Lately I’ve been trying hard to get more videos posted but for some reason they’ve all had errors and they all get audio fine, but they end up black when I post them on youtube. I plan on trying to upload the videos from one of the school computers to see if the problem is on my computer or whether it is a bigger problem with youtube or with my account.
Hopefully I will solve the problem soon and I will be able to post some more videos for you.
Hurray!
I’ve finally posted another video here. As I said I’ve been in L.A. for a while and it was an amazing inside view at life in the entertainment industry.
Anyways I still promised a number of videos and haven’t posted them all yet but here is one of the videos I worked on at the end of last semester. This video is a promotion for Learning Communities at Elon. I worked with two other students from my learning community. I was present for all of the interviews (including doing a few of them by myself), but found myself very busy with Haunted Oaks so I had little say in the editing of the project. One unfortunate thing about the video was the lack of footage to use as B-roll. Overall I still liked the project, but I think it would have been enhanced if we could have used more video to go along with the great pictures and nice interviews.
Anyways the video can be found on my video projects page.
Sorry I haven’t posted the videos yet. I’m currently in L.A. taking a class for school. I don’t actually have my hard drive with me so I can’t post the videos up yet until I get back to Elon.
Anyways as I said I am in Los Angeles getting an inside glimpse at “the industry” learning what it means to be a part of the entertainment industry here in L.A. This is my first trip to Los Angeles (or even to the west coast) and already through 2.5 days it has been highly educational. As a class we have visited and seen a number of television shows as we watched the taping process then met with executives to talk about their roles in production, and in the business of television. We have also visited a small talent agency, a newspaper, magazine, digital editing studio that works with visual effects on movies, and many Elon alumni who are currently working in Los Angeles.
We will be here in Los Angeles until January 21st. I have already learned a lot about the entertainment business and life in Los Angeles from just over 2 days so I really look forward to 7 more days here.
Hello to all loyal followers!
Sorry it took so long to get this post up I’ve been extremely busy lately working on projects. Just so you all know next week I will be posting a number of videos up for your viewing pleasure.
I have two packages from Elon’s Sports Magazine Shot: Elon Phoenix Weekly on their way. One of the pieces was a highlight of the Elon vs. Appalachian State Football game. The other was a piece made for ESPNU “Campus Connection” about Terrell Hudgins after he broke Jerry Rice’s FCS record for receiving yards. My role in the video was as an assistant editor. I began the video and gave it a theme, all of the footage, and the special effects. Then a fellow student came in and trimmed it down from 6 minutes to about 1 minute and a half so it could be usable by ESPNU.
I have been working a lot lately on a new television show that I am directing as well as helping as an associate producer. I have played a number of roles in this television show including running camera, dolly, writing, and more. I was also the Chief Editor in the project as I did all of the technical aspects with some assistance in terms of the content. I will elaborate about the show when I post it, but here is a brief summary to get you excited:
It is called Haunted Oaks and is a combination of Unsolved Mysteries, and Ghost Hunters. Basically the beginning of the show tells the story of a ghost or a haunting, in this episode it is the “Ghost of Mary” who apparently haunts the 3rd floor of West Dormitory at Elon University. We recreated the legend of how her ghost came into being. Then we talked to a folklorist to evaluate and elaborate on the story. We also talked to some students about their encounters with Mary’s ghost. The second segment of the show focused on an investigation we did of the building with help from the Winston Salem Paranormal Society. These professional paranormal investigators came into the dorm to try to find evidence of the existence, or the lack of thereof of a ghost or spirit. The project had been a very exciting but also daunting one. I finished it up recently but will be making a few adjustments before posting it up here.
I have a few more finals to finish up then I will be headed home for Christmas Break. Over break I will be posting the videos. Stay Tuned!
I made another package for Elon Phoenix Weekly this week and it on my videos page. For this package I traveled with the woman’s soccer team to UNC Greensboro for a Southern Confrence showdown. The game was to decide who would be the Southern Conference champion. In the end the Phoenix lost 1-0 to the Spartans in a well played game. The video is intended to document the game and is titled “On the Road With Woman’s Soccer.”
Stay tuned because in the next few weeks I should have 2 more videos on the way. One will be a promotional video for learning communities at Elon, the other will be a recreation of Elon’s ghost story. They should be here in December so keep checking back
Check out my two new videos on my “Video Projects” page. Both were made for a television production class I am in.
The first is a Stop Motion project that I made as an anti-obesity public service announcement. This involved the long process of stop motion along with using LiveType to create a moveable type at the end. I also had help to create the logo in the bottom left corner of the last image
The second is a news package I made for class about the new meal plan system at Elon University. It focuses on the differences between this years system and last years system.
Both projects will be used in a 5 minute newscast that I our class creating. I have been assigned as co-producer and director of the project.
So begins my sophomore year at Elon University…
After a nice break over the summer, I have just completed my first day of classes as a sophomore. I am taking three communications classes this semester to try to really get into my major requirements and develop skills which will help me succeed for the rest of my time at Elon and into my life post graduation. This semester I am taking: Broadcasting Public Interest, Media Writing, and Television Production. I am also taking Ethics in Leadership and Decision Making as a requirement for my minor in leadership. I am aware that many students at Elon (or any school for that matter) use their first two years to complete general studies and they use the final two years to complete major requirements. I am doing things a little differently and some may argue with my methods but I have solid reasons for doing so. I am already involved in two television shows on campus as well as with other media programs and organizations. These are things which I plan to continue with until graduation. I realized that the sooner I can take these communications classes and learn the necessary skills to produce great work, the sooner I will be able to create better projects and really improve my work. Being able to acquire skills as a sophomore that most students don’t learn until their junior and senior years puts me at a great advantage to create better packages early in my college experience and to only continue to get better as I reach my junior and senior year.
So while some may argue that it is better to complete general studies first, I am taking a different path and I am spending the semester really focusing on my communications major.
It’s been quite some time now since I’ve posted anything on my blog. I figured it was time for an update on how I’m spending the summer.
This is my last summer before I search for an internship and really try to find my niche in the world. It is also my last summer in which I am eligible to play American Legion Baseball. Starting in the first week of June I began playing baseball. We had 36 games over 6 weeks leading up to the State Tournament. After a rain filled season (meaning a number of rain outs and rescheduling of games) we finished in second place in our “zone” behind a team from Bristol (yes the same Bristol where ESPN is located). Because we were in second place we had to win one game to get into the state tournament. We won that game 6-2. This victory brought us into a double elimination tournament for the title of Connecticut State Champion. Unfortunately after some very poor officiating and a couple of bad bounces we lost our first two games an were knocked out of the tournament. In my opinion they were both teams that if we had played them 10 times we would have won 6-7 of the 10 but unfortunately these were some of the games that we didn’t win but as the saying goes, “that’s baseball.” The state tournament goes until Saturday August 1st before the official State Champion is declared.
Now that my season is over I am helping with some of the younger teams in town by pitching batting practice and giving coaching tips. I will hopefully find some minor employment opportunities to get some money for the school year. I also plan to work for a church week long camp that my parents help coordinate every year. I’m definitely excited and ready to get back to Elon and back to work for EPW, one-on-one sports, etc.
It’s been hard to continue the work in the field of communications this summer because of a lack of proper technology and equipment. One thing that I have tried hard to do is to watch some of the sports shows that I want to emulate through my work such as sportscenter, PTI, around the horn, and outside the lines to continue to study the techniques and theories behind these shows since I cannot practice the actual execution. I have already been given a few ideas to improve the shows that work with at Elon both in terms of content and in terms of visual appeal.
I will try hard to blog weekly, or biweekly to continue to update you on my summer activites and my continuous growth in my academic work.
I have to say that Monday May 4th gave hockey fans everywhere one of the best showings of all time. A meeting between the Pittsuburg Penguins and the Washington Capitals placed the NHL’s two best players against each other. For those of you who don’t follow hockey too much these players are Sydney Crosby (Penguins #87) and Alexander Ovechkin (Capitals #8)
It was not just the fact that the nation’s two best players were playing against each other on the hockey rink, no it was their magical preformance that made the game so entertaining. Both men played like the MVPs that they are as both scored hat tricks in the same game. Ovechkin however won the exchange because another player on his team was able to score while the rest of Crosby’s team couldn’t produce anything. The 4-3 Capitals win came after a couple hours of breathtaking preformances by the nations two best players. To put this into perspective for those of you who don’t watch much hockey (as I’m sure is the case with a number of Americans): Both Crosby and Ovechkin getting hat tricks in the same game would be equivalent to Kobe and Lebron meeting in the NBA finals and both scoring 50…in the same game! Hat tricks alone are quite a show but to have two in the same game is just incredible and its great for the sport of hockey.
Both Ovechkin and Crosby were first round draft picks (Ovechkin in 2004, Crosby in 2005) but because of the 2004-2005 NHL lockout, both players began their careers with their rookie campaigns in the 2005-2006 season. Ever since they have been competitive rivals. Ovechkin won rookie of the year honors in the 05-06 season but then Crosby lead the league in scoring the year after. Of course that was just the beggining as Ovechkin lead the league in scoring one year later in the 2007-2008 season. As you can tell their rivalry began immediately and it promises to be continue for many years to come.
The current series between the Capitals and Penguins promises to be one of skill, and high competition as Crosby and Ovechkin will continue to put pucks in the back of the net and try to lead their teams to victory. There is great hope that the rivalry between such great players can bring some life back to the sport of hockey which has been lacking in fan appeal in America for a while now. It may not be glorious to watch 12-13 year old boys playing pee-wee hockey, but when you sit down and watch what Ovechkin and Crosby can do, I promise you it will be a thing of beauty.
The rivalry between these two superstars is one of guts and glory and it is sure to continue throughout their careers. Only time will tell who will end up having a better career, but instead of making predictions, why not just sit back and enjoy just how beautiful these guys make the game of hockey look.
Here is a my own version of an ESPN the magazine cover:
