I am trying to think of words to say for my final blog to describe how I feel, but all I have so far is “wow’. But because I need to meet the assignment requirements of 500 words, I guess I’ll say a little more than that. I find it so hard to believe it is all over. Not just Playbook, but college in general. I try not to think about it too much, or I’ll cry, but this past semester has been the best semester of my life. One I’ll cherish forever. All because of my time spent as an ENG and technical director with Mountaineer Playbook.
Finding people to film with for this show was a bit difficult. I felt like it was a struggle to balance my school and work life, which made it difficult to shoot with reporters. However, I was able to film with Bryce, Ben, and Emma. Luckily, I was able to film with them all within 48 hours, which made my life a little easier.
I went with Bryce to Stewart Hall on the downtown campus to film an interview. It was not until I got there that I realized just how beautiful the building was on the inside! It is one of the prettiest buildings, in my opinion, and I wish I had known about it sooner. The interview went really well, and I was just happy to be a part of the experience. I have only ever shot interviews for Bryce, and I say the same thing every time: He is prepared and knows how to ask a question in a way to make sure he gets a good soundbite.
Filming with Ben is always adventurous because we both usually bounce creative ideas off each other. I met him at Cheat Lake to film his SOT TZs and stand up. It just happened to be so cold on this day, and we ended up filming for close to two hours! I am going to miss filming with Ben because he is such a fun person and always down to attempt my crazy ideas.
Lastly, I filmed with Emma at a morning men's soccer practice. We got two interviews, and you can tell how media-trained those men are because their answers were good and they were very well spoken. It was a tad awkward standing on the side of the field waiting for them to wrap up their practice, but it builds character. This was actually my first time shooting with Emma, and she was also really fun to work with! I sit by her in the control room, and we always have good conversations, so I knew I would enjoy working with her even if it was at 9 a.m.
On show day, I felt the most comfortable I have ever felt operating the switcher. It became almost routine, and I just let the muscle memory take over. Although this was my first time working in a studio with a switcher this semester, I realized I loved technical directing. I am so excited to learn more and gain more experience as a TD in the future.
I want to thank my professors and classmates for being so kind and believing in me this semester. When I look back at my time at WVU, I will think of Mountaineer Playbook and reminisce on the friends and memories that I'll hold close to my heart forever. ENG, TD, and reporter for one show, Havannah Thomas, signing off.