Arkansas is known as “The Natural State” and this semester, the Student Producers class was given the task of showing KUOZ Channel-6 viewers why our state bears that name. Their assignment??Find places where people can experience Arkansas’ natural beauty, then create videos featuring those locations.
“The purpose of the project was to highlight natural scenic outdoor areas that would be fairly easy for somebody to get to within an hour or two of campus,” said Susan Edens, Ozarks director of broadcasting. “The students each got to pick where they wanted to go.” She said that the students had two requirements: to talk about the logistics of getting to the selected location, and to let the video speak for the scenic aspect of the location. What else they chose to include was left entirely up to them.
The result? The students created five videos styled after the AETN program “Exploring Arkansas.” The videos feature breathtaking landscapes, outdoor opportunities, and even some serious outdoor action, all within a short driving distance from the Ozarks campus.
Edens said that after the students selected their destinations, they spent time storyboarding the videos, and then went on location to get the shots they needed. The video sequences were then put together using the Adobe Premiere Elements software. “We watched those together, and everyone made notes about things that didn’t make sense, things that needed to be clarified, or things that needed to be fixed,” she said. After the final round of revisions, the videos were ready to go on air.
The “Outdoors in the Ozarks” videos will air on KUOZ Channel-6 over the winter break, and may also be viewed from the University’s YouTube Channel or the RTV program Facebook page.
Strawberry Bluff
Neil Thompson’s video takes viewers on a tour of one of the most spectacular and scenic places in Johnson County – “Strawberry Bluff.”?? Located only a few miles from campus, the bluff is at the southern edge of the Ozark National Forest.? Thompson leads viewers along a trail that winds around the base of the bluff, showing some of the caves that are found there.? His video features some stunning shots of the fall foliage and wildflowers around the bluff, as well as the magnificent view from the top?a view of the surrounding forest and the Arkansas River Valley that spans miles and miles.
Topics: Communication Studies