SC State "Bulldog Walk" Fashion Show

My TV Production/Editing students here at South Carolina State University produced quite an entertaining fashion show in class today.

Mufasa Shaw and Kyre Cox were the hosts, with Alexis Rabb in the control doing a smooth, professional job setting up everything and executing the production to perfection.

Alexis ran the production by way of the NewTek Tricaster "studio in a box" unit we have.

Thanks to all of the models for participating in the "Bulldog Walk" fall fashion show. Thanks also to the rest of the production staff today: Ericka Moore, Terrance Hamlet, Lynn McGrier and Devante Williams.

Stephen and Craishaud's Entertainment Chat!

Today, my Television Production and Editing students did another "live" program in the TV studio. Stephen Wells and Craishaud Foulks hosted (click here!) "SC State Sound and Sight", an 8 minute discussion of current and past favorite movies and music and performers.

Kizoa Slideshow: Magnolia Cemetery in All its Splendor

Kizoa is a fun, easy to use, slideshow and collage program for creating colorful presentations put to music and an array of special effects and animation.

I created this Kizoa slideshow about Magnolia Cemetery in Charleston. I have written two books about this grand 19th Victorian necropolis. You can read about them on another blog I have called BirdsEyeViews. 

Magnolia Birds - Kizoa Online Movie Maker

There are just a few easy steps to embed a Kizoa slideshow onto a Blogger post. After copying the HTML code while in Kizoa, start a new post, write a few sentences to set up the presentation, then click to HTML from Compose (in the post template's top left corner), paste the code into the template, then switch back to Compose, hit Update, then View blog, and then your slideshow should be there.

Kizoa is free, up to a point. So just sign up and start creating! 

Kiiyah Skywalker Invades Crawford Communications!

It's a bird, it's a plane...it's a Skywalker!?

Thanks to communications student (and SC State cheerleader) Kiiyah Stokes for demonstrating her cutting-edge transportation device. She let several students try it outside. Fun for all, and no one get hurt either!

Check out this Skywalker music video I found on YouTube.

It looks like Skywalkers and similar boards range in price from $200-$300- so you have better been really nice to get this expensive gift!

SC State Sports Talk with Devante Williams and Javonte Neal

This is a second TV production interview we shot and recorded in the SC State Communication Program's studio on the second floor of the former Crawford Engineering Building.

Christian Manning jumped at the chance to direct this sports talk segment with classmates Devante Williams and Javonte Neal. Everyone did a great job, including the students operating the studio cameras and the ones in the control room assigned different tasks.

This week the class, divided into three groups of five students, will begin to organize their own studio interview productions. What a great facility we have for such excellent hands-on learning!

Here are some photos I took during the production:

Video Interview: Kyre Cox- Student/Soldier

In my Basic Television Production (BC 320) course a few weeks ago, we did our first production in the Communication Program's fine television studio. Students operated the three cameras, another was the floor director, and several others were with me in the adjacent control room.

On set was Christian Manning and the classmate he interviewed, Kyre Cox. In October Kyre's National Guard unit was called up to help with the flooding disaster that swept South Carolina earlier in the month. Kyre spent two weeks collecting debris and helping homeowners dealing with the unprecedented- in its scope and destructiveness- natural disaster.

For this first production, I set up the control room's  NewTek Tricaster "studio production in a box" unit. Students observed and were later given step-by-step instructions and one of them, Christian Manning, would be at the helm for the next studio interview.

This first production has plenty of glitches! I was a bit rusty on running the board, doing the switching and directing. Lots more hands-on experience in the weeks ahead for the students- and I.

"Green Screen at S.C. State" Prezi Presentation

SCSU's colors are red and white but today in Columbia the school color was green as S.C. State senior communications major Kris Bennett and I gave a Prezi presentation at South Carolina Educational Television to members of the South Carolina Media Educators Association.

I gave an overview on the Communication Program's television studio. Three of the studio's four walls are painted bright green to allow for chroma key, which is a special effects/post-production technology for layering or compositing color hues. Think local TV weather reports in front of a big map- the meteorologist is standing in front of a green screen.

I also highlighted some of my classroom green screen projects and students who come to the studio to shoot against the green walls for various school, club and other projects.

Kris spoke about the "Bulldog Bite" YouTube show she produces on campus for her fellow SC State students.

At SCETV in Columbia with senior Kris Bennett

Here is the Prezi I put together for our presentation to the S.C. Media Educators Association.

Lighting- It's Essential to Quality Video Production!

In my television production class we are getting into lighting. Proper lighting must be achieved or your video is going to look shabby and unprofessional. We are fortunate at South Carolina State University to have a wide array of studio and field lighting gear, including some Smith Victor KT1500U lighting kits like the one below.

Communications senior Jasmine Dodd checks out a field lighting set up

Students will be doing an exercise in three point lighting. They will post photos of themselves and classmates in various lighting arrangements. Three point lighting is a professional configuration commonly used by both photographers and videographers.

SC State student Khadijah Johnson used our TV studio for a project having to do with her hair fashion business.

Khadijah Johnson backlight! 

Tweaking the light locations and brightness levels can help achieve desired effects. In this case, her hair is highlighted by some backlighting. 

I'll try to get a nice smile out of Khadijah next time! 

Action Sequence Video

In my Television Production and Editing course textbook, Chapter 4 is titled "Shooting Video in the Field." The video assignment I gave the students is one of the options in the chapter, which is to "shoot a simple sequence in which you edit action in the camera. Shoot only those scenes you want to use on the air, in the order you want them to appear, with action as closely matched as possible."

With the help of S.C. State communications major Lynn McGrier, we produced this video. The simple concept is to shoot Lynn going in and out of shots, as she leaves a classroom and makes her way out of the building.

A little bit of editing was necessary to make the clips and sequences tighter. I also added title and end pages and found a piece of music on my favorite royalty free music website to accompany the action. Fun little Friday class exercise for the students and I! 

Communication Program Get New Audio Equipment

S.C. State's Communication's Program continues to make improvements in facilities and resources.

This week the program took delivery of three high end Allen & Heath XB14-2 Compact Professional Broadcast Mixers. The consoles have vast audio mixing and broadcast capabilities. They will be used in classes taught by Mr. Gil Harris, a longtime SCSU instructor and Bulldog football public address announcer.

Program director Dr. Shafiqur Rahman praises the school's Title III staff for helping acquire this professional equipment that will enhance the learning experience of communications students and help consolidate classes to the second floor of the former Crawford Engineering building.

Communications Instructors Gil Harris (left) and Patrick Harwood with the new broadcasting equipment

Time Lapse Videos (iPhone 5)

One of the many cool and fun features of smart phones is the time lapse video capabilities. I've only done a few of these, but they are neat to do. Minutes of video is condensed to six seconds. Here are some examples. I call this first one, simply, "I-26", a route I am very familiar with through my daily commutes from North Charleston to Orangeburg (and back). This was taken in June 2015, my first-ever iPhone time lapse effort.

Next is time lapse I made in August 2015 at a spooky old abandoned house I came across off Highway 17 north of McClellanville. The videos are six seconds in length.

Finally, here's my "Day at the Beach" (Sullivans Island) time lapse made this summer. For some reason, this clip is only two seconds, so watch quickly!

I'm looking for more opportunities for time lapse videos!

Green Screen Fun: Where Do You Want To Be?

Our TV studio's "green screen" walls have been in demand this semester. Already this semester, three or four students and student organizations have booked time for various video and still photography projects.

So this got me thinking that my Electronic Media Production II students should be exposed to the capabilities of green screen or chroma key technology, as it's also called. What this allows us to do is superimpose a background to the photo or video shots against a solid green backdrop. Blue also works.

Here are a couple before and after examples. I processed in Adobe Premiere Elements, which we have in our Dell and student computer labs in Crawford.

                 

I used PhotoShop in the second image to crop the black border.
Here's another version of the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain. This one has some action of me running! Thanks to my students Stephen and Marcos for taking a few shots of me against the studio green screen.  One tip, it would look better if I was shot from farther back so I would be smaller in the action shot.

In the shot below, I had the camera back several feet from the above one, when taking the photo of me against the Green Screen. I may have been too close to the wall in the one below. Some green is bleeding over on the outline of my shirt. 

In Adobe Premiere Elements, here are the steps to take your green screen image/video and put it against the desired background:

For still shots, the final step, missing from the above, is to hit the camera icon to save as a still shot the image the cursor is on in Adobe Premiere Pro.It will be saved as a bmp file format, which can be uploaded or inserted to your Blogger post. 

Here is a screen capture of where the two shots should go. Your green screen background shot goes in Video 2 and your background image in Video 1. 

o remove the Green Screen effect, right click on taffected clip, go to Remove Effects (note: you must have that clip highlighted or clicked on for this step to work)

Cookbook Author Holly Herrick Interviewed in Communications TV Studio

Communications major Destinee Chambliss conducted a high quality interview with Charleston-based cookbook author Holly Herrick on April 9.

The interview was recorded in the S.C. State Communications Program's television studio located in Crawford Hall, new home to the growing program.

Recent Graduates Share Success Stories at Communications Colloquium

At the debut Communications Colloquium on April 15, three recent college graduates, each working in broadcasting, encouraged students to focus on what they really want to do in their careers, then pursue those goals with vigor.

S.C. State's Bulldog Nation!

Come to the campus of South Carolina State University and there's no question what the school's mascot is: the BULLDOG!

Bulldogs can be seen everywhere around campus: in front of buildings, on fences, by pools of water, on walls, sidewalks and signs. This slideshow shows you how S.C. State loves its bulldogs, and how bulldogs love S.C. State!

Bulldogs on Campus - Kizoa Video Maker

This slideshow was prepared with a really neat and fun free slideshow program called Kizoa. Check it out at kizoa.com! 

Final CX Script: Bulldog Barber Shop

Here is my final script for the 30 second Bulldog Barber Shop commercial:

Bulldog Barber Shop Commercial

S.C. State students are fortunate to have a fine barbershop right here on campus! Check out this 30 second commercial I prepared to help get the word out about the "Bulldog Barber"- Mr. Thad Miller! The school barbershop has been open just over a year now. Barber Thad Miller has more than 30 years experience cutting hair.  This video is also on YouTube.

Students need to go to the S.C. State Cashier's Office to pay and get the receipt to present before getting their cuts at the Kirkland W. Green Student Center (aka The PITT).

Blog Midterm Exam Requirements- Advanced Television Production and Editing

Midterm Exam Study Guide- Electronic Media Production II

Midterm Exam Study Guide
Electronic Media Production II (BC 203)
Fall 2014
Exam Date: Monday, Oct. 13

So far in this class we have created blogs, added various posted content, and, for many of you, launched some new social media sites, adding links to them on your blogs. This exam will reinforce your knowledge about various digital media applications:  their origins, purposes and unique qualities, and their role in society, culture, communication and business today.

The written test will consist of the following elements: multiple choice questions, terms and definitions, and short answer. The written part will make up 50 percent of the test. The other 50 percent will come from a critique of your blogs, according to the sheet distributed. Please be prepared to answer the following questions that may be on the test:

Blogger

Who owns Blogger and when did it begin?
What are they key concepts of this platform? Who is it for? What does it allow users to do?
Be able to list several of the Blogger “gadgets” that can be included on blogs
What is the importance of including “labels” when you do new posts?
Why is it desirable with your blog posts to have links to related materials and to, when appropriate, include reader polls and surveys?

Twitter

What are the origins of Twitter? When was it launched? Who founded Twitter?
How many letters per “tweet” are allowed? Why this number?
How has the use of Twitter evolved over the years?
Be able to articulate how Twitter (and other social media) has allowed people, especially those in power and also big celebrities and athletes, to bypass traditional media to get out and control their messages

Linkedin

Who founded Linkedin and when?
What is the role and mission of Linkedin?
How is Linkedin looked up in the professional world?
What are some things that young people like yourselves should aspire to present on Linkedin?
Other than posting resumes, what else does Linkedin offer or can be done with it to the user’s benefit?

Pinterest

What is Pinterest’s unique niche in the social media spectrum?
How do users categorize their Pinterest collections? Each category is called what? (hint: a board)
How is Pinterest used in the business world?

Instagram

How is Instagram different from Facebook?
When was Instagram founded and by whom? Who owns Instagram?
How and why do many people use Instagram differently from Facebook? 

Social Media Timeline, Origins and Owners

Name                     Year Launched                Owner Today

Blogger                        1999                         Google

         Twitter                         2006                         Odeo/Twitter

Linkedin                       2003                         Linkedin

Pinterest                        2010                       Pinterest

Instagram                      2010                       Facebook 

Syllabus- Electronic Media Production II

ELECTRONIC MEDIA PRODUCTION II
Fall 2014         BC 203-01     
MWF 2-2:50      Turner A Room 273