Though I never imagined that I would be telling stories with my voice and face in them, I've gradually become more comfortable in front of and behind the camera. Additionally, I've discovered an ability to make an impact and grab a viewer's attention through video editing.
BROADCAST JOURNALISM
BROADCAST JOURNALISM
ON-SCREEN WORK
POST-GAME INTERVIEWS
I sought to add another element of depth to our social-media sports coverage. After some brainstorming, I settled on videotaped postgame interviews with the coach.
Over the course of three interviews, I rapidly improved in delivery and question content, while also cutting down on my use of filler words. I was happy to see my interviews dramatically increase in total viewership, going from 79 views on the first interview to 378 total views on the third one. Going forward, I hope that I and other staffers on TJ Media can continue this type of coverage in the spring season. *Note: The second and third interviews are each split into two videos because of Twitter's time limits on video uploads.
MORNING ANNOUNCEMENTS
My first on-screen appearance as a TJ Media member came in the May 2019 morning announcements. It was a proud moment for me, but looking back, I certainly could've done a better job. My head's constantly twitching while my body is rocking in all directions. In comparison to my postgame interviews, it serves as an assuring reminder of just how much I've improved on-screen in my years as a student journalist.
PODCASTS
As Podcast Director of Lenses News -- an online news website run by teens for teens -- I produced six podcast episodes on various issues. Of those, I hosted two episodes for the Next Gen Leaders podcast series, and edited an additional episode for the Teen Talk series.
NEXT GEN LEADERS
As part of the Next Gext Leaders podcast, I and my co-host interviewed teens making active changes in their local community. Our first episode featured climate activist Vivian Li while our second featured Meghana Kotraiah and Kavya Mishra, who founded an activists club at their school. While being on audio was slightly uncomfortable, I quickly loosened up. My favorite part of journalism has always been interviewing, so it didn't take much of an adjustment to thrive on the podcast. The only difference between the Next Gen Leaders podcast and a standard tjTODAY interview was that my words were going to be recorded and posted.
TEEN TALK
As Podcast Director, I also helped brainstorm and edit an episode of Teen Talk, hosted by Valerie Zhao and Akshara Santoshkumar. At first, I struggled to determine where to make audio cuts to help the episode flow better. However, once I imported the video recording into my editor, the cuts seemed to come naturally. Seeing their expressions and their movements helped me discern where exactly to splice out filler words and connect certain segments.
NEW HISTORY ELECTIVE
As part of a TJTV feature on Jefferson's new African-American history elective, I interviewed a freshman who had advocated for students to sign up for the class. Under the guidance of a TJTV section editor, I also set up the video camera and determined how to position the student in the shot. Because I knew that my own words would not be included in the feature, I was largely more comfortable during this interview. As I normally do, I asked a healthy amount of followup questions:
MODEL UNITED NATIONS VIDEOS
As Director of Media for TECHMUN XXVIII last year and then club historian this year, I've produced several videos to promote the club and the conference that we host. Back in early February, I started out clueless on how to make a trailer. Since then, though, I've certainly come into my own as a video editor.
CLUB PROMO (2021-2022)
As soon as I was asked to make a 30-second club promo for the beginning of this school year, I knew exactly what to do. I included a video-taped chant from a conference freshman year, and synced it up so that clips of MUN activities transitioned between one another on the "hoo!" I later added an upbeat track to accompany the chant.
TECHMUN XXVIII CLOSING CEREMONY INTRO
Making an intro video to the TECHMUN XXVIII closing ceremony was not as simplistic. Because it was an online conference, I had to rely entirely on screenshots and screenrecordings to craft the video. In the end, I found an futuristic-sounding track to sync up with a running stream of screenshots. I also included a gif of the logo forming, which a fellow club member had made.
TECHMUN XXVIII TRAILER
One of the biggest challenges for this video was finding the B-roll necessary to promote the conference. While there was a ton of video of previous TECHMUN's, I needed to incorporate footage that highlighted the virtual nature of this year's conference. Ultimately, I filmed mock-deliberations on Zoom and included shots of empty classrooms and hand sanitizer to go along with the voiceover.