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The EOS 5D Mark II, one of the latest offerings from Canon, is the world's first dSLR camera to offer Full HD video recording capability. But what if you want to capture great sounding audio to accompany your great looking video? The 5D MkII records stunning video clips at a 1080p resolution with a frame rate of 30fps, but the audio is recorded with a tiny built-in mono microphone. Thankfully the camera also includes a stereo 3.5mm microphone input that will enable you to capture much better audio than that offered by the built-in mic. Shooting video on the MkII is very easy. Check out the full 5D MkII review from B&H's own Allan Weitz for an in-depth look at the camera itself, and additional details on shooting video. With the right external microphone, recording great sound is easy too.

Tips and Tricks for the 5D MKII - PART II - Audio Monday December 08th 2008, 2:10 am Filed under: Articles, Hardware One of the most common questions that I get relates to audio and the Canon 5D MKII. My first recommendation is always to record your audio independently - i.e. with a separate device. This gives you much greater freedom with your edit when you have a continuous sound recording - and are now free to cut between shots even if they weren't sequential. If you want to shoot stills and video - an independent audio recording device allows you to cut between stills and video - shot with the same camera.

The Beauty of the Slideshow - Now Available to Everyone By Stanley LearystanleylearycloseAuthor: Stanley Leary See Author's Posts (38) Recent Posts * Still Images Plus Audio Can Be More Effective Than Online Video * Teaching Is a Great Way to Learn * Telling Stories with a Telephoto Lens * If Your Pictures Aren't Good Enough, You're Not Close Enough * What Kind of Photographer Are You? Stanley Leary is a Black Star photographer who has been telling stories for more than 20 years as a photojournalist. His work has appeared in Newsweek, Business Week, Sports Illustrated, Wired, Chicago Tribune, NY Times, World Book Encyclopedia, Information Week, Popular Mechanics, Technology Review, Atlanta Journal and Constitution, and many other publications. in Video and Multimedia on January 20th, 2008 Even before the Internet, I appreciated the slideshow. I created presentations with multiple projectors and audio, and I was always impressed with what the combined media could communicate. Even compared to video - where you move right through a moment so quickly you can miss the subtlety of it - the slideshow has its unique charms. The problem, in the old days, was that you had to have the audience present to deliver the program; it was a lot of work for a small number of people. The printed page reached a much larger audience. Today, with the Web becoming the leader in delivering the news, we are no longer limited to printed words and still images on the page. Rather than publishing a quote, we can deliver audio of the interviews and the experience, giving a story authenticity in a way that we couldn't achieve before. We can create slideshows for everyone - to watch whenever they choose.

Still Images Plus Audio Can Be More Effective Than Online Video By Stanley LearystanleylearycloseAuthor: Stanley Leary See Author's Posts (38) Recent Posts * Still Images Plus Audio Can Be More Effective Than Online Video * Teaching Is a Great Way to Learn * Telling Stories with a Telephoto Lens * If Your Pictures Aren't Good Enough, You're Not Close Enough * What Kind of Photographer Are You? Stanley Leary is a Black Star photographer who has been telling stories for more than 20 years as a photojournalist. His work has appeared in Newsweek, Business Week, Sports Illustrated, Wired, Chicago Tribune, NY Times, World Book Encyclopedia, Information Week, Popular Mechanics, Technology Review, Atlanta Journal and Constitution, and many other publications. in Video and Multimedia on March 27th, 2009 I've written before about multimedia slideshows, and how nice it is that today they are available to everyone via the Web, when in the past they were generally created for small groups. In this post, I will make the argument that multimedia slideshows can be a more effective way of communicating than online video. Advantages of Multimedia Slideshows Today nearly 70 percent of Americans are considered visual learners. That only leaves about 30 percent who learn primarily from words-only communication. But does that mean we should skip past slideshows and go straight to video? I don't think so.

"# Online bells and whistles can deliver your message with impact, but done in the wrong way, they can annoy your reader. Design gurus Laura Ruel and Nora Paul show you how to do multimedia right. By Laura Ruel and Nora Paul No comments | Archive Link One of the greatest opportunities of multimedia journalism is the ability to make different design choices. Although most online organizations present digital derivatives of their "parent" products - newspaper sites present columns of text, radio sites feature audio files, and TV sites provide video - we are seeing an increase in the number of sites embracing all design options. Radio sites are complementing their audio with photos and/or text, newspaper sites are presenting video and audio slide shows along with their text, and TV stations are supplementing their video pieces with text stories. "

"HD DSLRs are incredible-they give you a video camera with interchangeable lenses, depth of field control and stellar low-light performance-but they're not without drawbacks. Here's how to work around them. The initial crop of HD DSLRs (Nikon D90, Canon 5D Mark II) were never intended to be used primarily for video. It wasn't until Canon introduced the 5D Mark II that HD DSLR video really took off, and that was without manual video and audio controls. Canon eventually provided manual control of video, but it wasn't until earlier this year that they released manual audio controls (to an extent) and 24p recording. Ever since, the 5D2 has found its way onto film and TV sets. The entire finale of Fox's House was shot with 5D2s. Canon's now brought HD video to the majority of its DSLR line,"

MediaStorm: Visionary Journalism Weaving Stories Producers start by cutting audio, creating a "radio edit" of the story. Then they work with the journalist to craft a working narrative. A cohesive story emerges, and then it's time to pair the images with the audio. For that, they use Final Cut Studio. "Final Cut is our workhorse," says Storm. "Our producers live inside Final Cut all day long. It's a simple and powerful tool. It does everything you need it to do, yet I can teach a new producer how to create our type of project in a day." Images are exported out of Aperture at twice 1080p resolution, giving producers the flexibility they need to experiment with shots. "We pull everything into bins in Final Cut, and we use a lot of labeling to organize it," says Storm. "It's very simple: We use green for a picture that's in, red for one that's out, blue for a maybe. We have a very visual environment inside Final Cut to get things done quickly."

Move over Soundslides: 4 Free online slideshow creators Tuesday, February 03, 2009 The photo slideshow has revolutionized online journalism and can be seen on nearly every major news site. Many are created in Flash and many more are created using the popular program Soundslides. The problem is building slideshows in Flash can be daunting for the non-technical reporter and Soundslides, while extraordinarily simple to use, costs money. Because many newsrooms face financial difficulty, journalists must cut corners where they can. In that spirit, the following free online slideshow creators allow the user to blend photos and audio to create embeddable slideshows without spending money on software. Each slideshow was created with the same seven photos (source) and 30-second audio clip. Which one is best? You be the judge.

Cheat sheet for multimedia story decisions As newsrooms everywhere struggle to adapt to the digital information environment, everybody in the newsroom needs to gain some multimedia literacy. At the basic level, that means you understand what the media are suited for. Even if you do not know how to make an audio slideshow, you must understand what kinds of stories work well in the audio slideshow format - and which stories are poorly suited for it. If you don't understand that, you're in a weak position for telling stories in the 21st century.

Since 2004, Lens Culture has recorded audio interviews and conversations with some of the most interesting and thought-provoking photographers around the world. It's great to hear these articulate artists speaking directly about their own work - and sharing their ideas about photography in general. Enjoy!

Source Photographic Review presents: An audio interview with South African photographer David Goldblatt. Interview is accompanied by a slide show of the photographer's work. Original interview conducted by Mark Durden.

Long-Form Multimedia Journalism: Quality Is the Key Ingredient As a producer of social documentary projects-viewed on digital platforms-Brian Storm talks about the excitement of doing journalism in this way, at this time. A conversation with Brian Storm MediaStorm describes its mission as ushering in the next generation of multimedia storytelling by publishing social documentary projects incorporating photojournalism, interactivity, animation, audio and video for distribution across multiple media. Brian Storm is the president of MediaStorm, a production studio located in Brooklyn, New York, which publishes multimedia social documentary projects at www.mediastorm.org and produces them for other news organizations. In an interview I did with Brian on December 30, 2008, he spoke about how he envisions the future of long-form, multimedia journalism from the perspective of its creation, distribution and economic viability. An edited version of our conversation follows.

Lens Culture is an online magazine celebrating international contemporary photography, art, media, and world cultures. Discover photography from all continents and various points of view: documentary, fine art, photojournalism, poetic, personal, abstract, human, and street photography. Read essays, analysis and criticism about photography and culture. Listen to audio interviews with photographers. Enjoy reviews of exhibitions and photo books. Buy very cool 21st century photography at our new online store. Lens Culture attracts visitors from more than 100 countries every day.

Lens Culture is an online magazine celebrating international contemporary photography, art, media, and world cultures. Discover photography from all continents and various points of view: documentary, fine art, photojournalism, poetic, personal, abstract, human, and street photography. Read essays, analysis and criticism about photography and culture. Listen to audio interviews with photographers. Enjoy reviews of exhibitions and photo books. Buy very cool 21st century photography at our new online store. Lens Culture attracts visitors from more than 100 countries every day.

Digital Storytelling is the practice of using computer-based tools to tell stories. As with traditional storytelling, most digital stories focus on a specific topic and contain a particular point of view. However, as the name implies, digital stories usually contain some mixture of computer-based images, text, recorded audio narration, video clips and/or music. Digital stories can vary in length, but most of the stories used in education typically last between two and ten minutes. And the topics that are used in Digital Storytelling range from personal tales to the recounting of historical events, from exploring life in one's own community to the search for life in other corners of the universe, and literally, everything in between. A great way to begin learning about Digital Storytelling is by watching the following video introduction to Digital Storytelling.

Declaration of Principles Kevin Sites in the Hot Zone is news reporting for the new millennium - a nexus of backpack journalism, narrative story-telling techniques, and the Internet, designed to reach a global audience hungry for information. Our Mission and Goals To cover every armed conflict* in the world within one year, and in doing so to provide a clear idea of the combatants, victims, causes, and costs of each of these struggles - and their global impact. With honest, thoughtful reporting we'll strive to establish Kevin Sites in the Hot Zone as a forum for information and involvement. Users will not only learn about the scope of world conflict, but will find ways to be part of the solutions- through dialogue, debate, and avenues for action. How We'll Do It We will be aggressive in pursuing the stories that are not getting mainstream coverage and we will put a human face on them. We will not chase headlines nor adhere to pack journalism but vigorously pursue the stories in front of and behind the conflict, the small stories that when strung together illustrate a more complete picture. Veteran war correspondent Kevin Sites will travel solo to these conflict zones, aided by a U.S.-based "mission control" team: Producer Robert Padavick (NBC News, CNN) and Researcher Lisa Liu (Radio Free Asia, International Medical Corps). Using the latest technology, including high-definition digital cameras and satellite modems, Kevin will deliver stories via a five-fingered multimedia platform of text, photography, video, audio, and interactive chat - all available on one website (http://hotzone.yahoo.com).

" Welcome to our portrait, in imagery and sound, of a refugee community. This presentation accompanies Wendy James' study of how Sudan's civil wars have affected just one among many minority groups who have lived through loss and displacement. You are invited to enter a series of eight clusters of video clips which illustrate the memory rich landscape of Bonga, one of several refugee settlements in Ethiopia where displaced Sudanese sought safety and assistance over the last two generations. To view the video clips, you will need a broadband connection and Flash 8 player. There are also a few audio clips which require a quicktime player. "

"Finding the Frame is a gathering spot where multimedia journalists can receive feedback on their videos, audio slideshows and multimedia projects from industry professionals and fellow visual journalists. "

War and Peace in Afghanistan Photographs by Louie Palu and audio clips recorded during his travels capture the violence and tranquility in everyday Afghan life.

Welcome to the Hub -- the world's first participatory media site for human rights. Through the Hub, individuals, organizations, networks and groups around the world are able to bring their human rights stories and campaigns to global attention and to mobilize action to protect and promote human rights. Watch and forward the 60-second Hub video. What You Can Do On the Hub The Hub is an interactive community for human rights, where you can upload videos, audio or photos, or simply watch, comment on and share what's on the site. You can use each media item on the site to encourage individuals to learn more and to get involved by providing direct links to resources, advocacy groups, campaigns and actions that they can take to make a difference. Additionally, you can connect with groups or create one of your own to feature your work on the Hub. Every week you can watch the three most urgent videos contributed to the Hub, and hand-picked by our editors. Who can join the Hub? Anyone with a valid email address can join the Hub. Users of the Hub include human rights workers, students, academics, filmmakers, journalists, activists, teachers and concerned citizens worldwide.