Final Project!

As the semester comes to a close, my group is finishing up the final details to our final project. I was the editor for the tv broadcast video. We decided to make this more of a features video of James and what flying means to him and how he balances his life.

I've really enjoyed working on this project. I think 3 people per group is the perfect number so everyone can do work on their own, but then also correct each other's mistakes. I took all of the video and pictures for the project since I am able to fly with James the most. I'm really proud of some of the photos. I think since James is so comfortable with me being around, it allowed me to really capture his personality since most of the time he didn't even realize I was taking pictures. Here's the final video and my favorite photo!

Click here: Sophomore James Militello's life is a juggling act between managing his schoolwork, a job and making time to fly. Although being a student pilot is expensive and takes time, Militello is confident becoming a commercial pilot is the best career path for himself.

Multimedia Journalism

Click here to watch the video!

As a challenge, this week my teacher asked me to write my thoughts on a multimedia piece. California is a place is a website we have visited during class and watched a few of the videos on, so I decided to pick one that I haven't seen yet. I randomly chose to watch Aquadettes and when it first started, I wasn't taking it very seriously. The combination of the music with the old women made it seem like it was going to be a very light piece.

As I continued watching, I was able to appreciate more parts of the clip. Although I think the addition of the music is distracting to keeping it as journalistic as possible, I love all the different angles and shots they have of the Aquadettes. A few of the shots were right on the water line, which I thought was really cool and creative. I also enjoyed this piece because it wasn't the light story I thought it would be. They focused on one person and came up with an extremely well-developed story. The view can see that she is very dynamic and that the reporter spent a lot of time getting the entire story and having her feel comfortable opening up about it.

I would love to be able to do journalism like this some day. As much as I love working at KOMU and news stories, I am much more of Features girl. In high school, I was the Features Editor for our school paper, and I loved personality profiles. Taking J2150, I've realized how much I love the multimedia aspect of journalism. I love telling a story through videos and pictures, instead of through text. Hopefully I'll be telling powerful stories like this one day!

Students reach out to spread faith

Approaching a stranger in general can be a difficult task, but approaching a stranger to discuss faith can be even more challenging. Mizzou Students for Christ reaches out to fellow students to invite them to their ministry.

"It's awkward approaching people, but you just need to swallow your pride and humble yourself," sophomore Brendan Borman said.

Borman, a Parks and Rec Tourism major, first got involved through students approaching him on campus. He was very involved in his high school ministry, so he said Mizzou Students for Christ is a good match.

"They are definitely people I can trust," Borman said. "I meet a lot of people everyday. It's good to know you have people that have your back."

Mizzou Students for Christ meets two days a week for Bible talks and gathers on Fridays as a larger group to sing and worship.


Caption 1: Sophomore Brendan Borman is from Kingdom City, Missouri and a part of Mizzou Students of Christ.

Caption 2: Members of Mizzou Students for Christ approach students and invite them to join their ministry on random parts of campus, such as the MU Student Center or Ellis Library.

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! 

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. 

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.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4MnpzG5Sqc

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!