It’s crazy to think that the time has come to reflect on my experience in Comm 465. It feels like just yesterday when I got up in front of the class and explained my goals and former internship experience. From then to now I have grown not only as a journalist, but as a media creator and a visual storyteller. The road wasn’t easy, and the work was absolutely tedious, but it was all for the greater good. Throughout each project I worked on there were plenty of learning experiences to be had, but I would say that the three skills I’ve learned that stick out to me are letting the people tell the story, filming sequential edits, and incorporating creative standups.
Letting the people tell the story is an important quality in visual storytelling, however I always underestimated its ability to turn a good package into a great one. In my early projects for Comm 465 I often relied on my voiceover to tell the story. This was due to a variety of reasons, but I’m now realizing it mainly had to do with a lack of soundbites and not enough time spent with my talent. There were a few projects we watched in class that helped explain to me the importance of why it’s better to let the talent tell the story. One, in particular that I remember is the ESPN produced profile of Carson Wentz and the “Dutch Destroyer”. The reason this story was so successful was because of Tom Rinaldi’s ability to ask the right questions that evoked emotional responses out of the talent, subsequently letting them tell the story. There would have been a clear difference in the package’s credibility if Tom Rinaldi just read the facts of the story as a voiceover with professionally shot b-roll. Erin, our TA also gave great advice in class when she told us to never include a soundbite from the talent that you, as a journalist could tell yourself. Essentially, there’s no point in having a talent speak on general information. Interviews are a great opportunity to give the story emotional context as well as provide detail to the narrative. I used this skill of letting the talent tell the story in my latest project, where I interviewed Penn State musician, Jeremy Fratoni on why he plays music for others and what his goals are when gracing the THON stage. In the future, as my career goals include being a radio personality, I’d like to use these skills to better myself as an interviewer to earn respect from both my talent and my audience.
Another skill set I learned from my time in Comm 465 is the inclusion of a sequential edit, from the five shot sequence strategy. I remember the first time as a class we used the Panasonic cameras. It was for a demonstration on the five shot sequence and everyone in class had a nervous energy because none of us truly knew what we were doing at the time. Andrew and I had taken our footage from this class and edited it outside of class to practice a sequential edit, and though it didn’t make sense at the time it provided us with a lot of opportunities for great shots in future projects. Because we weren’t strangers to editing this sequence by the time Project 1 came around, we had a head start on how to set it up when we hit the editing lab. For Project 1, I used a sequential edit during my five shot sequence at the Nittany Lion Shrine. Though it was my first project and one of my earliest experiences with the Panasonic camera, it’s still one of my favorite edits from the entire semester. The extra time it takes to get each shot may seem time consuming at first, but it ends up paying off tenfold when it’s all said and done. It seems like a simple tactic in visual storytelling, but it was truly something I had never heard of before taking this course. Now, I’m more likely to notice sequential edits when I view news packages on television, and furthermore, I’m more likely to seek them out when creating my own projects. It enhances the video quality by setting the scene better than any other strategy I’d known prior.
Finally, the last skill set I want to mention from my time in Comm 465 is the inclusion of a creative standup in a news package. Before this class, I had an idea of what a standup was, but I didn’t necessarily understand there were multiple ways to film them. It wasn’t until we took the time to view a montage of creative standups during class that I began to brainstorm different ways I could go about achieving such a unique feature. One of my favorite standups from this montage was when one reporter broke a window to demonstrate the focal point of the story, which was the proper way to escape a car. A lot of us in class attempted our own creative standups after we were introduced to the idea, but I have to say my favorite was Greg’s during his story on the benefits of boxing for those with Parkinson’s disease. The way he was able to syncopate his news report with the punch of the speed bag really kept me engaged with the story. Looking back at my experience with standups, there were probably more opportunities for me to incorporate more creative ones. In a field where there are way more candidates than there are jobs, it’s imperative to find ways to separate yourself from the pack and I really believe this is one of them.
In summary, Comm 465 has taught me a lot about being a visual storyteller. Though journalism isn’t the true field I want to go into, the skill set that studying journalism in college has given me will provide me with plenty of strategies on how to make myself known in the music industry. Media will forever play a role in my life and it’d be silly of me to think that just because I’m not applying to be a news anchor the skills of sequential edits or more professionally developed interview questions wouldn’t assist my future work. Mainly, I think the biggest lesson I’ve learned from this class is to trust myself. There were plenty of times where I was afraid of going the extra mile because I wasn’t sure I could handle it, but when I think back to the times I did attempt more challenging work, it always took my quality to a higher level. I know a lot more than I think I do and now, with another high level media class under my belt, I’m ready to work on more projects while I continue learning how to make myself better each day.
My favorite photo from working on a project this year:
