A/V Semester Reflection

This semester was about Convergence Journalism; writing and filming interviews, capturing b-roll, recording voiceovers, and then piecing all of these things together to create a news story were the thing that we learned and worked on these past couple of months. The projects that we completed were all certain topics that we had create a news package over, such as what someone did over the summer or what kind of hobbies they had, as well as live events such as the blood drive and the news packages we created for our ONW Now final.

Some key and memorable events that occurred during the semester were the hectic filming and creation of the blood drive video, and the occasional teamwork activities that we did that to strengthen our work ability. However, there were a few key issues, such as reaching deadlines and getting behind on projects. For example, the hobby video got severely delayed due to a mix of bad luck and mismanagement. However, I made sure to finish all of my work and put all of my effort into the videos. These elements strengthened my video experience and gave me a glimpse of the work I would need to do in the future.

An element that worked well with me was communication. I made sure that I was able to contact my partner on every project to share ideas and to make sure that we were on the same page. I don't believe there were any problems that came up that were due to poor communication. Another element that worked fine was the technical aspect of the program. I adhered to the 3 second rule and tried to include as many J and L edit as I could. I think my best example of this would be the swim video I did for the ONW Now Sophomore project. One element that didn't work so well was time management and planning, partly because slight mismanagement such as not scheduling things out in my agenda, but also due to constant misfortunes that I had trouble adjusting to. I resolved these issues by finding where I went wrong, and having to determination to not let it get in the way again.

I learned many new things during this semester. The entire concept of creating a news package, so just about everything we learned except for editing was new to me. This was also the first time we got to use the regular cameras, so learned how to record and adjust white balance and focus was also a new experience. I also feel that I improved on my communication and collaboration skills, by trying to make everything clear cut and giving myself the ability to reach out to my partners during the projects.

Next semester I will definitely work on my project management skills, and make sure that I have a fully written out schedule for what I need to do, and to plan ahead of time in case mishaps occur. I am looking forward to the entertainment aspect of A/V, and the various difference in not only work space but levels of creativity. I hope that I will enjoy it, and that I will be able to endure the challenges that it may bring.