Throughout the semester I have learned many skills that have made me grow as a journalist. However, there are three specific skills that I find to be the most important.
First, a skill that I find important is how to create sequence shots. We were first introduced to this skill in lecture during the first few classes. At first I was a little concerned because it seemed like it was just repeating the same thing and would be boring. However, this ideal changed in class we watched an example of a sequence shot in a package. In this package a woman was making rice papers and it was definitely not boring. The multiple angles gave me as a viewer a better understanding of what it takes to create rice papers. Not to mention it also captured my attention instantly because it was so interesting to see her hands move and the focus on her face.
After learning about these sequence shots we then had to create them on our own. I loved doing this because it allowed me to be creative and focus on something that was important to the story. Although, after attempting to do the sequence shots a couple of times I quickly figured out it is not as easy as it looks. It is difficult to not only get all the angles but also to do it while the situation is still taking place. Also, it is difficult to figure out what to make a sequence of. You want to make it important to the story, but also interesting to the viewer. Unfortunately, these issues have led to some sequences that were too fast or not complete. I also feel as if I missed some opportunities that would have made a great sequence like picking up the cookie in my election package.
Although, after practicing sequence shots in all of my packages I do believe I have improved. Now I am able to figure out what shots look best and how to make it creative. These sequence shots have been able to catch the attention of my classmates and that means I am on the right track. I may not be able to notice all of the opportunities for sequences, but I do believe it will improve as I go throughout my journalism career.
The second skill that I find important is how to write for the web. In the beginning I just thought it would be simple to transfer my script to an article. However, after we went over the techniques of it in class I realized it required a lot more than I thought. I am very thankful that we were able to see the example of the parents who are trying to balance kids and work. With this example we were able to see the story in a web story and also a NBC news package, which gave me an idea to work off of. The example not only showed me how to format my web stories, but also how to add a humanized angle.
After seeing this example I felt a lot more confident about changing my second package into a web story. I was a little lost at first trying to put all the information in the correct format, but with practice and referencing the example I was able to get it done. However, I was still having a little bit of trouble creating the humanized angle with all of my web stories. For some reason I was so focused on providing the facts that I missed the humanized angle.
Although, after doing it a couple more times I was able to improve and connect the facts to real people. For example, in my Community Cafe story I was able to show how the cafe benefited a specific man instead of the whole community. By writing about a person who has been directly impacted will make the audience more intrigued and interested in the story. It is interesting to the audience because it puts a face to the public or the community that the cafe serves. In the end I may not have the humanized angle or the format perfect but I believe that it has made me tell a more meaningful story.
The third and final skill that I find important to have learned is how to tell a visual story. In the beginning of the semester I never really thought about using visuals to tell the story. For example as you can tell from my first package I showed visuals of Mount Nittany while talking about Happy Valley. The viewers of this package are going to be quite confused and may think that the mountain is Happy Valley.
Thankfully I was able to realize the benefits of visual storytelling when we talked about it in lecture. While discussing it we were shown the example video of the disabled boy and how much his brother loves and supports him. This was very eye opening for me because I got to see how much more impactful the video was when they showed the boy struggling or the brothers connection. Without these visuals I definitely think it would of not been as impactful.
After watching this example I was excited to start using visual storytelling in my packages. While filming my election package I tried to use some visual storytelling to help tell my story about absentee ballots but I had some trouble with the deadline being due before the date I filmed. I do believe that I did good showing someone filling out an absentee ballot but that was just for a few seconds. In my Community Cafe package I believe that I did a lot better job because I was able to show people together and enjoying each other’s company which was a big topic of my story. This definitely adds to my story by showing the impact that cafe has on the community making it more meaningful. In the end I still see that I have a lot of room to improve but I believe I have used visual storytelling to improve the impact of my packages on the viewers.
I find these skills so important because I believe that they will help me in my future career as a journalist. With creating sequence shots I will be able to add more interesting visuals to my story. In turn this will catch my viewers attention and will make my packages stand out from others. Also, I hope to one day be able to use multiple creative sequences in my packages. I believe this will make my packages a lot more interesting and make more people pay attention to my story.
With writing for the web I will be able to be an expert in two different fields. Not only will I be able to create an interesting package but then I will also be able to write a web story on it. This will make me stand out from the rest because I have skills that many others do not. It also shows me as an independent person because I do not need to rely on someone else to write it. I hope to one day be able to write web stories for all of my packages so I can reach two different audiences.
With visual story telling I will be able to create stories with more of an impact. By using this skill I will be able to make a story that sticks with the viewers. This means that after they watch it they will still be thinking about it because of the images they saw. Also, it will educate the viewers more because they will see the story in action. This will make me stand out from others in my future job because I will be able to tell an important story well. In turn this will also make the subjects of my story happy because their story will be told through them and be told well. One day I hope to be able to tell use this skill to create a story about a very important topic like war, poverty, or racism.
With all of these skills coming together I believe that I will be a journalist who stands out from the rest. This is because I will be able to tell important stories in video and on the web in an interesting fashion and with a lot of impact. I am very thankful to have taken this class because I believe it has prepared me to become the best journalist that I can be.
Kendal Higdon doing a stand-up for her package about the Community Cafe. (Photo courtesy of Kendal Higdon, Kayla Lowe, and Kathleen Ritter)