MSU’s Health Insurance Mandate

I was excited when I got assigned this story because I knew it was going to be a big news item. It was an issue that was covered extensively by most of the media outlets here in the Lansing area, and it even garnered coverage outside of the area too in the Detroit News and Free Press.

The problem for me though was that the story almost was too large in that I wasn’t sure exactly how I wanted to cover it. Did I want to just stick to the facts and figures of what the new mandate was?
Did I want to focus solely on the hearings in Lansing while just providing background on the mandate? Or did I want to find someone personally affected by the plan and center the story around them?

In the end, I chose the first option: I stuck to the facts and did a straight news package. Admittedly I had a hard time tracking down the sources I wanted for this story and I also wasn’t sure how to go about finding someone personally affected by the mandate who hadn’t already been used in another news outlet’s story. So, was the option I chose ultimately the best one?

Unfortunately, no.

While, yes, we are in the business of informing and providing viewers with the news, we have the added challenge in television of having to make it entertaining and memorable for the viewers watching at home. Nine times out of ten, a straight, cold, hard news route like the one I took isn’t going to leave a lasting impression on anyone.

So, long story short: I missed the ball on this one. But, going forward, I know exactly what I need to improve upon.

My First Rookie Assignment on the East Lansing Bond Proposal

Anyone who knows me knows that I place the value of education very close to my heart.

East Lansing Public School Superintendent David Chapin

Growing up back in Detroit, it wasengrained in me by my parents that a good education is the foundation of success in our world. So naturally when I received my assignment to cover the East Lansing Bond Proposal, I felt a personal connection to the story.

The Bond Proposal, which, if approved, will bring in $53 Million to renovate and enhance East Lansing Elementary Schools around the ELPS district, is a topic that I discovered has much support from people within East Lansing. Many feel as though the buildings need the renovation, seeing as though many have gone decades without any construction.

During my coverage of this story, the most intriguing experience for me had to come when I got a chance to interview the Superintendent of East Lansing Public Schools, David Chapin. Chapin happened to be the nicest guy in the world, inviting me into his office with open arms as we engaged in “Valentine’s Day” conversation.

When we began the interview and discussed the proposal itself, I began to see the passion that Chapin had for this initiative. He talked with a personal connection to the proposal, which is understandable seeing as though he’s the main advocate for the construction.

After the interview, I left his office with many thoughts on my mind as I sat and started my car. These thoughts were not only of how I was going to piece this story together, but also of appreciation. I commend individuals like Chapin who are willing to stand-up and try to make progressive changes for our kid’s educational future.

I then sat back, smiled, and began my drive back to the HOMTV station to edit.

The 29th Annual Daddy Daughter Dance

I must say that I am very happy to be done with this story. This one made me really nervous because I had never covered an event before. Once you leave and the event is over, there isn’t any going back to get shots of what you forgot to grab the first time.

I spent a good couple days thinking about what I could do with the story and I ended up completely forgetting about it once I arrived at the event… I had thought about trying to find a cute little girl with tons of energy who just wanted to spend time with her dad. I was also trying to look for a dad and daughter with some kind of a back story that I could go off of. No such luck… I got there and these girls were running around everywhere. Only a few of them were really dancing with their dads. Most of them just wanted to dance with their friends instead.

It was also incredibly dark in the lunchroom of Okemos High School, where the dancing took place. I made sure I brought a light, but the second I turned it on in there, people scattered from the shot. Therefore, I got rid of the light and hoped that I could somehow make the shot brighter during the editing process…

I had no idea what to do for a stand-up. I thought it would be a cool shot if I walked through the crowd of girls and their dads dancing, but again, they cleared as soon as I turned on that light.

I really wanted to interview the lady in charge of the event, but by the time I had a chance to, I was out of memory on the camera. I was frustrated and left the event a half-hour early, hoping that I had enough to get me by.

Turns out I actually got b-roll of the dads and daughters that I had interviewed and didn’t even know it.

I feel like I got lucky with this story, but I also had a lot of things go wrong with it. I didn’t know what to do with my first interview. The daughter was much shorter than her dad and I wanted to talk to them both, so I tried using a handheld mic. After that interview I learned that I needed to find a way to get them both heard with a lav mic and so, one dad held his daughter and another dad had her stand on a table next to him.

I am glad to have covered my first event, and I now know what to do for next time.

WKAR Video Game Workshop

I was really excited to do this story because I knew it would be a chance to see the WKAR studios. I had passed by there over a hundred times in the Comm. Arts building at MSU, but never had the chance to actually see beyond the door.

It was a lot bigger than I was expecting and certainly lived up to my expectations.

I was able to speak with WKAR Community Engagement Manager, Susi Elkin. She gave me insight into the video game workshop they held and explained their purpose for having it.

WKAR Video Game Workshop

She said students came to WKAR to learn what goes into making a video game, creating rules, a design, and set up goals and challenges. Students were able to do this by creating paper prototypes of their ideas.

I wish I could have attended the actual event and spoke with some of the children that were in attendance. It seemed like a great event full of news.

It was held to promote STEM, programs that focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Also, ultimately at the end of the workshop attendees were encouraged to enter in the 2012 National STEM Video Game Challenge.

Renewed Spirit

Renewed Spirit owner, Heidi Foland

This was officially the second time i’ve ever been in a salon. I went to Renewed Spirit in downtown Okemos to talk with owner, Heidi Foland. She recently opened the salon because she was looking for a new challenge in life.

I was actually really impressed with the building. Foland said they gutted it and had done a total renovation. It definitely looked like it payed off.

All in all, this was a pretty easy assignment. The only thing I regret is that when I went there the salon was pretty much empty. So, I wasn’t able to get very much footage of customers being treated at the salon.

Next time, if I were to do a similar story, I would go on a Saturday because they would be much busier.

Writing the script for this piece was definitely the hardest part for me. Never really having been to a salon, I got a little help from the Women interns. With their feminine perspective I was able to write a script that tailored to a salon customer.

This piece took me out of my comfort zone, but certainly was a good experience.

Mo’ Snow, Mo’ Problems

Have you ever heard the saying “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” Well Willis Bennet (current director of Ingham county parks department) wasn’t given lemons, and he was still expected to make lemonade. His task, was to open up a snow park in Lansing. How hard could that be? After all, we live in Michigan. Where six months out of the year the weather is snow, with three months wedged in between, where the weather is cold with a side of windchill. Unfortunately, Willis was tasked with opening a snow park in Lansing, during one of Michigan’s warmest winters. Did this stop Willis? No sir or ma’am, it only delayed him.

Mr Bennett gave me an interview on february 14th, or as we all know it, five days before my mothers birthday.  At the time, he didn’t seem optimistic, nor pessimistic, but realistic. He intended on opening the park on Friday the 17th, but given the weather, he knew that was a tall order.

Ironically enough, during our interview Mr. Bennett gave me a nice piece of advice. He told me “technology is only as smart as the man who’s using it”.  I assumed he was commenting on society (not me in particular). Why is this Ironic? I’ll get to that in a moment.

The interview went very well. I managed to interview Mr. Bennet, and at the same time, I interviewed Angus McIntosh, and Jeff Deehan. Angus and Jeff were deeply involved with the snow park project. They answered all of my questions with honest enthusiasm, they also told me, once the park was open they would let me know.

The park didn’t open on February 17th. For a moment, I thought my story was doomed. Then I got a text message telling me there was a partial opening on Saturday February 18th. I spent four hours at Hawk Island Snow Park. 

That’s where I got this little ditty (I know I’m like the Banksy of screen shots, you can compliment me later). I assumed I had shot enough footage to put together a great package. I even shot my stand-up five times until I got it perfect. The only problem was, the battery for my camera died half way into my “perfect stand up.”
      Not too big of a deal. I thought I had a productive day, and the following day, I would edit a package that would exude excellence .

The next day, I realized I had lost my interviews with Willis, Angus, and  Jeff. Not only did I lose the most important part of my story, but it was my fault that they were gone. I didn’t upload my clips properly, and now they were lost forever. After three hours of trying to recover my lost files I realized two things. Thing number one, Willis’ advice was directed towards me and my generation(I told you it was ironic). In general, we are too complacent, and we spend too much time taking short cuts instead of making sure work is done properly. Thing number two, I lost my lemons, but, I still needed to make lemonade. I had been put in a Willis Bennet situation.

All lemonade is bitter. It’s up to you, the viewer, to decide whether or not you like it. So take a look at my story about the Hawk Island Snow Park, and feel free to comment on my work.

For the record, lemonade is a metaphor for my story, and the snow park in general. Please watch my story on HOMTV.

Red Alert AIDS Benefit Fashion Show

Since this fashion show was something I modeled for, I was looking forward to assuming a new role as reporter covering the event. Because this is such a unique fashion show that promotes such a worthy cause which is AIDS awareness, I sent a request to Brandie to let me cover the event since my other story had to be postponed. I’m glad she took me up on my offer because this year’s show was the most amazing one that I’ve experienced. Although I really wanted to create a package, I am pleased with how the VO/SOT/VO turned out despite some things I could have improved.

I arrived to Snyder hall auditiorium where the show was held an hour early to prepare myself for shooting. I also wanted to get some backstage footage of the models preparing for the show in case I was going to incorporate that in my story. It wasn’t necessary however and I ended up not using that B-Roll, although it would have been cool for a package. Since this was my first event I’ve ever covered, my major concern was shooting in the best location for a fashion show. I brought a light with me just in case and was hoping I did not have to use it because my set up techniques are not up to par, and I ended up doing without it. After seeing some of my footage, however,  I probably could have used it to my advantage somehow. The floor served as the runway so it was not an elevated stage of any sort. With that however, I knew I would be in the way of the audience if I shot directly on the floor. So I thought to myself where would be the best location. I tried the top of the stairs, which worked for some of the shots and then I thought of the idea to shoot from inside of the lighting booth which overlooked the stage. The lighting director did not mind and even helped me set up where he thought might work best. From there is where I captured most of the footage of the models, which seemed to be great at first, but I soon realized it limited my ability to get b-roll at various angles so many of my shots are quite similar. Reviewing my clips I also realized they could have been much more clear, which was disappointing because I know that was preventable even though many of my clips that I thought were absolutely clear during me shooting, came as a surprise to me when they weren’t as I edited.

Overall, it was great covering this event. I was able to capture the dancing, monologue, modeling and singing all in one event that meant something special to me with being part of it in the past. I hope I captured the beautiful purpose and essential meaning behind this phenomenal event. Though I would have loved to give a stand up expressing my utmost passion and love for this event, I hope the viewers enjoy what I’ve created.