The Future...

I clearly remember my dad telling me when I was in college and I was way beyond the point at which I was to declare a major that I should always play it safe and have something to "fall back on". I was considering majoring in broadcasting or in print journalism, but Dad felt like I would have a better chance at finding a job as a Public Relations major. So, that's what I did. I now have a degree in public relations, but ended up working in broadcasting. Go figure.

I've always had a talent with writing. My true dream, however, has always to become a writer. Not just a writer who churns out novels in solitude day in and day out, but a writer who travels, lectures, gives workshops and enjoys friendships and adventure.

I have not had that life. I don't know if it's too late to have that life, but I've decided that I'm going to do everything I can to make me live the closest I can to that dream. I've tinkered with that life.....been published, given talks on writing, attended workshops, and...with you...I TEACH writing. I've dipped my toe in the waters, but haven't yet gone swimming.

Yet, every job I've had throughout my life has prepared me for the next one. I have to believe that if I hadn't gotten that degree in PR, I wouldn't know so much about media relations. If I hadn't known so much about media relations, I wouldn't have been offered the job at the TV station. And, if I hadn't had that job at the TV station, I wouldn't be teaching you broadcasting. So, all that said, I don't regret any of paths that my life has taken me down. I love my job as your teacher and I love you... each and every one of you, my students. You give me joy and laughter and are the reason I come to work every day. I'm blessed that this job found me.

So, as we approach the end of the street of this school year, I want to give you a little advice. Not just the seniors, but all of you. Never, ever, ever give up on your dreams. Make sure that everything you do in your career advances you to your ultimate purpose. Find and recognize that which is your gift and immerse yourself in it, develop it and fine tune it so you are the best. BUT.....be okay with the side roads that life takes you down. Everything you do is preparation for what you will ultimately become. Don't get frustrated that your career is not exactly as you'd like it right now, but realize that you'll get there -- more prepared and well-rounded than ever.

So, for the last blog of the year tell me: What is your passion? What are you great at? What skill do you hope to hone and get better at? What do you like to do? Travel? Help people? Make things? Organize things? Counsel people? Lead people? Tinker with machines? Fix things? How will you use your gift in the future in your career? Have you even figured out what your talent is or what you want to do? What path will life take you down?

Practice, Practice, Practice...

It's an old joke: "Pedestrian in New York asks a famous violinist, 'How do you get to Carnegie Hall?' The man replied, 'Practice, practice, practice!'"

The oft-used joke is steeped in truth. Steven King wrote about it in his 1999 book, On Writing. Although a lot of writing talent has to do with innate skill, he says, a large percentage of it has to do with the more your practice your craft, the better you become at it. And in academic circles it is believed that you have to practice something for 10,000 hours before you become an expert. That's 3 hours a day, every day, for 10 years.

One of the film editors of the original Star Wars film, Richard Chew began his career shooting film as a news camera man, shooting a one or two minutes piece on a daily basis. He talks about that when he give speeches about his craft and how he is always still learning. When he first sees the dailies on any given film he's working on he makes notes about what resonates with him and his emotional response. He uses that information to help him improve his craft as he completes it, especially since when you work on one thing for so long you begin to lose objectivity toward it.

He also says that when he's working on editing a film, he usually continues to edit on it until someone takes it away because of deadline; essentially stating that any work of art is never truly finished because you always want to make it better.

How much work do you put into perfecting your skill at, say, video journalism? Do you do the least amount you can do to get a grade and then let it go? Or, do you work on learning something new about the process each time you go through it? Do you read websites and articles about the craft of editing or photography? Do you read blogs about improving what you do? Do you try new things (special effects, new transitions, new format, etc.) each time you turn in a project? Do you get defensive when you see your grade or do you use the information to teach yourself how to get better? Do you keep an open mind about other peoples' suggestions, even though your knee-jerk reaction is to do it the same way you've been doing it, over and over and over again?

Let me put it to you this way: if teachers at South Cobb high school taught in the same manner as they did in the '70s or '80s, would that be okay with you? Would you be able to sit in your seat, day in and day out doing nothing but taking notes for an entire semester and be expected to learn the information? No talking, not much interaction, a LOT of reading, very little hands-on experiences, certainly no bathroom breaks. That's the way I learned, but why isn't that good now? The truth is that teaching, just like any other skill or field, evolves and changes the more we learn about what works and what doesn't. But if you're stuck in doing things the same way, every time, over and over again, are you really learning? I venture a guess that, NO, you're not. You're just repeating a task.

As we look around the room now, there are lots of new tools for us to use. Let me remind you of a belief of EVERY professional journalist out there; the tools do not make the editor/photographer/reporter/producer, etc., the ability to tell stories does. I've heard Les Rose from CBS and Steve Hartman say this. I've heard Al Tompkins from the Poynter Institute say this. I've read where Richard Chew has said this. I'VE said this. Hone your craft by practicing and trying new things. Don't just go through the motions. Learn the craft, don't just learn what the buttons do. Don't just complete the assignment to get a grade and be done with it, take in the whole experience of working on a project and enjoy the process. Learn something from it, and practice, practice, practice.

Nine Weeks Left

So, last week with a class of video production students minus the juniors and minus the seniors who felt as if they wouldn't miss any valid instructional time, the Eagle TV students did amazing work. We produced a full show which aired on Friday and began a new one, we learned 4 new tricks on Final Cut Pro and on Live Type, we worked on several senior video segments and we produced two complete 3-minute mini movies based on one sentence and did it in two days!

I'm impressed by what we can accomplish.

So, that's why from here on out (we have 9 weeks left) we are going to be busy doing our projects and doing them with style. Here's what we have on our plates:

Senior video segments. All of which are due on May 16th....

Blogs. We have 6 more. That's it.

2nd VO/SOT due March 31st (Thursday)

3rd VO/SOT due April 22nd

3rd and 4th Outside Projects due April 13th

3rd Pkg due on April 15th (9 school days from now)

Story Ideas due April 19th

Story Ideas due on May 4th

5th and 6th Outside Projects due on May 18th

and Project Presentations due on May 20th.

We still have to author and put together the senior DVD and we have to produce 7 Eagle TV shows (one per week) until the year can be completed in here.

Whew...now that I see it on paper, it's a lot. What is it you say? We don't have as much time as it seems?

Well, no. We miss the week of April 4-8 for spring break, Friday April 1st is the International Festival, so we lose that day. May 5th is End of Pathway Testing for those of you who have completed level 3 or higher in BVP or any career tech or business class, throw in End of Course testing in there, senior meetings and other events and it really boils down to about 7 weeks left....that's 35 days to get all of the above finished. That's it. Seventeen things in 7 weeks. That averages out to about turning something in about every 2-3 days. Well, your blogs and story ideas should be done at home and your outside projects will be done after school, but you get the idea about what kinds of deadlines we're under.

Oh, and that new control room....we have to find time to train on it using the new equipment. That will certainly take at least a week when it's installed and ready to use.

Keep in mind that grading on packages and VO/SOTS gets harder. I expect you to have a well-written script with outside sources, adequate statistics, well-shot video, good lighting and flawless audio. You don't have time to re-do it. Seriously. You must use a tripod, super your talent correctly and artistically, tell me something I didn't already know in your stories and appeal to a mass audience of primarily cynical teenagers whose attention is hard to get even when their shoes are being stepped on.

Yup. We have lots to do. Use your time wisely and don't waste it. Let me know in your comments how you plan to manage your time. How will you deal with hurdles that keep you from going in the edit room or editing because your video is too dark? How will you make sure those things don't happen? How will you make sure that every moment you spend in BVP is used wisely and not wasted?

The clock starts now.....

Mopping Up

As we head into the downhill part of the school year, I think it's important that we talk about things "that are left". Like what's left at the end of a shoot. When you do your stories, you don't just do the interview; you "mop up in the field."

This is a term I heard about from Dave Davis, Hillcrest High School video production teacher and I hope he doesn't mind me sharing this with you. It is what you do on your shoot to make sure you have mentally checked off those shots that are necessary for you to tell your story. It requires that you ask yourself some questions:

***Do I have my opening shot?

***Do I have my closing shot?

***Do I have all the shots that the interviewee referred to during the interview?

***Do I have reaction shots?

***Do I have a wide shot of the scene, establishing setting?

There are other shots that I could remind you of, but these are the basics.

Think about the things that indicate that a story is over. Maybe someone walking away from the camera, someone turning off a light switch, someone waving goodbye, or a slow zoom out and/or long shot of someone walking across a field. Visualize what type of shot would go best with your story and GET THAT SHOT! Keep your eye out for these shots to happen naturally and get it on tape. Don't stage it. Let it happen organically. You may not use it in the end when you're editing, but why not have it, just in case? You'll appreciate it when you're in the edit room.

Similarly, what about those opening shots. What visually brings people into your story? For example, if you're doing a story on kayaking, why not get NAT sound of someone saying "GO!" for a kayak competition? Or, if you're doing a story about a new restaurant, maybe a shot of someone unlocking the door and opening for business for the day? Many of these shots for your open require that you get to your shoot early. If you're doing a story on a meeting, you'll want to get there early enough to hear the moderator call the meeting to order or someone saying "Good morning". Think about the opening shots BEFORE you go on your shoot, not after.

Once you get used to thinking and visualizing your story before you even DO it, you'll start doing this without thinking of it. It will become second nature. But for now, take this list with you or at least create a shot sheet that includes the shots that you've thought through so you can best tell your story and "mop up" while you are out. And, speaking of that, clean up that edit room!

Describe the opening shot, closing shot, other B-roll that you envision getting to tell the story that you're currently working on. What will you keep your eye out for during your story? What would be the BEST shot that you would LOVE to get for your story?

No More Small Change

A friend of mine and I were talking last weekend and we were marveling at how much the world has changed in the last 15 years. Even countries that existed in our high school geography textbooks no longer exist under their old name, old regime or old cultures. Crazy! Whole countries re-writing their history!

No one, just a mere 15 years ago, could possibly have envisioned the hold that the internet has on everyone....let alone the concept of an online database that will allow you to find anyone, anything, anywhere, anyhow in the blink of an eye. Again...crazy!

It has only been a short time ago in my lifetime when black and white television had only 3 channels (Oh, the horror!). TV dinners, cars with cigarette lighters and ashtrays and the high beam button on the floor, no VCRs, phones with a rotary dial on them and the ability to call long distance ONLY with the help of an operator were all our way of life. If you wanted to look up something you didn't get online, you went to the library and looked it up in the World Almanac.

For the Japanese people, change happened in the blink of an eye. For Libya and Egypt, change has occurred in the matter of a few short months and things will never be the same for those living in Christchurch New Zealand after just a few short minutes.

In this class, I've preached the importance of leadership among you. I've asked several of you, individually to step up to the plate to help me set the bar high for behavior and excellence in production. I've asked that you take others under your wing to help, guide, assist, include and teach. I've told the entire class to be mature and a good example. I've asked that you not waste your time when you have all these tight deadlines and assignments. This is what I've gotten in return: (Read EVERY word here)

A day of flinging mouse pads around the room and leaving them on the floor in a spirited game of...I-don't-know-what, tapes (some without cases) strewn around the edit rooms, not put back as I ask, but laying around unlabled and uncovered...and when cornered about it, a disrespectful sentiment aimed at me comes flying out of your mouth. Disrespectful attitudes and words directed at me when I ask you to bring the equipment back on time, spend some time to label tapes, don't just TAKE equipment out of the room, be back on time, follow directions or put a little effort into your work. Doritos bags stuffed in the edit room drawers, video of sports events that look like they were shot by a 4-year-old, expecting to get credit for just going to an outside project and hanging out with the camera, but not actually operating it for a respectful amount of time, story idea deadlines missed, blog assignments missed, equipment not put back correctly and check out forms not filled out properly...scattered all over the equipment room. Disregard for proper framing techniques, proper audio, soundbites that don't advance your story or add to it in any way, packages that don't inform or even entertain. Not caring what your writing conveys or that you just skate through the course, barely getting by and no pride or work ethic in what you do. No innovative ideas for stories or excitement for the production value. No desire to learn anything new or put in a little extra work to sweeten audio. Scoffing at me when I tell you how it should be done properly or when I correct you or suggest a better, more efficient way to work. Procedures disobeyed such as turning in a script before you edit, coming in late to school with fast-food bag in hand and preceding to stuff it all into your mouth for the first 30 minutes of class, water bottles and drinks brought into the edit bays, leaving the room for the entire period so you can go talk to others, make up work for other classes, chat with your coach or hang with your friends, coming back just in time for clean up. Should I go on?

All this while I'm working my tail off to provide you a new control room, new cameras and new edit suites. This research takes time and I initiated this for you - I contacted the county, I contacted the vendor, I met with the integrator, I negotiated with our principal and I have pursued this change. All this while I'm teaching 3 full classes, maintaining equipment, sending it off for repairs so you would have the best to work with. All this while I'm defending you and your work to our principal, to our administrators and to the teachers who complain that you are loud and disruptive in the hall or walking around not doing anything, when I know you're not working to your full potential. All this while, despite my clear instructions to the contrary, you leave campus, continue to eat and drink around the equipment, leave unlabeled tapes scattered around the room and food particles on the floor and continue to snap your teeth at me with disregard.

I've given you the chance to do the right thing; to change your behavior or to step up to the plate. I've changed deadlines and changed expectations. I've received nothing in return. SOME of you have recognized that Eagle TV is falling into a hole and have tried to resuscitate it by coming up with unique story ideas or have meekly respected my requests for change or tried to step up only to be met with your peers snide comments and sneers.

Well now, I'm changing what we do. I'm also telling you that it has been an incredibly challenging year for me and I'm also ready for a change. Things will NOT be the same. You won't have the same freedoms, you won't be disrespectful of me and my efforts to teach you and we won't be allowed to challenge me without consequences. You won't have the freedom to pursue the stories you want, I will determine how the finished product looks and feels and I will monitor your every move. You will need to sign out every time you leave the room for ANY reason and tell me where you will be and how long you plan to be gone. You will fill out daily work habit forms and will be asked to reflect on whether you used your time wisely or not. Every day will be very structured.

I was hoping that this year would turn out to be the year of positive change. New equipment, new ideas, new stories and new approaches to stories. You know, a transition year where we've gotten excited about what Eagle TV can be. I'm sad that this hasn't happened. I'm also sad that this year has changed the way I look at you, this program and this school. I'm incredibly discouraged and don't feel any optimism that you can change on your own..you know, take control of your own ability to rise to the challenge that is put before you. These are not small changes, but big ones. Small change is no longer an option.

Your thoughts?