A Mile Wide - Portfolio » rob

Resume

rob — Fri, 30 May 2008 00:48:04 +0000

Robert F. Roberts III

EDUCATION

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2003-2005 (completed: December 2005)
Master of Arts in Journalism and Mass Communication: Focus in Multimedia and Media Law

University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, 1992-1995
Bachelor of Arts in English, Bachelor of Arts in Political Science

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Multimedia Producer, News & Observer, Raleigh, NC, Sep. 2006-June 2008

Developed video, audio, and Flash-based multimedia projects for daily newspaper with Sunday circulation of more than 200,000. Responsible for all phases of production including brainstorming with reporters and editors, content gathering design, production and delivery.

Served as lead multimedia producer for coverage of ACC sports. Developed audio, video and Flash-based content, provided video coverage of games, and developed weekly video podcast.

Served as front-line multimedia producer for breaking news and sports events including Duke lacrosse investigation coverage and ACC basketball tournament.

Conducted training in audio and video gathering and editing and Internet technology for reporters, editors and producers.

Video Production Specialist, Institute for Science Learning, Chapel Hill, NC, Aug. 2003-Aug. 2006

Performed video editing and production work for multimedia science learning initiative. Directed, shot, and edited promotional video materials as well as e-learning video modules. Developed DVD products and other materials for distribution.

Provided technical and programming support for instructional multimedia projects.

Served as teaching assistant for JOMC 188 – Interactive Multimedia Narratives. Developed teaching plans and led instruction in non-linear audio and video editing.

Public Affairs Officer, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Washington, DC, Nov. 1996-Aug. 2003

Developed media strategies, coordinated media events, and produced press releases and editorials for World Trade Center Federal Recovery Office that provided nearly $9 billion in assistance to New York and New Jersey following the September 11th terrorist attacks.

Produced and edited daily video coverage of World Trade Center response operations broadcast by media outlets worldwide.

Managed FEMA Radio Network, producing daily actuality feed, PSAs, and disaster news packages for radio stations nationwide. Led transition to web-based delivery of audio products.

AWARDS & HONORS

First Place, NPPA Monthly Multimedia Contest, Feb. 2008
Multimedia Producer, Videographer for Great Eight 2008

Best of Photojournalism, Feature Video, 2008
First Place, NPPA Monthly Multimedia Contest, Jan. 2008
Multimedia Producer for Dail: Life Unbarred

President’s Award for Enterprise Journalism, McClatchy Corporation, 2007
Multimedia Producer for Speed Unlimited

President’s Award for Multimedia, McClatchy Corporation, 2007
Programmer for Monet in Normandy

Third Place, NPPA Monthly Multimedia Contest, May 2007
Producer for Building Gabby Mayo

Winner for Student Journalism, Online News Association, 2005
First Place, Multimedia, Independent, Best of Photojournalism Competition, 2005
Second Place, Multimedia, Independent, Pictures of the Year International, 2005
Gold Medal, Society for News Design, 2005
Audio/Video Coach and Design Team member for Chiloe Stories

Audience Choice Award, Asheville Film Festival, 2005
Official Selection, Northwest Folk Festival, OpenApp Film Festival, Piedmont Film Festival, 2005-06
Cratis D. Williams for outstanding student work, North Carolina Folklore Society, 2005
Co-producer and director of Madison County Project, a documentary film focusing on ballad singing tradition in a western North Carolina county

Institute for Science Learning Fellowship, 2003-2005
Two-year fellowship with full tuition for outstanding master’s student in multimedia.

Advisory Board Member & Contributing Filmmaker, Folkstreams.net
Helped guide evolution of an Internet archive of folklore documentary film

Honorary Kentucky Colonel
Honored for disaster relief efforts following flooding, severe storms, and tornadoes.

COMPUTER / RESEARCH SKILLS

Office/Research Applications: Microsoft Office, NeoOffice, Lexis-Nexis, academic and legal databases

Multimedia Applications: Final Cut Pro Studio, Adobe Production Suite (Flash, Photoshop, Audition, Premiere, Illustrator, Dreamweaver), Sorenson Squeeze, Soundslides, Blogging & Wiki Applications (including WordPress, B2Evolution, and Drupal), Content Management Systems

Programing Skills: Actionscript (advanced with AS2, transitioning to AS3), XML, HTML, CSS, some Javascript, PHP and mySQL

Special Skills: Video/Audio Field Production Techniques (Sony, Canon and Marantz equipment), Non-Linear Video/Audio Editing, Photography

Madison County Project

rob — Fri, 30 May 2008 00:26:41 +0000

About: Madison County Project is a documentary film and companion web site that explores the ballad singing tradition in western North Carolina and the documentary photographers, filmmakers, and folklorists who documented that tradition. In this excerpt from the film, filmmaker and musicologist John Cohen remembers his visits to the mountains.

Awards: Audience Choice Award, Asheville Film Festival, 2005, Official Selection, Northwest Folk Festival, OpenApp Film Festival, Piedmont Film Festival, 2005-06, Cratis D. Williams for outstanding student work, North Carolina Folklore Society, 2005

Carolina Chocolate Drops (Great Eight 2007)

rob — Fri, 30 May 2008 00:25:40 +0000

About: This video was part of the Great Eight 2007 package. The Carolina Chocolate Drops are a Durham-based band that plays old-time music. We met them at the Wilson Library for a photo shoot. Afterward, they gave us an impromptu performance that blew us away. The video has become one of the most popular old-time music clips on YouTube.

Chiloe Stories

rob — Thu, 29 May 2008 03:16:55 +0000

About: Chiloe Stories was a collaboration between student from UNC and the University of the Andes to create an extensive project documenting life on the isolated island of Chiloe. My primary assignment was to teach a dozen Chilean students audio and video skills as well as help them develop their stories. I also helped develop the initial site design as well as created written content for an interactive module on the island’s famous wooden churches.

Awards: Winner for Student Journalism, Online News Association, 2005, First Place, Multimedia, Independent, Best of Photojournalism Competition, 2005, Second Place, Multimedia, Independent, Pictures of the Year International, 2005, Gold Medal, Society for News Design, 2005

Roles: Audio-visual Coach, Videographer, Editor, Writer

Madison County Project

rob — Thu, 29 May 2008 03:05:57 +0000

About: Madison County Project was my thesis project for the Master’s program in Journalism at the University of North Carolina. The project consisted of a 23-minute documentary film and a companion multimedia site that explored the ballad singing tradition in western North Carolina and the filmmakers, photographers and folklorists who documented it.

Roles: Multimedia Producer, Programmer, Videographer, Editor

Great Eight 2007

rob — Thu, 29 May 2008 02:58:41 +0000

About: Great Eight 2007 is an earlier installment of the News & Observer’s annual list of eight bands to watch in Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill. 2007 was the first year we brought a multimedia element to the project. We shot live performance video for the majority of the bands and offered audio selections for each.

Specs: Videos were shot in DV and edited in Final Cut Pro. The interface was built in Flash CS3 and Actionscript 2. I tweaked a page-flip effect that went well with the yearbook theme.

Roles: Multimedia Producer, Programmer, Videographer, Editor

Bonner Bridge Interactive

rob — Thu, 29 May 2008 02:50:11 +0000

About: The Bonner Bridge Interactive adds an important dimension to an investigative story about the cost of upkeep of a bridge that covers a span of open ocean near the Outer Banks of North Carolina. A 3-D rendering of the bridge features controls that allow users to understand how the shifting sands on the ocean floor undermine the stability of the bridge.

Specs: Our 3-D artist Tim Lee created a rendering of the bridge in Lightwave. I worked with him to export the render and create an opening animation. The rest of the project was built in Flash CS3 and Actionscript 2. It uses XML to pull in external data.

Roles: Multimedia Producer, Programmer

Memories of 1983

rob — Thu, 29 May 2008 02:50:08 +0000

About:N.C. State’s cinderella upset of Houston in the 1983 NCAA Championship Game is one of the seminal moments in sports history. For our package commerating the 25th anniversary of the title game, I produced this video of the memories of the News & Observer sports writers who covered the team that year.

Roles: Producer, Videographer, Editor

Tyler’s Top Three Dunks

rob — Thu, 29 May 2008 02:45:39 +0000

About: Tyler’s Top Three Dunks is a good example of creating multimedia by repurposing regular news assets. We cover UNC with photo and video all season. When our sports beat writer was able to sneak in a quick audio interview with Tar Heel center Tyler Hansbrough about his favorite dunks of the season, I was able to match it with photos and video. The resulting video proved to be a popular feature on the N&O site and on YouTube.

Megafaun (Great Eight 2008)

rob — Thu, 29 May 2008 02:36:32 +0000

About: This video was part of the annual Great Eight project. I was one of two shooters on the video and the primary editor. The club where the band performed was lit by a single bulb, so we improvised and decided to shoot the video in black-and-white. Given the band’s neo-folk style, the decision turned out to be a good one.