I’ve personally learned so much through taking COMM 465 this fall semester. Heading into our first class, i’d never had any hands on experience with shooting footage, editing on adobe premire or the process of making a news package. I was lucky enough to be paried with Gabe Angeri and Charles Reinert. We all pushed each other to grow and were always open to discuss what we did good on and what we needed to improve on. Throughout each of our projects, i felt we all grew and learned new skills in tv reporting. I grew a lot for our forth project, because i rented a camera multiple times to get a variety of shots and i learned more about editing with Charles.
The number one thing that i learned in our class, is that to create a successful news package, you need to get a variety of different shots to tell your story. In project 1 i felt that me, Gabe and Charles took some nice shots for our first time. I still remember people visting the Nittany Lion Shrine, asking if they were in the way of our shot. In project four, i took the role of getting the shots we needed. I felt i got some good shots, traffic of cars, students walking around in jackets and showing how the wind was impacting certain objects. However, i felt that it was hard for me to get an abundance of shots releated to cold weather, since there only was one day of snow in State College. I think going forward, when i have CCR next semester, i would make the decision to travel further outside of State College to get the necessary shots if thats what i needed to do. Another thing i learned was, never settle for a certain number of shots of footgae. Always get a variety of different angles and frames because you never know what shots will look the best and not. That was something i felt that me, Gabe and Charles learned after project 1.
I do wish though, that i would’ve gotten the opportunity to write a script for one of our projects. Writing is a key compent to journalism and telling a story. I always feel that your writting can always improve. Thus, going forward i will refer to our powerpoints and what we learned in class to become a better writter. I truly believe that the writting is what makes the story not the talking.
Overall when i look back on my time taking COMM 465, i will be pleased to know that i learned the crucial skills that employers look for, what it truly takes to make a successful news package and that i was fortunate to grow and work with such a talented class we had for the fall of 2021.