9/29/11

1)  Open the battery cover and gently push the memory card in until it reaches the bottom.
2)  The power button is on the left side of the camera by the screen.
3)  The record button is the bottom button on the back of the camera.
4)  Zoom is the slider above the record button.
5)  Press mode and then use the joystick to switch to "My Works" mode.  Scroll down to videos, use the joystick to navigate through the videos, and press "Ok" to choose one.
6)  Press the menu button and then use the joystick to choose the desired item.  Press "Ok" to choose it.
7)  Video Resolution, Picture Resolution, NightShot, Flashlight, Video Light, Effects

9/28/11

1)  A wide shots are sometimes called Establishing Shots.

2)  Wide Shot-- Give an overall feel for the setting and surroundings.  They establish where your story takes place.

3)  Medium Shot-- Less setting, more detail.  Starts to focus on a specific area.

4)  Tight Shot-- Lots of detail

9/27/11

1) Soundbite -- A little piece of an interview that you will use in your story.  Part of A-Roll.

2) B-Roll -- The footage of whatever you're covering. Enhances Story.

9/26/11

Topic:  Attack on US Embassy
Angle:  2 People Are Dead in the Terrible Shooting Against the US Embassy in Kabul
Criteria:  Unusualness, Significance, Timeliness, Prominent, Proximity

I would shoot footage of the embassy, the site of the shooting, the crowds in Kabul, get pictures of the people killed, and interviews with people in the embassy and witnesses in the crowds.

9/23/11

1)  The reporter's standup is in the middle.
2)  The best place is in the middle because you can tell the viewers something they don't know.
3)  The story should have five main points in the middle.
4)  The main points of the story are:  How old the people are, Who George Bakewell is, What he's done to be able to play still, George's fans and wife, and The Cubs and the Kids.

9/22/11

  The two American hikers convicted of spying in Iran have finally been released on Wednesday.  Minnesotan Shane Bauer, and Joshua Fattal, both 29 years old, were given to the Swiss ambassador who deals with American relations in Iran.  After power struggles in the Iranian government, a combined bail of $1 million was set for the two hikers.  It's been a long time coming, but the two innocent hikers are finally back home to the United States after over two years in Iranian prison.  The families could not be happier.  As stated by the families, "This can only be described as the best day of our lives."  I'm ecstatic for the hikers to finally have their freedom again.  It's not fair that they were held for two years, but I suppose that adds to the excitement of their release.  I can't imagine what I would have done in their position, totally helpless.  They are very strong people and I couldn't be happier for them.

Story

Topic: Eastview Musical - Do You Have What It Takes?

Angle:  Competition is Fierce

Interview 1:  Returning Cast Member
   Q1-What experience do you have that prepared you for the audition process?
   Q2-What performing arts have you been involved in at Eastview?
   Q3-How difficult is the competition for a role in the musical at Eastview?
   Q4-Do you think guys have an advantage over girls?
   Q5-What advice do you have for someone who wants to be chosen to be in the musical?

9/21/11

   Yesterday, Burhanuddin Rabbani, head of the High Peace Council of Afghanistan, was assassinated.  The High Peace Council is the body of government in relations with the Taliban, and the Taliban have made it very clear that they do not want to reconcile.  They sent the message that no official is safe and now anti-Taliban figures are getting more support than ever.

Unusualness, Significance, Timeliness, Prominence, Proximity

Story Notes

1) Find a topic
   -Who is your audience?
2) Find an angle
   - What is important about your topic?
   - Be able to summarize in three words: Subject, Verb, Object
3) Collect information
  -Who are three experts for this story?
  -Do we need opposing points of view?
  -What interview questions should I ask?
  -Need to know little details.
4) Conduct the interview
  -Make them feel comfortable.
  -Ask the right questions.
  -Get a good sound bite
  -Sound Bite = A piece of audio that can stand alone.
  -Have the person restate the question in their answer.
5) Shoot your reporter Stand-Up
  -One time you see the reporter
  -Use Stand-Up to transition from one location to the next
  -No first person
  -In beginning, middle, or end
6) Organize your sound bytes
  -What quotes should I use?
  -How can I organize the quotes to tell a story?
  -What are my gold nuggets?
7) Write segues in your story
  -Use words that tie the interviews together
  -What otehr information can I add to the story?
  -Can the story stand on its own?
8) Write the beginning and end of your story
  -Write body first
  -Best sound bytes for the beginning and end
  -Paraphrase a sound byte at the beginning
  -Leave them with strongest sound byte at the end
  -Leave them with hope

7 Topics

Marching Band
Choir
Football
LaCrosse
School Parking
xBox vs. Ps3
Work (Jobs)
Local Bands
Snowboarding
Music (Guitar)
Dan Arbogast
Skateboarding

Ruby Bridges

   Ruby Bridges is one of the greatest civil rights activists around, and it all began when she was a small child, just six years old.  She was going into first grade in 1960, the year that it was ruled in New Orleans that schools must be desegregated.  She passed the test and was one of the first to be educated in an integrated school.  As a young African American girl in a mainly white school, there were many protestors.  All of the parents pulled their children out of the class and Ruby Bridges was all alone.  Slowly the number of protestors dwindled, and by the end of the year, things had quieted down.  The next year, her class was full of new children, both black and white, and nobody seemed to want to remember the previous year.  Ruby Bridges was a very big part of the integration of schools.  Ruby has gone on to be a prominent civil rights activist, helping children to understand that the color of a person's skin does not matter.  It's hard to imagine a world without Ruby Bridges' contributions to the civil rights movement.

9/19/11

     Hundreds of fire fighters are still working to contain the wild fire in the Boundary Waters in northern Minnesota.  It's sad to me that one of the few protected areas of wildlife is burning right now, due to a lightning strike.  Heavy rain yesterday helped the fire fighters make a lot of progress, but it's still burning.  I wonder if there were any campers nearby when the lightning hit and started the fire.  It would have been terrifying right in the middle of the fire.

Unusualness, significance, timeliness, prominence, proximity

Jonesboro Shootings

     On March 24, 1998, in Westside Middle School in Arkansas, five people were killed in a massacre.  The shootings were committed by two children at the school, 13-year-old Mitchell Johnson, and 11-year-old Andrew Golden.  When they arrived to school with a van filled with food, sleeping bags, and weapons, Golden ran and pulled the fire alarms in the building.  Once everybody got outside, the two boys opened fire from the woods, killing five and injuring nine.  It's hard to imagine such rage and hatred from such young boys.

Death at McDonald's

   On September 7, a gas line carrying carbon dioxide to the soda machine at a McDonald's in Alabama leaked into the women's restroom.  Ten people were sickened, and one later died in the hospital.  I think it's horrible that ten people were affected before anybody figured out something was wrong.  It surprised me, though, that of all ways McDonald's can negatively impact a person's life, it was a gas leak that actually occurred.

Criteria:
Unusualness, Timeliness, Prominence, Human Interest

16 "Super Earths" Discovered

   The European Southern Observatory has just announced the discovery of over 50 new planets.  16 of them are "Super Earths," or planets with masses one to ten times larger than that of Earth.  One of these, HD85512b, has conditions in which humans could thrive, including liquid water.  It is about 35 lightyears from earth, located outside of our solar system.  This is a really amazing development, especially because there could be extraterrestrial life there.  It's exciting that humans may have another planet on which to sustain life.  The leader of the team that discovered the planets, Michael Mayor, has said that in 10 to 20 years, there will be a list of potentially habitable planets near the sun.  It's an incredible thought that in my lifetime we could be inhabiting another planet.

Google+ Gaming

   Google has announced an upcoming new social networking site (like Facebook) called Google+.  I think it's a bad idea for Google to launch a social networking website to try to compete with Facebook.  I can understand their thoughts on gaming, though.  Google believes that their new networking site will be successful because of their high quality casual games.  This means that the games can easily be paused when something of importance comes up and can be easily picked back up later.  My thoughts are that Google should simply make a gaming site like that, rather than a whole social networking site based off the games.  I don't see people getting off Facebook for Google any time soon.

National September 11 Memorial

  After being opened Sunday to only friends and family of ones lost in the 9/11 attacks, the National September 11 Memorial has been opened to the public.  The memorial consists of two open-topped cubes nearly an acre in size which stand upon the footprints of the twin towers.  The inside is made of granite and the top is bronze, engraved with the names of all those who were lost to the terrorist attacks.  Falling into the pools are the largest man-made waterfalls in North America.  They are building a National September 11 Museum near the memorial and three office towers are in progress.  Underground there will be a complex of shopping and transportation hubs.  The project is supposed to be finished around 2015.

Opening Activity

   Just before the tenth anniversary of the destructive 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States, the government received an unconfirmed but credible tip that there will be another al-Quaida attack.  The tip said that a car bomb will be used in either Washington or New York.  Our security as a country has doubled as this anniversary approaches, but President Obama has issued an order to redouble our security.  The tip remains unconfirmed, but it came at such a time that it could not be ignored.  Law enforcement officers think this could be an effort to retaliate against the United States for the killing of Bin Laden in a military raid. 

Partner Stories

  Jack Bertelsen is not only a baseball player of 10 years.  He also has played trumpet for six years, since fifth grade.  Another unique talent is his ability to juggle.

  Jack Bertelsen has a wide range of talents, from baseball and trumpet to juggling.

  A Jack of All Trades

09/08/11

     Amy Senser told investigators that she was driving the family car the night of a deadly hit and run accident which killed a man.  Investigators are not sure, however, that she was actually the one driving.  A private forensic investigator is looking into the locations of Amy Senser and her four daughters from the night of the murder.  The family of the man who was killed has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Amy Senser and wants at least $50,000 in damages.

Partner Story

  Jack Ross Bertelsen truly is a jack of all trades.  He has played trumpet for almost five years now in the school band.  He is also a baseball player.  Jack has played for over ten years, and his favorite position is right field.  One very unique talent that Jack has is the ability to juggle.  Obviously, Jack's talents are well rounded in many areas.