Multimedia story critique: week seven

For this week's best story, I chose Kelsie Soward's Military men will never forget their tours in Iraq.

This week, the journalism world was turned upside down with the news of Osama bin Laden's death. Newspapers across the country have run a number of bin Laden stories this week. I thought that Soward's story touched on the topic, without beating a dead horse. Soward's piece is deeply personal and reminds us of the sacrifices that service men and women are making everyday to keep us safe. Soward took a fresh and interesting angle to a story that is very big this week. I love it!

Soward's story tells the tale of three Marines whose lives changed while they were overseas. Where Soward shines is her ability to find subject matter that will resonate with people. I commend her ability to find three Marines to talk about their personal issues with her.

The video was the perfect multimedia complement to the written piece. Hearing Cpl. Anthony Carter speak about his divorce, tours of duty and reasons for joining the military was emotional and real. I think this was the singly best piece of multimedia I've seen all semester!

Multimedia story critique: No. 6

For this week's review, I chose Aubrey Nodine-Montoya's "Proposed noise ordinance spurs neighbor involvement, documentary."

I will admit that I have a personal interest in this story because I am a fan of country music, and I regularly attend free summer concerts at County Line BBQ. Reading about the proposed noise ordinance and the possible end of the summer councert series made me personally sad and a bit angry.

Nodine-Montoya took the story one step further to interview a documentarian who is producing a film about the controversial noise ordinance. I thought that Nodine-Montoya's ability to interview the right people and also find an interesting angle made her story the week's best.

My only criticism of the piece is Nodine-Montoya's multimedia element. I don't know if it was just on my computer (which doesn't have external speakers connected to it), but I could not hear any of the audio. Overall, great story and great job though!

Multimedia Critique: Number Five

For this week's blog, I chose Courtney McCartney's A day in the life of an editorial intern.

McCartney's video about internships is especially entertaining, and it is also a great example of how multimedia journalism can enhance a story. Her video puts a face to her story and brings out human elements that print is unable to do. I most enjoyed the dichotomy McCartney's video created when paired with her print story, showing both the good and bad, the beautiful and the ugly of internships. The video is fun, light-hearted, and refreshing, while McCartney's print piece is brutally honest and somewhat pesimistic.

McCartney's print article is clean and exceptionally written. She also brings up a good point with her piece: with the economy the way it is, more and more businesses are relying on interns as free labor. Interns save money for a business and it makes financial sense to find an intern who will work for free rather than paying a full-time employee. The problem with this is that when an internship is completed, there are rarely full-time, paid jobs available for the intern.

The only critique I have is that some of the interior shots are a bit dark, and I'm sure a color-corrective filter would easily lighten the video up. Otherwise, great job!

Multimedia critique: part four

For this week's round of stories, I chose Maren Marshall's "When I was 19... multimedia piece about rising gas prices.

I most liked Marshall's multimedia element this week because her photo slideshow told a story, and it wasn't your run-of-the-mill, gas-prices-are-too-high, boo-hoo, cry-me-a-river story. Marshall's "When I was 19..." piece dove deeper and managed to put faces and voices to the rising gas prices. She made the hard news come to life, which is something I for one would like to see more of in the multimedia journalism arena. In short, it was nice as a viewer to see how the sudden rise in gas prices is affecting other people just as it is affecting my pocket book, too.

I most enjoyed Marshall's reporting skills in her multimedia piece. Not only did she. feature a college student so that our class could relate, but she also featured people of all ages. I thought the "When I was 19..." angle was simple, yet genius--it tied the piece nicely together and gave some perspective as to just how much gas prices have increased indeed.

Multimedia story critique: Part drei

For tonight's post, I'll be reviewing Kelsie Soward's Curbside cuisine is the newest food industry phenomenon.

Soward is obviously a strong photographer, and in her week two story is where we see her photography absolutely shine. She makes the curbside trucks look visually appealing through changing the composition of each photograph. Her fantastic photographer's eye ensures that no two photographs are the same, and each are visualy striking and interesting for the viewer.

Another area where Soward excells is connecting with the subject. We get a portion of their life story--from their motivations of starting a food truck in Albuquerque to their ambitions and goals--all in just two-and-a-half minutes. Through the audio and interview, Soward is able to make both subjects come to life, and their personalities jump out through the audio clips. In short, Soward gives us the perfect slice of life feature.

The only thing that I can think of that would make this piece stronger would be ambient sound. For instance, when the photograph shows Callie Toleman laughing with a customer, hearing her laughter would have brought the image to life even more. The same goes for when Shay Patchell serves the green chile cheeseburger. It would have been nice to hear the cheeseburger being cooked, or Patchell saying "Have a nice day."

Overall, Soward does an outstanding job on this piece... and I can't wait to see more of Soward's photography in the remaining two multimedia stories!!

Multimedia story critique: Part deux

I'll be critiquing Aubrey Montoya-Nodine's multimedia piece on Gabi Rojas.

What I found most intriguing about Montoya-Nodine's story was her ability to interview a minor Albuquerque celebrity. For those who live under a rock, and as Montoya-Nodine explains in her written article, Rojas is a UNM dance graduate. However, perhaps Rojas is best know for appearing on season five of "So You Think You Can Dance." Rojas blew judges away with her original audition dance, but failed to make the top 20 dancers. I thought the multimedia piece was a great update on all that Rojas has been up to since her time on "So You Think You Can Dance." I was fascinated to learn that she is now in a dance company and performing regularly. The piece worked well because Rojas such an engaging and enthusiatic voice, and, to me, you can just hear the passion and dedication to dance in her ever word.

I think that the multimedia piece, which is currently audio only, could have been greatly improved by obtaining more courtesy photos from Rojas so that viewers could get more of a sense for the type of dance Rojas performs. Even streaming video of Rojas' audition on "So You Think You Can Dance" would have greatly improved the piece. I, for one, am obsessed with reality tv, and so I was more than willing to listen to the interview almost six minutes. However, I think regular viewers would have enjoyed a shorter piece, edited down for time and touching on some of Rojas' highlights.

Overall, very nice work, and I commend Montoya-Nodine for getting in touch with such a well-know and fascinating subject!

Multimedia story critique: Numero Uno

The article and multimedia content I chose to review for this round of critiques is Andrea Salazar's UNM ethnic centers to get a facelift.

Salazar's experience in the broadcast journalism realm is more than noticeable in her multimedia content, which is an interview with archivist Terry Gugliotta about the history of Mesa Vista Hall. Salazar excels at capturing quality audio and stringing together a series of archived photos to produce a multimedia product that nicely complements her story. Salazar is one of the few students in class whose multimedia content does not duplicate (but, instead, adds to) the story she is telling. In short, it was nice to both read about Mesa Vista Hall and then also get a brief history of the building in one perfectly executed piece.

The multimedia element is professionally done. With the exceptions of not having captions or credits for her photos, everything else is almost perfect. The audio quality is amazing, and the slideshow flows together nicely. However, I personally would have enjoyed a more in-depth overview of the building. I have had the opportunity to interview Gugliotta myself, and she is a wealth of information when it comes to the history of UNM. For example, I know that two students were killed in Mesa Vista Hall and that el Centro de La Raza does an annual haunted house in the building's basement, which actually connects underground across Smith Plaza to Zimmerman Library. (On a side note, UNM actually has a series of underground passageways that connect a number of buildings on campus.) These tidbits would have only added to the multimedia content.

The print content is clean and well-written, too. However, I would have enjoyed more information about the proposed ethnic centers merger that could result from the renovation. In addition, the LGBTQ Resource Center is currently housed elsewhere on campus, and it would have been nice to know if the proposed renovation includes room for this ethnic center as well.

Overall, Salazar did a superb job on her first story. Keep up the great work!