tuesday morning qb

Today it is the Tuesday morning quarterback’s turn to evaluate the Blizzard of '77 package.

One of the interactive concepts we considered was allowing/asking people to submit stories or photos from the event. For various time and web site related issues not related to this project we decided not to follow this route. I think in the future this is one of the ways to involve readers/viewers in the process and final product. I still think this was worth the time and effort, but it was not my call in the end.

One of the reasons I think this was a critical aspect of this project was the number of people who stopped by my desk while I was working on this project to tell me stories or talk about pictures they remember. There are certain incidents that capture people’s imaginations and memories and this was a 'biggie.'

Another unforeseen hurdle was that at least one of not two folders of negatives have been lost in the past 30 years. It is hard to really do a broad project, when you are missing at least half of the initial take. Another funny moment was realizing how far the photographers then did not stray from Washington Street. So watch your P’s and Q’s when you are making images, you never know who might be looking back. That being said, how many newspapers and news organizations are archiving images that DON”T RUN. Many of the best shots we used were out-takes.

Lesson #8: Your sound file is your biggest file, keep that and the quality of the file in mind for downlaods and preloaders.

Finally, involve your coworkers. In this instance Dave Shampine got on-board quickly once he understood what his role was. I think an earlier 'talent' deadline would have helped alleviate a number of issues we faced on deadline.

P.S. - Andrew Dolph suggested a great link to soundslide customizing. Having worked through it a bit, I am looking at calling soundslide swf’s into Flash 'shells' to customize our look further.