First Friday at the Banana Factory

Alex and I went to the Banana Factory this past week to learn more the facility and First Friday. My coach suggested we film our news clip there and what a great choice it was! We caught a lot of live footage in the glass blowing studio, which I found particularly cool. We also conducted interviews with a resident artist and an asst. director of marketing.
Filming a news style clip, as we did here, required a lot more time and preparation than other types of journalism I've done in the past.  After we picked a topic, I made an appointment with the Banana Factory for an interview. The filming and interviewing process took about an hour, but the editing, sound and video overlaying took a lot of time and attention to detail to ensure the footage compiled fluently. 
I think we did a great job for our first new clip in gathering information and recording the right things while we were on site, as well as capturing images in good sound and lighting areas. i was apprehensive at first, but the next time we set out "into the field', I think I want to try being behind camera!

Check out our news clip:

Banana Factory News Story

This was by far my favorite assignment thus far.  We were able to really get out into the community and report about local new of interest.  Liz and I decided to look deeper into the mystery that is the Banana Factory.  We met with an abundance of local artists and marketing directors to give us the inside scoop about the incredible art center.  We combined all the skills we have learned in our J198 class to make this news story complete.  Unlike the other interviews we have collected in class, the news story incorporated many techniques that would not have been used otherwise.  For example, the use of "hard cuts" indicate that our video is a news story.  In my other interviews I used transitions to soften the tone.  Also for the first time, we incorporated voice overs and a "lead-like" introduction, just as I would have done in writing.  In ALL my videos I used b-roll footage, but I think it is particularly important for the afore mentioned video.  On thing I have learned is that in a news story particularly, it is important to show the actions of what you're reporting about.  This maintains the viewers attention if you are constantly keeping it visually interesting. 

One thing I need to work on myself, is being more comfortable in front of the camera!!!  Granted this was my first time reporting a news story, I still need to loosen up a bit.  But with this being said, I think we did a great job overall.  Check it out!

Interview with Mat Federer

Today in J198, we learned about lighting and filming techniques. To practice what we learned, Alex and I walked around Lehigh's campus to find two students to interview about their thoughts on the upcoming Greek Week festivities. Here's what Mat Federer had to say in his interview with Alex.  Enjoy!

Jackie Carey on Lehigh Greek Week 2010

Today in class, we learned particularly about lighting.  The afore mentioned video displays what I believe is "good" lighting.  I tried to avoid shadows and dark areas.  I also tried to avoid movement in the background, although I was slightly unsuccessful in that respect.  I hope to combine all these newly learned techniques into one uploaded video soon.