Friday, March 30, 2012

Proposal in Kansas City

Watch the video here

Like I mentioned in an earlier blog, I got a spontaneous opportunity to photograph a proposal in Kansas City a month ago. I was at The Plaza with my boyfriend and best friend when we saw people hold up signs saying, "Michelle, will you marry me?" We realized they were waiting on a horse and carriage to come around with the couple in it, so we quickly asked them if they'd like us to film it for them. James went across the street and shot video, while I stayed on the other side of the street and took photos. We finally had time over spring break to edit it all together! 

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Courage

Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen." —Winston Churchill



Reflecting back on the first half of this semester, I could not be more happy with my decision to major in Broadcast Journalism. Multimedia has provided me with the opportunity to try new things and experiment in a learning environment. i've realized that I don't dread doing any of the projects, but think about them a lot outside of class, bounce ideas off of my friends and put a lot of time into each assignment. I'm most excited about the television video package that is due on Friday. I have my main interview done, but I'm getting all my final footage tomorrow. I can't wait to sort through all the video and find the best shots and sound bites to tell the story in the most influential way. 

For this project, we have the option of including a stand-up. Last semester, I was trained in hair and make up for KOMU cut-ins, but have yet to try it. Trying and mastering cut-ins is my main goal I have for the second half of this semester. This is something that is out of my comfort zone and sphere of knowledge, which is why I decided to use the courage quote for today's blog entry. I think courage is taking advantage of every opportunity you get and not being afraid to fail or say no. No one is going to expect you to be perfect the first time, so the only way you are going to learn is through practice. Multimedia has given us the opportunity to start these skills with the stand-up this week, so even if I don't use it in my final video, it's still a start to being comfortable delivering a news story in front of the camera. I'm excited to gain the courage to push myself out of my comfort zone and go live at KOMU towards the end of the semester. The only way to become comfortable doing something is to practice, practice, practice. 

Monday, March 12, 2012

Kony 2012

"Goodness is the only investment that never fails." — Henry David Thoreau

I decided I would be crazy if I had a multimedia blog and didn't write about the KONY 2012 video this week. For those of you who haven't watched it yet (I don't know how that's possible), watch it now. This video has been blowing up my social media newsfeeds for days, until I had no choice but to watch it to see what everyone is talking about. If you think about it, it's amazing that they were able to get so many people talking about and watching a video that is 30 minutes long. 

Regardless if you support or are a critic of the KONY 2012 video, you have to admit this proved the power of social media is amazing. The video received over 20 million views in less than 24 hours and is still continuing to grow in popularity. If you watched the video the entire way through, you'll know that the first purpose of the video was simply to make Kony famous. Regardless of if you watched the video or not, millions of people now know the name Kony.

A lot of the critics are pointing out that this is something that has been going on for years, and now the only reason people are caring about it is because it is a "fad" or "trending." First of all, the video acknowledges that this is something that has been happening for years and they haven't been able to make enough people aware of it. And the goal of the video was for as many people to share it on Facebook as possible just to get the message out there and the issue known. I agree that some people are only supporting the cause because they simply watched the video and it's popular and have done no other research, but if it's helping a good cause then why complain? Yeah, there will always be a million other problems in the world that people want to draw attention to, but the makers of this video did an amazing job of packaging the issue and letting people become involved and have a part in a simple way. I think this video speaks volumes about the power of social media and the effect it can have on the world around us. I'm interested to see how the Kony 2012 project will pan out in the next few months, and if the capture of Kony can actually be a result of a 30-minute video and social media.



Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Plans for the Future

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." — Eleanor Roosevelt


So this post is going to have to be super short because I have three midterms this week, my family is coming, a lacrosse tournament all weekend and a presentation due in 30 minutes.....


As stressful as planning classes for future semesters is, I am so happy with my future plans. I decided that I'm staying in Columbia over the summer and hopefully (fingers crossed) I can take Broadcast News 1 for the first month of summer. I planned my Fall semester to have all my classes Monday- Thursday (Including Broadcast News 2) and Friday off so I can keep my job lifeguarding. At KOMU this week, I worked with the reporter I normally do, and we had a lot of downtime while we were waiting for her live shot. It was so reassuring knowing that her sophomore year in college, she was at the exact same place I am, and now she is a success reporter who is graduating this semester. I can't wait to push myself for the rest of the semester to try new things at KOMU and be fully independent and live on my own this summer. 


Can't believe my sophomore year of college is almost over!