Video Assignment #2

Some tips for using the final project templates

Here are a few things to keep in mind if you have any trouble when setting up your final project homepage.

1. First step, just like it was for our html exercises, is to copy the folder from our class folder to your mysbfiles public_html folder and renaming it something appropriate to your final project.
2. Do some work on the hompeage before next Monday's class, and get some help from me if you need it.
   
3. If you do something to blow out the page and you don't know what it was, here are some options: a) apple-Z your way back, step by step, saving and refreshing your browser to see if you found the problem step you took (combine with option c below, so you can save copy, links you liked); b) note that there are html comments that divide the index page into segments ("begin x section," etc.) - you can grab a clean copy of the template and sub it in for a section you're having problems with, thereby not losing other parts of the page that are working; c) don't be afraid to start over with a clean copy of the template - save-as the page that isn't working, preserving any copy or links you liked, and pasting them into the clean template carefully.
4. 
   

Video assignment 2 - due-date change

Please note that Video assignment 2 is now due at the end of class May 7 so you may devote your full attention to our guest speaker on May 5, John Shehada, who will be talking about search engine optimization.

Video Assignment #1 - Rachel Young

Final project templates

I have set up three final project templates. You may choose any of these, use them as they are or modify them carefully and within reason.

If you feel they don't meet your needs, you need to meet with me during one of the work sessions to discuss possible alternatives, which include setting up a brand new blog and working from a blog format.

• Template 1
• Template 2
• Template 3
  

The templates are available to grab in the class folder on the Journlism server in a folder called "final project templates"

HTML Deadline assignment

http://mysbfiles.stonybrook.edu/~lhsieh/april14/

Amanda's HTML Exercise 2

TODAY'S HEADLiNES

Final project topics

Reminder: Your topics MUST be approved by the end of class Wednesday. I will do my best to respond to emails between today and Wednesday, with priority to students who have already started a dialog with me about their topic via email April 9, as required.

Students who do not have their topics approved by end of class Wednesday may have to wait for approval until the following Wednesday, effectively erasing an entire week of potential work time.

I will not accept final projects from students who have not had topics approved.

HTML news exercise 2

This is a 90-minute exercise to be completed in class today.

Setup:

• Go to the class server inside the "html practice sites" folder and copy the folder "april14" to your mysbfiles public_html folders. Note the contents: an index.html file and an empty images folder.
  
• In a new browser tab/window, open your new april14 site at http://mysbfiles.stonybrook.edu/~yourNetID/april14/
  
• In Dreamweaver, open the index.html file
• To turn this project in, post a link to your page in the class blog. Don't forget to label it with your name.
  

Objective:

• You are the current homepage producer on a New York City *local* website, on a 90-minute deadline to set up tonight's homepage that someone has left blank.
• Fill in all the parts of the page using today's news, sports and feature stories, images and interactivity. Your links (with the exception of interactivity links - see below) should be real, going out to real stories on the Web. You are lucky that the entire Web can be considered under your website's ownership, so you can link to anything as if it were your site's own story.
• You should have at least one interactive element on each vertical layer of the page (total of at least 3). These should be links that go to your personal blog, to comment sections of new entries created for this purpose, where you will set up teaser questions for your audience to interact with.

Rules:

• You may add additional links where only one is shown, being careful not to completely destroy the overall balance and design of the page
• Where there are images, you should include images you grab (and credit) from the web. They should be sized properly in Photoshop, saved to the images folder in april14 and called with an absolute URL from index.html. Don't change the size of any image. Find the image size required by looking at the code in the image call.
  
• For the bottom layer of ther page, you must have at least one sports item and one lifestyles/entertainment item. The third slot is up to you - go with an additional item of those categories or find another category altogether. Make sure you alter the label bar to indicate your category
  
• Although you are linking to items not truly your own, all teasers, captions and headlines *should be * your own writing.
  

Tips:

• Remember - you are on deadline. Set yourself some internal deadlines so you keep moving through the page.
• Don't be intimidated by the code - use the split feature of Dreamweaver to find the page parts you are looking for.
  
• Don't get bogged down with doing fancy stuff to the images - find them, size them and get them up
• No polls - use your impulse to create polls and instead create nice interactivity teaser questions.
  
• Try to create some nice packages in the top sections especially - find multimedia out there to link to as extra links.
• Think local
• Try for a nice balance of items to appeal to a broad interest.
• Snappy headlines and teasers. You want people to click, so make your items interesting.
• Leave yourself some time to proofread
  

Class calendar the rest of the way

Wed. 4/9 - Working class: Video assignments; topics for final project due via email by the end of class.

Mon. 4/14 - HTML assignment - one day news assignment working in Dreamweaver

Wed. 4/16 - Working class; Final project topics must be approved

Mon. 4/21 - No class - Passover

Wed. 4/23 - Working class; Video assignment No. 1 due, end of class

Mon. 4/28 - Instruction on final project templates; Working class for the balance

Wed. 4/30 - Working class - video assignment No. 2 and final projects

Mon. 5/5 - Tentative - Search engine optimization; working class for last hour

Wed. 5/7 - Working class; Video assignment No. 2 due, end of class (note this is a change from the original due date, May 5)

Mon. 5/12 - Last day of class - wrap-up; working class; All class blog exercises are due

Friday 5/16 - Final projects due

Two video assignments

Overview: You have two short video assignments to be completed in Final Cut Pro, each worth 10 percent of your final grade. The first assignment is to be 1:00-1:30 minutes. The second is to be 1:30-2:30 minutes. They should each be stand-alone clips. They are to include the following components:

• At least 2 uses of B-roll video
  
• At least two uses of "lower third"
• Some reporting on a campus issue

Turn-in method: The assignments should be posted on YouTube and embedded in blog entries on both your class blog and your personal blog.

Topic for assignment No. 1: With a maximum of 1:30, you shouldn't be too ambitious. Pick a campus issue close to home that you can have some fun with. This assignment is mostly for practicing the Final Cut Pro techniques we have discussed in class, and you will be evaluated mostly for technical accomplishment and your successful posting to the blogs.

Topic for assignment No. 2: With some more time to use, this can be a more involved topic, though still a campus issue close to home. This assignment will be evaluated for content and reporting as well as technical accomplishment.

Due dates: Assignment No. 1 is due end of class April 23. Assignment No. 2 is due end of class May 5. Late work will be penalized two letter grades. Revision as of April 23 - Assignment 2 is now due end of class May 7.

Important note: You should use the recommended Final Cut Pro export settings for YouTube that are now posted in this blog

Final project

Overview:

Your final project will be a mini Web site whose homepage will reside on your mysbfiles web space and whose contents may reside in a variety of other web environments, such as blogger.com and flickr.com.

Your topic must be approved by the date below and should be sufficiently news-worthy, a definition which may be broadly interpreted to include feature and enterprise journalism.

Your project will contain five elements that may overlap a bit but that accomplish separate aspects of the project. Each element is worth 20 percent of your grade. The elements are summarized here and explained in greater detail below:

1. The homepage
2. The main bar - a reported article of 900-1,500 words that should be the anchor of the project.
3. A video, two to three minutes in length
4. A photo gallery or Soundslides presentation of original photos
   
5. A blog, to be used for, among other possibilities, aggregation on your topic, interactivity, hosting your main bar and other elements (some via embedding). Aggregation and interactivity are required enhancements.

All of your work for this project must be original and cannot have been produced for any other class.

Important dates:

• Wed., April 9: Deadline for topic "pitches" to be sent for approval. Send to dliss.nj@gmail.com
• Wed. April 16, end of class: Deadline for approval of topic.
• Friday, May 16, 5 p.m.: Project due date. No late work accepted.
  

Turn-in method: Email a link to your project's mysbfiles URL to dliss.nj@gmail.com

Topic approval: You are welcome to begin discussions with me at any time about a suitable topic for your project. By April 9, you are to send me a couple of paragraphs that get into some detail. Include the main idea of your main bar, the main idea of your video and how you intend to use the blog beyond its required uses. I will turn those around and either approve or ask for revision. By April 16 at the end of class, your topic must be approved, leaving you one month to complete it.

Your topic should be current, exciting and capable of supporting the bulk of the material you are being asked to package. Keep in mind that you will be reporting for your main bar and shooting your own video and stills, so the topic should have a local component.

The elements:

Homepage: Using a sufficiently journalistically styled template out of Dreamweaver (see additional note below), you will create a homepage for presenting all of the other elements of the project. It should include at least one photo. It should present the other elements in an enticing way, packaging each one with at least one interactive component. The overall look of the homepage should be neat and reflective of the relative weight of each of your elements. You may use either the code or the WYSIWYG features of Dreamweaver to construct your page.

Revision as of April 23: Please see this blog entry for a description of available templates and options.

Main bar: You will report and compose an original 900-1,500 word main story. The actual length should be determined by your topic and how much space you need to accomplish your reporting goals. Do not go over 1,500 words without prior approval.

The main bar will be a blog entry linked to from the homepage. It should contain at least one photo. It can, and probably should, contain links (internal or external) where they help enhance your audience's experience with your project.

Video: You will produce a two- to three-minute edited video, created in Final Cut Pro, uploaded to YouTube, embedded in your blog and linked to from your homepage. The video should enhance but not repeat what your main bar does. It should contain some B-roll. Note: Be sure to use the recommended Final Cut Pro export settings for YouTube posted in this blog.

You will have normal access to the video cameras from the newsroom.

Photo gallery/Soundslides: You should produce a photo gallery or Soundslides presentation of 7-10 unique images, and present it from your homepage. These images may be used in other places in your project as well as in this element. You may use a commercial photo tool like Flickr.com to house your photo gallery, or you may choose to create a gallery manually in your blog. If you like, you may do a Soundslides presentation, keeping in mind that the sound need not be music - it could be a voice-over. If music is used, it must be credited. Each photo should have a well-written caption.

Blog: The blog must be used to host your main bar and video - perhaps also your photo gallery/Soundslides element as well. You blog should be used as a place for interactivity, with links inviting comments that go directly from the homepage to the comment space for your entries. You should also use one blog entry to aggregate links for your audience to explore your topic further. Finally, you can also freely use your blog in appropriate ways not covered here to enhance the project and your audience's experience.

Additional notes:

• I need to research homepage templates. Look out for further blog posts.
  
• As we approach the end of the term, we will dedicate a decent amount of class time for you to work on the project and confer with me. I will try to have a list of dates when we get closer to April 16.
  
• I reserve the right to alter this assignment sheet any time through April 16, though I don't expect any major changes.
• Plan ahead. The resources of the newsroom will be tight as the end of the semester approaches, and this is far too much work to do in a hurry. The other 320 section will have a nearly identical final project.
  
• I encourage you to rely on your peers for help shooting video, editing main bars and whatever else makes sense.

Amy Winehouse: The Downfall

How to put your Soundslides project in your blog

1. Open your SB drives and create a folder there called "public_html"
2. Make absolutely sure you have exported a Blogger-friendly file size for your publish-to-web folders - even if you have to do it again just to be sure. Your size should be 380 px wide and 285 high.
3. Copy your publish_to_web folder to the public_html folder you just created.
4. Go to the Soundslides embedding utility page
5. In a separate tab open your soundslides project at http://MySBfiles.stonybrook.edu/~NetID/publish_to_web
   where "~NetID" is your NetID and publish_to_web is the name of your folder. You will see your project open up.
6. Copy the URL of that page into the "Slideshow URL" field in the embed utility and click continue
7. At the bottom of the page will be the embed code that you can then copy to a blog entry.
8. Note: If you haven't sized your project correctly, it will be cut off in the blog, and you will need to go back into Soundslides, "modify" the size, re-export and do steps 3-7 again.
   

Layered Photoshop Flag Exercise

Cupcakes are building blocks of culinary art

Two new cookbooks offer recipes to turn cupcakes into works of art.

• Kaye Hansen and Liv Hansen, "Little Cakes" (Clarkson Potter) | Karen Tack and Allen Richardson, "Hello, Cupcake!" (Houghton Mifflin) 

Trump on Jones Beach: I never quit

Trump promises to push Jones Beach project to reality through the courts.

• Complete coverage: Trump at Jones Beach

• Photo gallery: Trump on the Ocean

• Video: Trump fires back at NY State

Are we safe on campus?

A recent string of crime and theft on the SBU campus has pushed the community into a state of confusion. Between armed robberies at Kelly Quad to an alleged armed gunman incident that occurred today, students and faculty say they don’t feel that their safety has been compromised, but they still have questions.

“To be honest, I didn’t feel endangered at all,” Francesca Rachmanow, a senior, said. She added that she just wanted to know what was going on. She said she heard that students were not allowed to enter or leave some buildings on campus, but hadn’t heard any details about an alleged gunman, and whether or not the police were able to locate him.

“The only thing I was told was that I shouldn’t leave the Union,” Rachmanow said. She said she was at the SINC site in the Union between 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.

“I feel like the campus police are useless,” she said. She referred to recent reports of rapes at Roth Quad and students allegedly being held up by a gunman in Kelly Quad. “They couldn’t catch the gunman?” she said.

University police were stationed in the Student Activities Center throughout the day. They declined to comment about the alleged gunman, but said that no changes have been made in the situation since an “All Clear” text message was sent to the campus community around 3:30 p.m. Police said they don’t believe campus security has been compromised in light of this event.

Elbazar Rodriguez, a supervisor at the Student Activities dining center said he feels the campus is safe. “I work here everyday,” he said, “It’s fine.”

“I honestly think it can happen anywhere,” Joseph Awadalla, a Stony Brook sophomore, said. He said he wasn’t concerned about campus safety more after today’s events than any other day. “I can go to another college and it could happen there,” he said.

As of now, University police insist the campus is safe, even though the alleged gunman has not been caught. They said there is no longer any immediate danger in the situation.

Alleged Gunman at Stony Brook University This Afternoon

After receiving a call at 1:25 p.m., University Police and Suffolk County Police responded to reports of an alleged armed perpetrator. A little over two hours later, an "All Clear" text message was sent to members of the Stony Brook community.

"Police have searched the area and there is no longer any immediate danger. All clear," the message said. The suspect remains at large.

At a 4 p.m. press conference at Police Headquarters in Dutchess Hall, President Shirley Strum Kenny said a plain-clothes security guard at the Student Activities Center approached the suspect after an apparent theft.

"At that point, the perpetrator showed what appeared to be a gun," Kenny said.

Assistant Chief of Police Douglas Little said that at that point, the security guard, who he described as a "greeter" who works for the Faculty Student Association, "backed off and called police."

It is unclear if the same guard ran after the suspect.

Mariann Woolley, a senior who witnessed the incident at about 1:30 p.m., said she and a friend saw the suspect being chased by a security guard. The suspect is reported to be a black male with a long black trench coat, black knit hat and gloves, and a goatee. being chased by a security guard. Little said he has a tattoo between the thumb and index finger of his right hand.

"I saw him running - he went out with a pizza box in his hand. I didn't think he was, like, a gunman," she said. "We made the joke - wow, he's running for pizza?"

Woolley said the perpetrator ran between Harriman Hall and Old Chemistry toward the Sports Complex.

"I'm really scared, 'cause there's a whole lot of this stuff going on," Woolley said.

Across campus, some students echoed her response, while others reported feeling confused, angry, and worried.

Cesar Acosta, a senior, said, "No one really knows what's going on. It's just word of mouth."

A female senior who didn't want to be identified called WUSB 90.1 FM shortly after 4 p.m. She said she was sitting on a bench at the Student Activities Center just before the incident when someone matching the suspect's description sat down next to her and asked her for a dollar.

A woman who approached the Stony Brook Independent said, "I have a midterm tonight, but frankly, I feel safer off campus."

Although the incident occurred around 1:30 p.m., students reported not receiving an initial text message from SB Alert until at least half an hour later. "Remain alert, and follow directions of emergency personnel. Go to the Stony Brook Web site for updates," the text said. Some students said they didn't receive the message until around 2:20 p.m.

No official campus lockdown was issued. Noah Pirozzi, a freshman, said, "I'm pissed because you need some sort of lockdown device. They said this was one of the safest campuses when I applied."

According to Newsday, University Police said they believed the individual fled the campus shortly before 4 p.m.

One of the key questions raised at the press conference by reporters was why a campus lockdown was not instituted.

Kenny said a full lockdown is a false concept. "You cannot, on a campus, have an open lockdown," she said. She said said the school has been working on their emergency system "time and again." Stony Brook University has a 1,000 acre campus of about 40,000 people.

"Over 11,000 instant messages were sent out," she said, and added that the campus actually has less crime now, compared to last year.

The Student Activities Center remained open and as of 2:15 p.m., entrance and exit from Harriman Hall was possible. People reported a lock-down in parts of Administration. Lockdowns were also reported in Humanities, Engineering, and the Wang Center.

Around campus, University Police told students to go about their business but proceed with caution. "If you see something, immediately say something," said Patrick Bazemore, a University Police officer.

"I am really confident that we do everything we can to keep students safe," Kenny said.

Little said University Police will review what happened and hopes police will be able to get more information from video footage. "We have surveilliance equipment in the SAC," he said.

Kenny said that if she was the parent of a student here, her nervousness would depend on what her child told her about the incident. "If I had watched News 12's coverage, I would have been much more nervous," she said. "My brother in Waco, Texas saw it on Fox News."

Little said students should be aware of their surroundings. "If my son or daughter went here, I would tell them to challenge police to get as much information as possible," he said. "We're still looking for our bad guy out there."

Updates to Soundslides assignment

I changed the due date (now March 12) and added a few notes and tips. Please have a fresh look at the Soundslides assignment.

Layered flag exercise - Example

Europeans horde Oscars

Top acting awards go across the pond on a night of diverse winners and ho-hum comedy.
• No Country takes Best Pic
• List of all the winners |  Winners slideshow
• Blog: A review | Was Stewart funny? Comment

Soundslides assignment

Important updates:

Remaining work time: You will get one hour of class time today and one hour of class time on Wednesday.  At the end of that hour on Wednesday, your project must be copied to the folder named below or it will be considered late.

Sizing: The standard output size for Soundslides is too big for a Blogger blog.  Follow menu commands Modify > Output Size to make the output size of your show 380 wide and 285 high.  This must be done before you export.

Finishing and exporting: When your project is the way you want it, you need to carefully follow the "Publishing basics" instructions in the Soundslides manual for how to export - you will be following "Someone else will be uploading the files to a server."  The place to put those files is explained in the next note here.

Turning it in:  When you are finishing your slideshow, you will create a "publish-to-web" folder. Rename that folder to your name (no spaces, all small letters) and put in the JRN320 Liss folder on the journalism drive in a folder called "Soundslides folders here." Paul will be moving all those folders to webspace he controls and he will give us the URL for obtaining the embed code.

Due date: Wed., March 12, end of one-hour work period.  Late work will be penalized two letter grades.

Value: 10% of your grade for the course

Turn-in method: Post it to the class blog; link to it from your blog.  Instructions for posting to a Blogger blog, like ours are in the Soundslides manual. (You will need to size the slideshow to the right dimensions for a Blogger blog.)

Objective: In this assignment, you will create a Soundslides presentation of at least 3 minutes, including at least 40 images (more on image-to-time ratio below).  The presentation should be on a local, national or international news event, trend or personality of significance.  If you have any doubt that your topic is appropriate, please discuss with me.

Additional notes:

• Your photos can be from any source, but understand that unless you have the rights to the photos (most likely because they're either your shots or they're AP shots) this presentation cannot be submitted for publication.  Except for your own images, you must include the source of your images in your credits. Use some style to attribute photo source (MLA, Chicago, etc. Here's a useful link).  
• For shooting your own images, there are nice digital cameras available for sign-out. See Paul in the newsroom.
• Your music can be from any source, but, again, in order to be publishable outside class, you must obtain the web rebroadcast rights. You must cite your source here in one of the accepted styles.
• You will need some Web space for this assignment.  There will be a solution for the class that will be detailed here.  For anyone who wants to work independently on this, you may open your own free account on webng.com.  Soundslides offers tips and a demonstration for how to export your slideshow to webng. This is a very good solution and it may become the class solution, so you are encouraged to explore this option.  Update (March 5).  Webng is presenting some problems - Uploading files from the newsroom seems to not be happening.  Our webspace solution is going to be some help from Paul.  When you are finishing your slideshow, you will create a "publish-to-web" folder. Rename that folder when it's been created to your name and put in the JRN320 Liss folder on the journalism drive in a folder called "Soundslides folders here."  Paul will be moving all those folders to some webspace he controls and he will give us the URL for obtaining the embed code.
• Your presentation should include panning movement in a high percentage of your images.  The image movement and flow should be "choreographed" to the music to some degree. The better the image movement and music work together, the better.
• Your topic should be something of significance in the very local world of SBU (a campus incident, a basketball game, a guest lecture, etc.) or of some news significance in the larger world.  Your selection of topics will have to be determined to some degree on the availability of images.  Some of your images can be multiple crops of the same image, keeping in mind that the tighter the crop, the more important it is to have a somewhat hi-res version of the image. We will spend some time brainstorming topics.
• Your music should be appropriate to the topic. Length must be at least three minutes, but as you go longer, you should look to include more images.  You shouldn't dip below an average of one image every six seconds.   Soundslides will import an MP3 or several other audio types, but you cannot edit sound for length or anything else inside the program - once it's imported, other than killing a song and trying a new one, that's it. Follow instructions here for shortening an MP3 file using applications available in the Newsroom.