This semester was very beneficial to my broadcast career. The first three weeks of the semester I switched around between teleprompter, camera and pro presenter. I haven't used these skills in about 2 years, so it was very helpful to have had this refresher. I learned the correct pacing of the teleprompter and how to turn on the studio camera, white balance, focus and open the iris. I was taught how to load graphics in to ProPresenter, a program I had never used before, and how to set them live.
At about a third of the way through the semester, I was given the opportunity to be the main anchor for FSC today. I have anchored before, but this experience was completely different, considering that we only had about five people each week to work on the show. We relied on each other for the script, video and production.
Anchoring at FSC today taught me the importance of a good script and pronunciation. After Rachel compiled the script each week, it was my job to re-read her work and make sure she didn’t miss anything and to make sure it was all in broadcast style. Sometimes words and phrases would sound funky, but Rachel and I worked together to make a great script, and I am very thankful to have had her this semester. I filmed four packages overall, two on my own for practicum and two for Intro to Broadcast that we aired live on the show. In the beginning of February, I filmed a package about Valentines day and gift ideas under $10. The concept was easy and took about 3 hours in total to edit and film. I also did a package about the Lakeland Values survey, where I filmed myself taking the survey and reporting on how this benefited the school and community. A Day Disconnected and my feature on the Dockery Lab both aired on the show as well.
Each week I wrote 2-3 readers, most accompanied with pictures. I filmed B-Roll for my reader about downtown Lakeland. I attended all but three practicum production meetings, and actively volunteered for readers.
After the filming of FSC today was finished, I helped run camera for the Moc Athletic update for David and a few times helped Dion film his entertainment rewind each week.
This experience has only reaffirmed my passion for live TV. I love the atmosphere of news channel stations, and I love working in the studio. After anchoring, I would definitely do it again, but I prefer to be behind the scenes- as director or script writer. I have a passion for writing for broadcast, and with more training, I think I could make that my career. My personality is large, so I love getting people excited about broadcast and the show. I posted the show on my facebook each week and told everyone I could to check it out online.
While this semester was hard with the lack of people we had working the news show, I believe that in the coming semesters, we will all do our best to get people involved with the recording of the show, and switching up the content to get people interested.
Thank you Dr. Bradford for all your handwork this semester, and for giving me this opportunity to explore my career in broadcast.
