Feature Picture Story Winners - Independent

1st
(none awarded)
2nd
University of North Carolina: Living with dignity
(to access this story, click on the housing section of tenyearson.org, click living with dignity, then click view slideshow) Vukani is an exlamation in Xhosa language which means WAKE UP! This is a story of the squatter camp named Vukani in South Africa which lacks water, sewer, and electricity and is home to hundreds. The camp was slated for demolition and reconstruction as part of a government housing project government in the year prior to the tenth anniversary of apartheid.
3rd
(none awarded)

Judge's Comments

Mindy McAdams
University of North Carolina, Living with Dignity
The judges agreed that this package intermixes great pictures with mediocre pictures. When the judges discussed whether this entry was up to the caliber of first-place work, they noted the inclusion of so-so images and the lack of emotional power in the narration. An NPR-style translation by a professional interpreter would have improved the audio content, which sounded too much like someone reading from a script. The audio included some very good natural sound, and for the most part, there was good synchronization between the audio and the autoplay images.
Room for improvement is greatest in the editing; the piece is overlong, the judges agreed, and everyone got a bit impatient. This could be remedied not only by eliminating some images but also by tighter editing for content; for example, what are the key problems the people face? Perhaps each problem could be introduced by a short text blurb that would help structure or focus the story, and also serve to break up the flow and add variety. One judge said it's not like we're sitting back with our feet up, as if we're watching TV, when we are looking at content on the Web. Overall, the package should be more concise and compact.
The judges all appreciated the thoughtful, complete captions and the good navigation options (the user can view thumbnails), although the layout of the navigation controls could be improved. Some added text content (more facts, numbers) would help us understand better; for example, how many people died in how short a time?
Some of the individual pictures in other entries in this category were quite good, but as a whole story, those entries did not captivate the judges.

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