Blog Post #4

I wish I had known how long the 1st video was going to take to film when I began this project because I would not have included 3 video ideas in my project proposal. I decided to cut the 3rd video on opera for children because I did not think I would have time to complete it. Also, I am required to do a video in my JMC 270 course and this video has to be a How-To video, which I did not think about earlier this semester. I think I can do the video about music in the City of Murray, but I will have to be smart and plan accordingly. A couple of weeks ago, I was supposed to interview Mr. Fannin and Nick Calcamaggio, but I had a minor set back. Jeremy told someone to leave the door to the 8th floor office open, but he/she didn’t, so I did not have access to the camera and the lights at the time of the interviews. I rescheduled those interviews for the following Wednesday and both interviews went well. 

All of the people I have interviewed throughout this project have been very articulate and great representations of the music department. For the past couple of weeks, I began shooting b-roll or footage for the PR Video for the Music Department. I have gotten footage of the Fine Arts Building and Lovett Auditorium outdoors. This footage was very beautiful because Murray State has a very nice campus and this would attract students to the music department as well. However, most of my b-roll was filmed indoors. Filming b-roll or footage involves more creativity than just shooting an interview. For b-roll, you have to decide which places look the most attractive and what angles or positions the camera should be in order to show the best visual images. The best b-roll I think I have gotten so far is the footage of the orchestra rehearsal because I moved the camera across the room and it did not look weird or unprofessional. However, the end of the clip was a little strange because I zoomed in and out really quickly, but that section of this footage will not be used for the final public relations video. I posted the video of the orchestra rehearsal above this blog post.

Blog Post #3

I decided to interview a vocal music major, a pianist, and an instrumentalist for the public relations video for the Music Department. Last week, I interviewed Olivia Erb, a junior vocal music major, and Dr. Bradley Almquist, Director of Choral Activities. I was supposed to interview another student, but they did not show up because they had forgotten about a prior commitment at the same time. Jeremy said that no shows happen to everyone sometimes and that it was okay. However, I should have reminded that person the day before and not two days before, so it was my fault. I can use this in the future to help me because I will not be alarmed when someone does not show up for an interview, but first and foremost, I will always remember to remind the person about an interview the day before it is scheduled. 

I rescheduled my interview with the other student for this Wednesday and I will interview another music student as well. Jeremy will not be there with me this week for the interviews, so I will be setting up the camera and lights by myself. I think that it is great that he trusts me to work with the camera and lights alone because it means he thinks that I will be careful with the equipment and that I know what I am doing. The video above is the first answer given during the interview I did with Olivia Erb. She explains why she chose to audition for the MSU Music Department. Jeremy made a video tutorial for me giving instructions to convert the file on my SD Card to one that would upload on You Tube and I did that successfully. I will use this tutorial when I post a link on my blog because it was very helpful.

Blog Post #2

For the past two weeks, I have learned about lighting and interviewed three people for the music department’s public relations video. Since I did not have any interviews scheduled during our meeting time on Wednesday September 21^st, Jeremy and I discussed and set up lights for a mock interview. I did not understand 3-point lighting in my JMC 270 class, but now I have a solid connection about the purpose for each light and how it is set up. The key light is the most important because it sheds the most light on the person. The fill light is positioned on the opposite side of the key light and it fills in the shadows that are being cast on the person. The back light is put behind the person to define the shape of their head against the background. This is especially important if the person has dark hair and the background is dark because their head will blend in with the background, which will not look good to the viewer. All three of these lights are equally important and will give the best quality lighting for any video.

The next day, I interviewed Dr. Pamela Wurgler, Chairman of the MSU Music Department and we used the 3-point lighting. During our scheduled meeting on Wednesday September 28^th, I interviewed Dennis Johnson, MSU Orchestra Conductor, and another music faculty member. Dr. Wurgler suggested sending the questions to her and the other interviewees before each interview. She said having the questions kept her from rambling and others just felt more comfortable when they had the questions a couple of days or more before the interview. I can use this in the future to help me because so far everyone I have interviewed has appreciated having the questions ahead of time. Also, the responses each person gave were their best well thought out answers and this should make the final product better. This week I am interviewing five more people and I have already sent them their questions. The video above is the first answer Dr. Wurgler gave during my interview with her.