So I'm not really sure how this last post is suppose to go. Today we didn't really have class. There were the few people that had to get there packages together today. I saw them running around a bit. Wow, it felt pretty good to have all that done and out of the way. Though we didn't have class today we did have meetings to talk to Jill. My meeting was assigned at 11:30 so at that time Jill and I sat down together to talk about the class. She asked me what I thought of it. I answered honestly, that I thought it was a lot harder than I thought it would be but extremely beneficial to me. She then asked what I was going to do next, if I planned on becoming a reporter or pursuing a different path. It was hard for me to say but I had to admit that I still want to be an actor. I guess that will never change. Anyway, we got to talking about how my adviser no longer worked at the University. So we discussed who would have to take his spot. Jill then told me about about a new major; a digital media major, that might suit my plan a little better. She recommended that I talk to Ben Schoelle about making him my adviser. It seems that he will be leading this new program and it would be a good idea for me to learn what I can from him. I still do plan on speaking with Ben, just as soon as I get a chance. 

After we got done talking about my major and my plans for the future Jill and I went into the other room to work on my news voice. Apperently I really suck at reading out loud. But that's okay, I knew that already. Just kidding Jill... Seriously though, I did get a lot out of the three step process that you taught me. Step one, stop punching! Step two, learn to speak slower to stress something and faster to get through something not important. As for step three, of course I will never forget to speak loudly and as a human being would, not like a robot. I'll be honest...i've got a lot of work to do. However, I do plan on sticking with reporting and anchoring here at Lindenwood and constantly improving my skills. Was I prepared for this class, I can't honestly say yes. But I found that by taking Advanced TV Talent I learned a lesson in life. That lesson being that life throws you all kinds of challenges that you aren't ready for. You just have to decide what you are going to do about it. Will you bow out respectfully and take a different path, or will you play through the pain and challenge yourself to succeed. Well, I've never quit anything in my life and I wasn't about to start here. And by sticking around I learned so much about television production and what to do in front of as well as behind a camera. I take comfort in the fact that I have walked away from this class with knowledge that will help me in the future and stay with me forever.

I have narrowed down the three most possible, most enjoyable jobs for me to start out with as an ambitious reporter/ anchor. In order of my first pick to my last I have also arranged them accordingly as well as given my reasoning.

1) I would consider sending a resume tape to WICD-TV located in Champaign Illinois. Their website is Wicd15.com and I would be sending my tape to a Mr. Robert Smith. The position I would be applying for would be the open Reporter/ Videographer slot. The reason I think this is my top pick is due to the fact that I meet the requirements stated in the description. Being entertaining, aggressive, having a can-do attitude, the ability to deliver stories that are memorable, being well organized, and managing time are all some of my strongest skills and personality traits. To answer the question if I would move there is easy for me...yes! I know Illinois almost as well as I know my own town. That is why this job interests me, because I will be so close to home and will already know my way around. It will be that much easier to gather stories when I'm on the job.

2) My second choice would be a job as a reporter at WISE-TV, located in Ft. Wayne Indiana. They are looking for someone who is experienced with state-of-the-art digital news gathering technology to shoot, edit, and report a cross-section of stories across multiple networks and platforms. This interests me, the idea of reporting several networks instead of just one. This way, if I got the job, I would be able to travel more and get a wider variety of stories. Of course, that is up to the director, Jennifer Blomquist, whether that happens or not. Still, I think I might like to move to Indiana. I'm a big racing fan and if I ended up working here then I could check out the action at the Indianapolis 500. 

3) Lastly, I would consider working to fill the morning/ noon anchor job at WCBD-TV in Mount Pleasure, South Carolina. Brendan Clark, the casting director there wants someone who can help with today show cut-ins, turn in daily stories, write for the Web, help with backup anchoring duties for other newscasts, attend and contribute in daily editorial meetings, display strong writing and smooth live shot skills, and have the ability to connect with the audience. I am always interested in a challenge and that is exactly what this job does. If I were to get this job, it would more or less be to prove to myself that I can hack it. The reason I picked this job is because of its location. I have always wanted to live in South Carolina because of how beautiful everyone says it is. I would not mind working there for a few years in the least.

* I would be satisfied with any one of these jobs and when I build my resume tape and get the education that I need, I plan to one day venture out and weigh anchor (or reporter) at one of these stations.

It was my last newscast for this class today. I feel relieved yet at the same time, a little disappointed. My assignment was to do the weather and I do believe it was my best newscast yet. Of course, I accredit that to the practice I got from the other newscasts, not the fact that it was the weather. With experience comes perfection and though I am far far from that point I do feel like I have gotten better. Everything feels more natural now. It was stressful during run throughs today when the tele-prompter people typed in the wrong script like six times and misspelled just about every other word. One or two times I could understand but after that I just got really irritated. I mean, everybody was ready to go and...you know what, I'm just gonna stop right there and let it go. That's all part of the business. I tell you, my dad used to say, "if something can go wrong then it will", and I'm seeing more and more that he was right. I'm also seeing that it's how you deal with it that matters the most. Anyway, the news today was the best that it has been in the whole time that we've been in Advanced TV Talent. I think that anyone who was there can attest to that. I'm very proud of everyone in class, they all do there best. They weren't the only think that impressed me today though. When I saw how my package turned out I was at a loss for words. My stand-up especially was incredible to me. It went exactly how I wanted it to. It was a good feeling.

Day two, week two has flashed by. So today was mostly another chance to create packages. Mine, as I discussed in my last blog was a story about the upcoming "Wizard of Oz" play. Luckily for me, I got to take it a little bit easy today since I had finished my filming yesterday. Boy, that sure felt good when I woke up this mourning, that relaxed feeling of accomplishment. Unfortunately that didn't last though. When I got to the studio my camera guy wasn't there so I couldn't start editing and when he finally got there the tape deck was all sorts of screwed up and we couldn't edit. It took us nearly twenty minutes to get everything fixed to where we could start logging. So that head start I had on the day was now gone..kapoot. I suppose it was a lesson in itself though, I did learn how to cope when equipment wasn't working correctly. It's not fun. Anyway, we got the logging done and I proceeded to write the script. After that, Jill helped me tweak it and make it sound more professional. She also pointed out that at one point in my piece it sounded a little as if I were promoting the show, which I cannot do as a reporter. This helped me to get a better idea how to write and taught me how important it is to stay on track and report, not promote. I really think that I am getting the hang of this stuff. Seriously, everything I learn makes it all comes together and make more sense. Plus, with all of the hands on experience I'm getting I can feel my skills growing.

This is my newscast analysis. 

* One of the first things that I noticed about the news is that the highlights and top stories were touched on in the very beginning. Also, the KSDK logo was everywhere so to leave that impression in the viewers mind.

*  The anchors for tonight were Mike Bush, who wore a gray suit and a tie, and Deanne Lane, who wore a black suit and a red shirt beneath that.

* Reporters seen in the first ten minutes included Jeff Small who did not even have a stand-up. All he did was stay in the studio and report his story and the station showed the footage from it. The other reporter was Ann Ruben and she had a weak stand-up of pointing at a paper in her hand while the reporter zoomed in on it.

* The stories that really stuck out in my mind were the one about the coach pushing a young football player, the one about the decision about the new Obama family dog, and the one about the cub scout who is receiving a national heroism award. The first story here basically consisted of a case between a middle school football coach and the family of an opposing player that he pushed after the game. The second story here was about the decision that Barrack Obama's family is making about what kind of dog they will get. They have it narrowed down to either a labradoodle or a portugese water dog. The last story is about a cub scout named Zack Scott that is going to receive a national heroism award for saving his cousin from drowning in the family pool.

* The newscast in general was very timely, informative, and professionally done. As for the anchors, they definately gave a vibe that they have been doing this for a while. They were very good at their jobs.

* The news team was very credible. They did a good job about giving the information in a reasonable amount of time. Also, I was impressed by the detail that each reporter went into. 

* I would definately tine into News Channel 5 again. They do a good job.

So today in class we discussed Julian Graces interview and presentation again. We went over our favorite parts and how we felt about them. Then we went ahead and had our chapter discussions. Today was my turn to present and I was responsible for chapters five and six. I believe that the discussion went well. At least I felt confident about it. After me and Sara had both gone and everyone had given there input to the conversation we moved onto the the next thing on the agenda. That, of course, was doing the news. We headed on down to the new studio and got ready the same way we normally would. I, however, didn't do much since it wasn't my turn to do anything. So I brainstormed ideas that I might be able to use to the upcoming package that I would have to shoot. When I decided what to do I grabbed a camera guy and went to work. We first wen to get B-roll of the "Wizard of Oz" rehearsal which was going on upstairs. Oh, that was the pitch, by the way, doing an exclusive on the schools theatre production, "Wizard of Oz". So we went upstairs and the actors were having a brief meeting so I decided to come back after first doing my stand up. We took care of that, after several minor yet still extremely annoying difficulties with the camera equipment. After that, we headed upstairs again to catch B-roll of singing practice for the play. Apperently they hadn't gotten to the point of blocking yet so we figured this would have to be good enough. Then, after about an hour of waiting the practice was finally over and I could nab my interviews. I first interviewed two student actors and then Professor Pamela Grooms, the music coordinator there. I'm glad that I had the chance to get those things out of the way. Now, I won't need to stress out so much tomorrow when I edit and log everything.

So on Friday was a big day for us. We had a guess speaker, Julian Grace. He is a successful reporter currently employed by KMOV. I have just got to say that it was a huge treat to have him come in and give us advice. He spoke about reporting as a whole as well as his journey along the way to his accomplishments. He told us that it took way more than just a few times to apply to get his first job. He sent out hundreds of audition tapes before he finally caught a break. The reason he told us this is so we would be aware of how difficult it sometimes is. "Never give up", he stressed, our big was coming. He also congratulated us for choosing a school with such an incredible studio to work with and said it was a huge advantage over other schools. 

The other big thing that Julian talked about was that people our age have an advantage in that we are familiar with technology. Apparently older, more experienced anchors and reporters are being let go because they are unwilling to embrace modern machinery such as the internet for example. "Times are changing", he commented, "and we've got to be able to change with them or we will be left behind". I learned from him that the news stations have had to consolidate its spending moneys. No longer can a studio send a reporter all over the world without thinking twice about it. He went on explaining that this is not the only thing lack of finance has changed. Because of cut backs on hiring, a film crew no longer consists of a large group of tech assistants and camera experts but instead just one camera man and the reporter themselves. This makes there jobs that much harder.

The last thing that Mr. Grace talked about was how demanding this job is. It takes up your whole life, was the basic jist of what he was saying here. His advice was to be aware that it is very stressful and difficult to master but if you stick with it it will give you the opportunity to learn so many things and see the world. If that's what you want in life then this is definatley the job for you. His words were honest, and coming from a famous local "success story", they sure did paint me a picture. 

After his presentation and interview with Sara, we moved into the studio to shoot the evening news. Todays episode included all of the packages that we had completed in our groups the previous day. It was exciting to see that come to life. It sure gave me a better idea of how everything comes together when producing the big picture.

So day four has come and gone. Today was a big deal, it was the day that we got to film our first individual packages for the news in the upcoming week. First off, we broke into our camera teams that were assigned to us yesterday. Then we had two hours to find and conduct our interviews as well as take shots for B-roll. As if this wasn't enough to keep us busy we also had to log all of our interviews and write a script. The logging was a piece of cake. Having done it once this week already, it served no real threat. After we picked out the best quotes and finished all of that I worked on the really hard part, writing my script. I found that it's actually not that difficult, it was just a new experience. Mrs. Falk gave us an outline for which we could follow and model our package off of. That was a big help. It took me about twenty minutes to finally get done writing my script and putting the different quotes, time codes, and stand up into the final package format. once I was done it was smooth sailing. I went into the next room to conduct my first voice over. that was really cool, and so easy too. I mean seriously, all you do is talk into a mic that records what you say. That took about a grand total of five minutes. And after that there was really nothing left to do for the package. I met back up with Adam (my camera guy) and gave him a copy of the package format. He would be using this to edit everything together. So yeah, today was alot of running around but the things that I learned made it all worth it.

It's day three of Professor Jill Falk's Advanced TV Talent and I am loving it. The first thing we did today, after turning in our homework of course, was learning how to use and install hyperlink. Then we moved on into the studio to begin work on the news. It took quite a while to get all the gear together and coordinated with Ed Voss's class. They had been learning about how to work with the studio's cameras and equipment. So naturally we teamed up with them. It actually took alot longer than I thought. They had to calibrate everything and frame the picture just right. This gave us time to practice what we were going to say on air. Once everything was set we did a couple run throughs in front of the camera. Both Ed and Jill helped us with the little quorks that needed improvement. That was a big help for me. I learned about bantaring and making transitions with your eyes when looking from prompter to prompter. Who knew that glancing down, at a paper maybe, momentarily looks alot more natural than simply switching your view from one camera to the next. It was very stressful to get all the different stories together in one huge broadcast. Wow, seeing our package that was filmed yesterday all edited and on screen was extremely cool. At this point the thing that I think I need the most improvement on is my comfortability with reading the prompter. I found that sometimes I mis-interpret what is written on the prompter. Well, today I mispoke and my mind corrected me out of habit, instead of just moving on with the script. I will train myself not to make the same mistake again. With practice I am sure that I can improve in many aspects of reporting.

Day 2-the real fun begins

So today was the second day of Advanced TV Talent. We started out with the studying of interviews from past years. These interviews gave us a hands on look at what we will be doing in our upcoming project for which we will conduct an interview with a well known reporter. In our case, Julian Grace from KMOV. We have been given the opportunity to compete against each other for the chance to interview this person. I think this is a clever way to get people more involved. It certainly spices things up a bit. As the day went on we moved over to the news studio and worked on our story about this class. I was interviewed as a student as were two other people. The other two were the Anchors and actually reported about the studio and lab. After that we were all given the chance to do a stand up, which was a very good experience. It really helped put us in the mind of a real reporter, not to mention taught us a lesson about memorization. Further on into the class period we were given the chance to take time codes on the interviews of late. We pulled the best quotes of each interview and wrote them down in groups. Then, to close out the final hour, we returned to our home room and logged all of the information of the day. It truly was a beneficial and informational learning experience.

Advanced TV Talent

I would like to tell you about Advanced TV Talent at Lindenwood University. It is unfortunate, however, that I have only been in this class for an hour or so. Therefore, I do not really know what to say other than what I have heard and what I expect. I heard through the grapevine when I was searching around for interesting J-term courses that there was a class, this class, that focused on gaining useful experience in the field of newsreporting and television. Upon hearing this I thought to myself, "this is right up your alley". I am soon to be a Mass Comm. major and coincidentally this class went along with the curriculum. I am also very excited to be a part of this class because of the fact that it is so hands on. I know that everything we will do in here is going to be a direct link to the Lindenwood University Television Station. I have already worked with the station several times and will be anchoring for them this next semester. This is an incredible opportunity for me and taking this class is also a large opportunity in its own. With it, I will have gained experience that will not only strengthen my skills for the coming semester but it will help me to become that much better of a reporter in my future yet to come. So far, I am ready to learn and take as much as I can from Mrs. Falk and apply it in my ventures to come. The name is "Advanced TV Talent" and that is exactly what I want to gain from it. I will use this course to advance myself as a reporter/ anchor and fuel me on my way to success.