JOUR1111 WEEK 4 BLOG

Jour1111 week 4 Reflection.                          

The Monday lecture for Week #4 is "Factual Storytelling – VISION

JOUR1111 WEEK4 !

This week we learnt alot about factual story-telling using vision. i.e photography journalism. I found this very interesting as it was something I had never considered as being as important as the actual written text of a story or article. However, after listening to the lecture, I see    that it obviously is and can recognize how the effective use of photography as either a           representation of the subject matter or story can go a long way in further representing and    displaying the main points of the story. It is also a very effective way to capture readers       
attention immediately and goes a long way toward adding further structure and symbolism to beautifully frame an article, draw readers attention to where the journalist wishes it to be drawn to and is universal in effectiveness and explanation.

                                  

 Kibera - The Shadow City

• without words, this photo represents a slum and its filfth plus rustic charm .

• a smile is absolutely universal in communicating meaning. 

I can well thoroughly see now how this course provides a broad introduction to Journalism and Communication and a foundation for further study in these fields through developing both knowledge and understanding and practical capacity.

Furthermore, this week we learnt plenty about photo journalism. In the tute we discussed the factual story-telling piece of assessment and also were required to report on a story using mainly photographic journalism, including a lead photo, video story and photo gallery, just to name a few.   


We learnt about ways to best capture the audience or target demographics attention through photography and discussed how best to portray the main idea or point of the story to the audience using this same method, through photography. It was very interesting and highly informative, and I felt it was very helpful and found it to be very beneficial in the way of preparing us both for the next piece of assessment and for a career in journalism on the whole. It helped me to understand what captures audience attention and what would be most effective in drawing their attention to the story on a whole.

I also found it constructive in its direction to us about how to portray the main degrees and elements of the story through photography.

Thus, picture stories were the topic for this weeks lecture. The very first slide displayed a man with a camera and microphone. The irony in this was that the caption read, 

"Actually, I work for a newspaper, but people won't talk to me without it." highlighting the prevalence of pictures.

We learnt about other developments in photo journalism, such as the capture and upload digital manipulation and whether it is harmful/detrimental or beneficial in today’s media and society. Additionally, we learnt about the relevance of picture stories in today’s media.

Bruce highlighted the damaging message digital photography in journalism can portray in an industry where glamour and image feed the label of perfection and play a huge role in it's use and need.

"No wonder our perception of beauty is distorted." reads the caption underneath the detailed digital photography film, which completely transforms the subject using the method of digital photography.

The use of digital photography in such extreme, damaging lengths is evident through this video. It is almost a miraculous transformation. It is both sad and shocking, yet a large part of photographic journalism is digital photography. The whole idea of digital publishing is that there is a whole lot more opportunity for visual stuff and material, (states Bruce in the lecture.)

Also, what makes a great photo? was a question Bruce asked the jour1111 co-hort.

Not about text. Now it is about pictures. As the lecture slides stated, "In the beginning was the Word..." It then went on to dismiss text and to highlight the importance of pictures in current Media.

Picture stories everywhere,

Magazines, even money inclusive. 50 dollar bill!

Importance of pictures in journalism- used to tell a story when people couldn’t read or write as well as we can today.

Please feel free to follow the link to share enjoyment I received from the slides. 


https://blackboard.elearning.uq.edu.au/bbcswebdav/pid-2178387-dt-content-rid-256635_1/courses/JOUR1111S_6220STx/Lecture_Week4_Pictures.pdf


I look forward to the readings for the week and can’t wait to apply the practical principles we learnt about photographic journalism to real-life situations where I can concentrate on and capture the body language of a subject and use it to relay a story, especially in the way of applying the real-life images I capture and using it in my piece of assessment and chosen factual story. Thus, I eagerly anticipate  this application.After all, a picture is worth a thousand words.


"If it makes you laugh, if it makes you cry, if it rips out your heart, that's a good picture."


Eddie Adams, Pullitzer Prize-Winning Photojournalist.


https://blackboard.elearning.uq.edu.au/bbcswebdav/pid-2178387-dt-content-rid-256635_1/courses/JOUR1111S_6220STx/Lecture_Week4_Pictures.pdf

This URL will link to slides from the lecture that really impacted on my learning and enjoyment of the week and lecture.

https://blackboard.elearning.uq.edu.au/bbcswebdav/pid-2178387-dt-content-rid-256635_1/courses/JOUR1111S_6220STx/Lecture_Week4_Pictures.pdf