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Navy Imagery Insider November-December 2011

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Nov - Dec 2011 For members of the PA/VI community NAVY IMAGERYINSIDER U S N A V Y O F F I C E O F I N F O R M A TI O N NI L NISI VERUM AMERICA’S NAVY: A GLOBAL FORCE FOR GOOD 703.614.9154 Full story on page 8 Photo by MC2 James R. Evans An Aircraft Carrier First An Aircraft Carrier First
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Page 1: Navy Imagery Insider November-December 2011

Nov - Dec 2011 For members of the PA/VI community

NAVYIMAGERYINSIDER US NAVY

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AMERICA’S NAVY: A GLOBAL FORCE FOR GOOD703.614.9154 Full story on page 8

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Meet the Ops Guy: Paul TaylorBLUF: I work at CHINFO, and I’m here to help you… Seriously!

My name is Paul Taylor, and my official title is operations manager for the Navy Office of Information’s media content services directorate (OI-2). My position was estab-lished in the reorganization of the CHINFO staff to coordinate communication across our “owned” media platforms using our in-ternal editorial, still photo, video and social media capabilities.

What does that mean to the Navy and what does that mean to you? For the Navy, the intent is that rather than communicating randomly across preferred mediums or using preferred product types, I’ll help ac-count owners or fleet PAOs communicate across the full spectrum of mediums with the full range of product types appropriate for the effort.

For you, I view my job as working for you to help you achieve your (and your lead-ership’s) communication objectives by leveraging the power of Navy-owned media platforms like Navy.mil, All Hands Update, a variety of interactive social media, and the Navy Imagery Server.

To that end, you’re going to be hearing from me a lot more frequently than you might have heard from CHINFO in the past. My intent will be to let you know what sort of communication products are needed in or-der to help tell our Navy’s and your organiza-tion’s story. For the most part these will be products you’re already working on, but in some cases I’ll ask you for a communication product you may not have considered. My intent will almost always be to cast as wide

a product net as pos-sible for each situation.

But if you take nothing else from this column, know this: I don’t want our communication to be just me calling you — I hope you will also call me so we can work together well in advance to support the communication initiatives.

The other key point I’d like to stress is this: as a community, we absolutely must, in a significant way, short-en the amount of time that passes between an event occurring and the release of our communication products about that event.

One of the benefits of internal communica-tion products is that we’re able to tell our stories free of external constraints. If we do a better job of increasing our speed of play, we make it possible to market those inter-nal products to external media who may not be able to cover an event. If we provide relevant, compelling, and TIMELY content, it is more likely we will see our products in external markets.

The submarine force provided a recent example in the CHILEMAR submarine res-cue exercise Nov. 2. We worked closely in advance of the exercise with Cmdr. Christy Hagen, Lt. Cmdr. Denise Garcia, and the staff at NPASE-West to identify the prod-ucts that would make it possible for us to help them tell their story. We then worked together to determine how much they could realistically support (which was all of it, by the way), and agreed on a product submis-sion timeline. Less than 24 hours after the submarine rescue vehicle entered the water, we had received all the agreed upon prod-ucts (Navy.mil story, still photos, b-roll, so-cial media video, All Hands update). Since they were completed in a timely manner, we used them in an external media push to sev-eral hundred U.S. and Chilean media outlets.

When a comprehensive plan like that comes together, it’s a thing of beauty! Please don’t hesitate to call me or drop me a note anytime we can help! Email me at [email protected], or phone the office at 703-614-9315, or on the cell at 703-835-7537.

AMERICA’S NAVY: A GLOBAL FORCE FOR GOOD [email protected]

DIRECTOR Christopher MaddenDEPUTY DIRECTOR CDR Gary Ross

EDITORIALEditor CDR Gary RossStaff Writers Oscar Sosa Damon J. Moritz

Contributors MCC Sam Shavers USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) Staff

LAYOUT/ARTDirector Tim Mazurek

Navy Office of InformationPentagon RM4B514Washington, D.C. 20350-1200Office: 703-614-9154 DSN: 224

Download Insider at:www.slideshare.net/NavyVisualNewsServicehttp://issuu.com/NavyVisualNewsService

OI-2 continues to mature in its new role as Navy Media Content Services. A critical part of that effort has been new partnerships with MCs assigned to Defense Media Activity (DMA); they are now full-up members of the OI-2 team.

Today, MCC Antuan Guerry is partnered with our emerging media division OI-24 to support ongoing development of the Navy Blog. While MC2 Alexander Gamble is managing posts on the Navy’s Facebook account; as I write, he is deployed to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii providing content on Navy.mil and Navy social media outlets armed with a camera, laptop and air card. MC1 Andrew Meyers and MC2 Patrick Gearhiser are qualified assistant photo editors on the OI-21 team supporting Oscar Sosa with getting your imagery posted, linked and distributed faster. All four have had a positive and immediate impact on OI-2’s ability to lead timely, targeted and relevant media content initiatives in support of the fleet.

On another note with the sun-setting of All Hands magazine, we are starting to look at new and innovative ways to showcase visual content, particularly feature material. So in the spirit of All Hands we are developing property on the Navy Blog to exhibit photo essays. The first is already on NavyLive so check it out and provide us your input and recommendations. This is intended to be a dynamic environment so try not to think in terms of a traditional magazine layout, but an opportunity for MCs to tell stories exclusively through images on-line.

Images for consideration should be forwarded to [email protected]. Please add information to the accompanying email or metadata to help identify your images for NavyLive consideration.

For more information’ contact Mr. Oscar Sosa [email protected] or Lt. Shawn Eklund [email protected].

In closing, I hope everyone has a moment to pause and enjoy family and friends as we head into Christmas and New Years. Remember the many shipmates forward deployed and away from home during the holiday season. Watch out for each other and return after the New Year ready to continue telling the Navy’s story in 2012.

DIRECTOR’SCORNER

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AMERICA’S NAVY: A GLOBAL FORCE FOR GOOD703.614.9154 3

InstructionNugget

DOD INST 5040.2 Visual Information, released Oct. 27, 2011. Consolidates a series of DOD VI instructions: Provides guidance on VI: Responsibilities, Working Groups/Panels, Exclusions, Life-Cycle Management, VI Record ID Number (VIRIN), Vision ID, VI Activity Management, Combat Camera (COMCAM) and, Prohibited Alteration of Official DOD Imagery. www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/504002p.pdf

INSIDERPerspective by MCC SAM SHAVERS

I know what you are thinking: “Why would anyone

ditch their laptop for an iPad, especially someone

in the Public Affairs/VI community?” Laptops are

certainly more powerful, and one could argue they’re

better suited for a mobile Mass Communication

Specialist. Right? Well not exactly, at least not in

my case. It is all about the right tool for the job.

As part of the Secretary of the Navy’s travel team, I’m on the road a lot and have to release photos and video quickly, but when I’m shooting on the fly and editing on a laptop in the back of a moving car, it’s hard to be timely. Post production is nearly impossible, unless I use my iPad.

Why? Well for starters it’s smarter, lighter, and more portable than a laptop. Mine fits conveniently in the side-pocket of my camera bag, always on and ready to be used. With the iPad Camera Connection Kit, I’m able to transfer raw, jpegs and HD video files to my iPad with ease. This allows me to email, upload or edit media from an event in real time, meeting critical deadlines for both internal and external audiences.

Additionally, with Apps like iWork, Filterstorm Pro and Photogene, I’m

able to write my captions, color correct all my images as well as batch edit ITPC data faster and more intuitively on my iPad. For video files, iMovie does a pretty good job of converting my HD video into just about any format. With all these Apps, my workflow is efficient, allowing me to upload my content straight to CHINFOs Media Content Services OI-2, Flickr, Facebook and Youtube, on deadline.

Now, I have to be honest, I haven’t completely ditched my laptop---at least not yet. Until hard-drives get bigger and Apps get better, I’ll still do all my serious editing and post production on a laptop, but in the field my iPad is at the center of my workflow. Just like the laptop replaced the desktop, I think iPads will become the gold standard among mobile photojournalists and yes, the MCs of the future.

Ditching my Laptop

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Page 4: Navy Imagery Insider November-December 2011

[email protected] AMERICA’S NAVY: A GLOBAL FORCE FOR GOOD

Getting the

Establishing Shot

OUTTAKES by Oscar Sosa

An establishing photo is arguably the most important image a photographer can bring back from a shoot. It can

quickly tie in the who, what and where without having to rely on the caption, and it can anchor a picture story as the scene-setting image.

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AMERICA’S NAVY: A GLOBAL FORCE FOR GOOD703.614.9154 5

As the opening image of a multimedia presentation or picture story, the estab-lishing shot introduces the viewer to the subject and makes the viewer want to see more. A good establishing shot taken at the beginning of a shoot also allows the photographer to concentrate on getting in close to capture important details or to step back to give the subject context.

Most establishing photos, however, are treated like snapshots. The photogra-pher looks at the scene, takes a photo with a wide-angle lens and then moves in to cover the assignment. Unimagina-tive images taken this way rarely con-tribute to the story. A good establishing photo must be able to stand alone as a storytelling image because the estab-lishing image is often the main image used to help tell the story.

Every assignment should have an estab-lishing shot. Promotions, homecomings, community service events, flight deck operations, VBSS, general quarters drills, just about any event needs to have a good, overall shot that sets the scene and shows the context of the event.

Ship commissionings are great examples of establishing shot successes and epic fails. Roughly half the commissioning photos we receive don’t show the ship. Everybody gets the principals at the po-dium and some photographers send in images of Sailors manning the rails, but many photographers don’t take photos of the ship that’s being commissioned. A good image of the ship is essential to establishing the context for the event.

Many establishing photos require plan-ning. Knowing the time and place usually isn’t enough, sometimes it’s neces-sary to arrive ahead of time and set up before the event, or speak with the event organizers to get a good idea of when and where some of the best moments will occur. The Carrier Classic basketball game is a great example of pre-planning. The USS Carl Vinson photography staff was in position long before the game started and captured several scene-setting images that were carried by all the major wire services.

There’s no law that says establishing shots have to be taken with a wide-angle

lens. A medium or long telephoto shot can also establish a location and set the scene. One tight image that tells

the entire story is more dramatic than a series of images that individually give glances of an event. Telephoto lenses add impact by compressing the image and cleaning up the background, as well as giving the photographer an important tool to focus on a single element in an event and use that scene as a vehicle to tell the story. See the photo below for a good example.

There are no rules for taking an estab-lishing shot, except that an establishing photo is the most important image of any shoot.

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Page 6: Navy Imagery Insider November-December 2011

AMERICA’S NAVY: A GLOBAL FORCE FOR GOOD [email protected]

Once upon a time digital video was transmitted as MPEG files. Everyone knew what export settings to use and how to deal with an MPEG file for broadcast. Videographers, editors and customers lived in harmony. Then in walked the Internet, and it all went to…

Perhaps an oversimplification of the problem, but to-day Navy video encode standards are all over the place, creating headaches for the MCs and their customers.

Before we go in-depth on some of the problems, let’s define two terms:

Codec: A video codec is software/code that enables video compression and/or decompression for digital video. Much like a JPEG compresses and decompress-es a photo. It is a sort of brand of video encoding that helps the user standardize and become interoperable with other users. H.264 is one of the more commonly accepted codecs.

Container: A container or wrapper format is a meta-file format whose specification describes how different data elements and metadata coexist in a video file. For example:

The QuickTime .MOV file is a very common container. Typically when encoding a video file in H.264 codec and exporting a MOV container, the video is a readily interoperable file that most computers can play and edit directly. However, a QuickTime encoded with the DVCPro codec limits the file to only a few computers (primarily video editing computers) able to play the file.

TheLittle Codecs

GOTB-ROLL? by Damon J. Moritz

Page 7: Navy Imagery Insider November-December 2011

AMERICA’S NAVY: A GLOBAL FORCE FOR GOOD703.614.9154 7

Now let’s broaden our view a little.There are several categories of codecs. These categories play a vital role in your selection of the right codec for the right job. There really is no one magic-codec.

Professional/Acquisition codecs/containers: These are codecs produced by the video camera while recording. This is the best file quality possible since with no conversion taking place there is no loss. The issue with this is that there are a lot of proprietary codecs on the market that require all users to either license or at least install their codec to work with the video. Examples include: MPEG Long GOP (M2T), AVCHD, PII, RED, AVC, OP1A MXF, Go-Pro cineform.

Intermediary/Archival codecs/containers: These codecs offer easy exchange with other video editors. They retain exceptional quality but can produce large files that present challenges for transmission capabilities. In the long run they will stand the test of time as broadcasters invest in these technologies. Examples include: MOV with DVCPro, MOV with JPEG 2000, MOV with DNxHD and OP1A (XDCAM MXF).

Exchange codecs/containers: With these codecs we’re starting to sacrifice quality for file size and/or interoperability. These are the more common codecs offering fairly good quality for broad-cast. They really aren’t intended for meeting long-term archival requirements, but they are generally good enough for quick file exchanges when trying to meet a deadline just keep the origi-nal file intact for archival considerations post event. Examples include: MOV with H.264, and WMV with WM9 Advanced.

Delivery codecs/containers: These are final products. When you use these codecs you are selecting them for very specific deliverables. When the file is written, portions of “excess” information are stripped or compressed in such a way as to optimize them for playback. Once a delivery codec is used it really limits the use or quality of a file. Examples: MP4 with H.264, M4V, FLV [Flash], MPEG2 (DVD).

At this point you may be a little confused. Why isn’t an MP4 (H.264) considered an exchange format? It has the same codec and should be the same as an MOV (H.264), right? Well, no.

If you look at the available customizations (In your editor or in QuickTime Pro) when using these different codecs you’ll see that there are varying levels of changes available. In an MOV with H.264 you can control significantly more than in an MP4 with H.264. The container for MP4 is designed for a specific type of us-age and as such it eliminates or compresses what it doesn’t need. This limits quality and to some degree of interoperability. MP4s are great for YouTube, but no so great for editing or archiving. MOVs are better for editing and archiving and still deliver in YouTube.

On a day-to-day basis we see a lot of MP4 files coming from the fleet. These files are not our preference, where as the QuickTime MOVs are our preference and achieve the right balance between quality, file size, and interoperability. For the record, FLV files are a non-starter.

One last pitch; the Navy wants to provide support to documentary and motion picture venues; OI-2 needs those professional or archi-val quality files. Your work is too important to treat as perishable media without a full lifecycle.

Page 8: Navy Imagery Insider November-December 2011

AMERICA’S NAVY: A GLOBAL FORCE FOR GOOD [email protected]

The need for versatility is critical to the MCs rate. However, sometimes along comes a story that requires some critical thinking outside the box, or we must rely on the talents of others to tell our story.That day came with the inaugural Quicken Loans Carrier Classic basketball game aboard USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) on Veterans Day, Nov. 11. This was an opportunity to cover a one-of-a-kind event and showcase the abilities of the Navy MC to the American public and external media outlets.

President Barack Obama and Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus joined thousands of service members to watch the NCAA Division 1 University of North Carolina Tar Heels face the Michigan State University Spartans on the ship’s flight deck; something that has never been done before.

Weeks prior to ESPN’s live television broadcast on game day, Navy MCs were catering to an audience excited about the historic event, said Vinson’s PAO, Lt. Cmdr. Erik J. Reynolds.

“There was a strong interest from the Pentagon, Chief of Information (CHINFO), Defense Media Activity (DMA) and external media for the products many of our MCs were producing throughout this event,” Reynolds said.

“We were in constant communication with CHINFO’s OI-2 staff so we would know exactly what types of products were needed both for the internal Navy and the external civilian audience,” added MCC (AW) Monica Nelson,

The Carrier Classic Chronicle:

How Mass Communication Specialists Provided Full-Court Press Coverage

by USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) Public Affairs Staff

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Page 9: Navy Imagery Insider November-December 2011

AMERICA’S NAVY: A GLOBAL FORCE FOR GOOD703.614.9154 9

Vinson’s Media Department assistant leading chief petty officer.

It is important to know that MCs form across the Southwest region joined forces with Vinson’s Media Department to produce and release six print stories, seven social media videos and more than 260 photographic images.

“Naval Air Forces, Navy Public Affairs Support Element (NPASE) West, DMA and Vinson’s Media Department did an outstanding job covering all the different aspects and development of the Carrier Classic,” Reynolds said. “This was truly a large scale Navy Public Affairs community team effort, more so than any other event than I’ve been involved in the Navy.”

Vinson and NPASE West MCs spent more than eight days acquiring b-roll for a sum total of 50 viewable hours made available to the public through OI-2’s Navy Imagery Server and the Amazon cloud.

While social media has been a widely used communication device for some time, the Carrier Classic gave MCs the opportunity to use it in new and unique way as a critical means of message dissemination. For example, MC3 Zachary Bell stepped out from his usual spot behind the video camera and onto the other side of the lens as a social media personality to engage an audience with pregame updates, including tours of the ship with the NCAA basketball players

and ESPN sports analyst Dick Vitale. MC3 Kevin Harbach logged scores of hours following MC3 Bell and working together with him to edit a final product, requiring many late nights and countless edits by Chief Nelson before a product was finally uploaded to the Navy’s YouTube and Facebook pages.

“Being in front of the camera gave me a chance to represent the Navy to people who I would normally watch on TV,” Bell said. “I stepped into the shoes of the people who would normally tell me what is going on at what may be a hard news event, or in this case, a sporting event. It’s a huge deal.”

While telling the Navy’s story is the main focus, it was also a mermorable opportu-nity to converse with athletes and an NBA Hall of Famer.

“It was an honor to be thanked by people like [Earvin] “Magic” Johnson and the President for serving my country,” Bell said. “It was really humbling.”

MC1 (SW) Lowell Whitman, Vinson’s Media Department leading petty officer, noted the popularity of an MC-created time-lapse video covering the set-up of the Carrier Classic arena.

“It was viewed by more than 3.9 million people when it was used on ESPN,” Whit-man said. “I’ve done many time-lapses for various productions in the past, but the

Carrier Classic provided me with an op-portunity to do a much longer time-lapse. It was an interesting challenge and a lot of fun” [Read how he did it on page 12].

Security was tight, so access to the game was restricted to eight MCs in the open-air arena wearing credentials, but only two were permitted courtside with additional all-access passes provided by the Morale Entertainment Foundation. Planning ahead was the key to ensuring smooth coverage of the game, according to game photographer MC2 (SW) James R. Evans.

“It was difficult, but not impossible to shoot this event since there were so many barriers and restrictions,” Evans said.

“Thanks to coordination and early planning with Secret Service, we were able to push through all the barriers and get the job done.” Link to photo gallery here.

Each product requirement was looked at from a team perspective with pre-writing done whenever possible. The video team lead wrote scripts to shoot by; the print team lead required rough drafts from team journalists prior to a story on construction, player tours, or the main event; and the photo team lead made standard photo cap-tion tags for all the photographers to use.

“Success comes from planning,” added Lt. Erik Schneider, Vinson’s assistant PAO. “We planned this event early with many commands that had a huge role in supporting us.”

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Desperately Seeking...Each year we look for images that show how our Sailors and civilians celebrate the holiday season. So in keeping with that theme, we are

“desperately seeking” video and still content that shows the various ways our navy people show their spirit in all faiths and traditions.

Shipboard Holiday DecorationsShips Decorated in portMail Call for Christmas/Holiday at SeaChristmas Eve/At Sea – Religious ServicesNew Years Eve/At SeaMess Decks during Christmas DinnerClosing out the ship’s log for 2011First Sunrise forward deployed Jan. 1st [e.g. Morning Colors]Picture Stories of Holiday Celebrations

SOCIA

LME

DIA

All references to commercially available sites and services are provided for informational purposes only, without Department of the Navy endorsement.

AMERICA’S NAVY: A GLOBAL FORCE FOR GOOD [email protected]

[In the Loupe]

Your Social Media Team:LCDR Chris ServelloLT Shawn EklundJessica FallerKristina Miller

[AP Style Guide]NEW IN 2011 – email, cellphone and smartphone – all one word, lower case.

DOMESTIC DATELINES: Cities which stand alone without state designations.

ATLANTABALTIMOREBOSTONCHICAGOCINCINNATICLEVELANDDALLASDENVERDETROITHONOLULUHOUSTONINDIANAPOLISLAS VEGASLOS ANGELESMIAMI

MILWAUKEEMINNEAPOLISNEW ORLEANSNEW YORKOKLAHOMA CITYPHILADELPHIAPHOENIXPITTSBURGHST. LOUISSALT LAKE CITYSAN ANTONIOSAN DIEGOSAN FRANCISCOSEATTLEWASHINGTON

INTERNATIONAL DATELINES: Some Special Cases

Use UNITED NATIONS without a N.Y. designation in stories from U.N. headquarters.

Instead of United Kingdom use England, Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales respectively.

[Schedule of Events]2011 CHINFO Merit AwardsEntries due at CHINFO by January 31, 2012: Details available at https://www.chinfo.navy.mil/chinfo/MediaAwards.aspx

“Serving Abroad … Through Their Eyes”Calling on all MCs, DOD is sponsoring a special exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Pentagon and other prominent venues, stateside and overseas. The submission period runs from Veterans Day, Nov. 11, 2011, through Presidents Day, Feb 20, 2012. Get the details at: www.ourmilitary.mil/their-eyes/serving-abroad-through-their-eyes/

Photoshop World 2012March 24-26 – Walter E. Washington Convention Center – Washington, DCRegistration: https://photoshopworld.com/register/

2012 Navy Week SchedulePhoenix, AZ March 19-25New Orleans, LA April 16-23Nashville, TN May 7-13Spokane, WA May 14-20Baltimore, MD June 13-19Boston, MA June 29-July 6Sacramento, CA July 16-22Sioux Falls, IA July 19-22Milwaukee, WI Aug. 6-13Chicago, IL Aug. 13-20Toledo, OH Aug. 20-27Cleveland, OH Aug. 27-Sept. 4Detroit, MI Sept. 3-10Buffalo, NY Sept. 10-17Houston, TX Oct. 22-28

Transmission Update: In November 2011 the Defense Asset Management System (DAMS) moved from Alexandria, VA, to the Defense Media Activity (DMA) in Ft. Meade, MD. Moving this system resulted in new internet addresses for all the servers. Defense Visual Information (DVI) is aware of some issues when connecting to the DMA FTP and FFT servers as a result of this move. All connection attempts to the DAMS must use the domain name for that server. Use of the IP address will result in connection failure. Please use the following addresses:

FTP: Rabbit.defenseimagery.milFFT: Select the correct server and port for the client version used.Version 2.4 Port 923:

jackrabbit1.defenseimagery.mil Version 2.4 Port 20:

jackrabbit2.defenseimagery.mil:20 Version 2.6 Port 923:

jackrabbit3.defenseimagery.mil

FFT port 923 is working only from within the NIPRNET not on commercial networks. The DMA CIO is working this with DISA.

For more information about FTP and FFT accounts please visit the Defense Imagery web site at defenseimagery.mil/learning/howto/ftp.html, or contact the Operations Coordination Center (IOCC) staff at (703) 695-7118.

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Photo by MC2 Eddie Harrison

Chances are, you’ve probably seen them around on

everything from billboards to Starbucks cups. QR (or “quick response”) codes look and function much like retailer barcodes used to price and track inventory.

However, QR codes are a bit more sophisticated than average barcodes. They are two-dimensional (2D) codes that contain information in

alphanumeric form (whereas barcodes simply contain strings of numbers).

People interact with QR codes by reading or scanning them with their mobile smartphone devices (such as an iPhone or Android), directing users to company websites or multimedia content, store data or contact information, call specified phone numbers and/or send text messages and emails without the need for cumbersome URLs. The Navy is currently using QR codes on many posters and brochures. Get the Navy’s active QR code [pictured above] at navy.mil/view_single.asp?id=109681.

3 Benefits of Using a QR Code• Automatic Information Sharing

QR codes provide direct access to a variety of types of information, from a URL that links to a single landing page, contact, or entire eBook.

• Building Fans on Facebook Many QR code generators, such as Likify, allow you to create a QR code that links to a fully functioning Like button on your Facebook page.

• DrivingTrafficandResultsQR codes can help you drive traffic to searchable content and increase engagement with such content. They also allow you to focus on a single goal, such as getting a user to like your Facebook page, follow you on Twitter, or view visual content on YouTube.

Practical Applications A QR Code is a powerful communication

and marketing tool. It is easy to create and maintain. Some recommended uses include: business cards, command brochures, posters, and signage, symposium and event name tags, videos and PSAs.

The type of information you could link to include: photo and video collections, contact information, instructions and guidelines, locations and directions, social media pages, web sites, and inquiry and feedback forms.

How Do I Get Started?Anyone can use a QR code generator

to set up at QR Code. There are a number of free QR code generators. For simple QR codes try Kaywa. It can be used to create QR codes that link to a web page, text, phone numbers, or SMS. If you are looking for some-thing advanced, Kerem Erkan allows you to customize the color and format of your codes. Some organizations have even gotten fancy by overlaying their logo or branding assets on QR codes, but this typically requires special skills and tools (but can help with adoption).

Once your QR Code is properly estab-lished anyone with a QR code reader can view it. There are a variety of different device-spe-cific QR code readers. A quick Google search can help you find one. For instance, i-nigma is popular with iPhone users and accom-modates virtually any type of camera phone, while many Android users are using Barcode Scanner; there are several to choose from.

Resources/References• mashable.com/2010/06/23/qr-codes-

small-biz• aids.gov/using-new-media/tools/qrcode• socialmediaexaminer.com/how-qr-codes-

can-grow-your-business• instructionaldesignfusions.wordpress.

com/2010/09/30/qr-codes-augmented-reality-and-learning-for-health

• mashable.com/2009/12/07/google-qr-codes

What are QR Codes? by Lt. Shawn Ek lund

LINKS to KNOW

Mobile App for the AP Style Guide on iPhone and Blackberry. iPhone App is compatible with iPad and iPod touch. BB devices must be running 4.2 and higher. www.apstylebook.com/mobile/

Layers Magazine - A how to for all things within the creative Adobe suite. Full of tutorials, blogs, and Layers TV for free access to some valuable training. www.layersmagazine.com/

LightStalking.com Training Guides: • B&W Landscapes - How to Capture a

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Page 12: Navy Imagery Insider November-December 2011

AMERICA’S NAVY: A GLOBAL FORCE FOR GOOD [email protected]

The Carrier Classic Chronicle:

How did I do that Time-Lapse?photos and story by MCI(SW) Lowell Whitman

When I was initially tasked with shooting an eight-day time-lapse of the setup for the Carrier Classic basketball game, I wondered if I would be able to securely place equipment worth thousands of dollars in an area that also lent itself a good composition of the flight deck. Fortunately, the lower yardarm aboard USS Carl Vinson provided both a great view and an outlet to power the camera.

The Media department had recently purchased two Canon XF 305 video cameras that were perfect for the job. The 305 can record one to nine frames of video in intervals from one second up to ten minutes. Having never done a time lapse longer than a day or so, I did a weekend test to determine what interval would show detail yet not bore viewers or require excessive post production. The final equation was one frame every three minutes, allowing the camera to record 20 frames every hour, 480 frames per day equaling 8 seconds of watchable video per day. The camera was set to record 1920x1080i at 50mpbs.

With the technicalities worked out and the yardarm location in mind, I headed aloft with the help of a qualified combat systems petty officer. From what I understood, most of the arena setup would be taking place forward of the island. After finding a decent frame, I mounted the camera on a railing using an Avenger super clamp with a ball pin swivel clamp to a 3/8th screw mount with the

camera atop a Manfrotto joystick head. With the super clamp rated to hold up to 33 pounds, the swivel provided me with some elevation control while the joystick provided a level and fine adjustment. I taped all the moving parts I could find, but sure enough, when I watched the time lapse a storm gust blew the camera noticeably to the left at the end of day three. For future reference, a ball head would have been better. I guarded against catastrophe by locking the camera with a bicycle chain in case it fell. Lastly, I ran power to the camera and taped plastic bags over everything for weatherproofing.

In postproduction the final product was edited using Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5 transcoded in full HD as a 1920x1080p h.264/MPEG-4 file at 20mbps.

The entire project was a great success, and ran on major networks including ESPN with over 300 thousand view on the Navy YouTube.

The Carrier Classic Chronicle:

How did I do that Time-Lapse?

To view the time lapse video click here


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