the band director

coordinator of student programs

Studying abroad has become a common part of the college experience, and considering the complexities of living abroad, chances are you’ll need some help. At the University of New Hampshire, Catherine D’Auteuil is one of the behind-the-scenes crew at the Center for International Education who makes it possible for so many of us to go abroad.
D’Auteuil primarily does academic advising for students looking to go abroad. While a student may want to lie on the beautiful beaches of, say, Tahiti for a semester, D’Auteuil makes sure that the classes available will count towards the student’s degree and that they’ll be able to graduate on time after studying abroad. This is particularly important for International Affairs majors, who D’Auteuil spends considerable time advising, because studying abroad is required to graduate. She says that finding the perfect program for a student is both the most challenging and most rewarding part of her job.
Once the academics are all in order, D’Auteuil also makes sure that each student going abroad or coming into UNH from abroad has a smooth transition. This includes setting up their registration, immigration, classes, and housing. Since there is no streamlined process, she spends an immense amount of time coordinating between different departments on campus. Aside from advising and coordinating, D’Auteuil sits on many campus-wide committees, does outreach for the CIE, is in charge of hiring, and manages two exchange programs in Europe.

taking stills

There is something undeniably creepy about taking pictures of children I don't know. On the beach. In their swimsuits. (Just saying.)
But when I got past the creepy factor, it was actually enjoyable. Kids are probably among the easiest subjects to photograph. They move so naturally, without the restraint or exhaustion of adults, and are always doing interesting, photogenic things. I think my favorite picture is the one of the boy jumping. You can barely tell he's jumping unless you enlarge it, but it was so cool to see an entirely organic happy, innocent moment. And even cooler, to catch it on film. The same is true of the blonde girl running by, smiling at me. I didn't intend to take a picture of her, I meant to capture the boys behind her. But the moment I snapped the picture, this little girl runs out in front of me grinning. The next second she is gone, and I swear she had no idea I was taking her picture. 100% candid.
I found myself experimenting with depth of field and foreground/background elements. And then color and hue. And then lighting. And then shadow. I did a fair amount of editing afterwards, to experiment with what effects I could create just on the computer. I personally like what I came out with, but really have no idea what constitutes a "good" photo. Does such a thing exist objectively? Hopefully the talented Fred Field can shed some light (har-har) on this issue, and I look forward to working towards better and better pictures throughout the semester.

intro to multimedia

Class with Sandy was as I predicted: a mix of practical, abstract, and crazy. You never know what to expect, except that it will certainly contain some amount of those three elements. He switches from the most utilitarian of advice, say, what makes a good picture, to passionate predictions of the future of multimedia journalism, to pulling out a Barbie that takes pictures. It cannot be described as boring.
I've done several videos, podcasts and audio files for my job at Berkeley National Laboratory. You can check a couple out here. "Numbers" and "All About the ALS" are mine. Looking back now, they seem amateurish and silly. I would really like to learn the skills to make videos like that feel more professional.
Back in high school journalism class, I made two podcasts: one without pictures and one with. I don't have the files for those on this computer, but needless to say, they weren't exactly professional grade either.
I'm hoping these experiences help me with the projects for this class. I'm very afraid I'm going to have to use Windows editing programs because I don't have a Mac like I do at work, and I haven't had a good time with any Windows video/audio stuff before. However, I would love to learn FinalCut and the audio-editing program everyone uses (Audacity?).
I don't have any pressing story ideas just yet, but I have a continuing interest in military issues that, as many "Hearing Voices" stories showed, might make for great multimedia.

kids on beach

I wanted to play around with foreground and background, light, movement, and color for these first pictures. These were taken in Ogunquit, Maine.