Video Assignment No. 1

During our first class in the video slice of JOUR203, we learned many of the basics in video journalism.

We began by learning the technical aspects of using our equipment, including our Flipcams and tripods. We also learned how to shoot a video, upload it to the computer through USB and then open it in Windows MovieMaker.

Once we finished with the technical side, we moved on to how video journalism is different from other forms of media and also how it is the same. We viewed clips from the washingtonpost.com and other media sites. In one instance, we critiqued two different videos covering the same basic idea: reaction after Barack Obama was elected as the United States President. One provided great, crisp video while the other lacked lighting and really hurt the overall video.

Finally, we discussed the basics of the rule of thirds. The head of the person in the video should be in the upper third of the video shot. We learned how to do anchor shots (directly centered with eyes focused on camera lens) and interview shots (off-center to the left or right side and gaze off of lens toward someone).