The weeks leading up to Show 3 got pretty crazy at times, but I felt like I continued getting more comfortable both shooting and working in the editing lab. I spent a lot of time helping classmates gather footage, problem-solve technical issues, and think through better ways to visually tell their stories. Each shoot felt a little different, which helped me get more confident adjusting to new situations.
In terms of creative video gathering, I helped Andrew gather his content for his package on the microgravity club. The quick turnaround made it difficult to understand what exactly he needed content-wise, but we collaborated when we got there, and this helped Ashlynn and me understand our roles better. I remembered the feedback I had gotten in Show 2 and made sure to do a better job at gathering a variety of shots (tight, medium, wide), and after seeing his package, I have a much better understanding of the importance this has for reporters and their packages.
On Tuesday afternoon, I helped Quinn shoot his SOT-TZs outside the Coliseum. Quinn came in very prepared, which made the shoot go smoothly. Thinking of the feedback from Show 2, I made sure to frame him so that the bug and the lower third wouldn’t cover him. During one take, a car drove by and revved its engine loudly, so we had to redo the shot. When we did the second take, we didn’t realize his phone microphone had disconnected, so the audio didn’t record. It was frustrating, but it was a good reminder to always double-check audio before moving on.
I really learned a lot about my collaboration this week, as well. This was really the first opportunity I had to give input to the reporters about how to be more creative. For Andy, while shooting his SOT-TZs, we came up with an idea to do close-up camera cuts to what he was pointing to on the whiteboard. We had talked to Professor Trinone after shooting and realized that our idea would have been better suited for his stand-up. That many camera cuts in a tease wouldn’t have worked as effectively as we thought. We came up with a new idea that worked a lot better. This helped me realize that I need to better adjust to the fast pace of the show and find the middle ground between being creative and being effective.
I also helped Quinn shoot his stand-up later that same night. While he already had his idea for his creative standup, the issue we ran into was the lighting. We spent a lot of time trying to play with the lighting, so we didn’t take away from the projector, but also so Quinn wasn’t completely hidden. Despite lots of trial and error, we were unable to find the correct lighting to make this happen without casting a large shadow on the wall behind him. This experience taught me a lot about the importance of building relationships with reports. Quinn trusts me as an ENG to try different production techniques to improve the quality of his shoots, and he trusted me when I told him that we would be able to fix the lighting in post. This made me more confident in my skills and made me feel more comfortable being able to communicate with others.
In the editing lab, I wasn’t working on a huge project of my own, but I spent a lot of time helping other people fix problems. Truthfully, I feel like the edit lab is where I can help people the most because of my experience with Athletics Creative Media. I helped Emma color-grade her footage because it was a little overexposed. I adjusted the saturation, shadows, and overall exposure, and then worked with the white S-curve to give the colors more depth. I also suggested making some tighter camera cuts that hid some unwanted background details and helped animate her graphics.
I also tried to help Quinn fix the brightness problem from his projector shoot. My first idea was to mask just his body and raise the exposure only on that area so the projector screen wouldn’t get blown out, but that would have taken a long time to do frame-by-frame. I experimented with S-curves, shadows, blacks, and exposure, but I couldn’t quite find a balance that looked right.
Overall, this week helped me realize how much of production is problem-solving on the spot. Whether it was fixing audio mistakes, adjusting lighting, changing shooting plans, or helping in the edit lab, there was always something that needed to be figured out. Even when things didn’t go perfectly the first time, we were usually able to adapt and make it work, and I feel like that’s where I’m learning the most right now.