As promised, my official last entry for Scifest and a final round-up. Jude gave us a few questions to think about and here they are:
What did you learn about multimedia journalism/ recording during Scifest 2007?
Planning
From my experience, planning is everything. If you know what you are dealing with and you have an idea of what it is that you want to get. You need to have a clear angle before you go out and gather your news information. Planning is more than merely doing research as I learnt during the "Cut the fat, Makana" package. I conducted quite a lot of research beforehand but failed to narrow my angle down and, as a result, did not know exactly what information I wanted to gather. From a multimedia perspective, Hayley and I did not sufficiently storyboard and write audio scripts, so we were often ill-equipped technologically to record audio and take proper photographs. This is especially evident in our "Hypnotism: Theatrical Therapy" and "What you going to do with all that junk?", where I remember getting to the venue and having my questions for my article prepared, but looking at the camera and mini disc recorder and thinking to myself: "what now?"
Newsgathering Perspective
The newsgathering process was time-consuming and for Hayley and myself, trying to tackle issues from an Eastern Cape and Grahamstown perspective, the Scifest lectures were a starting point for us. But, with time constraints I don't feel like we were able to attain the depth of information that we wanted. The pressure to get news out inhibited in-depth coverage, but I do understand the need to publish articles and packages on deadline. Similarly, Hayley and I had a fair balance of multimedia skills in terms of newsgathering, although our photography skills were lacking and this showed in our end products.
Teamwork
Hayley and I approached the packages on a fifty-fifty basis, with each of us doing half of each story. This approach had its advantages and disadvantages. It was advantageous in the sense that there was always that other person there to bounce ideas off of and sharing the work load did make it easier to a certain extent. On the negative side, it did feel like we were each covering four stories. We also tended to slip into production line mode where I would conduct interviews and write up articles and captions and maybe taking a few photographs, while Hayley concentrated on recording audio and taking photographs and editing the final photostory. As a result, I don't feel like I got sufficient experience in editing photoslides and audio. Hayley and I were both equally involved in each story, so none of the stories are completely and entirely mine.
What did you not know about conference coverage that you didn't know before?
I think establishing a relationship with the person conducting the conference beforehand is essential so that you know exactly where you stand with regards to being allowed into the venue with sound equipment and using flash photography. It also helps to meet with them beforehand to get an idea of what the conference is about, so that you know what to expect and can angle your story accordingly. With regard to the boys vs. girls lecture that Hayley and I attended was not what we expected and we were forced to scrap the article. Maybe we would not have wasted our time and thought of a better article topic earlier, had we met with the lecturer beforehand. Also, many conferences only happen once and if you do not have a clear idea of what you are covering, then you may miss important information/ photographic opportunities. This happened to us in our "Hypnotism: Theatrical Therapy" package. The photgrapher we were forced to use (due to our lack of technological planning), was unable to get dynamic photographs that could have added to the quality of our photoslide show and did not have a second opportunity to take photographs.
General
On the whole this was a great learning experience that has been essential in showing me what I know and what I still have to learn before I am released into the real world! It is one thing to sit in a theory lecture and be told what and what not to do when covering multimedia stories for the web, but until you are thrown into the practice, you don't really understand. Thank you to all who have so faithfully read my blog (thanks Jude!) and wil post again soon.
I am now off to PE for a working holiday
Ciao for now
MEG*
Friday, 30 March 2007
SciFest Diary - Day 8
Well, Scifest is officially over, and the articles are done. You can see my third multimedia package at What you going to do with all that junk?. There is a technical glitch with my DNA article, something to do with the content management system not allowing any form of hypermediality, photographs or credits. This is a problem that Jude says he will have to evaluate. But, the article is complete.
Today, while Hayley finished up the audio for the Gupta photo slideshow, I tried to contact my dear friend at the Grahamstown Police Department, Capt. Mali Govender. After a restful day in PE (this is speulation) it took me another three tries to get hold of her. This was immensely frustrating, because I just needed her interview before completing my FINAL article for Scifest. Eventually I got her on the line and asked my well-rehearsed set of exceptionally intelligent questions with my lecturer once again looming. This time, the interview went very well, as I had a clear focus and a clear idea of what exactly it was that I wanted from her. This made the interview process much smoother and conversational. The information I received was thus sufficient to finish my article.
This afternoon, I then sat down with Jude to edit the story. My brain cells have whithered away to the point where I couldn't even think of a good ending for my last Scifest story. But, it is done now and I am relieved. I will keep you updated for when our final story is posted.
Thanks for reading, tomorrow I will do a final round-up.
Ciao*
Today, while Hayley finished up the audio for the Gupta photo slideshow, I tried to contact my dear friend at the Grahamstown Police Department, Capt. Mali Govender. After a restful day in PE (this is speulation) it took me another three tries to get hold of her. This was immensely frustrating, because I just needed her interview before completing my FINAL article for Scifest. Eventually I got her on the line and asked my well-rehearsed set of exceptionally intelligent questions with my lecturer once again looming. This time, the interview went very well, as I had a clear focus and a clear idea of what exactly it was that I wanted from her. This made the interview process much smoother and conversational. The information I received was thus sufficient to finish my article.
This afternoon, I then sat down with Jude to edit the story. My brain cells have whithered away to the point where I couldn't even think of a good ending for my last Scifest story. But, it is done now and I am relieved. I will keep you updated for when our final story is posted.
Thanks for reading, tomorrow I will do a final round-up.
Ciao*
Wednesday, 28 March 2007
SciFest Diary - Day 7
You know in the Bible when the 7th day is a day of rest? Ja, well, no, not in the New Media course. This morning, bright and early, Hayley and I trekked up to the Monument for the LAST TIME!!! (applauds self, as no one quite understands the feelings of resentment that have surfaced over the past 7 days regarding that hideous, badly designed, cold, brick, structure). We attended the the DNA workshop run by Valerie Corfield and it was so much fun. I was allowed to participate in the workshop and actually extracted DNA from ground wheatgerm. I also got to make my own paternity story and take part in a play - it was like high school and I was the atar pupil! It was great fun and an overall learning experience.
Hayley took photgraphs and these will be used in the phot gallery and I have finished the captions that centre around the workshop itself. The article itself will centre more around DNA testing in South Africa and how it is used to solve crimes. Corfield wis an extremely colourful lady (literally - her shoes were two different colours) and she provided us with a fair amount of detailed information about South African forensics.
To give the article a Grahamstown context, I called Mali Govender the media spokesperson at the Grahamstown police station. This was not a successful telephonic interview. It is difficult to ask someone questions with your perfectionist, highly-critical lecturer looming over you while you are on the telephone. I am also a little out of interview practice and I don't think that I had a clear idea of what information I wanted from her. As a result, I was led on a wild goose chase straight into red tape land and as a result of my lack of direct and probing questions, will have to repeat the phone interview tomorrow. AAAAAAHHHH!!!!!
Tomorrow is deadline for all completed stories, so the end is in sight!
Cheers*
Hayley took photgraphs and these will be used in the phot gallery and I have finished the captions that centre around the workshop itself. The article itself will centre more around DNA testing in South Africa and how it is used to solve crimes. Corfield wis an extremely colourful lady (literally - her shoes were two different colours) and she provided us with a fair amount of detailed information about South African forensics.
To give the article a Grahamstown context, I called Mali Govender the media spokesperson at the Grahamstown police station. This was not a successful telephonic interview. It is difficult to ask someone questions with your perfectionist, highly-critical lecturer looming over you while you are on the telephone. I am also a little out of interview practice and I don't think that I had a clear idea of what information I wanted from her. As a result, I was led on a wild goose chase straight into red tape land and as a result of my lack of direct and probing questions, will have to repeat the phone interview tomorrow. AAAAAAHHHH!!!!!
Tomorrow is deadline for all completed stories, so the end is in sight!
Cheers*
SciFest Diary - Day 6
Dear diary
Just kidding, I've been wanting to do that for a while. No, seriously. This morning at our news meeting that ironically very few people actually manage to attend, Jude and I changed the 'Women in Science' story and came up with something so much better. It's the 'DNA Detective', which stems from a workshop conducted by research scientist Valerie Corfield about DNA and how DNA is used in forensics to solve crimes and paternity suits. The story will be an article with extensive hypermediality and a gallery of photgraphs with captions. The story does not necessarily lend itself to a photostory. The workshop is held daily from 9:00 - 10:30, so Hayley and I will attend it tomorrow morning.
Today, our mission has been to collect proper photgraphs that are not grainy and blurry from lack of battery power. I also managed to get some more information to flash out my article slightly. I then did my daily trek up to the labs and proceeded to put the finishing touches on my article. Jude had few words of criticism which is not so much comforting as it was disturbing and slightly eerie. Has the pressure finally got to him? Stay tuned to find out whether or not Jude CRACKS!!! By the end of today, our audio photostory for the Gupta article needs a little more work. The audio is currently sitting in Lauren's cupboard at her house. But, the good news is the article is done.
Cheers*
Just kidding, I've been wanting to do that for a while. No, seriously. This morning at our news meeting that ironically very few people actually manage to attend, Jude and I changed the 'Women in Science' story and came up with something so much better. It's the 'DNA Detective', which stems from a workshop conducted by research scientist Valerie Corfield about DNA and how DNA is used in forensics to solve crimes and paternity suits. The story will be an article with extensive hypermediality and a gallery of photgraphs with captions. The story does not necessarily lend itself to a photostory. The workshop is held daily from 9:00 - 10:30, so Hayley and I will attend it tomorrow morning.
Today, our mission has been to collect proper photgraphs that are not grainy and blurry from lack of battery power. I also managed to get some more information to flash out my article slightly. I then did my daily trek up to the labs and proceeded to put the finishing touches on my article. Jude had few words of criticism which is not so much comforting as it was disturbing and slightly eerie. Has the pressure finally got to him? Stay tuned to find out whether or not Jude CRACKS!!! By the end of today, our audio photostory for the Gupta article needs a little more work. The audio is currently sitting in Lauren's cupboard at her house. But, the good news is the article is done.
Cheers*
SciFest Diary - Day 5
Sunday morning am saw the completion of Hayley and my second multimedia package. Check it out at Hypnotism: Theatrical Therapy. This was an overall good experience and Jude did not rip my article to shreds as much as the previous one, so onward and upward as they say ...
This afternoon, Hayley and I attended the Science Through Toys workshop run by Arvind Gupta. This is part of our third multimedia package. We attended the workshop and I interviewed Gupta, learners and teachers about what they thought about the workshop. To give the story a South African and specifically Eastern Cape angle, I managed to get some statistics and facts about the education system here, specifically in rural schools.
Gupta's toys could really be utilised as they are cost-effective because they are made from junk and easy to make. It really opens children up to learning and he is a very inspiring individual. You can download all his books about how to make toys from his website: Arvind Gupta Toys . It is a shame that Grahamstown schools did not capitalise on his visit.
I then came back to the NML labs, as I have done for the past four days and proceeded to write up my article. However, the pictures Hayley and I took did not come out so great, the lack of battery power did have something to do with that. This was a valuable lesson in always being PREPARED!!! This means charging your batteries the night before and not taking for granted that they are charged without checking. My bad ...
As a result, we will have to go to Gupta's workshop again tomorrow to get photographs for our photostory. We also need to review our fourth story - women in science. Seeing as most of the women in science have already left Grahamstown, we might have a problem.
This afternoon, Hayley and I attended the Science Through Toys workshop run by Arvind Gupta. This is part of our third multimedia package. We attended the workshop and I interviewed Gupta, learners and teachers about what they thought about the workshop. To give the story a South African and specifically Eastern Cape angle, I managed to get some statistics and facts about the education system here, specifically in rural schools.
Gupta's toys could really be utilised as they are cost-effective because they are made from junk and easy to make. It really opens children up to learning and he is a very inspiring individual. You can download all his books about how to make toys from his website: Arvind Gupta Toys . It is a shame that Grahamstown schools did not capitalise on his visit.
I then came back to the NML labs, as I have done for the past four days and proceeded to write up my article. However, the pictures Hayley and I took did not come out so great, the lack of battery power did have something to do with that. This was a valuable lesson in always being PREPARED!!! This means charging your batteries the night before and not taking for granted that they are charged without checking. My bad ...
As a result, we will have to go to Gupta's workshop again tomorrow to get photographs for our photostory. We also need to review our fourth story - women in science. Seeing as most of the women in science have already left Grahamstown, we might have a problem.
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