My Multimedia Final: 100 Years at the Durham Fire Department

In-Class Presentations

Ahh at last. The semester is wrapping up, finals are fast approaching, snow is soon to fall, and we'll all be home for the holidays with friends and family. I can smell that Christmas cooking! 

Everyone presented their final multimedia projects over the past two Mondays, and I was thoroughly impressed with the reporting, creativity, and tech-savviness of our class. Great job everybody!

1) Chantel McCabe: "Girl Scouts"

Chantel covered the decline and hopeful resurgence of the "Girl Scouts" organizations. The story arc was really easy to follow and she incorporated some high quality video clips, songs and pledges that added to the video. One thing that made the project jarring was abrupt transitions from text to photos and interviews.

2) Kelly Sennott: "Diversifying UNH"

Kelly covered the recent endeavors by university administration to diversify the UNH campus via study abroad programs, initiatives, and partnerships including the first Confucius Institute in northern New England. She had some great photographic stills, but one thing I would suggest is adding sub-captions to Wu Wang's interview segment when its hard to understand him.

3) "Fire Department turns 100"

My own multimedia project was the third presented. In light of its upcoming 100-year anniversary, I wanted to show how the fire department functions as unseen community servants and have in fact, saved lives even in this quiet town. I tried to show them in a "day in the life" structure. One thing I want to edit is leveling out the audio levels and incorporate more photos in the future.

 

4) Emma Floyd: "Unseen Sexual Violence"

Emma's presentation delved into the unacknowledged problem of sexual assault on campus. I was really impressed with her project as it used powerful audio from a sexual assault victim interviewee and photos. One thing I would have liked to see was more in her "reenactment segment" perhaps using video or ambient noise.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Esw4fhoBySs
5) Brian Carroll: "GSWL"

For his project, Brian did a feature on the GSWL sport. GSWL is the acronym for Golden Stick Wiffleball League and has been growing in popularity. I thought the videos were great, really dynamic and entertaining although I was still with some questions about the sport itself. I can't believe how that ball moves!

6) Peter Luk: "Moving Off Campus"

Peter Luk covered his project on that college student rite of passage to moving off campus. His opening video was awesome, really established the energy of the story although something I might suggest is editing the video interview with the girl RA since it drags.

7) Kelsey O'Neil: "LGBTQQ Community at UNH"
Kelsey investigated the LGBTQQ community and environment here at the university, talking to students and faculty. I thought it was really well done with high energy and movement, but the parts where she inserted herself in the interviews was a bit jarring and disorienting with the rest of the presentation.

8) Hattie Perkins: "Non-Trad Student"
Hattie profiled a non-traditional student at UNH, a former Marine who served a tour in Afghanistan. The photos from his tour were really powerful and I would only like to have seen from more of his friends and/or family.

9) Brandon Lawrence: "UNH Skier"
Brandon profiled a handicapped UNH skier. Some of the video clips are neat and he has a great story. I might suggest incorporating some more profiling photos of him to avoid repetition.

 

10) Spencer Watkins: "Food Waste Management at UNH"

Spencer used his multimedia project to trace the food waste management process at UNH from the dining halls to the compost fields and the produce it generates. The sped-up video segments in the beginning were cool. The only thing I would change would be the repetition of some photograph stills and the consistency of music.

11) Erin Copeland: "America Loves Cupcakes"
Erin's cupcake multimedia project was really cute and well-though out. The intro montage of the cupcakes in sync with the music was cute and energetic and set a great tone for the rest of it. The only thing I would suggest is leveling out some of the interview audio.

12) Rachel Carpenter: "Legalizing Medical Marijuana"

Rachel delves into the underground world of legal medical marijuana, dispensaries, etc. I think it was very professional and well-reported. If I had to suggest something, I would love to see more of the dispensary itself.

13) Ariella Coombs: "Supporting Local Farms"

Ariella did her presentation on supporting local farms with a concentration on the NH Seacoast farm network. She did a great job of syncing audio thoughtfully with photos and using ambient noise. I might suggest doing this even more, with ambient noise of animals, plows, etc. throughout the piece.

14) Roy Hebert III: "Stress Management at UNH"

Roy covered his multimedia presentation on college students' stress management at the university. He talked to students and their various coping methods as well as yoga classes and other services provided by Health Services. There's one part in which the interview segment with the yoga instructor drags a little bit, but other than that it was well done.