Occasionally, I get to go into the field for work. I was literally in the field, with muddy shoes to show for it, for this story about University of California sustainable agriculture programs.

I’m still more accustomed to using a pen and notebook for reporting and not having to worry about microphones, background noise and sound quality. Even so, it was quite fun working on this story and audio slideshow about the student farms at UC Davis and UC Santa Cruz.

The story focuses on the evolution of the farms into sustainable agriculture education and research programs that are the most innovative in the country.

My colleague Ernie Granillo took the photos for the slideshow, and I ran around the UC Davis Student Farm with a digital audio recorder.

Logistically, it was easier to focus on the audio and let Ernie handle the images, with some coordination in photographing interview subjects. I’ve done some past audio slideshows where I’ve taken the photos and recorded audio. Obviously, it’s more difficult going solo, and I think the quality of the finished product didn’t turn out as well as the student farm slideshow.

I know there’s lots of reporters and photographers out there pulling double-duty on projects such as this. There’s no magic button to make this stuff happen. It’s short-sided to think because newspapers and other media are increasingly utilizing the Internet that you don’t still need people to make the magic happen.

My latest story for UC: Someday, solar power will provide all the energy homes and buildings need for electricity, heat and cooling. Scientists at UC Solar, a multicampus research institute based at UC Merced, are helping to make that day come true.

Read more at the UC Research website. Read other stuff I’ve written.

Nick Strayer behind the camera and Harry Mok behind the microphone last year at the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View.

As someone with roots in print media, I got a kick out of this photo when I came across it on the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory website. It was taken when my University of California colleague Nick Strayer and I were videotaping interviews at the NASA Ames Research Center last May.

We were at NASA Ames and the lab’s media event held inside the world’s largest wind tunnel to show off new aerodynamic technology that will boost the fuel economy tractor-trailer trucks. The interviews we did were used in a story and video about University of California research partnerships with industry that help create jobs in the green economy. Sustainability is part of what I cover for UC Newsroom at the UC Office of the President.

Multimedia seems to be where things are headed, and I’ve had the chance to receive some training at UC Berkeley and the chance to do some work with video, audio and photography in this job. Like news media outlets, we’re taking strides toward doing more multimedia, and hopefully will do so in the future.

]]> http://www.harrymok.com/2011/09/06/adjusting-to-multimedia-cameras-and-microphones/feed/ 1 http://www.harrymok.com/2011/07/15/covering-the-green-sustainable-university-of-california/ http://www.harrymok.com/2011/07/15/covering-the-green-sustainable-university-of-california/#comments Fri, 15 Jul 2011 22:55:49 +0000 Harry http://www.harrymok.com/?p=843

Professor Roger Boulton explains how rainwater stored in tanks supplies water to labs.

Here’s a roundup of some of my latest stories for the University of California website. One of my main beats is sustainability, so I’ve been writing about all the ways UC is green, saving energy and cutting costs.

Centralizing UC’s computer servers could lower costs: System-wide strategy to conserve energy and help UC reach its ambitious goals for cutting carbon emissions.

Building a green lab: Making research labs more sustainable can help UC campuses to cut energy use and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Green crusader: A lab researcher’s campaign to reuse, recycle and reduce draws national acclaim.

Self-imposed fees support sustainability: Students at seven UC campuses charge themselves extra to support green programs.

Saving green: Energy efficiency projects save UC $21 million per year

Green advocates: Students inspire UC’s sustainability policies. Story and slide show.

The UC Riverside center is being named for  Young-Oak Kim, an Army vet who served in World War II and Korea. I’d not heard about him but he did a lot in the Korean American and Japanese American communities after retiring from the Army as a colonel. What a great way to honor him.

This post  is also on Hyphen magazine’s blog.

I wrote about water policy and environmental problems.