Nokia Project

It would appear we are on to something...

Amanda Congdon and the N93

The students of Journalism 694 started video blogging last week. Some opted to use standard digital video cameras. Others (see Courtney Farr's experience)tried, unsuccessfully, to use the N73 for their video needs. Nathan Rodriguez represents the third group, those who dove in, head first, and managed to come up with some amusing content captured and edited solely in the Nokia N73.

I’d been thinking of what I could possibly do for a “free swim vlog” and decided to sleep on it. As I was drifting off, a line from The Simpsons came to mind: “I’ve always admired your tart honesty and ability to be personally insulted by broad social trends.” In this case, Principal Skinner was speaking with Edna Krabapple, but the person that immediately came to my mind was Andy Rooney.

What would Andy Rooney think about video blogging?

I have zero experience in acting, but figured that I had better get in the right mindset before filming: crotchety and confused. No better time to try this than first thing in the morning before having a chance to shower or fully wake up. I smear Pomade through my hair before parting it, button up a dress shirt and jacket—normally any one of these things is plenty to put me in a foul mood—and hit record. Oh yeah, I’m also battling a head cold. I’d practiced my Rooney impression for a good five minutes over the last couple days, and generally come off sounding like some bizarre amalgam of Gilbert Gottfried, Dennis Miller and Beavis.

My dogs seemed fairly certain that I had completely lost my mind, and kept their distance. So…you have been warned. Hit “play” and there will be nothing you can do to get those 90 seconds of your life back. Enjoy, and for God’s sake, please don’t let anyone outside of this class see this. Ever. Seriously. Thanks.

Nokia’s N73 video phone needs a kickstand. I took the phone out for a test drive, primarily looking at it’s video capabilities and how well it would work as a vlogger’s tool. Impressed not was I. The first thing I tried to do was tape myself ranting randomly. The phone has two cameras, one next to the super nice (and awesomely big) LCD and another on the outside of the phone. The interior camera’s quality was poor enough to not justify using as Internet video. Video phone calls, maybe.
The logical next step is to move on to the main camera. I set the camera down on my desk to aim it at myself and it promptly fell over. All four edges of the camera are beveled, meaning you can’t just set it down anywhere. Hence the need for a kickstand. Nokia offer’s a Music Stand for the phone they’ve pushed as a replacement for a digital camera, but no kickstand. If I was going to regularly use this phone, I would have to mod it somehow, maybe slap some of that sticky, silly puddy type stuff to the bottom when using it. It also begs the question as why does it have a video/pic timer if you can’t set the phone down and then move in front of it.

I threw out my journalistic instincts and know-how and became a citizen journalist for a day. I lugged around a camera phone and tried to find and capture a newsworthy event. But, I found, those knuckleheads, who occasionally make the five o’clock news for being at the right place at the right time with their camera phones, are simply lucky — not reporters.

The Assignment: Be a citizen journalist. Carry around a camera phone, go about your daily business and see what you find.

The Outcome: Outdated, "Blair Witch Project"- like video of the wreckage at Kennedy’s Bar and Grill (Waldo, KCMO) and an unprofessional interview from a police officer. The cop said the fire roared for 10 hours on February 16. Asbestos was found at Kennedy’s, which will prolong reconstruction, and 75th Street Brewery will take three to four weeks to rebuild, due to all the smoke damage.

My Feelings: Many things struck me about my experience as a citizen journalist. First, the officer I spoke with was helpful and willing to answer my questions. He wasn’t hesitant or intimidated. If I showed up with a tripod and a big camera, he may have been less inclined to speak with me. Citizen journalists may appear less harmful to officials and experts than reporters and journalists; therefore, it could be easier to find story ideas.

While at Kennedy’s, I found myself asking the officer questions while video taping the wreckage. Though the camera wasn’t focused on him, I was hoping he would reveal something new and newsworthy about the fire and I would catch it on tape. I have taken an ethics in journalism class — citizen journalists have not. They may use unethical tactics to get interviews and stories.

Back at my car after taping, it struck me how unprepared I felt to create a story. I had video but no written notes. I made a visual story but not a factual one. I couldn’t remember anything the police officer said. Citizen journalists can provide news stations with video but not actual stories. Professional journalists still have to go out and research, interview and develop a story worth broadcasting.

It was also difficult coming up with a story and getting my video on the computer. In conclusion, I found tales told from a camera phone are tall and incomplete.

Driving is expensive. Gas costs lots and tune-ups are rip-offs. Parking downtown is often impossible and sitting in traffic sucks. This is besides the obvious environmental problems driving exacerbates, or our country's little oil addiction, which (arguably) is a healthy kick to our "keep the Middle East in turmoil so we can take advantage of its resources" reflex. The only real reason to drive anywhere in Lawrence (at least in the areas students frequent -- campus, downtown, student ghetto, East Lawrence) is that it will get you there faster than walking or riding a bike. Or is it faster? Nate Martin reports.