February, An American Month

The month is already over and we rolled into March. I wanted to know how do African Americans feel about the month and how it should be celebrated. Ryan Blackwell, staff photographer at Public Opinion helped me in asking these simple yet broad questions about the month and the skin color. Eight individuals from Chambersburg, Pennsylvania answered the questions with ranges of age groups.

I had a day dream, it was about how ridiculous it would be to go up to someone to say, “Happy Black History Month!” We celebrate all other holidays. What makes Black History month so special?

According to Wiki, Black History Month was first was created in 1926 by Carter Woodson and the Association for the Study of Nero Life and History. It was known to be “Nero History Week.”

Working at the Public Opinion for this project gave me a different perspectives on journalism. I had great answers and also thoughtful ones. What also surprise me that many wish it should be American History.

After one of my interviews, a woman asked what was my ethnicity. She said, “I remember back in college, an asian woman stood up for Multicultural Day and siad ‘I am not Chinese, I am Japanese!’ do you get that?” I answered and smiled, “When I was at Ohio University, people thought I was Chinese or Japanese.” We laughed and made a connection from that statement. Our gaps of experiences were at least 20 years different, and yet these feelings are the same. What makes people believe we have changed? A lot or a little?

Week 2 - Ducks, Chocolate, Doughnuts; It's All Work and All Play

My work so far at Public Opinion. This time, I did more video work than photography. Each video took me about at least one or two hours of shooting time and three hours of editing. Process video is a bit more fun and creative. Food will be a continuous project at Public Opinion. I will break down my videos even for more the coming week. Please enjoy. Caution, eat something before you watch the videos.

Windy Knoll Farm Market and Creamery, Chambersburg, makes doughnuts on Monday afternoon and sells it on Fastnacht Day. 

Olympia Candy Kitchen, Chambersburg, makes chocolate covered Strawberries for Valentine's Day.

Week 1 - Public Opinion

My first multimedia internship at Public Opinion, Chambersburg, PA, is done and I have 11 weeks to go! Here are some of published work I have done so far. A mixture of photography, video, and mobile:

 

 
 

Mobile Journalism - The Frist Center for the Visual Arts Center

Imagination Inspired Through Interactive Exhibition from Sonya Paclob on Vimeo.

A red dragon meets a young fellow with a nice slacks at the lake and invites him to a lake party. The imagination sparked at the stop motion station by Darian Dilorenzo, 4.

The Martin ArtQuest is the proud permeant and interactive exhibition at the Frist Center. With at least 21 hand-on activities, the center invites of all ages with imagination and curiosity for art.

 

CHIPS QUINN SCHOLAR PROGRAM MULTIMEDIA TRAINING 

What is new in journalism? Mobile Journalism. I went to Nashville, TN, for a week for training by Chips Quinn Scholar Program at the Freedom Forum Institute. The multimedia training prepares scholars on their upcoming internship in hopes for minorities to diverse the newsroom. 

One of the assignments issued by Val Hoepneer, Director of Education at the Freedom Forum Institute, was the mobile assignment. Our task was to use the iphone touch to video, photograph, interview, and edit with the small device. 

 The video above was edited with the Slice app. Here is a quick tutorial of what Slice app can do

Another app I used was Pano. The app was able to capture a panorama of my location. Here are examples of the Frist Center outside and inside. 

Pano does a great job in stitchingthe photographs together, but as you can see in the S in Expression can slightly be off. The slice and the Pano apps are more tools for journalist to use on the go. Quick and fast, but it will never replace original storytelling. 

Down on Once Luck - Homeless Story [multimedia]

Homeless in Ohio from Sonya Paclob on Vimeo.

Can't stand the cold? Imagine living under highways and sleeping out on a rock with no where to go. James Hammound was once homeless on the streets of Columbus, Ohio for two years. Health and wellbeing was James' sign to live off the streets and dedicate his life to serving other who are still braving the cold weather.

In volunteering at the Open Shelter, his duty is to bring a smile to everyone around him. He dances, talks, and even councils them to be better in getting off the streets. He hopes that other people could see the homeless are also people who are down on their luck and need a helping hand. 

THOUGHT PROCESS

How do you find a subject that is a little out of your comfort zone? The Homeless in Ohio was an optional group project spear headed by Stan Alost, Associate Director of Visual Communication at Ohio University who taught the Photojournalism capstone class for undergraduates.

In working it teams, its always difficult to work with someone who doesn't have the same workflow. Matt Hatcher was someone I admire of his work on drug addicted stories. His determination in seeking individuals in trouble times wanted me to work with him. I am known for my work to be about relationships and family.

At the end of the project, I became more humble. I was hesitant at first to place myself with people who were homeless. Not knowing their behavior, but they are the same of you and I. The difference is that they "are down on their luck," said James Hammound.

The multimedia project was a mixture of video, photography, and text. Usually, I am not a fan of text, but The Homeless in Ohio was perfect in getting the information across. Not fitting the standard rule-of-thirds, I experimented in placing the text as print on a page. It gave the video more modern flare. 

Working in teams and collaborating is the best way to understand your strengths and weakness. If you find yourself in teams, always try to strive for something you are not good at. Matt Hatcher wanted to try his hands on video. On the other hand, I wanted to spend more time with developing story with audio and transcribing.