Videography Blog

Over the past week, while working on our first show, I was able to capture moments and shoot interview segments with my classmates. Also, I am the video playback operator behind the scenes in the control room. I helped film interviews, b-roll, SOT-teases, and standups at the Hope Coliseum, shoot interviews at Morgantown High School, and I also went to a club ultimate frisbee team practice to help shoot interviews and extra b-roll.The first thing I did was help Kam film interviews at the Coliseum with Blue and Gold Enterprises and the Mountaineer Athletic Club. He asked questions about the new patches and what the Antero and Monster Energy patches are doing for the conference and program as a whole. I wish I had pinched in a little more on framing for the second interview because I thought it was too wide. We also filmed his standups and SOT-teases outside of the coliseum, since we were already there to shoot the interviews.

It was an interesting start to the week as I had to find my footing for the first show. I am glad to have started this off with volleyball, as the repetition of sets and similar plays over and over gets you comfortable with the camera, being in that environment, and grabbing different footage than just the play on the court. Being able to start with that helped because the challenges that you face in volleyball that might make you miss a point or two are not as big of a deal compared to later in the week when I filmed something like football. The interview spot with volleyball was also harder, so going through it in that environment was definitely good to get it out of the way and learn from my mistakes.

We just finished taping the first show of the semester! I will say I'm proud of this accomplishment, I'm grateful for the position I'm in, and I'm enjoying getting to learn and work with my fellow classmates. With that being said, there is some stuff I need to work on. I think we did a good job as a group of finding unique stories for our audience to watch.The thing I've struggled with the most is finding stories that not only apply to me and my job, but also have a strong newsworthy focus. Outside of the studio, I want to build more self-confidence, and I know as time goes on that will happen. I think I struggled because my plan was all over the place, and I was not confident in what I was doing, which reflected on the level of my final product. Through the filming of my beat and having self-reflection, I underestimated the level of work for even a story about bikes. I knew what I had planned in my mind, but I was not prepared and did not have a solid plan in place for the unexpected. Following a group of bikers in my car made for some cool b-roll, but it's all I was able to do. Aside from very few nats and incorrect framing, I was at their mercy. I also realized that not being on camera meant I had to ask questions differently to explain the importance of the story through their voices instead of mine.