JRNL102 Assignment 3 – What’s Hidden – Cystic Fibrosis

I’ve known Rhys Sheppard since primary school. We have played cricket and soccer together and against each other. However up until 4 months ago I was unaware he had been living with a serious illness his entire life.

Rhys is 21 years of age, and has currently deferred his studies at the university of Wollongong due to his health. Rhys has the genetic condition Cystic Fibrosis, a disease that affects most of the important organs in the body. There is currently no cure for the disease.

When I found out about this, I was shocked, at how well he’d managed to hide it. “Rhys never really let anyone know, he liked to hide it” said Penny Hayes (mother). Rhys masked any sign of his illness with his positivity. As Rhys informed me of his condition and what he has to do everyday just to maintain his health, it inspired me. Most people in this situation would limit themselves from activities such as sport, but Rhys played cricket throughout his high school education. Lately however he has had to limit the amount of activity he can do. “He’s not the type of person who is going to go out partying and have a reckless lifestyle, but that doesn’t stop him from enjoying the things he loves”.

When asked if Cystic Fibrosis scares him he replied “Not really. I suppose if I get more sick it might but I just take things day by day.” Rhys has been in hospital “around 5 or 6” times due to his Cystic Fibrosis and he knows how fortunate he has been to only have had to go that many times. Other people suffering from this disease can be, in hospital more than they are, out of it.

However Rhys does not just sit there counting his stars. No, he finds a way to give back to the organisation that has helped him and many other CF sufferers. Rhys raised just over two thousand dollars for Cystic Fibrosis NSW. “The support I got from family and friends was phenomenal” Rhys said.

Rhys’ story is one that I have nothing but admiration for. I still can’t get over the fact that he has been living with this his whole life. His attitude towards life and the way he approaches each day is nothing short of amazing.

Assessment 3 Proposal

When thinking about the term “what’s hidden” I was immediately reminded of a friend who I grew up with in primary school. The reason is because I only found out a few months ago that he has cystic fibrosis! He had lived with this condition his whole life and I had know idea about it! So for assessment 3 I’ve decided to interview him and learn about cystic fibrosis and how he deals with it. As far as audio goes I don’t want to go overboard on the sound effects, I’d rather just have natural sound and minimal music (ambient). For pictures I’d like to get a few of what he has to do everyday due to his health. Also I’d like to grab some archival photos like hospital images and other photos of similar nature. The second voice talent will hopefully be someone close to him such as a family member or close friend. If need I might even use my voice also, however I would like to avoid that if possible.

Multimedia Mega Stories: the good and the bad

Multi-media mega stories are the new, innovative “resurrection” of long form journalism. These massive stories can include a range of different media such as images, audio, video, graphics text and so on.
This review will compare two stories, one of which Firestorm by the Guardian, does a much better job than the other Nuclear Nightmares: Twenty Years since Chernobyl.

Firestorm by the guardian is one of the most interactive multimedia stories I’ve come across. The ease of the parallax scrolling made viewing the story easy and fun on both computer and mobile devices. The way images change seamlessly. Subtle things like birds flying across a dam just make the experience even more lifelike. Video footage from the first person view of driving along a road as the voice talent explains trying to keep up with the fire gives the viewer a sense of being there. The audio used is very clear and pops up automatically without needing to click a button. Each scroll engaged me as a reader and I was glued to the screen. All the Media that was used enhanced the story, creating contrast (between reading, listening etc.). The images complimented the story well and were very beautiful to look at even though they were depicting a disaster.

“Nuclear Nightmares: Twenty Years since Chernobyl” was one of the first Multimedia mega stories created, however with stories such as Firestorm, Nuclear Nightmares feels outdated and considerably less engaging. The interactivity feels clunky especially on mobile devices. Although the images are hauntingly powerful I found myself completely uninterested. Clicking on everything and having to hold the mouse in and drag to scroll, (although it’s a minor problem) makes it less engaging especially when comparing it to firestorm. I also found myself constantly skipping the writing and only looking at the images. I feel as though the images themselves could tell the story without text. The black background works, because I found myself drawn to the images. As said above although the story only uses images I don’t think that it needed any other media as it would have made it congested and taken away from the photographs.

Multimedia stories are new ways of viewing long news stories however if not done right it can be a big waste of time. If the interface and interactivity is not easy to use it will deter audiences right away. Something as simple as the click of a button can make or break a story. However when done right Multimedia mega stories are the way of the way of the future.

My 3 Favourite Photographers – JRNL102

My storify report on my 3 favourite photographers

https://storify.com/Finno/capturing-beauty

 

 

Married to the Game – Assessment 1

Chris Tyler a 19 year old local of the southern highlands has just embarked on a journey that many young Australian Basketball players dream of. After years of hard work Chris realised the dream after being awarded a basketball scholarship to study and play basketball in America with the University of Wisconsin. Chris played most of his basketball at and with the Moss Vale and District Basketball Association as well as his local high school Chevalier College. Before going to America Chris tells of his love for basketball and his relationship with the basketball court.

JRNL102 Reflection 2

I have chosen to interview Chris Tyler, a friend of mine who has been accepted to study and play basketball in america. The place I have chosen is the local basketball court. I chose the person and place because basketball is a huge hobby of mine and therefore I’m really engaged and want to produce a high quality piece of work. Also this is one of the hardest things for an Australian basketballer to achieve and I believe Chris needs to be recognised for that! Also the fact that Chris loves the game and is constantly at a basketball court, so his connection to the place is very strong and makes for good emotion and storytelling. My vision for the assignment is to not just focus on what he has done and where he is going but rather focus on his love for the game and what makes it so special to him. I want people to envision how much work he has put in and how basketball has been his life.

JRNL102 reflection 1

The place I have chosen to portray through sound is a basketball stadium. There are many issues regarding recording audio in a basketball stadium. But my biggest problem is my local stadium is currently undergoing renovations and refurbishment, therefore it is hard to fing a time when there is no background noise. Ignoring that though the things that are challenging, is finding the right microphone sensitivity. Because you can’t go on the court whilst a game is being played you must record from far away. Therefore you need to set a high microphone sensitivity but because of this you pick up a lot of unwanted noise making it difficult to get clear precise sounds. The stadium is tin roofed also which means if it is raining it makes very loud background noise and because it’s winter and the southern highlands is home to rain, it is difficult to find a clear day. Lastly finding a variety of differing sounds. I can’t just have a ball bouncing in the same rhythm the whole time. I need to record a all the different sounds of a basketball game which is extremely difficult because not everyone can hit a perfect swish for example.

Just Another Day

This series of photos and audio clips showcase what a normal day is in the life of Jemima Finlayson.

Multimedia Journalism JRNL102

Is Multimedia Journalism the future?

https://storify.com/Finno/multimedia-journalism

The future of Journalism

Since the 17th century Newspapers have been the main source for distributing news. However times have changed and the future of print Journalism is uncertain. With the invention of the internet everything is now just one click away. Why would anyone need to buy a newspaper when you can read news for free. Why would you read last nights NRL match report when you can watch the highlights and match review online. Is there still a place for print in a generation filled with short attention spans and a world of information at their fingertips.

Print has continued to decline over the past few years. The decline in printed ad revenue has taken all the money out of the Print Journalism industry. As a result of this, many jobs have been cut and there are worries for aspiring students wishing to break into the industry.
The lack of interest in Print media has caused major publications such as New York Magazine to go from releasing weekly to bi-weekly. This shows just how much the internet has effected the traditional form of Journalism.

However does this mean the end of Journalism as we know it, or can the internet and print co-exist to bring the world a golden age of Journalism. The world is more informed now than it ever has been and although print has declined news gathering has increased. With today’s technology journalists can choose many ways of producing their stories wether it be a video, podcast, magazine or tweet. Giving audiences the choice of viewing their favourite story in whatever way they see fit (the customer is always right).

Journalism is in a state evolution. Whatever the future holds, journalists and aspiring journalists must adapt on the go to survive.