance my camera before filming anything. The varying lighting that's always noticeable has plagued many of my shots and this needs to change. I've also learned to dress for weather conditions since I've payed the price for it twice. Lastly, I learned that I need to stay on task 24/7; this is imperative in order to have new stories out consistently, as is expected of me.

For next semester, I plan to utilize everything I've learned: White balancing the camera before filming, dressing for weather conditions, and staying on task.

I think I've grown as a student in that my work ethic has improved and so has my quality of work. I've also grown as a professional through the skills I've learned that I can take into the work force. What I've learned in e-Comm is what the professionals use in the media: Proper lighting, good audio, steady shots, B-Role matching with the voice-over. All of these will give me an edge when it comes time for me to apply to colleges and when I'm applying for jobs.