This class was my first real experience with video cameras. I entered this semester as green as you can be, and still am inexperienced. However, my skills have improved to the point where I am now comfortable with creating news packages and ready to move on to the more advanced classes.
This year I learned a multitude of different things, including how to shoot a standup, voice over, white balance, and making sure that the sound is good. The last point about the sound was one of the tougher things to learn. Multiple times this year I would forget to just flick one switch on the camera and be left with no sound on my b-roll which negatively affected my total package. The most pressing example of this was in my profile package where I shot my interviews first and forgot to prioritize the main microphone on the camera and switch out of the lav mic.
The weekly story ideas were integral to my success in this class. Without repeating the bicycle wheel format over and over for hypothetical story ideas, I would have struggled mightily when it came to formulating ideas and putting everything together in a way that actually makes sense.
Sequence shots is something that I never even knew existed until this class and is still something that I struggle to incorporate into my packages. I always make sure that I get the footage for it, but just can’t find a good spot to put it into the story at.
One thing that I learned is that you can never have too much b-roll. I would shoot 15 minutes worth of shots for each package and still be scrambling at the end wondering if I would have enough. During the first package, we actually had to run out to the Lion Shrine during the editing process because of the shortage.
Strangely enough, I felt most comfortable during our anchor segments, as it seemed like reading off of the teleprompter came naturally to me. This was something that I did not expect as I did not think of myself as a potential anchor until then.
This class has been so important to me when it comes to advancing myself as a journalist and has taught me so many different things. Whether it be story building, editing, behind, or on camera work, there is so much that is transferable to the future where I hope to be able to pursue broadcasting as a full time job.