Storify Project

Taking steps and looking ahead

Over the course of my years as an E-Communications student, I have always found myself to be ahead of the curve when it comes to the field of video production. My competency for the work of a video camera and transitioning a mental picture on to the editing tracks comes to me easier than other students.

The room to grow in this field, however, is endless. With a constantly evolving industry, the art of broadcasting and journalism is vast and growing. If your work remains the same, you are now worse than before, because everyone else has risen above you. The changes I've made to my work are big and small, but they have come together to help me transition my image for my projects more seamlessly than ever. 

Stepping into the viewer's shoes

While watching this piece I created, did you often find yourself asking things like, "where am I?" "what am I seeing?" "who is this guy?" or even "why do I care?"

This past summer, I attended acclaimed backpack journalist Bill Gentile's video workshop. The biggest takeaway from this workshop, besides his mechanics in film work and shot composition, was that I needed to ask myself the same questions the viewer of my work will ask. When this becomes your first priority, you let your work speak for itself. Ever since my workshop with Bill I've been keen on implementing this principle into my work as much as I can, in order to bridge my vision to the viewer not just by telling the story, but by what they see. 

My first project of this school year was perfect for using my newly found way of seeing myself as the viewer, rather than just the creator. Without any voiceover I had to broadcast the excitement and hype for the school's first football game. 

With a variety of shots, sequentially sequenced with the music, I was able to convey the anticipation of the first game through my work

Out of the comfort zone

Often people will criticize the subject of a video project to be "camera shy". When I first began to film for ONWNOW and Gameday: Northwest packages, I found myself to be the one who was camera shy. Getting up close and personal is a hard barrier to break, especially when it comes to fast paced sports like soccer or football. Sitting behind the camera, you want to be as incognito as possible, while getting the best shot at the same time. 

You have to find a happy medium by stepping out there as they say "like you own the joint" and getting the shots you need. Once I stepped into this level of confidence, I found it so much easier to get more vivid shots out on the field, without disrupting the flow of the game. 

Rather than sticking my camera on a tripod in the middle and panning back and forth, I was able to capture the drama and intensity of a high school soccer match by being mobile and getting a variety of different angles to bring the viewer to the field

Taking charge in an interview

Bill Gentile and Mr. Allam have also hammered in the importance of composing better interviews. Interviews are not mainly about the questions you ask, but rather what you want the viewer to know about your subject. 

Typing on a sheet of paper 21 questions for a high school student to answer on camera as me or someone else reads them off like a robot will not bring an ideal interview to place into your piece. I have taken on setting my subject up, asking if they're comfortable, and slowly leading into where I'm getting with a few ice breakers, and short explanations on why I'm asking them what I'm asking.

If I read off a typed question to the star quarterback "How do you feel about last Friday's win?" then his response will be just like any other athletes feeling of winning: GOOD. If I sit down with the quarterback and get him to have a conversation with me, then I can say something like "So, when the clock hit 0:00, what type of emotion flooded over you, if any?".

 Let your subject tell the viewer what they want them to hear, not what you as an intimidating camera man want. 

Looking forward...

As I move forward to the next semester, I would like to become more skilled in the art of camera mechanics. I believe becoming more familiar with a DSLR camera will help me bring more focus heavy shots into my work, giving a more in depth feel to my shots rather the plain look of the Panasonic cameras.

Lastly, I look forward to changing up the style of my packages. Rather than just the same old recap of every sporting event I cover, I would like to find something interesting about it, add music, stat boxes, and just bring more life into the piece. 

Broadcast Journalism is about communicating your vision from your head, to the camera, and then to the editing program. I work to improve on maintaining that vision throughout the process of creating a project. 

Olathe Northwest VS. Hays High School Preview 9/5/14

     In this season opener preview, I chose to portray the preparation for a football game through shots of practice and scrimmages to hype up the first game. The composition of close up shots, over the shoulder, and wide shots tied together what the players endure before the season begins. Using Coach Sherman's pre practice speech to go along with the video, it added to the anticipation of the game along with a collective song to bring it all together.

I learned a lot about putting together audio to compliment great footage from Alex Kiegerl to create a quick and to the point video to anticipate the first game of the season. Composition is very important to creating a well planned out story.

A few changes needed to be made to this to make the story complete. I would love to have gotten a better speech out of Coach Sherman to integrate better with a sort of "pre game" feel I tried to