All projects need to be heard, from static photos and graphics to podcasts and engaging videos. Creating a unique sound space is essential to setting the mood. I don’t mean adding music or noticeable sound effects; I’m talking about the soundscape you subconsciously feel. If you notice it, it may need to be mixed better.
Vecteezy.com
As a director of photography, my focus is primarily on the visuals. However, I also recognize that the consumer of the content is not always watching with eyes glued to the screen. Often, they are just listening to the story. I frequently challenge my designers to present me with a visual journey with no picture and guide me with natural sounds through the story. If, in the end, it’s the same story, same emotion, same idea, we have succeeded. Adding the pictures back in, the finished video becomes fulfilling and informative, transformative, and a multi-sensory experience.
Using Adobe Audition to edit sound is extremely similar to using the audio tracks we will cover in the next unit on video editing.
Adobe Audition Project Window
When I put together my 45-second interview, I was thinking a little out of the box for this assignment. I employed interview skills and sound-gathering skills I knew I would need, and I even did several impromptu interviews so I could have a variety of clips to choose from. I only used my iPhone with the app “Voice Recorder.” I use it a lot for work, and it’s my go-to with an old-school VU meter for monitoring.
I would love to hear your thoughts on what I should podcast or create an audio or video story on! Please share your ideas in the comments below.
Below are the rest of the edits for the NRS592 Emerging Media Outreach in Natural Resources class.
Imagery is possibly the most essential part of how our species interacts with information.
Before you read the article, listen to the podcast or interact with the intellectual property someone is providing, the image presented on the header or content thumbnail is the first thing that entices you and leaves a lasting impression on your imagination.
I am currently running the tailings of an almost 30-year career as a Director of photography. I’ve had the pleasure of working with some of the most creative graphic designers in the broadcast media.
Big lens in Big Sur, Capturing images of Bixby Bridge
My journey with Photoshop did not start with this assignment. It actually started nearly at the program’s initial rollout in the early 1990s with the box version of the software that needed to be installed on a Power Macintosh 9500 and licensed via email. Photoshop has grown tremendously, very far beyond my comprehension. That is why I am here. These days, I exclusively use Adobe Lightroom for all photo editing needs.
OG 1990s Photoshop UI.
I experienced many technical pivot points in my career. One was when Cannon accidentally introduced a video on their legendary 5D. This enabled photographers to become filmmakers and advance the quality and ease of filming while utilizing the benefits of depth of field and a large sensor. October 2005. The industry was again shocked in late 2013 by Sony’s introduction of the lightweight, visually powerful Sony Alpha Mirrorless cameras. Don’t worry if you don’t understand those details; they are not critical to the story.
Canon 5D – 2005Sony A7 – 2013
Regarding the importance of imagery, an overproduced Photoshop image, heavily influenced by graphic design elements, is too much. Simplicity and cleanliness are far more important to delivering the message, just my own opinion. After all, I am a photographer and not a graphics designer.
However, it is OK to quickly see a visual representation of what the content will deliver for the purposes of that header, graphic, or thumbnail, which is to entice viewers, readers, and listeners.
For example, my three-panel photo is about the importance of physical fitness conditioning for prescribed fire. The key images illustrate the importance of both fitness and mental health.
Here’s a funny backstory: I directed my graphic designer to create a very similar photo on board sketch for an after-effects project. Check out the Vimeo link at about 2:35 into the video.
I shot, directed, and designed graphics for a news story for NBC News.
Photoshop was very intuitive for this project, as it is similar to using the Adobe Premiere video editing program. Terminology, workflow, and layout are familiar playgrounds.
Navigating and finding the individual tools for layering was challenging, but the video instruction was so clear that it made it livable. However, the learning curve was steep since I had not opened Photoshop in at least 15 years.
I try to avoid adding text to anything! I understand that text is important for titling or subtitling, but I try not to make a spectacle out of the text because I want people to focus on the image.
I appreciate learning how to place text on two-dimensional physical surfaces like in the crinkle paper, which is huge for me. I often ask my Graphic Designer to do precisely this, and now I will know better how to articulate that point. Again, I am a traditionalist when it comes to using text. You could say a bit, Wes Anderson. I intentionally misspelled the design to see if anybody noticed a goose egg, if you will.
Finally, I found it rewarding to have a refresher on color grading, compositing (layering), and creating art pieces out of seemingly basic photos.
Frankly, after this lesson, I’ll be using Photoshop more often!
Being a good land steward doesn’t require a master’s degree in forestry or scientific expertise. In fact, all you need is a respect for open spaces and a desire to care for them. This form of land stewardship not only benefits the environment but also contributes to your mental and physical health.
National Trails Day (June 1st 2024) is a nationwide volunteer event that aligns the grassroots movement for parks and trail upkeep with the community. Thousands of people from around the country assemble, and local groups like the Santa Cruz Mountain Trail Stewardship (SCMTS) provide a massive workforce for one day to maintain trails for multiple users for the entire year.
It’s not a free-for-all with hoes and shovels, but it is made easy for folks. Ecosystem and Environmental management professionals work with
organizers of local events, weeks or months ahead, to target areas needing vegetation management or drainage issues and build a list of objectives for the day.
Skills Not Required-
Organizations like SCMTS have meticulously trained crew leaders to provide instruction and make every event safe and more fun than work. Trail veteran volunteer Chris Walters has been leading small workgroups for years and says it’s only fun for him if others are also having fun.
If you have ever swept a floor, picked up a leaf, or shoveled anything, you have more than enough skills to come out and giggle. If you’re looking for a higher level of engagement, they have that available, too.
New Trail ConstructionBeach Clean-upsTeam WorkDeveloping a PlanDrainage ManagementEcology LessonCrew Leader BriefingLearning Trail Dranage
Mental Health-
Volunteering combined with physical work provides an incredible source of dopamine to the body. That release will give the volunteer a sense of purpose, place, and accomplishment. It reduces anxiety and depression and provides an individual with a sense of purpose. Just the action of coming out and volunteering will add value to that open space for the individual, encouraging them to return and provide upkeep for that land. Although it may not seem directly connected, this is similar to how indigenous groups feel. They belong to the land and are stewards of the land.
Oh, is it science you’re after? Well, the Cleveland clinic researched volunteerism and mental health benefits, and they found that “Volunteering can be great for a person’s mental health; when you help other people, it activates the reward center in your brain and releases serotonin, dopamine, and endorphins, which is why many people often feel better after volunteering.”
Volunteering Can Provide a Boost to Your Mental Health
The people you meet during volunteer projects can become some of the most interesting connections in your life. These projects bring together a diverse group of individuals with a shared curiosity and a drive to make a difference.
Volunteering at community events is a positive way to bond over a shared interest without even trying. It is inherently community-building.
Group Briefing
In a study titled “Exploring the Effects of Volunteering on the Social, Mental, and Physical Health and Well-being of Volunteers,” researchers found that volunteering will actually extend your life. Yes. A fountain of youth in your fountain of generosity. The study found overwhelmingly that the umbrella effect of volunteering has a unique combination of mental and physical well-being benefits. This includes reduced social anxiety, increased physical health, and a sense of purpose for the volunteer, in addition to the economic benefits to the organization they are volunteering for.
Lastly, most volunteer events include some kind of social hour where participants can gather and discuss the day’s achievements over a cold beverage.
The Social, Mental, and Physical Health and Well-being of Volunteers:
Land stewardship takes many forms. Professionals do their work, and users can do a little, too. The important element is that everybody is doing it for a common goal: to make the world a better place for future generations.
Well, well, well, if it isn’t my very first blog post
Why make a blog at all? I’ve been asking myself that same question since I began this process roughly 6 or seven years ago, so it’s been quite the process.
Throughout my quest for cultural and prescription-burning information, I’ve assembled a mental hodgepodge of different sites, podcasts, photographers, galleries, and national journalists who write about the topic. A side of finding an excellent short-term social media publisher for a prescribed burn association or fire district. There seems to be no clearing house for everything I want.
In this blog, I will get more granular on topics like weather, smoke analysis, and even burn patterns. But I will also feature some stand-out programs and people doing extraordinary things locally with little to no resources and getting the good fire back on the ground.
I make a living as a visual storyteller and provide a lot of scientific analysis to my journalistic partners. Here, you will see, hopefully, a wonderful representation of what I see in the forest and everywhere else. I will try to use as much of my own material as possible.
I will allow and enjoy your comments, provided they are positive, inclusive, and adhere to today’s social standards. I will make posts regarding politics, but I assure you, I am not taking sides. I am merely commenting on the current event. Respectfully, in your comments, please do not go crazy with one-sided, anecdotal situations or political commentary.
Let’s all focus on changing the narrative in the media and socially so that widespread effective stewardship and ecologically sound keeping of the Earth become mainstream.
