Convergence: Improving radio reporting

After an intense few weeks of photography, my convergence course has moved onto audio reporting and learned how to use Zoom recorders to capture interviews and natural sound. Our first assignment was to compile soundbites, but next we were challenged to put together an NPR-style story with natural soundbites and two interviews.

I've been reporting on the musical Annie held in Columbia, Mo. as a co-production between Performing Arts in Children's Education (PACE) and Columbia Entertainment Company (CEC). For my story, I interviewed Liz, the 12-year-old actress who plays Annie, and Angela, the show's director. Both interviews went well and I had a good experience putting the piece together by teaching myself to storyboard it out, decide which story I wanted to tell and cut and edit the audio sound after.

In the future, the biggest improvement I want to make is writing my questions in a manner that elicits the sources to tell stories. This will make the story more interesting, connect the dots and let me as the narrator write good transitions that build up to a good overall piece. I'll continue to put effort into storyboarding out what I want to tell, and writing good narration. Last class, the most powerful advice we received was that the end of an audio story is just as important as the lede of a print story. I will incorporate these best practices and look forward to combining audio and visual skills this next week with video reporting and learning FinalCutPro!

Seeing the world through a different lens

After completing just a few photography assignments, I'm already starting to look at moments from a different perspective after attempting to capture them on camera. Manually taking photos has really made me gain an appreciation for still moments in time. I have been challenged to find decisive moments, facial reactions and interactions--and realizing how difficult they were to capture reminded me how special they truly are. I can enjoy the physical appearance of a friend's laughter, a memorable exchange between a group of people or the details of a scene...and sometimes even wish I had a camera with me.

Because of that, photo work has taught me the importance of context in everything humans do. We are constantly curious, and expect to see see the full scope of what is happening around us. We are not satisfied with just one facet of an atmosphere and demand additional information because it is so easily accessible. Therefore, photography has affected my worldview because it reminds me to take note of context, place scenarios with accurate background information and appreciate the moments going on right in front of your face--rather than trying too hard to find moments that won't arise.