I blogged last month about making a how-to video (paper flowers) based on an assignment at work. Since the column the video accompanied is a monthly feature, I got another opportunity. This time the subject was felt faux food. You can check out some examples at Megan Cooley’s blog (she’s the star of my video).
I learned a few more things I thought I’d pass along:
Avoid reflective tables when taking stills (doh).
Recording the audio of the instructions in a separate take is good. But encourage your subject to write out a script. Use short declarative sentences in said script. This will save you lots of audio editing work.
Be creative with your still/static shots. Like with the sandwich stacking.
Use titles/text to save time. It’s just as effective as the narrator’s audio instructions.
I’m just catching up to blogging about this video I shot and produced a couple weeks back.
It’s a sweet story about two long-time pen pals meeting for the first time here in Spokane. They started corresponding in the 1930s.
I tagged along with the reporter to document the magic moment. I hadn’t shot any live events for months, so I was kind of rusty on sequencing my shots and other imperatives that I’ve been taught.
I taped while the reporter did his interview with one of the women, but there wasn’t much there I could use. She didn’t provide much when I asked some follow ups.
In the end, I was able to capture the moment they met with some OK sequencing, and when I sat the two of them down together I got some usable audio to create a simple, one-minute short.
More important than the finished product, I think, was the experience of getting back into live shooting and producing on deadline.
The project is the biggest undertaking I’ve been part of at this newspaper. To complement the stories, I developed an interactive map using Google My Maps. There are historical photos, aerial photos by S-R photog Jesse Tinsley, markers with information about key landmarks and illustrations by Rick Hosmer, a participant on the expedition.
The map was time-consuming but easy to put together. I didn’t dabble with KML or other more sophisticated Google tools, instead relying on the basic My Maps interface. You can check out a quick tutorial here.
The map has been getting decent traffic and love from my friends at Down to Earth.
Of course, I’m not the only one merging waterways and interactive maps in these parts. Cheney, Wash., resident Ron Hall introduced himself in my comments section and shared this link to his Google Earth aquifer tour. Also check out this profile S-R reporter Parker Howell wrote about Hall and his 3D modeling of Spokane landmarks. Great stuff, and miles beyond what I’m doing. For now.
