Archive for the ‘Election 2008’ Category

MSNBC steals CNN’s “moment”

Look eerily familiar? Yeah, we thought so.

MSNBC also utilized the Microsoft Photosynth technology for the innaguration, but unlike CNN, MSNBC pulled pictures from various sources including MSNBC, AP, Reuters and Getty Images. Earlier today we showed how MSNBC used this technology for a before picture, now that the event has occurred, they have an after picture.

MSNBC’s version has a much greater pool of pictures allowing for a better Photosynth effect. Unlike CNN’s, this one allows you to go 360 degrees.

MSNBC didn’t promote their Photosynth nonstop, but in the end, their Photosynth better captured “the moment,” iReporter or no iReporter.

Inside Cable News also shares their opinion on CNN’s Photosynth…

CNN captures “The Moment,” kinda…

Using Microsoft’s Photosynth technology, CNN finally has “The Moment” collage online. As much as Wolf Blitzer built this up, it was more of a dud.

While the software had a good selection of pictures to work with, it felt more like a giant photo collage than a 3D virtual reality representation of the swearing in. Also, not many iReporter’s submitted pictures. Most of the pictures were from CNN photographers and a few sparse iReporter’s. It looks at times as if CNN told a photographer to just snap as many pics as they could to make the Photosynth technology work. When you switch to other views farther down the Mall, the number of photos become sparser and sparser.

In some other Photosynths by Microsoft, you can virtual travel over distances and zoom in and out. We were expecting you to be able to jump down the Mall picture by picture and get closer, then travel around “The Moment” in 3D.

Overall, it did not turn out the way we envisioned. We thought it would  end up more like Google Earth’s Street View, but with more detail and more features. The CNN Photosynth was pretty similar to MSNBC’s but with more people, since it was shot during the actual ceremony. For better examples of the technology visit the Photosynth website.

Graphics go simple, elegant for inauguration

Many cable and broadcast networks have gone with a simple, elegant look for graphics during the inauguration coverage. NBC News, shown above, is using a subtle blended look now that does a great job of not cluttering the screen too much. It also appears that MSNBC has dropped the ticker.

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A look at MSNBC’s broadcast booth

MSNBC using Photosynth as well

MSNBC.com is also making use of Photosynth as well, though not to the scale CNN is.

The site, which has been using the technology for some time now to create interactive panoramic views of news events, has posted a “synth” of the Capitol area during setup.

It is a bit odd that MSNBC isn’t the network making the most use out of Photosynth, given its connection (alebit weakening one) with Microsoft.

CNN’s iReport to capture ‘the moment’

CNN is partnering with Microsoft to use its Photosynth technology to create what “we hope will be a breathtaking experience.”

Using its iReport brand, CNN is asking people at the inauguration in Washington, D.C., to snap photos of the ceremony and send them in. Those will then be combined with CNN’s own professional photos to create a sort of collaborative photo and 3D model.

The resulting image will be posted on CNN.com, shown on CNN and archived at the Photosynth site. Read more about the technology over at Wikipedia.

FoxNews.com covering today with blog

As we noted yesterday, FoxNews.com didn’t seem to have a special inauguration section of its site up and running last night. They’ve since launched one — sort of.

The site has added a blog site, which seems like a half-hearted attempt at coverage. As of now, there are some small and poorly formatted entries as well as some links to historic information and related headlines. Missing is any prominent video features, though the site is offering “live event” chats.

CNN.com plugs Facebook feed with sister of founder

This morning, Randi Zuckerburg, the sister of Facebook founder Mark, and director of market development at the company, has popped up on the CNN.com live feed plugging the partnership between the two companies.

It’s a bit of a blur between corporate sponsorship since Zuckerburg appeared not as a guest but as a quasi-reporter interviewing a Facebook engineer about the feature complete with a CNN mic flag. Randi traded obviously-rehearsed questions with the engineer, but not before forgetting to hand the mic over to him, rendering his first few sentences unintelligible.

Personally, I’m also a bit disappointed with the Facebook/CNN.com partnership. First, the service is using the CNN.com feed, when I’d rather be seeing the main CNN video since I don’t have access to a television. Second, it’s honestly not that exciting to see all my friends’ status updates, which are all essentially the same thing over and over: “Joe is excited for today,” “Matt is excited,” “Bill is happy for today,” “Katie is watching history unfold.” Though one of my friends informed the Facebook world his car smells like celery today…

News sites gear up for inauguration coverage

This year’s presidential inauguration is likely to be a milestone in how watch and interact with the event. With CNN set to stream the ceremony live and allow Facebook users to interact in real-time, its clear the 2008 inauguration will be high-tech.

The new sites, meanwhile, have started to pull out their special coverage.

CNN has a special section under its CNNPolitics.com brand for the coverage, which includes plenty of video-based options and interactivity.

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ArtWorks At Work: Designs that never made it on air

This is part two in our exclusive interview with Sam Mandragona, the outgoing creative director at NBC (miss part one? Read it here; miss part two? Read it here).

Mandragona has spent the last two decades with NBC working on numerous projects, including designing the graphics for MSNBC’s launch, Decision 2008 and the network’s flagship programs “NBC Nightly News” and “Today” and garnering numerous awards, including multiple Emmys and BDA honors.

Today’s installment provides a look at some designs that didn’t make it on the air election night.

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ArtWorks at Work: Behind the design

This is part two in our exclusive interview with Sam Mandragona, the outgoing creative director at NBC (miss part one? Read it here).

Mandragona has spent the last two decades with NBC working on numerous projects, including designing the graphics for MSNBC’s launch, Decision 2008 and the network’s flagship programs “NBC Nightly News” and “Today” and garnering numerous awards, including multiple Emmys and BDA honors.

Today’s installment focuses on the creative process behind the Decision 2008 graphics.

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ArtWorks at Work: An exclusive look inside NBC ArtWorks

Sam Mandragona, creative director for NBC Universal, will leave the network at the end of 2008.

Mandragona has spent the last two decades with NBC working on numerous projects, including designing the graphics for MSNBC’s launch, Decision 2008 and the network’s flagship programs “NBC Nightly News” and “Today” and garnering numerous awards, including multiple Emmys and BDA honors.

Mandragona will leave an indelible mark on broadcast news graphic design. NBC’s production values have always been stunning and there’s no doubt he played a big role in shaping the standards not only at NBC but throughout TV news.

Fortunately, however, Mandragona isn’t leaving the design business and is actively looking for a new position. We wish him the best of luck and can’t wait to see where end winds up and what work he’ll do there.

As Mandragona begins winding down his 20-year tenure at NBC, he took the time to conduct an e-mail interview with NewscastStudio about his team’s latest accomplishment: the Decision 2008 graphics used on both MSNBC and NBC.

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