This semester of News Media
Practicum has been extremely beneficial to me and I have learned, what I feel
like is, an immense amount of things from doing work with our production
groups. Similar to last semester, I was most active in Interlachen, doing a
number of things to prep the yearbook for its release to the public. Throughout
this process, I continued taking and editing photos on a regular basis, and I
began working closely with Shannah on choosing photos for the book and dropping
them into the layout. Along with these responsibilities came adding in name
captions and searching the FSC websites to find names of athletes and things of
that nature. Throughout this process I gained some basic knowledge of layout in
InDesign, along with getting an insight into what makes a photo qualified for
the yearbook and what the Editor in Chief has to do as the deadlines approach.
This was most beneficial to me because I will be assuming the position of
Managing Editor in Interlachen next semester. Without the general knowledge of
these skills, I would have much lower chances of succeeding in this position
and I definitely expect to expand these skills next semester.
Something
new for me this semester was my involvement with Wellness TV. I came in about halfway
through the semester if I remember correctly, and I will be the first to admit
that I was not one of the most active members by any means. However I did go
out on a few shoots and even just within those short times, I learned a few
things about the broadcast aspect of our programs, which I didn’t know before.
Once again, I feel that Shannah sort of took me under her wing and made me get
involved in our package, all the while showing me the ropes and teaching me the
basics of what I need to know when creating a package. On the latest shoot that
I went out on with Shannah, I got an opportunity to learn what types of
questions to ask for interviews, as well as how to conduct an interview
properly. This time also taught me how to properly roll a mic cord and how to
use our HD cameras. They are fairly self-explanatory, but it was good to not be
thrown in to use one and to have Shannah’s assistance. Along with interviews, I
also got a little bit of knowledge about B-roll and what sorts of things to look
for when shooting B-roll.
Aside from
the shooting aspect, I also got the chance to brush up and refresh my memory in
editing. I have worked with Final Cut Pro since 5th grade; however,
it has been a few years since the last time that I used it (in my freshman year
of high school) so it was definitely beneficial to observe Shannah and to
regain that knowledge. This was particularly beneficial because I have never
captured footage in the way that we do for Wellness TV. I’ve only ever used the
“Log and Capture” feature/method. Unfortunately, I kept forgetting to blog my
hours for any work with Shannah on this package, so I do not have the editing time
and the shoots documented on my blog. That was my mistake, and I apologize.
Overall, I think
that I learned a lot of basic skills in a couple different areas and that
Practicum definitely helped me expand my knowledge this semester. I definitely
intend to become more active in the broadcast aspect of these programs next
year and I fully expect to expand my knowledge much more within the next three years.
