Month: October 2020

Guiding Eyes for the Blind – Interview with Grace Ruggiero

Introduction: I had the chance to chat with Grace Ruggiero, a long-time home socializer for Guiding Eyes for the Blind, to learn about her experience as a volunteer.

Track: Grace has been a home socializer for the organization that provides guide dogs to people with vision loss.

Grace: I have been a home socializer for Guiding Eyes for the Blind since I was in kindergarten so I’ve been doing it for about 10 years.

Track: Becoming a home socializer is a great way to help out an important organization, and as Grace can attest to, a great way spend time with an adorable animal.

Grace: I was really interested in volunteering because I’ve always wanted a dog my whole life and my mom and my family saw this as a way to get that out of my system without actually getting a dog.

Track: Grace gets the opportunity to socialize two young puppies for about a week, and she is often the first person the puppy is going to after being born.

Grace: We get the puppies when they are about 6 weeks old that’s the bare minimum

Track: All home socializers for Guiding Eyes for the Blind must go through intense training in order to be able to handle young puppies and prepare them for seeing eye dog tests.

Grace: To become a home socializer we had to learn how to like to cope with the dogs’ emotions because some of them could be anxious because we’re getting them right from their mom.

Track: After being socialized by Grace or another home socializer, the puppies then have a long journey before becoming a full-time guide dog.

Grace: The puppies go to 2 more homes after they go to us and after that, they go to a pro socializer for about a year for intense training.

Track: Grace is very thankful to be able to volunteer for such a great organization while doing something she loves.

 

Audio: https://soundcloud.com/lile-ruggiero/guiding-eyes-journalism

Here is my first attempt at audio editing:

Host Intro: In a conversation about coping with loss, my girlfriend Elizabeth offered some interesting perspective on pets, particularly dogs.

Act: Elizabeth: The biggest loss I’ve ever experienced was definitely when both of my dogs died in 2019. Both of them were a bit unexpected and they happened within months of each other. My youngest dog was twelve and my oldest dog was fifteen, and losing them both within six months was the most difficult loss I’ve experienced.

Track: Considering the short transition, I wondered why they got two new dogs so quickly. *Natural Key Sound*

Act: Elizabeth: The fact that you come home and it’s just empty and quiet when it used to be filled with so much life and noise and happiness in the form of dogs. I have, they’re both a year-and-a-half, so I have two dogs, one of them if a Pomeranian-husky mix. She is twenty-five pounds almost. Another one is a Yorkie, a teacup Yorkie, so she is like six pounds and also a year-and-a-half.

Track: *Dog barking* I asked how she felt about moving on so quickly and bringing in two new family members after having just lost her two previous Yorkies.

Act: Elizabeth: Initially I completely refused, but once she (the Yorkie) was brought home I obviously fell in love with her so she’s just another source of happiness now instead of a source of pain.

Track: However, she certainly feels a bit differently about her future outlook.

Act: Elizabeth: I definitely would like to own a dog once I have a family but having that responsibility when I’m on my own is something that I’m not going to take upon myself. Eventually when I have kids, I definitely would like a dog.

Track: I decided to get her thoughts on the role of pets during quarantine and whether she feels that dogs helped our mental state.

Act: Elizabeth: I think so for sure, especially for me, because I had something to look forward to every day which was just walking them twice a day. When you’re holed up in your room, those twenty minute walks are definitely a highlight of your day.

Track: *Playful dog growling* It is clear that domesticated animals serve a larger role than we may think in our daily lives. Reporting for Baruch College, I’m Denis Minchuk.

I have submitted the audio via email, as the blog does not have room for media uploads at the moment.

Here is the short audio test  (1min) to learn to use Audacity. The track was recorded a bit too close so small sounds interfere a little but by the final draft of the radio story, practice will help.

Host intro: Today Irons Burgos, a BMCC student majoring in business Administration talks about how covid-19 changed his working out habits

ACT: IRONS: I stopped going out to the gym because I didn’t feel safe

TRACK: He says that even though gyms have started to reopen, the chances of him going back are small

ACT: IRONS: For the moment I do not see myself going to the gym anytime soon, I just don’t like the idea of running with a mask.

TRACK: One option that the 22 years old could consider, is to work out from home following an online training

ACT: IRONS: If it’s a personal session with someone else you can just be following a recording or something, you can work at your own pace and make it happen.

TRACK: For the moment gyms haven’t reopened to their full capacity and most people keep working out in outdoor spaces or from home. For Baruch College, I’m Lylia Saurel .

 

Reminders and Upcoming Dates

Radio scripts will be due Friday, October 30. Instead of having class as usual that day, I will be holding one-on-one script editing meetings with everyone; you will sign up for time slots when it gets a bit closer.

Final due date on the radio story is Friday, November 6.

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Script Writing

Here’s my example script based on a very short interview I did with another professor back in the spring. Note some of the different elements of script writing:

• Visual/descriptive, paints a picture to add context to the natural sounds
• Sets up sound bites by introducing the person by their full name and often by paraphrasing or hinting at what they’re about to say.
• No long, rambly, complicated sentences.
• Ends with a final line of narration that looks to the future in some way.

 

Host intro: With CUNY schools transitioning to online learning this week amid the coronavirus outbreak, professors across New York City are getting creative. Emily Johnson spoke to one CUNY adjunct about what it’s like trying to teach during a pandemic.

AMBI: Nat sounds of tea kettle boiling (FADE DOWN AS TRACK BEGINS)

TRACK: I’m here with Anna Ficek in her Brooklyn apartment, watching her make tea while she works from home. She’s a PhD student at the CUNY Grad Center and when she’s not working on her dissertation she teaches art history at Baruch College and Borough of Manhattan Community College, or BMCC.

ACT: ANNA: When I found out that everything was getting shut down and especially CUNY I felt extremely sad. Because CUNY is such a big part of my life, such a great community that it was hard to feel that kind of dissipating.

TRACK: She says teaching from home has been a real challenge because of the way she runs her classes.

ACT: ANNA: It’s been very difficult to adapt to teaching remotely just because I really value the discussion I have with my students.

TRACK: Still, she’s trying to see this as an opportunity.

ACT: ANNA: What I’m hoping to get out of this is more time to really focus on what’s important both in terms of teaching and my own dissertation and my own research and trying to figure out creative problem solving ways to deal with these new issues that are going to come around like libraries being closed and inaccessibility to archives and how myself as an academic and as a researcher can get around that. So challenges, but also good challenges!

TRACK: CUNY schools will continue with distance learning for at least the remainder of the spring semester. For Baruch College, I’m Emily Johnson.

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Recording Narration

You’ll need to record your narration in a quiet place with sound-absorbing surfaces. Some people use their closet as a makeshift studio; others just throw a blanket over their head. If your room is carpeted, has curtains and lots of plush surfaces, the sound quality should be decent.

It’s best not to drink or eat dairy products right before recording narration; it makes your voice sound thick.

Try not to speak from high up in your throat. Speak from lower in your belly.

Good posture is important.

Some people in the radio world warm up their voices by singing, stretching, and/or doing tongue twisters.

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 Audio Editing Workshop

Audacity shortcuts to know:

Play/pause: Space bar
Split track: Command I
Zoom in: Command 1
Zoom out: Command 3

In the tool bar, this is the selection tool that allows you to click and highlight and delete sections of track or select a spot where you want to split it:

And this is the tool that allows you to move sections of track:


And this is the one that lets you adjust the volume, basically the same way the pen tool works in Premiere for anyone who may be familiar with that program:

You’ll need to export the finished sound file before you can upload it anywhere.

In Audacity, it’s File –> Export Audio –> select “WAV” from dropdown menu and give the file a name and location, then hit “Save” and “OK.”

I recommend uploading to Soundcloud rather than hosting it on the blog. It’s free to create an account. Please post the link on the class blog by the end of the day.

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This was my first time attending any type of photography workshop/talk and I can say I truly enjoyed every single second of it. My workshop was titled “Reflecting on Culture & Identity: Photography Talk” and it was presented by Deborah Anderson. She is a well known photographer and English musician. Currently she is preparing to launch her documentary film based on the Oglala Lakota women based in Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota. Ms. Anderson wanted to show culture that has been hidden and not been truly appreciated. She uses her platform to raise awareness in efforts to help this community that America has forgotten about (although it was and still is their land to begin with). Also she informed us of how many indigenous groups have been affected by COVID in a huge way so she urged the audience to find ways to help. I truly enjoyed how she made genuine connections with the Lakota women instead of just selfishly using them for her own benefit or to become more famous off of them. The stories she told of how many adversities the women face but choose to still persevere and celebrate their beautiful culture was so inspiring to hear. She also mentioned how one of the women she took photos of, passed away and they put the image she took on her gravesite. Ms. Anderson really emphasized how important it is to be an activist even as an artist. She believes that as an artist you have the ability to raise awareness and create change for the rest of the world to follow. Each picture told a different story wether it was cultural celebration, rape survivors, spiritual practices, and so much more! I truly think she is such a genuine and compassionate soul and I now knew that she cares about shedding light on issues that aren’t frequently talked about. I also believe that she does these projects  because she has a strong passion, not because she just wants a check. At the end, I couldn’t help but to feel more inspired and motivated to find ways to appreciate more cultures and people, including the ones that many don’t always talk about.  I 10/10 recommend everyone to check her work.

The link to her work is below

Deborah Anderson “Women of the White Buffalo”

Reminders and Upcoming Dates

Radio story pitches are due today. We’ll be workshopping them together: first in small groups in breakout rooms and then as a class.

Radio scripts will be due Friday, October 30. Instead of having class as usual that day, I will be holding one-on-one script editing meetings with everyone; you will sign up for time slots when it gets a bit closer.

Final due date on the radio story is Friday, November 6.

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Asynchronous Assignment

Record a short interview with someone (maybe 5-10 minutes)—it can be  a friend, roommate, family member, partner, etc. You don’t need to submit it to me yet, but we’re going to be using it in a script writing/audio editing exercise in class, so please have it readily accessible (ie send it to yourself from your phone ahead of time).

Also make sure you have downloaded Audacity, the free audio editing program.

I am the type of person who is always looking for new and interesting galleries, exhibitions, or museums to go to. I had never been to Photoville and I am very happy that I attended in person and plan to do so for years to come. I was moved by a lot of the pieces and the stories behind them, however, I was really touched by Dana Scruggs’s story.

Dana Scruggs shined light on the mental health issues that have come along with COVID and quarantine. I think it’s really important to acknowledge these issues because a lot of people are distraught due to the tremendous amount of change that has taken place in the last six months. Dana talks about how she lost her spark to be creative and spends most of her days dwelling in self-pity.  Dana discusses the comfort she has found in purchasing items because it’s the only thing she has control over. The photo she included is a beautiful photo of herself in her living room surrounded by all of her newly purchased items. In the photo, her apartment looks beautifully furnished, however, she does not look happy. Shopping can be fun and relaxing but when you depend on it, the items become baggage as Dana said. This piece was so real and I think we can all relate to it. COVID has made us all feel alone and uneasy, therefore I really like how vulnerable Dana made herself by publishing this story to the public.

 

*For some reason, my photo will not upload due to size. I’m going to email it*

 

I was thinking of migrating my initial idea for my photo essay onto my radio story. I wanted to follow local artists as they’ve continued to create during the pandemic. There is one in particular who rented out an art studio to help facilitate her creativity and her small business. Another idea would be to follow high school seniors as they navigate the new school year, especially since the high school where I attended is doing a combination of in-person and online.