Finale
We are nearing my last blog post for J2150. I think the whole gist of this blog wasn’t to make a profound weekly entry about shutter speed or the role of photojournalism in advertising. My blog was all about my experience in the class. Everything about J2150 was new to me. I’ve never blogged, used a professional grade camera, or made an audio slide show. Software programs like Final Cut Express and Photoshop Elements were completely foreign to me 6 weeks ago. At first, I was intimidated but now I feel accomplished. I’m lucky to go such a fantastic journalism school that holds students to a “learn by doing” motto. Even though this class was condensed, I’m away with a new found confidence and the feeling that I got something done! The whole “learn by doing” thing can be difficult and at times make you doubt how able you are to do what is being asked of you.
So… I’ll go back to my first blog and admit that summer school wasn’t bad. I’ll even go as far as saying it was better than a normal semester long class.
Ohlivianne
Cicadas Don’t Just Make Noise, They Make Cards Too!
Columbia, Mo. June 16, 2011.
Photography by Olivia Clatto
Top picture: Cicada wings, that will be used to make paper, collected by Vicki Smith in Peace Park in Columbia, Mo., June 16, 2011.
Bottom picture: Vicki Smith, Bluestem employee, laughs at being caught picking up bug wings to use for paper she plans on selling at work in Columbia, Mo., June 16, 2011.
Vicki Smith, a local Columbia resident spends her lunch break collecting cicada wings! This lunch time activity may seem odd to those who pass by Peace Park, but Vicki has a plan. She collects the wings in hopes that she can use them for hand-made paper. This isn’t her first time making paper, but it will be her first time using cicada wings in her creations. Vicki has worked at Bluestem, a store in downtown Columbia, for over 10 years and plans on turning her cicada paper into cards to sell at work. Be on the look out for these cards to hit the shelves in mid to late summer. Locals thought cicada icecream was awesome, but wait till they check out these hand-made cicada cards!
Yes Sally, there are still finals during the summer.
When someone asks about finals, I think of the few weeks leading up to important collegiate breaks like Christmas and Summer. I do not think of finals during my four summer months of pure bliss and relaxation. But… Here I am, almost July, blogging about an upcoming final project.
My group decided to work with a program in Columbia called “Youth In Action.” After looking at the event list I got really excited about spending some time with Columbia’s youth a.k.a little kids! As a group we decided to focus on three of the programs upcoming events. The first one was Family Fun Fest located in Flat Branch Park. Holy cow, I can’t even tell you how adorable it was to watch these little kids run around bouncing off each other. As if watching them wasn’t fun enough, tons of them had their chubby little cheeks covered in face paint. Photographing and being at the event did not seem like work. It wasn’t a chore. Even though I’m not a little kid, I enjoyed watching the children run around.
Journalistically, I was really shocked at how I approached the event. I’ve spent such a small amount of time in J2150, but I honestly feel like I’ve learned a lot of useful stuff! I walked around Flat Branch Park not only looking for kids doing cute things, but for sequences. In my mind I was running through possible
angles and which scenes provided the best opportunity to get some great sequences. Crazy talk, I know!
With all the footage shot by Min Hee and the photographs that I took, I’m really excited to start piecing together the final project. So excited that I actually finished our required video! I am determined to conquer Final Cut Express.
Ohlivianne
Mobile Journalism Test
Journalism can be snazzy and high tech.
Columbia, Mo., June 15, 2011
Photography by Olivia Clatto
Top picture: Coffee and the J2150 syllabus are two of the most important things you can have to survive this summer class on the University of Missouri Campus, Columbia, Mo., June 15, 2011.
Bottom picture: Olga’s J2150 class learns how to utilize high tech gadgets to create mobile journalism in Neff Hall, Columbia Mo., June 15, 2011.
If you don’t know, now you know
After Monday’s lecture, I realized how much I didn’t know I didn’t know! Does that make sense? That seems to be the trend at the J-school. You realize how naïve you are when it comes to recognizing mishaps and wrong-doings. For example, before lecture, I would’ve more than likely not realized the “jump cuts” and even if I had, I wouldn’t know that they had a technical name! I really enjoy learning all the new things and being able to knowledgeably talk about what I’m looking at. One of the very first lectures we had, Rice talked about building our photojournalism vocabulary, and this is exactly what I find myself doing.
In the following labs, I thought it was really fun being able to watch the winery videos and communicate (with proper jargon) what is going wrong.
Speaking of new things…wow…final cut express. Who would’ve thought that I would EVER be editing my own videos. Granted this is one 30 seconds, but I love learning all this new stuff. It isn’t class if it’s fun! =)
Ohlivianne
Show Me The Slides
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/metro/interactives/dcschools/galleries/coolidge/coolidge.html
After going through examples of audio slide shows in class, I wanted to look for some of my own. I hit the web trying to find some of the best audio slides shows to help me get an idea of how this whole thing really works. I found this award-winning audio slide show called “Fixing D.C’s Schools: One School’s Struggle.” This slide show follows students and facility at Calvin Coolidge Senior High, a high school in the D.C area. It won 1st place in The Best of Photo Journalism in 2009, a project of the National Press Photographer’s Association. I watched the “Failing Jonathan” segment and I immediately noticed how the narration matched up with the pictures. This concept is something we talked about in class, and this slide show does it seamlessly. The possibility to give a voice to the voiceless is a journalistic golden nugget, and audio slide shows allow that to happen in a powerful yet concise way. The struggles that students all over the country face are reflected in the hardships the educators and students experience during their time at Calvin Coolidge Senior High. During high school, I knew kids like Jonathan, so I found his story moving and easy to relate to.
You Saw My Facebook?!
Monday’s lecture about social media got me thinking about how I portray myself through Facebook, Twitter, and now my blog. Luckily, I am used to the idea of untagging pictures, privacy settings, and using proper language thanks to my sorority’s meticulous need to maintain its image. Not only is my sorority worried about how I represent them, I’m Facebook friends with my grandma. Knowing that my grandma’s only purpose on Facebook is to keep track of her grandchildren (me included) really keeps me in check. I would hate to know that her heart stopped beating due to something she may deem “inappropriate.” That said, I am sure that if I continue to keep my sorority and my poor grandma in mind, I’ll be clear of any social media dangers.
I haven’t had any terrible experiences with social networking sites, but I have been warned by multiple teachers, family members, friends, and co-workers.
I recently started an internship with Thumper Entertainment. I quickly learned that they rely heavily on social networking sites to get their name, events, and brand to the public. During my first intern meeting with the company, a veteran intern, Ryan, bluntly states, “we liked your Facebook.” At first I was shocked and felt a little violated! MY Facebook! How’d they see it?! What did they think?! I immediately did a mental scan of my pictures, videos, wall post, and status updates. After a small panic attack everyone laughed and I realized they were joking. Funny joke… NOT. Even though I have nothing to hide, the joke made me aware of how easily they could’ve checked me out before giving me the internship!
The lecture not only addressed social media. We talked about blogs too! I immediately thought of a blog called “Her Campus,” I follow a ton of cooking and fashion blogs, but this is a blog all about college! It’s really fun to go through, but no worries…guys there’s stuff for you too. I stumbled on a “how to” post about refining your image on Facebook!
Check it out!
http://www.hercampus.com/career/how-clean-your-facebook-you-apply-job-or-internship
J2150 Bananza
Lets be honest: no one gets excited for summer school. Ever. And this is why I’ve purposely “missed” summer registration for the past few years. This summer, due to transfer credit nightmares, I threats of an untimely graduation forced me to enroll. That said, so far so good.
In the past few days I’ve rented a $1,500 camera, uploaded $70 worth of Photoshop software to my computer, and spent a majority of my free time messing around with the aesthetics of my blog.
Ironically enough, I haven’t the slightest clue how to use anything I just mentioned. I’m sure these next 7 weeks will be quite the learning process. I see a lot of tutorials in my future. I found a really helpful site on what we talked about in class. Reading over this with the camera in my hands really helped me grasp the concepts… at least a little better. If you need extra help too you should check out http://www.geofflawrence.com/photography_tutorial_shutter_speeds_and_apertures.php .
The D7000 I rented from the library has made me a ball of confusion. Hopefully I’ll figure out these fancy terms (i.e shutter speed and aperture) and be on my way to successfully capturing snapshots of the world! My poor dog Duke, a 1-year-old Lab mix, has bore the brunt of my picture-taking experiments. Good thing he’s photogenic.
Happy photographing!
Ohlivianne
Warning: may contain addictive properties!
My family’s obsession with food quickly turned into my desire to try every single type of food I could find. Thanks to my Italian up bringing, I am pretty sure I learned how to twirl pasta with a spoon before I could ride a bike. I’m always trying new things and looking for exciting recipes to show my friends and family. I usually stick to pasta dishes because I’m a broke college student and pasta is cheap. I’ve recently been introduced to another mind-blowing starch: dduk.
What is dduk? Wikipedia defines dduk (also called Tteok) as a Korean rice cake made with gelatinous rice flour. I define dduk (also nick named crack cakes) as an addictive culinary experience that will blow your mind.
My first encounter with dduk was this past week at my boyfriend’s aunt’s house during Mother’s Day dinner. My boyfriend’s family is Korean, so everything I eat with them is something I’ve never seen in my life. The dduk served to me on that fateful day was in soup, but I’ve come to learn it can be pan-fried, boiled, AND steamed. They have virtually no taste, but they are dense and chewy! It’s pretty much the equivalent of gummy bears but in entrée form….who wouldn’t love that?
I will admit, every Korean I’ve talked to has laughed in my face when I share with them my love of dduk, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting to tell everyone to give them a try! Luckily, there is an asian market right here in Columbia, MO that sells the tasty morsels for around $3.00 a bag.
Here’s a recipe to the amazing soup if you ever get your hands on these crack cakes: http://koreanfood.about.com/od/soupsandstews/r/Dukgook.htm
Happy eating!
Ohlivianne
ohlivianne 
