Foundation Movie Assignment

or click here

I definately had a difficult time with this video because I haven't really done anything with video editing. I wanted to make it simple so I just shot the video from iphoto, which worked out great. It was really easy and straight forward to use... until I got to imovie. Then it became very difficult. Print screening was also very easy too. I had a difficult time getting the pictures into my movie, but after all the frustration it worked out. Here are a few things I learned during this assignment:

- learned how to print screen photos

- learned how to use iphoto

-learned how to use imovie

- learned which buttons were clicked to play, record and stop video

- learned how to change the background of the video

Foundation Assignment 3- Part 2

The picture that I posted relates to the article I chose, which is about Britney Spears getting engaged to Jason Trawick. The pop star said yes last week before Trawick celebrated his birthday in Las Vegas.

Here is the link to the photo on Flikr.

Foundation Assignment 3

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=200407874328738963532.0004b48522e0ba73b34bc&msa=0&ll=42.841973,-83.444713&spn=0.004516,0.009581

This story is about a special education student who was bullied while at school. The link is in google maps.

This I Believe Essay

In this essay, I argue the importance of including practical application in the classroom setting and how this teaching modality is utilized in UM-Flint classes.

Updated: Galaxy Nexus finally Available at Verizon Wireless

Almost two months ago Google and Samsung announced the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, which is the next in the Google Nexus lineup and the first Android phone to sport the newest version of the Android OS, Ice Cream Sandwich, Android 4.0.

The Galaxy Nexus has been available all over the world, except the United States for almost a month now. Verizon was holding up the release for some unknown reason.


View Larger Map

Above is a map of the closest Verizon Wireless stores in the Flint area.

Updated with pictures of the Galaxy Nexus on Verizon.

The Android Blog

I ran into some trouble trying to record my screen on my mac where I had my blog ready to be recorded. I also did not allow enough time to do this project, poor planning on my part. I tried both photobooth and Quicktime on my macbook and neither would let me insert screenshots or record the screen and myself at the same time.

See the video below, my blog is located at http://androidblog2011.blogspot.com

Marty Dow Blog Introduction

I did not allow enough time to do the project. I encountered a few problems. I loaned my digital movie camera to my girlfriend to video her daughters dance recital, so I did the screen shots with my droid phone. I had never downloaded from my phone before, so I had to set up the phone in my laptop. I recorded the main video with my laptop and Microsoft Moviemaker. Editing it was not bad. I was familiar with doing that. As the professor said to upload I had to do more than just having a standard YouTube Video Account. Once I did that I could not upload the video because it was the wrong file format. YouTube had a good tuitorial on how to convert it. I have to use an old computer to access the internet reliably, so the file is saved to a removable memory card and now I am uploading to the blog, I hope all goes well.
Technological Logistics bit me in the butt.

Please see the link below:

Christopher's Corner(?)

This is my introduction to my blog week. I will be covering student groups on campus. The subject will range from fraternities, to CAB, to everything else. I look forward to completing the rest of my blogs and I look forward to hearing yours as well. Editing the video was tricky. I've seen (not done) video editing done only four times before. The last three were done in my Broadcast Journalism class, which I ended up not liking at all. The first was during a job shadowing of Dawn Jones. I had remembered enough of the basics to give it a shot.

First I'd tried using Movie Maker. It's part of a series of editing software for PCs. It automatically comes with the PC out the box as far as I can tell so I thought I would give it a shot. It was pretty awful. Every video editing system out there (except for Movie Maker) has the timeline in the bottom middle. You know, the place where you put the content you have. From there you arrange and modify the content until you have the edited series of content that you want. There can be timelines for visual and audio content, for texts, and other pictures and effects. All the timelines are independent of each other until the user arranges them in a way that will make sense.
Movie Maker doesn't have that. Movie Maker has only ONE timeline. Video and audio content is together. That means, as far as I can tell, no voiceovers and no narrating. And for a class where I have to put sound to  photos that I take, that makes the program useless.
AVS was better. I downloaded it mostly out of frustration. The importing was easy. There were different timelines for visual content, audio, and text. As you can see the video is mostly me talking in the first half, and then photos I took in the second half. The only real "eureka!" moment I had was trimming up the visual content while leaving the audio intact for said photographs. Overall, it was an interesting and fun experience. I liked being able to edit my own video content rather than watching somebody else do it.
The same can't be said for converting the project file to something Youtube could use however. I downloaded AVS converter only to find out later that all I had to do was press the "Produce" button in the regular editor. Thank God for FAQ forums.

Clarkston blog

Here is the introduction for my blog about Clarkston. I used Windows Power Director to edit the video. I found trimming the audio to be a bit of a challenge when editing this video. It was difficult to get the audio and picture to line up exactly the way I wanted them to. All in all, it was a great way for me to get more practice with editing and uploading videos.

Do it Yourself Happily Ever After Wedding Blog

This is my introduction to my blog Here.I used Windows Live Movie Maker. First I wrote the welcome page, the I created and inserted my video. That was a lot easier than I expected, it was nice being able to edit the video right there. I ran into some trouble adding the music and figuring out starting points and ending points. Then I added some photos and the last of the music. The part I liked most was choosing the effects. I did run into some trouble uploading to YouTube since they do not accept Windows Live Movie Maker files, but thankfully there was a button to post to YouTube and that turned out to be pretty easy. What I learned is that I like talking on camera better than in front of people and its easier for me then recording my voice. I also learned that I can do videos, it might take some exploring and a lot of saving but I can do it. I should branch out and try using other video software.

Marty Dow "I believe" an essay about digital journalism

My audio essay is about digital journalism. I discuss the changes it has made to news reporting. My focus is on citizen journalism. I discuss how discretion is an important part of that.

This I Believe: Journalism Classes

This is essay concerns my experiences and opinions on the journalism classes of UM-Flint.

This I Believe - Elise Shire

This is what I believe about digital journalism. I believe digital journalism is proof that journalism is anything but dead. It is simply changing.

This I believe about Digital Journalism

This is what I believe about Digital Journalism. You can read my full essay below the audio clip.

A College That is Also a Home

This is my essay about what I believe University of Michigan-Flint is, how I have come to be here. It also explains how the University of Michigan-Flint is inspiring and creative to me. How above everything it feels like home to me.
 

Test Audio Post

HARTLAND, Michigan — Hi everyone …

This is a test clip of audio for the next foundational assignment. I've created a video that's embeded within the assignment sheet to show you how to get to this point. But, as always, if you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Occupy Grand Rapids Protest Photo

Below is a photo of protestors in the "Occupy Grand Rapids" demonstration. Photo acquired from Flickr with Creative Commons License.

Grand Rapids Church Supports 'Occupy' Movement

The nondenominational Fountain Street Church in Grand Rapids, MI is openly endorsing the "Occupy Grand Rapids" movement in word and deed. MLive.com reports that Senior Pastor Rev. Fred Wooden says that Jesus Christ himself would have been part of the anti-Wall Street protests if he were alive today. In addition to a vocally public endorsement, the church is also allowing protestors to sleep in their church parking lot at night. According to the article, other inter-faith organizations and churches are also beginning to express support for the growing movement for its outrage over growing poverty rates and extreme economic disparity.

The map below marks the location of the Fountain Street Church in Grand Rapids.

Marty Dow Photo Submission

This photograph is of the Vice-President of the United States of America
Joseph Biden. He recently made some controversial remarks
regarding crime during a visit to Flint. Some have argued the
accuracy of these statements. This photo is by Jim Greenhill
and is reproduced under a Creative Commons License.

Michigan State Player gets Suspended

On October Saturday 15 2011, Michigan State player William Gholston, a defensive end, was called for two personal penalties resulting in his suspension from the Wisconsin game on Saturday, Mlive.com reports. The first penalty was for pulling Michigan Quarterback Denard Robinson to the ground by the face mask, the second penatly was after punching Michigan's Offensive Lineman Taylor Lewan.

Photo Provided by mattradickal at flickr William Gholston at Saturday's game.

Gholston released a statement.

"Although provoked, my response was inappropriate," he said. "Coach Dantonio regularly reminds us that actions have consequences, and I will be better prepared to handle these circumstances in the future. I look forward to my reinstatement."

Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio had this to say about Gholston's actions.

"In the heat of the moment, he momentarily lost his composure. Football is an emotional game of split-second reactions. It was an unfortunate incident. We look forward to his reinstatement"

For the complete article go to Mlive.com or see the Big Ten Release or Michigan State's Release.

The photo is relevant because it is of Gholston at the game on Saturday before both penalties happened. The link to the photo is underneath it and this is the link to the license.

Skateland Arena celebrates 50th anniversary

photo by Indy Charlie on Flikr
Skateland Arena in Genesee Township will be celebrating its 50 year anniversary. Skateland, which has been open since 1961, will be holding a big birthday bash for its customers this Saturday to celebrate. Guests will be charged 50 cents to get in from 1-7 p.m. in honor of the anniversary. Skating from 8-11 p.m. will be half off and there will be skating for adults 18 and older from midnight to 3 a.m., according to arena co-owners, Denise McChesney and Peggy McCombs. Skateland has been a family business since its opening and was founded by McChesney and McCombs' dad and grandfather. McChesney and McCombs are already looking with high hopes at a 100 year anniversary of Skateland Arena.

The full story can be found here. Here are the photo rights

Oxford Scarecrow Festival correction

I realized after posting this story yesterday that I forgot to include a link to the story it was based on. The Scarecrow Festival story can be viewed
here.
I also realized that the map that I included turned out to be too small. I've included a larger map.



View Oxford Scarecrow Festival in a larger map

Map Posting

I am choosing the following map posting for a few reasons. The map shows the location of the Brent Run Landfill in Montrose, Mi. I drive past this landfill every time I come to class. The landfill creates a lot of traffic among other things. One day this past summer the trash trucks had traffic backed up again, as they do many times. A man did not stop at the traffic back-up and his vehicle slammed into my dad's stopped blazer at 55 miles per hour. My Father suffered severe whiplash from it. So along with the environmental impacts from this landfill there are personal impacts. This article describes  an expansion of the landfill I am referring to.


View Larger Map

Oxford Scarecrow Festival

Fall is here once again and families can enjoy the annual Oxford Scarecrow Festival on Saturday, October 22 from 2-6 p.m. The Scarecrow Festival will have a variety of activities, contests, and live entertainment. Most of the festival will take place at the Oxford Centennial Park, with a few activities taking place at nearby locations, as shown on the map. Activities set to take place include face painting and a moon bounce for children, vendors selling custom yard art and jewelry for adults, and a pet costume parade for pets. Parents are encouraged to bring their children in costume, so they can trick-or-treat at participating businesses on Washington St. Live entertainment will include the band Lipstick and Venom (playing music from the '80's, '9o's, and today) from 2-3 p.m. and the acoustic guitar stylings of Jaimie Marvin from 3:45-4:45 p.m. For more information or to register for any of the contests, visit
oxfordscarecrowfestival.com


View Oxford Scarecrow Festival in a larger map

Man finds hole in wall at business

According to an article in the Flint Journal, burglars left a hole in the wall of a Flint business, which was found on Sunday Oct. 16 by the owner. Among the items missing where 3 computer laptops, a furnace, and a sound system. According to the police report, there is no suspect information. Also there seems to be no information about what made the hole in the first place. I picked this photo because I think it most accurately describes the site the owner would've witnessed as he arrived at his businesses on Sunday. Photo link is here. License link is here. I'm pretty sure I followed everything.

Halloween Locations in Lapeer

Finding safe places to trick or treat at Halloween can be tough, but in Lapeer we have the annual Treat Walk. This provides parents with a fun day of carving pumpkins, Halloween decorations and a safe environment for trick or treating. The Lapeer County Press reported in Sunday's addition that the annual Treat Walk will be held Saturday, October 29.  The pumpkin carving begins at 9 a.m. at the Farmer's Market, the Treat Walk begins at 2 p.m., and the Baffling Bill's Halloween Magic show at the Pix Theater starts at 2:30 p.m. Tickets for Baffling Bill's Halloween Magic show can be bought here for 5 dollars.


View Halloween Locations in Lapeer in a larger map



The map above includes locations of the businesses involved in the Treat Walk, along with the location of the Farmer's Market, Pix and Past Tense. Past Tense Cider Mill has Halloween activities along with concerts for the month of October. It also offers Past Tense After Dark, which includes The Hayride of Despair, The Corn Maze of Fear and the House of Horrors, tickets to those events can be bought here.

The Making Strides Against Cancer Walk occurred on Oct. 15 at the Flat Lot across from the University Pavilion. Approximately 2,600 attended, including 319 cancer survivors, such as Barbara Armstrong. "I was diagnosed 16 years ago. I've been rediagnosed seven times. It's moved all over my body. I've lost my hair six times. I'm almost done with my [current] treatment. And I refuse to give up."

The event saw much participation from the students of UM-Flint, such as the CAB organization. The walk also drew support from businesses in the area, like Taylor and Morgan, an accounting firm that let their employees have the day off to participate. These facts are based on my own article about the event for the Michigan Times. Unfortunately, it wasn't up last time I checked so the article the Flint Journal wrote can be found here.