DRSisms

Five

2011-12-06T10:49:00.001-05:00

Five has always been a good number for me. My friend, Helene, tells me that five represents travel and adventure. Others link the number to motion and movement. Regardless of a deeper meaning, here’s what I know about the number five today. Five years ago this morning I woke up as a cancer patient, and five years ago tonight I went to sleep a cancer survivor.

If you can have a good experience with cancer, I did. Give or take a few healing issues with my anemic body following surgery, the process was fairly uneventful. Thanks to an excellent medical staff, good insurance coverage, and a job with ample sick leave benefits the technical parts of the disease were easily managed. The cancer was surgically removed negating the need for chemotherapy or radiation treatments. Pam who is wonderful in five million ways made sure the home front was taken care of. She fed me, chauffeured me to countless doctor’s appointments, worried over me, and loved me as only a partner can. Her support was and is invaluable. Recovery took a few weeks, but I was able to return to work and school pretty much on schedule.

After surgery the new goal was five, as in five years. At the five-year mark, if I had experienced no recurrence of the cancer, then I would be deemed cured. After two years, the chances of recurrence dropped significantly, but the five-year mark is the golden ring (every pun intended). So here I sit after five years typing my relief in a hodgepodge of emotions. On December 14 (if anyone is counting 1 plus 4 equals 5) I’ll get the official exam and five-year endorsement. Until the official results come in let’s just keep celebrating the number five. Cheers.

Looking to the Summitt

2011-08-23T17:42:00.000-05:00

For the record I am an unabashed Lady Vols basketball fan. Also in the spirit of full disclosure I am employed by the University of Tennessee, hold a doctorate from the University, and own season tickets to Lady Vol basketball. I am not unbiased when it comes to my favorite sporting team nor my favorite coach. Not surprisingly I’ve spent the last few hours at my desk, eyes rimmed in tears, frantically searching Twitter and various media sites for details regarding Pat Summitt’s diagnosis of dementia. I am shocked and broken-hearted at the thought of my beloved idol enduring the adversity of a wretched disease that can rob one of dignity, grace and sometimes even the essence of the human spirit. Yet, I marvel at the strength of this woman who looks straight into the camera, announces her infirmity, and then refuses to yield to it. There will be no pity party, no resignation, and no shuffling off into oblivion.

Coach Summitt does not back down. She demands fearlessness and commitment from her players, and she leads by example. She and her staff insist on nothing short of excellence. Together they identify, recruit, and mentor a team of world-class athletes who also achieve academic accolades. I brag about the program’s 100% graduation rate waxing eloquent about integrity and work ethic as if I had anything to do with it, but as a student and as a teacher I know the time investment required by academic pursuit. Coach’s dedication to greatness “starts the engine.”

Now we (fans, media people, players, staff, and administrators) know Coach Summitt’s diagnosis. She has been truthful and straightforward about taking the necessary steps to combat the disease. We (or at least I) know others who have been living with the same diagnosis for years. We know if love, hope, dedication, and sheer will can help, then Coach Summitt will persevere. With any adversity knowing is half the battle...

So Coach has asked that we respect her privacy, and I plan to honor that request. I don’t know how this game will play out, but I do know this —Pat Summitt hates to lose. Don’t count her out just yet.

Final Cut Pro X

2011-04-14T11:09:00.000-05:00

The much anticipated new version to Apple's Final Cut Pro video editing suite was unveiled this week at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) convention in Las Vegas. In true Apple fashion the details were kept under wraps until presented at the FCP Users Network Group Supermeet.

The NAB presentation was only a beta preview. The software will not be available in the App Store until June. However, at first glance I found lots to be excited about. First, the price point at $299 makes the software affordable for even the smallest of producers and production houses. Freelancers the world over should rejoice. And a host of new college graduates will be able to enjoy the "perks" of forming their own production companies without waiting in line to interview for one of the pitifully few openings at network affiliates or established production facilities. I'm sure the price tag will lure me to update the edit suite in my home studio (affectionately known as Blue Plaid Hat Entertainment). I'm equally sure that Apple will market an updated line of hardware later this spring that will supplement the software nicely.

But back to my excitement about the product at hand--FCP X. One notable improvement in the software is range-based keywording and smart collections. That's really just a Apple's term for adding metadata to your clips. While tagging clips in earlier versions of FCP was technically possible, the process wasn't necessarily intuitive. Entering descriptors during capture, adding comments via clip settings in the browser, or creating subclips worked, but it also slowed down your workflow. In FCP X you can tag clips or portions of clips directly in the Browser at any stage of your edit. No need for multiple subclips in multiple bins to categorize your video. Footage can be queried using keywords and easily identified in their smart collections.

Yet another new feature is content auto analysis and the ability of the software to recognize shot attributes during the ingest process. The software divides your footage into close ups, medium shots, or wide shots as well as tallies the number of people in the shot. Like shots are categorized together in a Smart Group list in the Browser. A new expanded filmstrip view with skimming (or scrubbing) gives you even more flexibility. Additional bells and whistles include automatic color correction and audio sweetening. FCP X detects issues as you begin to ingest footage and allows you to apply fixes from the beginning rather than during the edit process.

Apple has redesigned the multiclip functionality so that you can group or link a sequence of clips together and edit from that group in the timeline. The new moniker is "compound clips." It will be interesting to see if the multiclip function remains an option in FCP X or if that folds into the compound clip function. The new Auditioning function is another play on the multiclip functionality. Say you have three versions of a rough cut. Rather than creating three separate sequences all three versions can be placed in the timeline and you can go back and forth between them. Think of this as clip enabling/disabling on steroids. Okay that feature will be a little easier to understand when you see it, but if you've ever used multiclips in FCP you will understand my excitement about these features.

The magnetic timeline and clip connections certainly represent an improvement to FCP's editing interface. Clip connections insures that primary audio and video remained linked (and synced) unless you specifically unlink them. Plus the software allows for creation of a secondary association between video and audio, so music or sound effects can be linked to a video clip. This alone will save me lots of frustration in the edit suite. With the magnetic timeline feature hard tracks (and I hope the destination controls that go along with them) are no longer the norm. FCP now adjusts by automatically adding tracks and moving media to lower tracks rather than overwriting or shifting existing clips in the timeline.

Finally the feature I think will be most helpful to amateur producers or new users of FCP is the ability to sync video from secondary cameras via the nat sound track recorded. Using the camera mic to provide a reference audio track will be a life saver when shooting an event with multiple cameras that are not sharing timecode. Jam syncing the timecode is now merely a hindrance from the past.

The inline precision editing tool feels like the most anemic upgrade to the suite. The presenter tried to sell it as new and innovative, but it's really just a graphically oriented repurposing of the ripple/roll and slip/slide tools.

These are few of my first impressions based on the marketing materials released so far. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of the software. I'll follow up as I get to use the tools, but for now I'm excited about a new arsenal of editing tools to add to my suite.

Notes from a Reluctant Teacher

2010-12-14T11:52:00.001-05:00

I confess I never wanted to teach. Teaching requires patience and this 1959 model came with faulty patience. Plus how would I connect with a room full of 20 year olds? I believe in personal responsibility, but I wasn't hearing positive stories about the personal responsibility of students. I just didn't see this teaching thing as a likely career path for me. Then the carrot was dangled in front of me. Young doctor Smith (no I'm not young, but the title is new to me) do you want to teach Media and Diversity? How could I turn that down? Me who believes in personal responsibility pass up the chance to open a dialog about diversity with a group of young people? I don't think I could live with myself if I didn't take the opportunity.

Enter Social Media
Okay, confession #2...Twitter is a bit like the holy grail for me. You might say I am a tad bit obsessed. In general I’m fascinated by the ways people engage with social media. I find that Twitter has replaced many traditional news outlets for me. I immediately go to Twitter for breaking news, and it has also become a staple for research. When I need to generate ideas on a topic, my first search engine becomes Twitter. I’ve anxiously followed Dannah Boyd’s work. Her dissertation on social media use by digital natives is riveting. When I was offered the chance to teach a Media and Diversity at the University of Tennessee in Spring 2010, I immediately began devising my plan to incorporate microblogging into my curriculum.

First I polled the other professors in the department. Who was using social media tools? Who eschewed technology? Who was interested but didn’t know where to begin? Admittedly, I am an early adopter. New technologies intrigue me. My intrinsic need to explore drives my adoption. It is really a basic uses and gratification argument. I want to immediate immerse myself in the technology, but will quickly cast it off if it does not offer the instant gratification I seek. But back to the teaching. Those open to technology use in the classroom encouraged me. Others didn’t so much discourage me, but didn’t lead me to believe that there might be a pay off and in fact it might not be worth the time or the effort. However, as a newbie I decided to jump headlong into my Twitter experiment thinking that I’d just abandon it if it got out of hand.

#Fail
I am firmly committed to self-directed learning. I assign readings that are not specifically covered in class, but students are required to discuss them on examinations and apply them in other written assignments. I post help documents to the course website and inform the students that the material is available for their use, but it is the students’ responsibility to explore and apply the information. However, with the Twitter assignment I didn’t spend enough time explaining hashtags. In retrospect I think my students missed out on an important aspect of the Twitter interface. I required they hashtag their tweets for class with the course number so that I could aggregate the feed each week for a grade, but I didn't fully explain the power of hashtagging. Secondly, I gave them free reign on topics thinking that most would tie their tweets to topics we discussed in class. I was wrong. About half the class tweeted aimlessly about nothing which took up an unbelievable amount of my time when grading and brought little added value to the classroom discussion.

Finding Your Voice
At the beginning of the semester I tell my students that I see them as adults, and I expect them to act like adults. I’m okay with the idea of tweeting during class. If you can tweet, text, Facebook and pay attention to the class discussion, rock on! With this mindset you have to be willing to indulge a bit of youthful banter. While I don’t need to know about each drama of my undergraduates’ lives, it is important to allow them to find their voices. I had to reign in the multitasking by joining the discussion from time to time, but overall the students used the tools productively. Sometimes a timid student might be more comfortable tweeting than speaking during class. Sometimes students extended the class discussion by tweeting while we were viewing videos. Many times outside of class someone would tweet an idea that related to a topic from weeks earlier. I always wanted to exclaim, “You get it!. You really get it!”

At the end of the semester I lamented that about one third of the students in a large class simply don’t care, about one third just needs the class to graduate, and about one third really get it. If only I could divide and conquer then I could apply my energies in the proper place and really reach out to the students who have an interest in the subject matter and hope that the others absorb some information just by exposure. Someone once said “education is going from an unconscious to a conscious awareness of one’s ignorance.” Using that definition, learning definitely took place for me and I hope for my students as well.

Here's where I stand...

2010-11-11T09:03:00.002-05:00

Let's be clear...I believe in diversity, tolerance, and equality for all. I believe that education is the key to progress and that technology is merely a conduit for vision. I believe that we should all be teachers and students because learning is a reciprocal endeavor. I believe that our young people need experienced mentors, and our elders need new challenges. I believe that by God's grace we can ALL know love regardless of whether my God looks like, sounds like, or is named like yours. I believe that if you recognize a problem, then it is your responsibility to search for a solution. I believe that we grow more from grieving our losses together than from celebrating our victories alone. I believe that words are powerful and cheap, so use them for good. I believe that laughing fills your heart and that crying washes it clean, and that both are necessary processes. And finally (stepping off soapbox) I believe that indeed the Lady Vols can win a national championship every year. What do you believe?

Missing Vermont

2010-09-30T07:16:00.001-05:00

With fall upon us here in east Tennessee I find I'm really missing my other home--Vermont. I thought I would post some random pictures from our time there this summer. Visiting New England again this summer was such a wonderful and life-altering experience for me. Part of me remains there.

Summer Blogs

2010-06-22T11:02:00.002-05:00

Over the course of the past year I finally completed my PhD in Communication and Information and began teaching at the University of Tennessee School of Journalism and Electronic Media. In Spring 2010 I had the great privilege to teach Media and Diversity. The class was filled with 70 inquisitive young minds that joined me on an exploration of the ways in which media frame gender, race, ethnicity, and sexuality. The semester was both enriching and exhilarating for me. I hope the students came away with a better idea of their place as media makers and became more comfortable with their journalistic voices.

On a related note several of my student peers are blogging their adventures this summer, and I'm enjoying hearing the voice of a new generation of journalists. Below are links some of their work. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have. When you stop by their blogs, leave a comment to let them know they are being heard.

Don't Kiss the Blarney Stone

Annie's Travels

Stuff Jordan Likes

This Must Be the Place

Dissertation Thank Yous

2009-11-19T11:33:00.001-05:00

To each and every person who gave me advice, offered encouragement, or provided some diversion along the way, I thank you. Your support has kept me moving forward, made me think, and helped me retain my sense of humor.

I must thank my committee chair, Dr. Catherine Luther. From the first moment I sat in one of Dr. Luther’s classes, I saw the teaching and research missions of academia exemplified. Dr. Luther truly models intellectual reasoning and diversity of thought. She allows her students to grow and learn while navigating the sometimes-constrictive path of current media philosophies and technologies.

I would like to thank the other members of my committee, Dr. Ben Bates, Dr. Michelle Violanti, and Dr. Suzanne Kurth. Dr. Bates graciously bailed me out each time I called on him. He provided an endless stream of resources and is incredibly generous with both his time and his knowledge. Dr. Violanti is simply wise. And she has graciously shared her wisdom with me. From the beginning of my graduate studies she has offered me nothing but good counsel and great encouragement. Plus she gets brownie points for being a Lady Vols basketball fan. Dr. Kurth expanded the boundaries of my work by illustrating a feminist approach in the classroom. This freedom allowed me to engage with the texts I studied in new and different ways. I am richer for having studied with her.

To my friends--many of whom I have been friends with for more than thirty years now and whom have shared with me their abundant life experiences--you have guided me both intellectually and spiritually in this endeavor. I carry a little piece of each of you in me. You are my family. You make life deep and meaningful and fun. I love each one of you dearly.

To Melissa and Michael I hope I have made you proud. I have attempted in some small way to carry your torches. I miss being able to see your faces and tap your collective intellects, but I still hear your voices. I hope you still hear mine.

I am grateful to my parents who made me believe that education is the key and who worked diligently to provide me with an opportunity to follow my academic dreams. I thank you for giving me intelligence, and values, and a sense of responsibility. Those tools have served me well throughout my life.

And finally I must thank Pam, my partner in all things. It is Pam who on occasion takes my hand, reminds me to breathe, and then jumps off a cliff with me. She challenges me, supports me, and makes me laugh. She has given so much of herself to be part of my life, and she so beautifully shares her life with me. For her I am thankful with all that I am.

Are we bloggers or jounralists?

2009-04-30T09:08:00.001-05:00

I read an interesting article this morning about the differences between bloggers and journalists. The article at http://tinyurl.com/ch9kev states that both bloggers and journalists are valid content creators and each serves a separate and unique purpose. According to Mr. Lunn journalists have an ethical obligation to present unbiased information and search for the truth while bloggers have the freedom to espouse their self-annointed expertise on any particular subject.

In reality that difference seems pretty blurry to me. A flip through the 200 or so channels on most local cable systems will find the same topic presented as significantly different "truths" depending on the journalist or news organization. Additionally in presenting these "truths" most news organizations now engage professional bloggers and seek out viewer feedback. Broadcasting these opinions and comments legitimizes the voice of both bloggers and viewers elevating them to the rank of information originators. Is co-opting the ideas of these citizen journalists just more of the "truth" seeking or is it "truth" dilution?

The real "truth" is that we all--journalists, bloggers, viewers, whatever--bring our own lens to information. Whether we are creating or consuming it, the idea is packaged with our biases and filters. My idea might become your journalism which becomes someone else's blog. We are all in this crazy, glorious interconnected reality. Please retweet ;)

The Whys of Blogging

2009-03-03T15:27:00.002-05:00

I find myself wondering why I don't blog. I log in every 6 months or so and add some trivial tidbit or cheer on the Lady Vols, but I never really make much of a mark on this blog space. As a media professional I consume a steady diet of of blogs and message boards, and as a media consumer let's not forget my daily ration of television. But I no longer create content--not blogs, not videos, not even post cards. Once I couldn't get enough of message production. I worked tirelessly to acquire the technology and opportunity to publish my works. Now I have more technology available in my home office than I did at the first television station I worked for, and I can't remember the last time I actually edited a video.

Is there some media apathy that comes with age? I think anyone who knows me would laugh wildly at the thought of me having nothing to say. What prevents me from harnessing the communication power at my fingertips? Just something to think on.

Oh, and Go Lady Vols!!! Bring home an SEC Tournament Championship!

Snow days

2008-02-27T19:44:00.004-05:00

We had our first real snowfall of the year today. Unfortunately I had too many meetings, so I couldn't declare a snow day. I trekked off to the office in my trusty red Subaru at daylight. The closest I got to the snow was pointing the webcam in my office toward the door of my building and watching on my computer monitor. Pam was able to capture a bit of the snowfall for me in still pictures. It was beautiful while it lasted. The Smokies got up to ten inches in places and may get more tonight. I'll take whatever I can get even if it is only a few flakes. Snow makes me smile...

Lamb Jams of Yore

2007-08-31T12:52:00.000-05:00

I'm missing Little Rock today. This weekend marks the anniversary of a Labor Day weekend party known by 40 or 50 of my most intimate friends as "Lamb Jam." It began as a housewarming party for me, my college roommate, Z, and our friend, Baby Jane. As I recall the first one started on Thursday evening and ended sometime late on Monday. Jobs, kids, and other commitments have impacted the party along the way. But once a year we all managed to get together on Saturday evening for a meal of lamb and fixin's. The party waned for a few years in the mid 90s. I prefer to think of it as, we had satellite parties at a few different locations rather than one big blowout. Of course, part of the party is free-flowing libations thus leading to some memorable moments.

I guess most of all this year I'm missing Michael. His loss means we can never have the whole gang back together again. So, with nods to Michael here is one of my favorite Lamb Jam conversations:

400 Pine Street, LR, Saturday of Labor Day weekend 1983
Police Officer: Sir, is everything all right here?

Michael: I'm standin' on my front porch, (pause) drinkin' my beer, with my friends (looks to left, looks to right) yessir, everything's all right.

Police Officer: Well, son, do you think you can take your friends and your stereo speakers back inside and tone it down a little?

Michael: Yessir I believe I can.

So to all of my Lamb Jam crew. I'm going to the liquor cabinet to get the Southern Comfort and the Amaretto, and I'm toasting you all with a big kiss. I love you all. Happy Labor Day!

Blessings

2007-06-19T11:54:00.002-05:00

While staring at the clock at 4:11 a.m. one morning, I decided that I should start my days by (no matter how corny it seems) counting my blessings. I lead a very charmed life. I'm healthy and happy. I live a very comfortable lifestyle, and basically want for nothing. Perhaps I should spend more time positively contemplating my wealth rather than fretting over things I cannot control. So with that in mind I'm starting a list of things I'm grateful for.

First I'm grateful for Pam, my partner in all things sane and insane. It is very humbling to have to depend on another human to totally care for you--to feed you, to dress you, to drive you halfway across the country, etc. I have been there, and when I was there so was Pam. Pam who, after spending 7 hours with me in an emergency room (when I broke my ankle), followed the moving van to unload our belongings at our new house 10 hours away while I slept on a borrowed couch in a pain pill induced stupor. Pam who has made a complete cat person out of a devoted dog lover and who adopted my dogs like they were her own. Pam who on occasion takes my hand, reminds me to breathe, and then jumps off a cliff with me. Pam who challenges me, supports me, and makes me laugh. Pam who has given so much of herself to be part of my life and so beautifully shares her life with me. For her I am thankful.

Secondly I'm thankful for my family. Most of you are scattered around central and east Arkansas and northern Mississippi. My parents who are in their young 70's and are just beginning to settle into retirement. I am thankful that you are willing to continue growing and seeking new adventures whether it's relocating to a new city or learning to navigate the internet or just admiring the new flowers springing up in your garden. My niece and nephew have become such amazing young adults with families of their own. I couldn't be prouder of the choices they are making.

I'm also thankful for my Lady Vol family. 99.9% of whom I have never met but on any given day thousands of whom will join me in cheering for undeniably the greatest women's collegiate basketball team and organization in the country. These are fans who are perhaps more proud of the 100% graduation rate of our players than of the 8 national championships. This is a fan base that will travel half way across the country to fill the stand with orange--many times in larger numbers than the home team. These are the people who stand and applaud a competing coach who soundly beat us yet because they know what she has meant to the game of women's basketball. These are the people who will honk and wave enthusiastically at your car on a freeway hundreds of miles from home when they see your Lady Vol license plate. My glass is raised in a special familial toast to you all.

2007-04-27T19:24:00.000-05:00

A bit of patio renovation... This spring we replaced our aging concrete patio with an updated custom paver version. The original had gone through a 60s era astroturf stage at some point and then was painted green. After several years of trying to remove the green paint, we finally decided replacing it was the only option.

2007-04-27T19:21:00.000-05:00

Congratulations Lady Vols!!!! National Champions!!!!!

Connections

2007-03-13T12:30:00.001-05:00

I've been thinking about connections lately. What is it that keeps us connected? How is it that we let some relationships--relationships that we cherish--slip quietly away as memories? I remember from my youth a group of friends bound inexplicably by our shared interests in music and intellectual pursuits. I can still taste the flavor of our energy and enthusiasm. Those young peole have grown into models of American society. We are lawyers, and bankers, and educators. We are parents, and partners. We still eke out tiny moments to share between ourselves--not as often as we used to or even as often as we would like. But still when that moment comes we gather together to laugh and toast each other and yes, even to make fun of a blogger who worries about connections...Hey if you're out there call me. We haven't talked in a while...

Go Lady Vols!!!!

2007-03-13T12:30:00.000-05:00

Go Lady Vols!!!!!

Tuesday Morning Reflections

2005-07-05T06:39:00.000-05:00

Okay after careful retrospection through the night, I have concluded that yesterday was not Sunday, July 4th. It was Monday, July 4th. However, the day was still lovely, and Suzanne you're still it!

Learning to blog

2005-07-04T21:52:00.000-05:00

It's Sunday, July 4th. I've spent a wonderful day visiting with friends, sharing a meal, and just catching up on what has been going on in everyone's lives. My friend, Suzanne, asked me what I knew about blogs, so this is my attempt to become blog literate (or at least semi-blog literate). So Suzanne if you're listening, er, um, reading tag you're it!