#fieldworkterm

Your anchor girl!

This week I prepared an entire show: Almost Live! for Telluride TV. On Tuesday, we filmed and I co-hosted the show with Colin Sullivan. This was another aspect of journalism that was new to me: reporting with a camera in my face. I have worked with radio and print and in both these instances, mistakes are easier to make. Even though there is an editing process, another element is added to this type of formatting, namely, physical composure and presence. I can imagine it is almost like acting- engaging the audience with facial expressions and body language. 

 For the rest of the week I did my best to finish organizing and cataloguing archived shows in a way that allows them to be accessible and understandable when someone is preparing to block out and schedule shows for the day ahead. This process for me meant ripping old discs to a desktop using a program called Handbrake, transferring the ripped file to another program to convert frame rate and size to a format that is legible for our server: cablecast, uploading the files to the server, and creating a spreadsheet with categories, times and descriptions of each show.

This week I was given more responsibility as I was asked to begin planning and preparing Telluride TV’s next “Almost Live” episode which is recorded every Tuesday. This meant preparing and writing a script, seeking out and connecting with potential guests to be interviewed on the show, and editing clips from events around town to include throughout the show.

 Additionally, I took on the challenge of designing, filming and editing this week’s “Mountain Report.” The mountain report is a way of sharing the snow conditions, open trails, and weather for locals and tourists who are planning their week of skiing. I spent all day Saturday filming fun shots on the mountain of skiers and boarders and interviewed my friend Michael, who is a Telluride Ski instructor and was able to give me a good overview of the status of the mountain.

 I’m really excited to be producing an entire show that I will be able to show people as entirely my work. On top of it all, I will be co-hosting the show with one of our usual hosts, Collin Sullivan. Hoping it all runs smoothly.

 As I finish up my last few weeks at Telluride TV, Im really happy to not only have learned new skills, but most of all, to have made new contacts which will help me propel into the professional world when I graduate in the spring.

 Thanks for reading, as always, take a look at this week’s photos to see shots from in the studio, on the mountain, and at a local hot spring in the next town over, Rico.

Check out my Mountain Report: 

Editing!

This week was a challenge for me! Learning how to use the video editing software, Pro Tools was both fun and frustrating. I have never considered learning how to edit work in this way (being someone who usually works in print) however, the editing process is still very similar: narrow down important id bits, make it concise, present a clear message. 

My first editing task was to work on the footage that we had captured from The Motet, the concert we attended the previous week. I loved working in layers as I pieced together different shots from the four cameras that we had running throughout the event. Here is the final piece of work that I created: watch. The song is called “Supernova” by The Motet.

 This week I also took my new editing skills and applied them to a different genre: an interview with a local high school celebrity. The interview consisted of a discussion with the student about her recent nationally recognized running award and the work she does restoring local vegetation on the valley floor in Telluride. This time I only had two cameras to work with and the challenge of toggling appropriately between two speakers as they took turns asking and answering questions.

 On Friday I took the day off to drive the 6 hours to Santa Fe, NM. The drive was absolutely stunning and it was nice to be in a warmer climate and admire the chunky turquoise necklaces and bracelets that SF is famous for! Good food, good views, and lots of sun are sending me good vibes for the week ahead!

Wrapping up my time at T Group this week, I got the opportunity to stand in front of the whole development team during the Thursday meeting and pitch my show idea I have been developing. I have been working on a deck for a few weeks for a show idea of mine and this week I got feedback on it, made corrections and presented it in the meeting. I felt confident doing the pitching and the overall reaction from the development team was good. They were excited about my idea and gave me some guiding questions for further development. I’ve greatly enjoyed working with the team, they are fantastic people who do their job with passion and my experience of working with them motivated me to become a hard worker. I feel that my pitch showed that and I am excited to keep on developing it and keep in contact with T Group.

A year ago, I travelled to Israel for my 2015 Field Work Term.  I wrote every day I was there in a small green notebook.  It was a complex time, full of bright moments and uncertain ones, as I navigated my way through an unfamiliar country, a brand new work environment, and disparate parts of myself.  Upon my return to school, I did turn in an essay, but of infinitely more value was the detailed account I’d kept for my own purposes.  I anticipate it will be a helpful source of reflection into the near and not-so-near future.

      While this blog will not be totally like that journal, it too is an opportunity to record day-to-day events and trains of thought, this time while I intern for the Sierra Club in San Francisco.  And a blog, unlike a private journal, is an interaction.  It allows me to place a piece of my experience in the hands of the outside world, and to be met with - hopefully, hopefully - the involvement of others.