Another semester come and gone. *Cue the sentimental, nostalgic music.* It’s times like these that I wish I had Daniel Stern to highlight the significance of my life events. Or Julie Andrews. I wouldn’t mind Julie Andrews narrating my life.
But since I don’t have that luxury, I’m going to make a list. Because that’s what I do best.
10 Things I Learned from J2150: Fundamentals of Multimedia Journalism
1. I first have to acknowledge how much I learned about using the cool equipment we had access to. Shooting with the Nikon D7000, the Canon video camera and the audio recorder made the hand’s on course all the more interesting.
2. That being said, always carry a spare SD card and set of batteries. Always.
3. As someone going into magazine editing, I didn’t think that I would have to focus as much on the multimedia aspect of reporting. But after using these skills, I’ve found that having the knowledge and ability to use these techniques can make for an even more immersed reporting experience.
4. There are great stories everywhere. There are great ways of telling stories everywhere.
5. As much as I love reporting and getting to know the subject’s story, I am just not a production person.
6. There are some really cool kids on campus.
7. As hard as it is to write/shoot/edit/produce something, it’s even harder to take a step back to really critique your own work and figure out how to make it better. But no piece is ever really finished, and there’s always room for improvement.
8. Half of getting good material is making time to invest in the project, being there and being present.
9. If anything, this course has validated exactly why I want to go into Journalism. To meet amazing people. To hear inspiring stories. To be a storyteller. And maybe get the chance to talk to a famous person or two.
10. My blog posts generally don’t turn out how I intend for them to, but that’s cool because there’s always another week to try again.
In Focus 