Scavenger Hunt Reflection

The scavenger hunt assignment was very helpful for me to learn the basic of recording video on a mobile device. My favorite video that I recorded was about the lack of The New York Times subscription on Lehigh University's campus. I used the rule of thirds well and you can hear the speaker's voice above the background noise. The only change that I would make on this one that I didn't notice at the time of filming was a shadow on the speaker's face.



A video that I didn't think turned out well was the question about watching the presidential debate. The subject is in the center of the frame, not abiding by the rule of thirds. Also a person walks through the camera screen and the subject that the speaker talks about isn't very engaging.

In general I learned that it's best to be in an area where you can hear the speaker clearly with limited background noise. Also some people speak quieter so they should be encouraged to speak up, as is the case with the speaker for the breast cancer awareness video. Following the rule of thirds is important because otherwise the subject is distracting in the center of the frame. I encountered this problem with many of the videos but tried to change it in the end. For some of the videos the taping started too early because the person was still thinking about what he or she was going to say. Others ended too soon and didn't allow the speaker to go on about what he or she was thinking. In many cases there is room for a good follow-up question.

By watching my classmates' videos, I like the idea of having the speaker introduce himself in order to give some background from who the person is, rather than just putting the information in a description. The advantage of mobile videoing and uploading is the speedy nature of being able to upload content right away. The convergence of text, photos and videos online is becoming more important in the world of journalism, so it's important to be able to publish content right as the story is happening.