Journey of a Journalist

For the longest time, I dreamed of being an on-screen actress. I wanted to be in the movies.

I had a natural penchant for acting and my mother always tells me the story of how once, when I was four years old, I waltzed into her bedroom and proceeded to recite 45 minutes of Beauty and the Beast. Which I had seen once. Two months beforehand.

She said the hair on the back of her neck stood up as she realized that I had a talent for mesmerizing words. She enrolled me in acting classes and I took them for years, acted in school plays, the works.

I even left for college at San Diego State University to study Theatre with a concentration in Performance. It was a lot of fun, but after a year and a half I realized that maybe I’d be happy doing something else too, something that might not come with as much intense competition and waitressing.

I love to write, too.

I took a leap of faith and moved across the country to attend George Mason University, where I am studying Communication with a Public Relations concentration. After taking a couple journalism classes and relishing them, I chose to add a minor in Online Journalism. I love journalism, but I miss acting and performing.

How do you do both?

Broadcast journalism.

I was presented with a unique opportunity to do just that when my classmate Jake McLernon approached me about being the female anchor for a student-run news broadcast he was creating called Late Night Patriot. Along with a few of my other classmates and a few new friends, we have officially started it and last night we completed our third broadcast.

Last night was particularly exciting because we had a professional backdrop, our own theme song created by one of the crew, and two cameras which enabled us to transfer quickly between shots. We use an iPad as a teleprompter, which Jake controls using his phone while another crew member holds it up at just the right level so that we look like we are staring into the camera. It’s really quite sophisticated, and a lot of fun.

I am extremely grateful for this opportunity and it has been truly eye-opening to see how many different crew members are needed to work the cameras, control the teleprompter, and handle the audio. Each show we have had keeps getting better and better.

I hope that Late Night Patriot sticks around long after I have graduated.

“Thanks for making history with us, Mason.”

I am fortunate enough to have a video and photography expert as a classmate, friend and coworker.

Jake McLernon, affectionately known as “JollyJPhotog” in the Twitter world, works for Connect2Mason and can frequently be found scouring Mason’s Fairfax campus in search of exciting and interesting photos and videos. He and I now work together on Mason’s first live-streamed news broadcast — his baby, Late Night Patriot — and I am no stranger to his insight regarding shooting video and photography.

He was kind enough to share some of his expertise regarding the BBC 5-shot sequence, which represents an industry standard in terms of shooting video. The sequence of video shorts, added to informative audio, lends itself as an attractive and interesting way to tell whatever story you so desire. Whether you are shooting students hanging out during class or an Occupy movement, this sequence of shots informs viewers while keeping them entertained long enough to stay on your page.

1. Medium Shot: This shot helps to establish the story you are telling your viewers. McLernon recommends keeping this shot sedentary; in other words, don’t move the camera around. It is neither a close-up nor a long-shot, but an angle which helps inform the reader about the topic you will be discussing without singling in on one particular person.
2. Close-Up Shot: After the initial introduction, it’s best to focus in on the person being interviewed/most important statement. This type of shot gives readers an intimate view and understanding of the person whose views are pertinent to the story.
3. Hands/Activity Shot: To keep viewers interested, it is always best to show an action sequence related to the story. McLernon gave the example of students doing homework for class, and how at this point a possible activity shot is their fingers typing on the keyboard. This footage often takes place while the audio is still from the individual being interviewed in the close-up shot — but it entails action, not just words.
4. Over-the-shoulder Shot: This type of footage can either be looking up or down. The idea is to give viewers the impression that they are actually in the story, not just watching it from afar like a bad documentary.
5. Long-range/Random Shot: Much like the Medium Shot explained above, this kind of footage gives an overall description of the setting to viewers and serves as the perfect transition to the next story — or the next BBC sequence. Frequently, the long-range shot utilizes a transitional quote as its audio.

Thrown together, this 5-shot sequence gives viewers an overall understanding of whatever story is being told. We all know that viewers do not respond to constant static images or one person being interviewed for a lengthy period of time. So try out the BBC 5-shot! In less than 30 seconds, McLernon proved to myself and other classmates how valuable this sequence can be.

 

I’m sure we all remember the brilliant Apple ads that came out years ago.

Hi! I’m a Mac.

And I’m a PC…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQb_Q8WRL_g

These came at what I consider the “Apple boom” — when all of a sudden, Apple and its Mac products went from being the exception to the rule. iPhones and iPod’s began leading the market in terms of smartphones and mp3 players. College campuses went from being dominated by PC notebooks to a sea of MacBooks. Macs are certainly trendy, yes. But in terms of quality and ease of use — what’s the difference between Mac and PC computers?

This question prompted me to attend a Mason STAR Lab workshop on switching from a PC to a Mac. I have owned a Mac for about two years now, but admittedly am not extremely well-versed in its functions. I have many friends who are adamantly “PRO-MAC,” and while I love the sleekness and style of my MacBook, I’m sure I am not taking full advantage of its capabilities.

The workshop was extremely helpful in terms of navigating through the toolbars and learning about how to make PC software Mac-appropriate. This is one problem with Macs — they often do not support PC-based software. My most recent encounter with this issue stems from an online Statistics class I am taking this semester. Several of the required assignments require MiniTab software, which is not compatible with Macs. I purchased software that was supposed to make MiniTab work on my computer, but after many hours at the help desk and $125…no dice. My Mac is destined to remain MiniTabless.

Life goes on. Thank goodness for on-campus computer labs.

While I learned several interesting things about my lovely computer, such as how to make the most of the image/graphic software MacBooks boast, the main purpose of this workshop was to inform non-Mac users how to navigate the computer. I probably would have been better off attending a session that was more “Mac-skills intermediate” than “Mac-skills beginner.”

Still, every day you learn something new, and this day was no different. I am certainly more confident in my ability to handle my computer and also learned a few unexpected tidbits about PC computers as well.