Wellness TV Shananigans!

This week, I really started to become very involved in Wellness TV. On Thursday, Dakota, Krissy and I did stand-up reporter shoots for our packaged from 5:30 to 6:15 pm. Dakota and I edited the package from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. To our shock and horror, when we started editing the package we realized that the sound on the stand up shoot did not come through, despite the fact that we had tested the sound. We decided that we had no choice but to switch the reporter to Dakota, and shoot some voice overs right then. We re-shot the anchor stand-ups with Dakota on Friday and then edited the rest of the package. This lasted from 12:00 to 1:30 pm. Shanti led the Wellness TV meeting on Monday because Consuelo is still out. We talked about the current status of the show that was supposed to air on Monday. Unfortunately some people still had not completed their package, and we did not have an anchor shoot as a result. Shanti said that no matter what, we would air the show on Wednesday with or without the missing package. This makes me happy because Dakota and I worked really hard to get our package done on time, and it would be disappointing if it didn't air. We also discussed future packages, and the possibility of creating an executive board instead of just having a producer in case situations where Consuelo is not available arise again. The Wellness TV meeting lasted from 4:30 to 5:05 pm.

I have really, really enjoyed working with Dakota this week. She taught me how to edit video, and "quizzed" me occasionally to make sure I was retaining the information so I would know how to do it myself. Not only is she great to work with, but we have also become really good friends. I definitely want to work with her on packages from now on.

Hours to this date: 20.392

Wellness TV: Package Progress/Helping Colleen

This week has been a very busy week! On Monday, I attended a Wellness TV meeting, which lasted from 4:30 to 5:09 pm. Poor Consuelo had to conduct the meeting over the phone, because she was in a car accident during fall break. At the meeting, we discussed the progress of our packages, and decided the final due date would be Friday at 10:00 am. On Tuesday, Dakota and I chased Mary T. around for an interview from 4:00 to 4:26 pm. Mary T. decided that she did not want to be interviewed after all, thus avoiding our previous attempts to contact her, but with some help from Paul Bawek, she decides to arrange a student representative for our interview. Today, Dakota, Krissy and I shot b-roll and interviewed our theatre department spokesperson from 3:00 to 3:30 pm. Some of the kids even dressed up in some of the costumes for sale. They did such a good job! I edited with Dakota from 8:00 to 9:10 pm. After looking over our footage, we decided that a standing reporter would be better than a voice over as we had originally planned. Krissy will be our reporter, and we have scheduled a time to shoot this footage tomorrow at 9:00 am, bright and early. This week, I have learned that putting together a package takes a lot of work, but it sure is fun!

Today, I also helped Colleen film the Zeta Tau Alpha Yogurt eating contest. Colleen is putting together a memorable video for our sorority, and she asked me to help her with the yogurt contest shoot, since I had to be there anyway. Colleen even let me take some of my own shoots. It was a great experience, and I got to work with one of the Comm department cameras instead of just the one used for Wellness TV. I worked with Colleen from 5:00 to 7:00 pm.

Hours to date: 16.559

Interviews for Various Packages/Anchor Shoot

Today was a very busy day! First, I worked with Tosha and Lauren from 12:20 to 12:45 on two interviews for our Healthy Eating package for this week's wellness tv. My job was to read the questions to the interviewee, and make sure that he or she made eye contact with me. Then, Krissy and I took the camera to interview Lauren Albano, an art education major, for the next's show's College Life package, which will focus on how to make cheap Halloween costumes. We worked with her from 1:00 to 1:30. It took a few tries, but we finally got a good take that we can use for the show. Then later this evening, I got to be an anchor with Wellness TV for the very first time. Dakota and I were the anchors, while Consuelo and Michelle manned the equipment. There are lots of things to do with lighting and the camera that I never really considered, and remembering your lines is harder than it looks, but it was an awesome experience! The anchor shoot took place from 5:30 to 6:30 pm. I feel like I'm ready to really start working now!

Hours to date: 8.809

Wellness TV Meeting with my Package Group

Today I met with Krissy and Dakota from 8:00 pm to 8:30 pm in the JR lobby. We discussed possible interviews, and we decided to interview Mary T. and my Zeta sister Lauren for our package. We also created a list of questions for our interviewees. We our scheduled to interview Lauren tomorrow at 1:00 pm in the Zeta house. I am nervous because it is my first time taking this on my own, but Krissy will be there to help me too.

Hours to this date: 6.893

Midterm

Midterm 

            During my early days in my News Media Practicum I class at Florida Southern College, I began to have an exciting revelation. The world of broadcast is constantly changing. This might seem to be obvious, due to the invention of a new portable informational device everyday, but I don’t think it ever really hit me until listening to the presentations my peers give every Wednesday afternoon. From the invention of a camera that shoots HD video, to a job that’s sole task is to constantly update information on Facebook, to Dalton’s daily insistence that eventually the only world will become so vast that there will be no need for television anymore, every Wednesday someone has come out with new information on an industry that is constantly in motion. As future reporters, news analysts, video editors, radio talk show hosts, writers, and sports anchors, this sort of research is essential to our survival. We are required to remain up to date on the latest technology, the newest job openings, what’s hot and what’s not, so that when we graduate from Florida Southern we will be the most desired, most experienced, most “can-do-it-all” bunch of broadcasters the world has yet to see.

           

Coming into the broadcast journalism department, I had absolutely no experience other than yearbook staff, making family videos and scrapbooking. I grew up in a small school in a small town, and we just didn’t have the technology to have multi-media programs like some of the bigger schools that feed Florida Southern’s student body. So when I signed up for Wellness TV, I will admit that I was nervous about whether or not I would be more of a nuisance than help. But what I found was a group of upperclassmen that were kind, understanding, and willing to allow me to peek over their shoulder as the frantically try to do their work. I found my hunger and enthusiasm to do the work has increased as I have slowly become more involved in Wellness TV. With Wellness TV, I have learned how to use and define terms such as b-roll, nat sound, and package. I have learned the basics of how to put together a package and I understand a specific timeline for the package to be completed. I understand that all deadlines are final. I have learned the importance of working together and making it known to the upperclassmen in charge of our package when I am available to work with them. In the real world, work will not come and find me; I will have to seek out job opportunities.

            

Working with Tosha on “The Word” staff is a very different experience than working on Wellness TV. Wellness TV is already well established; there have already been people who developed a system that works. The Word, however, is brand new show, and while this allows for a lot more creativity, figuring out what exactly to do can be a bit of challenge. Perhaps the biggest thing Tosha has taught me is how to use Final Cut Pro. I had never even seen the program before, let alone know how to use all the complex tools. But she showed me that using the program is easier than it looks, and there are a lot of great tools that will help maximize the quality of my video.

           

I am confident that the Communication department is the right place for me. My favorite classes and professors are all in the Communication department, and programs like Wellness TV and The Word will teach me the skills I need to succeed.

Wellness TV Meeting/Healthy Eating package interview

Today I met with Wellness TV from 4:30 to 5:00 pm. We discussed the current progress on this week's show, and also assigned packages for our show after fall break. That show will have a Halloween theme, and I have been assigned to the college life package. We will be discussing how to find or create inexpensive Halloween costumes. We plan to interview Mary T. and talk about the Theatre department's annual costume sale. I also shadowed Tosha for an interview for this week's show. We interviewed Mr. Michael, the nutrition specialist in the Wellness Center, about how certain foods can boost your mood. Tosha also showed me how to work the camera for my own interviews.