The Next Time Around

My blog entries for the first package were very straightforward; I had the essentials, which included photos, slideshow, video clips, links, and formatted text (bolding), but through my classmates' projects and personal observation of professional sites, there is undoubtedly room for improvement.

Here's a review of the techniques I used for my project, and how I did it:

1) Photos. I simply uploaded photos I took with my digital camera while reporting onto my computer. I then opened up Adobe Photoshop to tag, frame, and resize my photos. Using blogger's photo tool, I browsed the folder in which I saved my photos, and ta-da it was on my page.

2) Slideshow. I used PictureTrail as the host. All I did was chronologically upload the series of photos I wanted to display in my slideshow. The functions are very basic and straightforward; it allows you to pick and choose the type of design you want, which colors, and how you would like the photos to be displayed, and will then provide a URL link for you to embed.

3) Video. I went out and shot footage and interviews using a mini-DV camera. I edited the film using Avid in Annenberg's Digital Lab, and then uploaded the brief sound bites onto Youtube as the host. Youtube provided a URL link, in which I embedded into my story.

4) Links/text formatting/lists.

5) "Story highlights" section at the time of the story; bulletpoint list of major points of the story

Here are some things that I would like to improve on for the final package:

1) A cleaner look. I really liked Jean's style with her project. Instead of using blogger, or any blogging site that pre-codes the actions, she was able to design her page from scratch on her mac. Because of that, her blog looked extremely professional and more like a real publication.

2) More Gadgets/Applications. I didn't even bother looking at additional gadgets that were available to me. If I had, I would have been able to enhance the multimedia elements I used. In Lysee's project, I liked the mini icons of the video bar and the mini slideshow found at the top right corner. I also found it nifty for the related links to be located there as well.

3) More side stories. I wish I went beyond the expectations of the first package by doing more reporting. Ashley Z. wrote several stories relating to her main subject of downtown art galleries. I thought that was fascinating and really enjoyed the various angles she represented by writing several additional brief entries (reviews by passers by, transportation, what to expect, etc).


I've already imagined a specific layout with specific gadgets to use, let's just hope it turns out well!