My final video is not much different than my draft video. I did not receive any feedback from my group, however I am well aware of how to use Premier. I presented my video in the form of a news package. My blog is about living life the the fullest and rolling with the punches– the latter is something many of my interviewees are facing.

The current COVID-19 pandemic is affecting millions globally. Here in Kent, those owners and workers of the small businesses in the downtown area are suffering immensely. They are struggling to remain open and break even when it comes to finances. With little outside activity and much of the Kent State student population exiting campus, businesses truly must roll with the punches.

I explained in my previous post the editing process for this package– nothing has changed since then. I adjusted audio levels to peak at between -12 dB and -6 dB. I did this by right-clicking the video clip in question and selecting the Audio Gain function. Using this, I could bring the sounds up or down, depending on where it was needed. I layered video clips on top of each other as well. I did this to provide viewers with visuals that would convey the story’s message better. I also utilized the Gaussian Blur and Dip to White effects in my package.

The only portion of my video I may lose points on is the specific time requirement of 1:30. I kept my package as-is because I did not have enough interview footage to bring my total to 1:30, and did not want to cut a substantial amount out to make it 1:00.

This draft is the same version as my raw video I posted. That is because I decided to get a head start on editing. I am well-versed in Premier so this assignment very much excited me. I chose to format my story as a news package as the topic I chose is very much a current event. The design process was to make sure the video was both factual and evoked emotion.

In terms of the editing process, I first cut up my video into SOTs and then wrote a script for a voice over. I made sure to collect extra footage to use as b-roll over my narrations. I used Premier techniques such as key frames, color correction, gaussian blur and more. All of this is utilized in the effects panel. I also made sure that my video had consistent levels of sound. If audio didn’t match, I used the “Audio Gain” feature which I accessed by right clicking the audio clip. My entire video consistently peaks at around -12 to -3 dB. I made sure to include as much b-roll as possible and made sure to provide video that was indicative of what I or the interviewee was talking about at that specific time in the package. This helps convey my message to viewers in a more coherent manner.

In terms of what I need to fix for my final version, I need to make sure I meet the time requirement as I am currently at 1:22. I have much more footage from my interviews and b-roll to add, however the best sound bytes are already included. The rest that I add will help compliment the foundation of the point I am making with the video.

My blog is about rolling with the punches, and this could not be better exemplified than by small business owners in down town area of Kent. Not only are they struggling financially due to stay at home orders from Governor Dewine, but they also are not allowed to conduct any business besides take out and delivery. On top of this, with Kent State University shutting down campus activity for the remainder of the school year, many potential customers (students) are now home. This leaves many businesses struggling to make ends meet. The owner of Taco Tantos was an amazing interviewee and mentions how he is not only doing what he can to stay positive in tough times, but also is doing his best to support other struggling restaurants and bars. His kindness and compassion was very well showcased and that is what my blog is all about. Another perspective I got was from an employee at a local coffee shop. She mentions how the circumstances are unfortunate, but business continuing to flourish. She exemplifies how even in bad times, there is always a way to make things work. She provided me with an explanation as to how her employer is staying afloat during tough times.

Small Businesses in Downtown Kent Struggle to Remain Open

Visual Elements	Audio Elements
Governor Dewine press conference	Voiceover of me talking about effects of Ohio/ Kent State’s shutdown on local businesses
Local business’s deals	Voiceover of me talking about local business suffering economically
Kent State student moving out	Voiceover of me talking about local business suffering economically
Local business’s sign	Voiceover of me talking about local business suffering economically
Owner of Taco Tantos being interviewed	Interviewee mentioning how he is worried for local business
Taco Tontos	Interviewee mentioning his business operations and finances
Local bars and restaurants	Interviewee mentioning how local bars are hit hard
Tree City Coffee	Voiceover of me talking about how some businesses are doing better than others
Tree City Coffee employee	Interviewee mentioning how business has not been affected yet, how operating during the pandemic is a bit different
Inside of Tree City Coffee, drive-thru	Interviewee mentioning how drive-thru business is a saving grace for the store
Tree City Coffee employee	Interviewee mentioning she is doing her best to stay positive

I made no changes from my audio story draft to my final. My peers in my group gave me no feedback, but I also put a lot of effort into my draft, knowing it was close to the final product. I am very well versed in storytelling and Adobe Audition given my background in media classes. I am very happy with the story and had a lot of fun making it!

I interviewed my friend Maddy for my story. My blog is all about making the most of life and she did just that when encountering a painful leg injury. Maddy suffered a terrible leg fracture that would leave many defeated, but she found the light at the end of the tunnel. The process of healing took a long time, but Maddy never gave up. Maddy is know healthy. She says she will, “Never take walking for granted” again. Again, I am very well versed in Adobe Audition so here are some of the tools and steps I used to make my story solidly edited. I made sure to adjust the audio levels so the dB throughout the spliced together clips never peaked at higher than -6 dB. I cut up Maddy’s interview as well as mine, and arranged it in an order that sounds similar to what I do while reporting. I too added in natural sounds throughout the story to give it an authentic feel that puts viewers in Maddy’s shoes. I put this audio clips on a different audio track and used the “fade in”, “fade out” tool to adjust the loudness of sounds depending on whether or not someone is peaking in the clip.

For this assignment, I interviewed my friend Maddy. My blog is all about making the most of life and never giving up. Maddy suffered a tremendous injury in the fall– seemingly out of no where. The process of healing took a long time and was very painful, but Maddy never gave up and never lost hope. Now, Maddy is healthy and as she said will, “Never take walking for granted” again. For this assignment, I made sure to adjust the audio levels so the dB throughout the spliced together clips never peaked at higher than -6 dB. I cut up Maddy’s interview as well as mine, and arranged it in an order that sounds similar to what I do while reporting. I too added in natural sounds throughout the story to give it an authentic feel that puts viewers in Maddy’s shoes. I put this audio clips on a different audio track and used the “fade in”, “fade out” tool to adjust the loudness of sounds depending on whether or not someone is peaking in the clip.

Raw Audio Clip #1

Raw Audio Clip #2

Audition Tutorial #1: Unedited Counting (Out of Order)

Audition Tutorial #1: Edited Counting

Audition Tutorial #2: Vox Pop

I am very pleased with my final project. After peer reviews, my one group mate offered me some inspiration. I realized sometimes the most effective designs are simple. I took my ideas for my logo and scaled it back a bit.

First of all– my favorite color is blue. I added dynamic shapes and an interesting pattern in my background to grab readers’ attentions. The one main feature I added were my initials “C” and “S”. Using the text tool, I added my initials and then played around with the 3D effect, as well as the path effect.

I filled in the border of my squares with a navy blue. I also filled my circle with a pattern offered by Illustrator. All of my shapes were made with rectangle and ellipses tools. I played around with grouping my shapes together into one to make it easier to scale and move around.

I’m really happy with how my logo turned out, and I hope you, the reader, are too!

This is my logo rough draft. Looking at it now, and also at the instructions, A LOT of changes will be made before my final project is turned in. I drew inspiration from logos all around me. The best logos are the ones that are simple yet effective. Simple shapes combined together in dynamic ways create the best logos.

I drew inspiration from logos such as Fedex and Pepsi. Looking at my design, I really liked using a “bitmoji” to enhance my logo and bring a face to the brand, however, I know see in the instructions external images are prohibited, so I will remove this for the final results.

I like the overlapping squares, connected by the circle. I believe that is a good outline for my logo. My letters “C” and “S” are admittedly filler designs until I figure out how to use vectors to create unique block letters. I believe my original sketch was a bit ambitious for my level of knowledge I have using illustrator. In my final project I would like to utilize layer masks and pathways a bit more to enhance my design. Perhaps I will also add a bit more to the outline shape of my logo. This, again, is by no means my final result, but I look forward to working this week to getting it there.