Farming the Future

The pictures were phenomenal, I really liked a couple of the turtle pictures. The video use was interesting because it didn't really further the story, but broke up the pictures so it wasn't just 3 minutes of photos. In the first 20 seconds there are a series of pictures of the clothes fluttering on the line strung together so it looks like a video, but not; it's pretty cool. I liked the pictures the most because the captured a lot of the landscape and the lives of these people pretty well.

Scene: Interactive Map...Hell Raising Tradition

This is a really cool idea. It really adds a lot of background information into the deaths of other reporters as well as where Kasherman was that night he died. It also shows the landscape of Minneapolis, and is a really creative addition to the story.

The Hell Raising Tradition story was a really good background piece. I read it after watching the movie Rubbed Out and it helped answer some of the questions I had after seeing the film and added more to the information that was presented in the film. In hindsight, I should've read the story first then watched the video because it woiuld've been easier to follow, but either way I stil enjoyed them both.

Rubbed Out

This video is really interesting. I like the black and white, which was a no-brainer for them to go with since the only photos are in black and white, but never the less it looks good. The dramatizations were good too, and split up the slides, because a 5 minute slide show can be boring, the breaks in photos with video was great to keep my attention. I also really liked the beginning with the typewriter spelling out the title, and the music was ominous, and immediately put me in the right frame of mind to watch the story.

Life Lessons from the Family Dog

This is a cool story about the effects that dogs have on our everyday lives and especially how Jennings shares a connection with his dog even more now that they are both constantly on medications. This story was a simple blog post, and accomplished what he was trying to do, but overall was not as entertaining as other posts. It seemed more of a filler story than anything else.

My Brief Life as a Woman

This was a pretty amusing story about having to deal with the lack of testosterone and the hot flashes he experiences. I like the line about being not only menopausal but also turning into a teenage girl from the '70's. His voice comes through very strong and his sense of humor makes the blog post easy to read.

Dana Jennings Video

This was a great video. The story was powerful, and I also really liked the reoccuring video of them playing soccer. I felt like that was a good look into their relationship and seemed really genuine and not forced. The beginning with both of them stating their illnesses really grabbed me because the sound of their voices is optimistic and different from how I'd expect someone to sound. The switch from video to pictures were done well, and I like the constant side to side motion while showing each of the pictures, like the prom picture and the group of photos. The bond between them comes through strong, and the only other thought I have is maybe how Owen's mother and brother feel.

The Soundtracker

Lame, I don't even know what the point of this movie was. The pictures were cool, but otherwise the guy was boring, and the story was lacking. I did not feel like I should care about this guy tracking sound. Even the choice of video that was used was wasted because it did not further the story but rather just showed him in a field, which a picture could have done just as good. After about a minute and a half I wanted to stop the movie.

Chat Roulette

This movie was done really interestingly. The sloppy graphs were both entertaining and informative, as well as I feel that all of the questions I had were answered. I like the effects of clicking away people at the end of the movie. The overall approach to the topic was great and progressed smoothly through each phase. I enjoyed the music as well since it kept the mood light and to the point.

Group Project

We are doing our project on Franz from Franz's Food. We had a professor in mind at first, but he didn't work out, but we have pictures and a good interview with Franz already done so we are in good shape. I helped come up with questions and asked some to Franz.

Royal's Legacy

This was a pretty cool memorial to her father. I don't like the way the title is shaped and in black and red, it looks silly and doesn't go with the story. I like the way it mixed video, audio and pictures, especially the video that was chosen because it puts a face to the voice and you see her emotions. The zoom in and zoom out effect was used too much and became distracting. I like the picture of the brushes in the buckets at 2:18 just because I think it looks cool.

Battle of the Blonds

This was pretty funny, I like the ending the best with her saying that people have told her that she looks like Marilyn would've looked if she stayed alive, which would've put Monroe around 90 years old, but then Melissa says that she isn't near 90. Other than that I wasn't that impressed by the story. I like the pictures connecting together to make it look like she was spinning around at the :58 mark, and the picture of her with her wig off was cool because it showed how she really looked. I would say that the pictures were worth looking at, but the audio wasn't that necessary.

The Mac

Kids voices are always memorable and this kid's voice was really powerful for the story. The black and white pictures work really well and a couple of the pictures looked awesome, like the cop light flashing at the 1:30 mark, and the shoes hanging from telephone wires were cool. The picture of the little girl added faces to the mix, making the story take on more of a personal touch. I also liked the picture of the cops going into the house while the other cop has a guy on the ground. The cops voice is ok, but the kids and the lady speaking at the 2:40 mark bring the story to life and its easy to imagine with the sounds of the people in the community.

Service with an attitude

Pretty funny, and the audio makes the show. The pictures are ok, probably the best that can be taken at a restaurant, but the conversations with the customers and the manager are honest and he seems genuine. I liked this slideshow and don't feel like it could've been done much better, maybe if some customers said why they go there or what they think of the manager, it would've given some more background and could've worked.

Crabbing with the Hoopers

I would've liked to know how much they usually get for their crabs, and feel like the slideshow could've went on for maybe another 30 or 45 seconds. The pictures are done really nice and I really like the ones with the dog. The distant pictures with the sky and the boat, or the sky and the house look good as well. I like the audio, expecially at the beginning and end with the sound of the water.

A Hendrix experience

The blury pictures at the end were great and the pictures of the other characters on the Walk of Fame were pretty funny and put into perspective that he is not the only person performing there. I also liked the pictures of him in presumably his room with a mattress on the floor and stuff scattered around because it is more of a look into his life outside of standing on the Walk of Fame. The music was great too and he said some pretty good things. I enjoyed it overall.

Diamond in the rough

The beginning was cool with the different pictures showing homeplate being cleared off. The sounds at the ball park are great, and the pictures put together of the kid sliding into the base look pretty cool. Then the switch in the slideshow to his real life was interesting and unexpected, and the entire tone of the piece changed so it was like watching two different shows. All in all I think the slideshow was good and had some good audio and really good pictures.

Jack Fortmeyer: The Treasure Hunter

This a strange story but captures Fortmeyer's hobby well and gives good detail to what he does in people's back yards. The pictures of him deep in pits and of the bottles they have found are interesting. I'm sure this story has made it a lot easier for him to get into people's backyards. It's a good story he relays about the older black man whose yard he dug in.

David Vega: The Doorman-Boxer

The beginning is good, with him saying that he is starting to forget things and he tells the story of his wife coming home and accusing him of fighting at the gym. He is a good story teller and makes good points as to why he continues to box. And this could only be told through Vega's voice because it would be pretty boring to have to read this since there are no conflicts or issues that arise. The pictures add a lot to the story, showing him at work and training in the gym give a good visual of his life at both places.

Mr. Mocha, the Ex-Bank Robber

Talking to a guy who had robbed nine banks on Long Island was a cool idea. The fact that he spoke truthfully and seemed genuine about everything he was saying, made him a good candidate for a multimedia piece. He said things so openly about how he was at that time, that it was almost necessary to listen to him rather than just read his story. The black and white photos worked well too, and even though a lot of them are taken in a way that makes him look a little too reflective and over the top, they still progress the piece. I like how there isn't any music too sway the viewers emotions either, because some stories are constructed to make you feel a certain way, and push you that way, but this was just his voice for 3 minutes.

WItnesses to Terror

This was very enlightening, and informative. I had no idea how long it took for these officials to make decisions and how out of the loop people were. Information seemed to travel slow to the people that need the information immediately. Overall, I was absolutely amazed at how Cheney ordered to shoot down the plane, which made me think about how Cheney probably wishes he never said that since the plane was already down before he ordered the take down. Haha, but the fact that information moved so slow and poorly, he ended up looking like a fool that made a real questionable decision. Then the fact that the Government couldn't pick up on the mistakes made by the terrorists and how many of the hijackers could still get on a plane today was shocking to me.

The audio of the terrorists after they hijacked the planes brought a level of realism to this story than just a narrator stating what they said ever could have. Audio clips in general make this story so interesting and hearing the emotion in each person's voice builds the visuals that are not seen since it is a radio program, especially the fireman at the end speaking about the footage that he is looking at. The only down part of this story was that every few minutes or so it would skip and go blank for about 3 seconds then come back, which was pretty irritating, but otherwise it was put together great.

Musical Maycie

I really liked the black and white for this story. Each picture looks great and captures many feelings that bring us into the emotion of the story. The music throughout is pretty uplifting and moves the pace smoothly. The background talking with the conductor and the orchestra playing, and the background of her with her violin teacher is great too. The ending quote is pretty cool and this slideshow in general was pretty cool.

A guardian of the unknown soldiers

The pictures of the uniform inspections and weapon inspections work well with the way the story progresses. Overall, the slideshow fits well with the words that the narrator speaks. A lot of the pictures are also done in different angles, from the bottom looking up or a side shot, and these differences in the pictures keep the viewers attention because they are not all the same format just a different focus, but rather a completely different type of picture in general.

Tornado Prom

The build-up of the kids getting ready for prom to the uncertainty and speculation of what is happening while being moved to the basement and the aftermath of the tornado were all done very well and the story progressed smoothly. The quirky things about the tornado were funny, like the movie "Twister" was the only thing left in one kids room, and an older couple found some glasses in their cupboards dated for a prom in the 1960's. The idea of letting the kids move the story with their own recollections kept my focus and added emotion. The aftermath was what stuck with me the most because whenever you hear a story about a disaster, it is automatic to think about it happening to you. Then the ending with the kid Will actually dying a few weeks after the tornado was crazy to hear.

Texting Underground Can Save Lives and Caves

Wow, this is a pretty interesting story and is amusing how the kid sounds like a huge nerd, but all-in-all, a good piece. The ending was pretty lame with the global warming comment, but I understand that the narrator just wanted to try and be amusing in conclusion. This story was an informative type, just a way of letting the public know about something cool that is being worked on, but holds no real great need to know quality. I like how they were in the cave while the test was being done and it wasn't an after the fact type of story just giving a recap of the experiment.

Ski Cross

This story was really good because it is about a new sport being introduced at the Winter Olympic Games, but also that many injuries occur from participating in it. The quotes from the athletes participating in it and the one from Johnny Mosley saying that he will not do it because of the potential for injury were all really good. The doctor said obvious things, but it was still good to hear from a specialist. The scene with the guy wiping out was awesome to help with picturing the race and race at the end when Rahives finishes was well done. This piece was good for establishing the sport and attracting attention to it, and I believe people will be excited to see it.