10 Weeks Later

Jenny:

Just a recap of this past week: We said goodbye to Tabitha last week and she gave us some tasks to finish- editing Horry County Shoot, researching potential story ideas for other counties, and managing the blog. Well, Meagan and I decided to give us one extra task- we are saying thank you to everyone and making a little something special for Tabitha.


On Tuesday we went to Sumter to help for the last time during this internship. Everyone at Making it Grow is so welcoming and very helpful. I'm really going to miss them!


Now- just ten weeks later, I can't imagine not waking up on weekdays and not heading to ETV. It's going to be a difficult adjustment going back to school, but I know now what I have to look forward to. I'm so thankful to have been given this opportunity and if you ask me- I feel like I received the best experience  out of all of the interns because, unlike most of them, I had someone beside me the entire time helping me or critiquing or just exchanging ideas. Having Meagan this summer made the whole experience so much more worth while because I was able to have someone who was my age, striving for the same success, and pushing me to be better. Tabitha was probably one of the best to intern under as well because we go to travel at least once a week to go out on a shoot, and after the first two weeks, Meagan and I were able to start handling the footage. Not long after that, we were asking the questions during the interview.
This internship allowed me to expand my professional network, and really gain an insight for what this industry does and how they operate. I was able to learn more in Final Cut, and also just how and what to shoot while out at an interview. I've been introduced to a wealth of terminology and softwares which I'm planning to research more into. And the list goes on...


I have high hopes for my future and I know that ETV will be the point that I look back and say, "and that's where it started".

Sharing our Experience

So here it is folks- one of our babies. This is the Video Meagan and I spearheaded and tediously edited to try and get the word out there about the internship.

Our Endowment Intern Video

Our last Hoo-Rah

Jenny:

What better place for our last shoot than the beach! We went to Horry County and interviewed The Hammock Man in Pawley's Island, The Shagging Hall of Fame on Ocean Boulevard in North Myrtle, and the mayor and a riverwalk keeper along the Waccamaw River. The Hammock man put us to work by allowing us, and any other person who was curious, to go behind the counter and help make the hammocks. He also made Tabitha, Meagan and me our own bracelets which we rocked the rest of the day at the other shoots. Our second stop was SO much fun! We did the interviews at the Ocean Drive Hotel (which already took me out of work mode because it was right by the beach and the setting we interviewed them overlooked the ocean and pool and all of the people having a good time on vacation)- well anyway, we walked next door to one of the bars/clubs where we were able to collect our Shagging B-roll. We got to watch a national champion dance, as well as her two daughters who couldn't have been but 16 years old, who were also so talented! I wanted to grab Meagan and get out there myself haha. It was a lot of fun and they were so cooperative and excited to have us there. I can't wait to get back and start editing :) The third shoot was a score too! The interviews went by so smoothly and they articulated everything so well that I don't even think we'll have to edit too much. Thankfully, we were able to get a tour of the riverwalk via golf cart. So what would have taken half an hour and quarts of sweat, turned into about 15-20 minutes of a nice ride with stops for B-roll.
We ended the day on a sweet note with some slushies from Sonic and headed back to the station. It's hard to believe that this whole internship is almost over and that this was our last shoot. :( Although I am excited to get back to school, I don't really want to leave here. I'm definitely going to make the most of our last few days here at ETV!

The Final Count Down- Horry County Shoot

Meagan:

Cue the music… “It’s the final count downnnnn”!  Today is our final shoot, the grand finale, the finish line, the end of an epic chapter…. Ok so you get the picture. Today is our last day in the field with ETV Shorts. I cannot believe how incredibly fast this internship has flown by. Luckily we ended on a high note with a film shoot in the city notorious for mini golf and dinner theatres: Myrtle Beach/Horry County. However, our stories covered a much different aspect of this neon lit beach town. The goal for ETV Shorts is to highlight stories not well publicized, and we did just that. I was in charge of booking our final shoot and I was ecstatic to do so! After contacting the Conway and Myrtle Beach Chambers I secured two great story ideas. The Waccamaw River in Conway and the Shagger’s Hall of Fame in North Myrtle. The last story was up to me, myself, and I. The trick however is finding something in Myrtle that isn’t plastered on every billboard. Therefore I moved my thinking to the island life, Pawley’s Island to be exact.

Our first stop was Pawley’s Island where we covered The Pawley’s Island Original Rope Hammock Shop! It turns out Pawley’s Island is the birthplace of rope hammocks. Who knew?!? We even had the opportunity to watch craftsmen make traditional cotton hammocks right before our eyes AND try the craft ourselves. I was in charge of conducting the interview, filming the majority of the broll, and I even did a stand up! My true passion is reporting on camera.  I love it but I definitely need more experience. Luckily Tabitha was there to help me out. After shooting b-roll of the hammock maker and families kicking their feet up in these hanging lounge beds, it was time to dance our way to story numero dos: the Shagger’s Hall of Fame!

Honk Honk! Move it people we have places to go and people to interview! Thanks to bumper-to-bumper traffic we were limited to exactly one hour to film two interviews and broll at two locations. But on the bright side, filming the Shagger’s Hall of Fame story gave me the jitterbugs. I absolutely loved it! We captured b-roll at the official Shagger’s Hall of Fame at the Ocean Drive Resort and then headed over to the OD Pavilion to see some shaggers in action! The OD Pavilion is a haven for fast dancing, quickstep shagging, and talented dancers alike.  The owner, H.Lee, gave us a warm welcome over the sound system and then hit the dance floor. I was grinning ear to ear. The combination of the upbeat music, the oceanic back drop, and the room’s energy created an electrifying shoot! Several generations put on their boogie shoes and danced for us as we got footage of their swanky moves. Even with beads of sweat pouring from their smiling faces they never missed a beat.  H. Lee also hooked us up with a shagging NATIONAL CHAMPION! As you can imagine, she was an incredible dancer… a perfect 10 to be exact.  For a girl who has never shagged in her life and knows little about the sport, I was in awe. Like really… what an awesome job we have! We are at the beach filming people doing what they love as we do what we love. Life doesn’t get much better than that. I really wish we could have stayed all day but good things don’t last forever. The hour flew by and before I knew it, it was time to pull myself away from the Pavilion. But mark my words, I WILL learn to shag and I WILL be back OB Pavilion.

So with our gear in tow and feet still tapping to beach music, it was off to Conway we go. Our third and last story EVER was on the stunning Waccamaw River. Upon contacting the Conway Chamber for story ideas, the Chamber repeatedly emphasized just how important the Waccamaw River is to the community. Once we arrived at the Riverfront Park, the river’s importance and beauty was indeed evident. We had the pleasure of interviewing the Mayor of Conway as well as a Waccamaw Riverkeeper. The “pleasure” is actually an understatement. Our interviews with these ladies may have been the best interviews yet. They both answered in complete statements while also including strictly valuable information. Short and sweet, just the way an editor likes it! After I finished asking all of the interview questions, Jenny and I had a great time filming the river’s breath charming scenery. We filmed the eco-tourism aspect first. Fortunately the blazing heat brought out a decent crowd of kayakers, fishermen, boaters, and even teenagers illegally jumping off platforms into the river. We then focused on the river’s beauty and natural importance the River Keeper touched on in her interview. For any aspiring videographer or journalist, it is important to really listen to what the interviewee says during their interview and match their statements with broll shots. After learning this lesson from editing multiple ETV Shorts already, Jenny and I were sure to do just that.  As we cruised along on a golf cart provided by the city of Conway we were able to film the biodiversity of the river. We used both the 16-35mm and 70-200mm lenses to capture a variety of shots. Both Jenny and I took turns filming, but there was one shot of the historic bridge I just had to film before we departed. And little did I know while I was down on the ground trying to capture my “money shot,” the whole golf cart crew was getting their money shots of how ridiculous I looked- haha (can’t wait to see how those turn out… or maybe I can). Even when on a shoot you have to have fun. I’m so glad to work with Jenny and Tabitha for this very reason. No matter how hot and miserable the weather may be or how many production challenges we run into, we are always enjoying our work. That’s when you know you have a great internship… when work doesn’t seem like work at all, but rather an experience you don’t want to end.  But as I said before, all good things do come to an end (sad face). We thanked our Conway interviewees for their graciousness, got directions to the closest Sonic and were on our way back to the ETV mother ship. Yes, I said… Sonic. Of course we had to treat ourselves on the last shoot! So now it’s back to the office to edit our last ETV Shorts and get these stories posted for our dedicated audience!

Abbeville Shoot- 3rd time is a... gem?

Jenny:

To finish up the busy week, we went to Abbeville today. The stops on the agenda for the day were: Swartzentruber's Bakery, The Diamond Hill Mine, and a new local business. The bakery was A-Mazing!! The minute we walked in, the aroma hit me and I was instantly hungry- haha. After the interview, we left with more than just the equipment. They gave us cinnamon rolls, dinner rolls, and their famous three layered pound cake!! I couldn't believe it! So, after being spoiled, we were off to the second shoot. We went to the diamond mine where our timing couldn't have been more perfect. We showed up just as a family was packing up their car with all their finds. So we were able to get some B-roll of them and then we did the interview and a little digging ourselves. We were able to find a pretty shiny rock, which Gina- the expert- thought could be amethyst. 
So, up to this point I was pretty excited that the shoots had gone so well. Well, I definitely jinxed myself. When we arrived at our third shoot, they were closed- and weren't available for an interview. HUGE BUST! So.. I felt terrible that the interview I was in charge of organizing fell through, but I'm taking it as a learning lesson and next time I will quadruple check and make sure I have voice confirmation from the head honcho just to make sure all signs are a go- otherwise I will book something else. On a better note from that though- we were able to come home a little earlier than expected.

Meagan:

BoOoOoOo… it’s off to the famously haunted Abbeville County! However we aren’t filming any Casper’s or phantoms. In fact we are covering stories on the opposite end of the spectrum… like carb induced treats and sparkly gems. Our first story at Swartzenstruber Bakery will make your mouth water.  As soon as we entered the delectable bakery an overwhelming waft of fresh baked goods pervaded the air. After a few deep inhales it was time to get to this story cooking. The bakery is unique because of its Mennonite traditions and the variety of baked goods offered. From Swartzenstruber’s famous three-layer pound cake to their loaves of fresh bread, the bakery has treats so yummy they’re worth breaking any diet… ten times over… and I did… oops. What makes these treats even more scrumptious is the love that goes into baking them. The bakery hangs a sign reading “Our business it to serve the Lord. We bake cakes to meet our expenses.” Even if you aren’t religious or even if you practice a different religion, the message is still powerful: to work for the good of others and not just yourself. That’s my future mission in this career field. I really want my journalism work to serve the good of others. And speaking of good deeds, the ladies of Swartzenstruber’s sent us away with some goodies of our own. I was thrilled when they packed us a 3-layer pound cake, a glazed cinnamon roll cake, and a plate of dinner rolls BUT I was not so thrilled to sit next to them the rest of the trip. Talk about temptation!! I started the game “count the calories” in attempt to deter myself from practically inhaling them. But even when Tabitha guessed the cinnamon rolls had about 5,000 calories I was the first to dive in. So much for will power… At least my not so decent lunch made up for it. Only because I left half of the cartilage filled chicken on my plate. Appetizing, right? Well after our meal… it was time to dig up some blang blang at the Diamond Hill Mine.

As soon as we whipped the van into the parking lot we immediately started filming. There was one family still at the mine and we needed to catch them before they left. It’s so important to get people in the b-roll because let’s face it, you can only watch so many still images of inanimate objects and stay entertained. The family was great! They showed us all of the treasures they dug up and WOWZA! Talk about finding a diamond in the ruff. Ok… so maybe not quite a diamond, but a gem for sure. In fact even though the mine is called “Diamond Hill” there are no diamonds on the property.  The owner told us this during the interview but that doesn’t depreciate the value of an experience to find other sparkling treasures like smoky quartz and amethyst. Gina, the owner, even let us get down and dirty in the dig. But we were more interested in filming all of these shiny rocks for b roll. The sunlight hit the rocks perfectly adding a shimmer to the shots. We had to veer away from using the tripod in some shots and make lower props. It’s important not to limit your shots to only where the tripod can work. However it is equally important to ensure the shot is stabilized. – So after we finished filming at the gem mine, it was off to story three. Or should I say, the story that will never be.

The clock strikes 3:00 (the normal time for the 3^rd story) and a “closed” sign is taunting us on the door of the story’s location. Come to find out, the owner of the local business we scheduled to film is on a 2-month vacation. How INconvenient. But hey, that’s life and you have to roll with the punches. We did learn a valuable lesson as interns though. If an interviewee does not sound interested in taking part in a story and is consistently hard to contact… move on. There are more enthusiastic people and equally good stories out there. Words of wisdom for the future officially noted! 

"Beeing" Careful in the "Village"

Jenny:

This is the day that is just for Meagan and me. We are going to be in charge of directing, producing, editing, and posting these stories from start to finish. Our first stop is the "Bee City" in Cottageville. Second stop- The Oyotunji Tribe in Seabrooke. So when we arrived at Bee City we were given the grand tour and then staged the set for the interview near some of their on site honeybee hives. Meagan- who is allergic to bees by the way- took on the bees head on. She got suited up and stood directly next to the hive while Scott opened it up and started dissecting it for us (and the camera), while Tabitha and I- logically, kept our distance. :) We were able to see all the different animals, ways honey is used, and have a little fun from time to time- holding snakes, touching alligators, and feeding lemurs- you know, everyday stuff.


Second stop was at the Oyotunji Village (which surprisingly enough is like 20 minutes from my home in Beaufort). It was so interesting! We got to meet a King!! I didn't exactly know how to address him or know what was or was not appropriate, so I tiptoed, bowed, and always asked permission before doing things. It was a little awkward- but incredibly worth it. Only downfall was that there was no Air Conditioning. I'm glad I had the reflector, because I used it to cover up the huge puddles in my clothing after the shoot (gross I know). But it definitely gives me a bigger appreciation for all of the movie directors/actresses who have to put themselves in weather extremes in order to get the right shot. 


All in all, the shoots went well and I can't wait to get back and start editing them. :)

Meagan:

The day we’ve been buzzing about is here! Today we are filming two stories at the beat of our own drum. (Yes, these are both clues!) Tabitha allowed Jenny and I to cover 2 stories of our choice anywhere in SC for our “intern shoot”.  So what was our final verdict?? Drum roll please… Bee-City in Cottageville, SC and Oyotunji African Village in Sheldon, SC!

So with my epi-pen in tow, it was off to Bee City we go!  Before we arrived, all we really knew about this City of Bees was… well, that there was a “City of Bees”, population: 1.26 million. Oh and that I’m allergic to honey bees. So with that said, we were in for quite an unexpected surprizzzzze.  Turns out the actual “Bee City,” a city with beehives that resemble a small town, is under construction for renovations. However we were still able to see some busy bee hives up close and personal. We filmed the interview with the owner first and then it was time to capture these little workers for some “bee”-roll. I elected myself for the job and suited up in protective gear. I’m not sure how protective it was though with my legs and hands exposed, but I was determined to get the tight shots anyways.  I held the camera as steady as possibly, while the owner “smoked” the bees out of the hive. Soon the bees began swarming. A steady “ZZZZZ” was all I could hear as well as myself thinking “buzz off” repeatedly in my head. But I DID IT! I conquered my fear and did it. I also reported a stand-up while I was suited up so I’m excited to see how that turned out!

Filming b-roll was awesome. There is a nature center with reptiles galore, a petting zoo with farm animals to exotic animals like ring tailed lemurs, and a classroom to educate children about the benefit of honeybees. Jenny even had the guts to hold an albino snake while filming. We definitely had a blast at this shoot, until I misplaced one of the lens’ caps (UH-OH!). I was positive I handed the lens to Jenny because I had no pockets. But sure enough I found it on me after searching the whole place top to bottom.  Whew! So after dodging that sting, it was off to Oyotunji African Village!

(Insert traditional Yoruba music hear)

As we slowly crept down the rocky road to the Yoruba Village, signs read, “You are now leaving North America”.  That is exactly what it seemed liked as we pulled up to the elaborate gate entrance.  Entering the village felt like stepping into continental Africa. There were several occupants roaming around in traditional African garb and a lady selling traditional African jewelry in the marketplace. I was so tempted to purchase one of the glimmering silver pieces but it was time to get to work. A chief took us on a personal tour of the entire village so we could collect b-roll.  It is hard to put into words how traditional the village looked, with all of the beautiful statues and shrines, a full marketplace, and an area for festivals. To give the place justice, you’ll have to see it for yourself in our ETV “Short”. After our tour it was time to meet the village’s King, or “Oba”. 

We were instructed to remove our shoes before entering his home, setting the precedent that we were in fact interviewing someone of esteemed importance. When the Oba entered the room all of the villagers knelt down, as well as Jenny. It was pretty funny at the time but we really didn’t know how we were supposed to act in front of a King. He positioned himself on his thrown (yes, THROWN) and it was time to conduct the interview. I was in charge of the questions this round. I swallowed my butterflies, whipped the sweat from my eyes, and began. During the interview we learned Oyotunji African Village is the only Yoruba Village in North America with a King, Kings’ wives, chiefs, a school, etc. He went on to tell us that the village is always open to the public and their goal is to teach others about their history and spiritual findings. The interview lasted over 15 minutes, and the only issue throughout it all was the audio. You see, the King insisted on fanning himself the whole time he spoke. This posed a little sound quality issue but I’m sure we can work through it with our talented editing skills J. We wrapped up the interview with the KING (sorry, can’t get over that), and decided to get a little extra b-roll before we hit the road. The Oba wasn’t kidding when he said, “the heat from the sun at the village is reminiscent of Africa.” We were completely drenched when we finally packed up the equipment. But even through the heat wave in Oyotunji and the swarm of honeybees at Bee-City, today was a very successful shoot! I can’t wait for Jenny and I to edit these stories for everyone to see! 

Cherokee Shoot

Jenny:

(Fingers Crossed, Deep Breaths, Hope for the Best)

I contacted everyone to double check and make sure they were ready for the shoots, so today was the day we got to test it out and see how it went. Our first stop was Strawberry Hill. When we got there, we shot the B-roll and introduced ourselves to one of the most outgoing and considerate people I've met so far- Brandi Cooley. On top of her awesome personality, she was great behind the camera. I don't even think we'll have to spend more than 5 minutes editing her video because she made it so easy with the way she would answer questions. If there was one downfall to the shoot, I guess it would have to be that we lost our lunch appetite after being treated to their delicious, yet filling, home made peach ice cream. We left with our bellies full, and then they made sure we didn't leave empty handed. They gave us a peach cobbler which-OMG!! sooo good! And we each got a bag full of fresh peaches, which I'll definitely be taking with me to work and enjoying for late night munchies.

Since we still had so much time in between shoots, we stopped off for a little shopping at one of the outlets- tell me this isn't the best internship?! 

Our second stop was at Starfields- Gaffney Embroidery, where we interviewed Patrick Cox. He was so accommodating and gave us the full tour of the factory. All of the employees were great and cooperated with the camera. It was so intriguing from the moment we walked in the door. There were huge machines all over the place just pumping out fabric with stars all over them, then the workers were busy sewing the stars as well.

The third stop was also so overwhelming. We went to Parkdale Mills which is a yarn factory in Gaffney that creates enough yarn each day to go to the moon and back several times. They too gave us a tour of the whole facility. It was so huge and the B-roll, I feel, was so cool. 

So after one successful day of shoots, I am still crossing my fingers and hoping that we got everything we needed in order to edit successfully. 

Meagan:

Today started off just “peachy” as we headed to the home of the notorious giant peach, Cherokee County. Jenny was in charge of organizing today’s shoot and she did muy bein! First up was a business with employees as sweet as the fruit they sell. Strawberry Hill USA is a local farm that sells their fruits in a variety of ways. From peach salsa to blackberry ice cream, the fruitful shop had it all. While there we filmed two interviews that both went great. We then parted ways with a few goodies. The owner of Strawberry Hill gave us each a free homemade ice cream, a bag of peaches, and a peach cobbler to share.  I know my parent’s are going to be just as excited when I bring them some (daughter of the year, check!).  (*Side note: every time we get anything free from the people we film, we ALWAYS make sure to send a little thank you note telling them how much we appreciated their parting gift and their time! This is a great way to say thanks and keep in touch).

Next we went to a factory that puts the “stars” on the star spangled banner, Gaffney Embroidery. This star field factory runs 24/7 to produce the 50 gleaming stars on the American Flag.  I never knew the stars and stripes were made separately so I learned something new about Old Glory.  The only challenge for this shoot was the interview’s sound quality. We wanted a shot of the equipment behind the interviewee but also had to make sure the humming of the machines didn’t hurt the sound. We did our best to fix this issue and shot a variety of b-roll of the workers, the machines, and the final product. It was powerful to hear stories from some of the workers telling us about what an honor it is to be a part of making such a symbolic product.  Many of the flags are used for the burial of fallen soldiers so I can only imagine how emotional yet honorable that must be.  

Last but not least we filmed at Parkdale Mills. Parkdale Mills is a relatively new textile manufacturing plant that turns raw cotton into thread.  We did a quick interview with one of the executives in charge of the plant and then went on a tour for broll. With earplugs securely fastened in our ears it was pretty difficult to communicate about what shots to get but we managed. The best way to explain what this state of the art facility looked like is the Willy Wonka factory in the new Charley and the Chocolate movie. The factory was pristinely kept with minimal workers buzzing around. When finished, the thread rolls were lifted into the air and transported along the ceiling, which also reminded me of the movie Wall-E. Needless to say the technology was mind blowing. And also mind blowing was our little “oopsie”. The executives warned us not to take any flash photographer because the flash could set off the fire alarm, mistaking the flash for a small fire. Naturally we did take a picture thinking the flash was off… and wouldn’t you have it, the flash was on. Luckily nothing happened but boy was that a little terrifying. Talk about millions of dollars potentially down the drain… Ok, ok let’s not think about that anymore. Overall the day went “seam”ingly well. Yet another successful shoot in the bag!

Monday Funday

Jenny:

Woke up bright and early after a long birthday weekend to join Don in helping clear out the Beaufort location of any tapes that need to be archived. Best part was being able to be home for a bit, and the ride was pretty educational also just getting to talk to Don about his different experiences with field work and cameras and his perspective on certain shots/ideas. We were able to meet up with my dad and brother for lunch at Barbara Jeans and it was nice being able to let both sides- work and family meet the other. The work wasn't too hard and It's the type of work I thought I was going to be doing- or at least a little of what I have been used to. It was different going from summers and summers of playing softball in the heat to being in the AC and editing videos :) However, today was the first day Meagan and I didn't work with eachother :( So, it was sad in that aspect. But, when I got back she had a gift, a cake, and my side of the cubicle decorated. I couldn't ask for better people to work with. I'm not looking forward to the end of this internship.

On a side note- I'm super nervous for this upcoming week because this is the week we are doing our stories. I'm super nervous, but excited at the same time. I know I speak for Meagan too when I say that this is showtime for sure. :)

Meagan:

Rain Check

Jenny:

So we rescheduled our rained out shoots for today- Friday the 13th and I have my fingers crossed that our luck will not follow the superstition. Our first stop of the day was our big alligator hunting adventure! We went to Berkeley County, got on a boat, and searched for some gators. After an hour or so of no luck at sighting any, we decided to get the interviews and use the footage that we had. Oh- but this is after getting rained on briefly while on the boat. Our second stop was at the Cooper River just finishing up the story we had started at Mepkin about the river. We were kinda rushing through this one because we we running late already for Tony the "peanut man". I give mad props to Meagan for finding that guy by the way. He is a hoot and a half. I was dying of laughter behind the camera and just full of smiles after. He was hilarious and so outgoing. He had a great story and was so personable. After finishing up the interview and getting the B-roll. we were able to get the last of the footage we needed for Silicon Harbor and headed home. 

Meagan:

Flash Flood!

Jenny:

Couldn't ask for any better way to start off the day (other than possibly a little more sleep) than getting to ride around the river on a boat taking video of the wildlife. I could definitely get used to this. Our interview was on the Wildlife Conservation and the safety precautions of Dolphins within the Charleston area. The people were so inviting, and the weather was perfect-- but I spoke too soon. The next shoot was at the corner of Church and Market street in downtown Charleston. After Parking in the parking garage, we walked about 3 blocks to the destination in an overcast shadow. When we got there, about 10 minutes into shooting some B-roll, down came the rain. At first, it wasn't so bad, but, it just didn't stop, and then it started getting worse. Everyone piled into the Market area and after the streets had completely flooded, water started to make its way into the Market area. Seeing as how we couldn't just stay there all day- we did have more shoots, I volunteered to go get the car and bring it around so the equipment would not get messed up. After wading through water up to my knees, I was able to make it to safe ground and got to the car. Since streets were blocked off, Meagan and Tabitha met me closer to the parking garage and jumped in. It was one of the craziest things by far, that I have experienced. So, now we have two shoots to makeup on Friday, not including the one more we had to do today but also had to cancel.


Although the rain definitely put a damper in our schedule, it was an experience I won't forget and definitely shows us how vital it is to have good weather/lighting for our shoots. 

Meagan:

Overnighter

Jenny:

I'm pretty excited for this shoot!! I packed my bag last night so I could just get out of the apartment smoothly this morning. We are off to Berkeley County and Charleston tomorrow. We started the day off very peacefully with a Monastery interview and we got to tour the place. We followed that up with an interview from a historian about the significance of the Cooper River and how it's contributed to the area. The final shoot was the one I was really looking forward to- Gator Hunting!! As my anticipation for this shoot built, so did the storm clouds. We were about 10 minutes away from the destination when the monsoon hit. We had to pull off the road because it was so bad. When we got to the site, we ran inside trying to dodge the rain, but that didn't exactly go as planned either. After being drenched in rain, we tried to wait it out a bit while talking to the locals. At one point in time, one of the boats just outside the window on the harbor got loose and was taken away to the sandbar across the lake because of the storm! It was a crazy sight to witness and it's safe to say the shoot had to be "Rain Checked". 

So we decided to head to the place we were staying at for the night. This was not the average overnight stay destination- this place was a vacationer's dream get away. Meagan and I were in Heaven when we got inside. Every room had characteristics of my dream house on Pinterest. After settling in and getting a tour, we went to a a local Taco Restaurant- Taco Mamacita. Let me start off by saying, I am not an adventurous eater-  tend to stick to chicken fingers most of the time and next to nothing toppings. But at this place, I was feeling a little risky I suppose. I had a Caribbean Jerk and Shrimp Po' Boy taco with sweet potato fries and OMG... soooooo good!! I basically inhaled the food. After our hunger satisfaction, it was back to paradise. When we got back to the house, Meagan and I explored around a bit and took pictures on the porches and walked the beach a little. But, it was time to get back to work, so we got back to the house and continued work on the Internship Video. Then it was off to bed.

Meagan:

Our Big Debut

Jenny:

Today is a huge day for me! Similar to our shoots, I had to organize, schedule, and implement the interviews with all of the Endowment interns at SCETV this summer! I had the schedule ready and questions prepared- I had my fingers crossed that everything was going to run smoothly!


Then it was time. 9:00 rolled around and our first interviewee, Michael McCall was going to set the bar. Tabitha pretty much handed Meagan and me the reigns and we set up the shot and the audio, and took our places. Meagan was behind the camera and I was on audio asking the questions. His interview went by without any problems and we were able to get some B-roll all within 30 minutes- just in time for the next interview with Tara Prater. For her interview, we pulled a professional in the field, Dave Adams, to come and sit in on some B-roll. Our next intern was David Kiser, who is working specifically in Radio, so the B-roll for his shoot was a lot of fun! We had some time before the next interview with Kalina Harrison, so now it was me and Meagan's turn to be on the opposite side of the camera. Since Meagan and I have had a wide variety of experiences, similar to most of the other interns, we had a tough decision setting the stage for our background and location of the shoot. Meagan did hers in the Master Control room and it was really fun interviewing her, just because we have been working together since the beginning of the summer and we haven't had the experience of seeing the other person on camera. She did really well and made me a little nervous for my interview. Since I love the vault SO much, what better place to do the interview than right there in the middle of the tape stacks? My interview went well- or so I think it did, I haven't seen the actual footage yet. I'm sure the audio is a little difficult because the background noise was a little loud at times. With everything done so far, I was really proud of Meagan and myself for being able to get in so many interviews in one day, and we weren't done. After our interview with Kalina, we traveled to ETV-Sumter to interview Destinee Clavon who is working with them on their set of "Making it Grow". It was great to see everyone again and I hope that wasn't our last time! But then after the interview, it was back to the office!


Ahhh, relief and gratitude. I was pretty excited that the shoots had gone so well and that everyone was ready at their allotted time. It's actually pretty funny too because these shoots went smoother than some of our actual interviews with businesses. I think having the communication background and media skills were the reason the interviews went so smoothly. All the interns know how tedious the editing process can be and they made our jobs a lot easier by phrasing their sentences in complete, concise, and brief sentences, the editing should be easier and easily transitionable (not sure if that's a word). 


Now all that is left to do is edit our shoots from the other day, and our intern interviews and hopefully have them done before the Intern Luncheon. Also... currently, life in the cubicle is going well. Meagan has been busy calling the Chambers around Charleston county and scheduling shoots while I've been doing the same, but with Abbeville and Cherokee county. Abbeville is done and I'm crossing my fingers hoping everything goes well. Cherokee is causing me a little stress because I'm having a hard time finding stories. Other than that, life as an intern is good. :)

Meagan:

Happy belated birthday America and let the celebrations continue! Today is our intern interviews for the ETV Endowment Internship video. What’s that you say? Well like Uncle Sam’s notorious message to America, ETV wants to let potential interns to know that “WE WANT YOU!” And Jenny and I are in charge of relaying that very important message.

So here’s a quick shpeel of our big gig:

Jenny set up the interview schedule for all of the endowment interns (you go girl!) and acted as the intern liaison. Our main initiative today was interviewing and shooting b-roll for every endowment intern available (8 of us) to compile in summer 2013 internship video. It was time to put our big girl pants on and step into the real world. We were completely in charge of directing, filming, and interviewing. I admit it was difficult to restrain my control freak mentality, but Jenny and I make a solid team. We worked together in coming up with some snazzy shots, relevant locations for interviews, and visions of a masterpiece. My favorite part however was interviewing each other. I want to be an on air talent so it was great being on camera again. A tad bit nerve racking but exhilarating at the same time. Jenny kept me at ease with the interview so it was easy breezy once we got started. We have both come so far since the first day we were introduced to ETV. Now it’s crazy to think we are putting a video together to summarize all of our experiences. And a 2-minute video at that! With all of the memorable sound bites from the endowment interns, we have our work cut out for us. However, their inspirational and encouraging words will keep us pressing on. Man, what a powerful working environment we work in. 

McCormick Shoot

Jenny:

We had a very busy day planned today! First stop was at the Old Gin and Mill, and Marion Parnell, who was a pleasure to meet, gave us a tour, showed us around, and gave us a very detailed history! She was one probably one of the sweetest people we've come across so far. She gave us recommendations to eat at Little Italy- a cute little restaurant in the heart of their downtown area. 


The next stop on the list was at Lake Thurmond, and this interview was definitely one of the easiest we've done so far. The man we interviewed, was more than accommodating and was able to answer questions before we even asked them. He was familiar with media and interviews, so his interview definitely makes the editing process run a lot smoother than some. 


I do have to stop and mention that both of these interviews were outside. Sure, a beautiful day is always great for an interview, I'm just happy I was behind the camera instead of in front of it. I was pouring sweat by the end of the second interview. That was another factor I hadn't thought of much in this field of work. I always assumed videos were made with ease, with the few minor technical difficulties, but weather is also a huge part of filming... which takes us to our next story.


Because our next shoot wasn't until 6, we waited around for a few hours in a wonderful, air conditioned setting- Subway (beats the heat). Well, just when we were heading to the shoot, thunder sounded, and lighting struck. Rain started coming down as we pulled up to our venue. So, needless to say, we had to raincheck the final shoot of the day and we're going to try and reschedule for when we do the Abbeville Shoot.


Even though the weather wasn't exactly ideal, it was still a great day. I love the days we go on shoots! 

Meagan:

Well helloooo small town Amurca’! Today our shoot was in McCormick, SC… the epitome of small town USA. Upon arriving in the quaint downtown area we veered off slightly to the site of our first shoot, the Dorn Gin & Mill. After 2 hours of cool air conditioning keeping us chill as cucumbers, it was time to embrace the sweltering heat. For the next hour or so we filmed the historic gin & mill… with no air conditioning… in over 100-degree heat. Now in no way am I complaining. Rather, I just want to mention this to anyone who thinks filming is just fun and games. Yes, filming is fun (that’s why we love our internship), but it also takes dedicated people to do weather extreme elements like this.

The interview for this story was rather tricky. For our 1-2 minute “Shorts”, concise interviews work best. When editing you have to re-listen to all of the interviews and decipher what sound bites to use. That’s why we were biting our fingernails at the thought of cutting the 20-minute interview we shot down to about a minute. Since I was running audio, I was trying to remember the time codes for usable sound bites. However, my planned failed after the numbers began to eventually jumble together. Looks like we are in for quite an editing challenge…

After wrapping up the interview, filming b-roll, and snapping pictures for the blog… it was time to “kill time” at lunch. We ate at a recommended hot spot, Little Italy, grabbed some ice cream at another local joint, and were soon on our way to the second shoot! Our second story was at Lake Thurmond. Fun fact right off the bat: Lake Thurmond is located in SC and in GA. Fun fact to add to that: the lake is called “Lake Thurmond” in SC and called “Clark Hill Lake” in GA.  … We interviewed a park ranger about all of the activities and amenities offered at the lake. Luckily our interview with him was spot on. He spoke in short, concise, and complete sentences (an editor’s dream!). Although he was a dream to work with, we had to make him a tad uncomfortable during the interview. We shot the interview outdoors under the bright blazing sun while he wore his park ranger hat. To prevent shading on his face, I was in charge of using the reflector to lighten his face up. So basically it was my job to blind him. But hey, to the eye of the viewer the shot will look so much better!!

Jenny and I shot the b-roll for this story. We used both lenses again to get a variety of shots as we “glistened” in the suffocating heat. We also implemented a few pointers Tabitha gave us from the previous shoots. Instead of only holding our shots for about 6 seconds, we now hold them for 10-12 seconds. The longer time length is much easier to edit with if you want to extend a shot in the package. We also learned the hard way not to speak while shooting b-roll. If you talk when you shoot b-roll, you lose crucial natural sound. I don’t even think we realized we were talking so much while filming until we started editing the material ourselves. (oopsie daisy) Now we try to keep mum and let nature do the talking. Speaking of nature, Mother Nature conflicted with our third shoot so we have to reschedule it.

Our third story was supposed to highlight eco-tourism in McCormick. Unfortunately a storm cell moved in right over the lake. Ironically enough the series of events we were going to film as b-roll were called “Thunder over Thurmond.” With a name like that, we were doomed from the start. We really want the “Short” to feature a picturesque summer day so we rescheduled both the interview and the b-roll for another time. … All was not lost though. On the way home we had a great conversation with Tabitha about filming extra projects on our own. Jenny and I are both intrigued and in love with photography and videography. We want to gain as much experience as possible. Creating independent projects are a great way to get ahead in the field. Tabitha gave us advice on how to start in freelancing and encouraged us to just get out and do it! So imma gunna take that advice and edumacate myself more in the field! 

Thuuursdayyy :)

Jenny:

I've always been a visual person. But today, we got a glimpse into what it might take to be more of an audio person. We took a tour of the radio department within SCETV's TCC building. We got to see the master control panel which basically transfers all the audio out to the different transmitter stations. We met with David Kiser who was preparing for his new program which will include classical piano. We met with Cathy Bradberry who showed us around the whole place and gave us the basic run down of what they do and how it works. It's all so interesting and the more things I'm exposed to the harder it is to narrow down what I want to do. On top of all that we learned that the radio version of Final Cut Pro is a software called Audition. Also, since radio and television function from reaching to the right demographic, there are networks that are made specifically to find out who the programs are reaching. For radio, they use Arbitron, and for television they use Neilson. It's the little terms like this that I keep picking up from day to day that expands my knowledge in this field.


Other than our Radio tour, we edited some of the Shorts, E-mailed chambers, and attempted to contact the places for our shoots.

Meagan:

You know the song, “Video Killed the Radio Star”? Whether that be the case or not… … I have to say I’m kind of digging the radio scene now. Today, Tabitha scheduled a meeting for us over in SCETV radio with Cathy Bradberry. When we got there, Cathy took us for a little tour and explained all of the operations, equipment, etc. Everything is so up to date and just an awesome work environment. Cathy demonstrated how to record promos and radio segments on audio software called Adobe Audition. Although I hate the sound of my voice, I really want to get in and try it one day myself. Maybe I’ll even give Ryan Seacrest a run for his money. In the meantime I’ll just stick to asking tons of questions.

Cathy had no trouble answering everything! We learned the difference in public v. commercially owned radio stations, how ETV’s radio is transmitted out to other satellite stations in SC, how she programs each day’s segments and so much more. Also, just in case you didn’t know (because I didn’t), ETV’s radio stations stream online too. I think I’ll give Pandora a break and take a listen! … Another cool tid bit of information we learned is about HD radio. HD radio just gives a radio station the opportunity to broadcast more stations on their frequency. The only real issue is the cost of converting to HD and the fact that HD radio hasn’t caught on like HD – TV has.  The conversion may be in the works for ETV but not anytime soon.

While there we met with radio intern, David Kiser. David has a pretty awesome job! He is producing his own radio program featuring classical piano music. Tomorrow he is hosting about 5 classical pianists tomorrow to come and record live audio for his show. Lucky for us (and David of course), we’re dropping by! His program fits in perfectly with the classical music station ETV runs. I was really curious why ETV plays only classic music and news feeds from NPR and other news outlets. I didn’t know if they were under some kind of contract or if they had a grant for classical music. Turns out those are both wrong and ETV chooses to broadcast what they do based on audience demographics and other aspects of the business. What the audience wants is what the audience gets! And speaking of “wants,” just when I thought I could narrow down what avenue I want to take in this wide world of media… radio rocked my world. I love the feeling of being in the studio behind the mic. It seems so secluded and so personal, yet hundreds of thousands of people are listening. After talking to Cathy about it I’m going to volunteer at UGA’s student radio station this year and try to gain experience at the Georgia Public Radio station too! I’ve definitely got my plate full but I’m hungry for more!

After our radio adventure, it was back to editing the Dorchestor County/Summerville “shorts”. Jenny and I divvied up the work. She edited the Coach McKissick piece, I did the “Birthplace of Sweet Tea” story, and we are both working on the Coastal Coffee Roasters project together.  We both finished our individual “shorts”. After laying down music, adding in the ETV intro/outro, perfecting the b-roll to the audio, and cutting out some “ums” and “ahhs”… the “Birthplace of Sweet Tea” is finito! We did run into 2 minor glitches today. First, it turns out we were saving our video sequences to the external hard drive but not our wav forms and render files. This is actually a big deal because of how much space it was using on Jenny’s Mac and because we kept running out of memory space. Once we figured out this issue, we realized another one. The format we were editing our stories as was not correct. After fixing them and rendering all of the projects we were able to finally get back on track. The only thing is every time we edit a sequence now we have to render every tiny change. Because of this we’re just going to start the coffee roaster story over from scratch.  I’m not complaining though. It’s really good to learn this all now, even if we learn it the hard way. I’m a firm believer in learning from your mistakes. Looking on the bright side, now I know all of this editing information for the future! Jenny and I will complete the third story tomorrow and I’m hoping we can take all of the editing lessons we learned from the first projects and create nothing short of a masterpiece. 

Greenwood County Shoot!

Jenny:

I have started to love Tuesdays! This is the day of the week that I most look forward too! I'm sure Meagan feels the same! Today's shoot was in Greenwood SC, and what better way to start off the morning than with a great couple hours on a golf course?! Not to mention we got to take the Golf Carts around the links to different holes that the Complex was known for. Kevin Whitehead, Pro Golfer, took us around and I drove behind him and Meagan as they led the way. The place was gorgeous! Our second stop was The Mill House Pizza restaurant. The people were very laid back and the environment was inviting! We were able to shoot the B-roll by ourselves again and Tabitha allowed Meagan and I to pretty much take over the interview. I'm pretty excited for when we are able to do our stories!! The next and final stop for the day was the Veteran's Center, where we had the pleasure of meeting a guy who really wants to see things build to their potential. 

The one thing that is irreplaceable with this internship is the fact that I am learning new things everyday- and I don't mean that in the cliche college way, where of course you learn new things every day. I mean... I am gaining true insight to facets of our community that I would never have taken into consideration until meeting some of these people. These entrepreneurs who sacrifice their previous lives to move down here to SC to try and start up a business are inspiring. Not only does it take intelligence in a market that is currently down, but it takes a significant amount of faith that the business will begin to grow. The people we've met who are doing so much for others and the community in which they live in is truly eye opening because growing up in a technologically fancy generation, we are used to seeing only the wealthy and intelligent succeed. But what I've been blinded from is the pure happiness in helping others, and that in itself is its own success and wealth. 

Everyday further into this internship I'm trying to challenge myself and dig deeper into specific areas that I could enjoy and find a comfortable living out of. Whenever I start to get discouraged, I find myself just pulling out of the possibility realm and reminding myself that I am only going to be a Junior next year and I need to take it one day at a time. Then, from the futuristic part of me, I keep reminding myself that every decision I choose now will effect some aspect of my future, and that pushes me right back to where I start my thought process. The thing is, like Meagan, there are so many different things to do now a days that I don't want to confine myself to just one aspect. But I also don't want to experiment in too many areas to where I can function a broad range of different media's but never really excel in one in particular. 

I'm still looking for my niche, but I'll continue to take it one day at a time and enjoy and take in all that I can learn from meeting with different people and observing the field in which I've been immersed in. 

Meagan:

To “tee off” today’s shoot in Greenwood, SC we headed to Stoney Point golf club. There we covered a story on retirement in the community with an emphasis on golf and Lake Greenwood. The golf course was a gorgeous sea of green as far as the eye could see. So naturally everything was running smoothly and then… dun dun dunnnnn… I opened the sound equipment backpack and pulled out the headphones to find one earphone dangling. I’m not really sure how it happened but it was nothing a little duct tape couldn’t fix. But back to the shoot… the b-roll was a hole in one! We had a variety of shots when people were practicing on the putting green. We even had the opportunity to ride around the golf course in a golf cart! I had the pleasure of riding with the golf pro as he guided us to all the cool golf holes. The only difficulty with filming the shoot was a lack of b-roll of the lake and the wind. My goodness the wind… There is nothing worse for an interview then wind blowing into the microphone. Even the slightest breeze sounds like a hurricane through the mic. Our only option was to shoot the interview inside the golf store instead of on the green. The interview still looked nice though and Jenny and I shot some extra b-roll on our own afterwards.

Our second shoot was at the Mill House Pizza restaurant. Jenny and I had the chance to film all the b-roll for this shoot! We learned a few pointers along the way too. For example, if a business such as a restaurant is a little empty during filming, avoid shots with empty tables and chairs. We filmed people eating too so we just asked for permission to use them in our footage. Everyone was more than willing and excited to possibly make it in the “short”. So like I said, we were at a pizza restaurant and I L-O-V-E pizza… but I learned I L-O-V-E filming at brick oven pizza restaurant even more. Why? Well thanks for asking. At the Mill House we used the regular lens to shoot the wide shots of customers and interactions with their waitresses. Then we used the amazingly awesome 70-200mm lens that zooms like a champ! I got a shot of inside the brick oven, the dough masters tossing dough in the air, and tight shots of the cheesy ooey-gooey pizzas ready to be devoured! I worked audio for the interview and helped set up the interview shot too. After enjoying some pizza pie on the house, it was time to head to our last shoot.

Our last story was at the Greenwood’s Veteran Center. I really didn’t know what to expect when we first got there. It turns out the man who opened the Center turned an abandoned library into a new fully functioning center for Veterans and the community at large. He is a very passionate man and showed us every nook and cranny of the place. The center is still in the works so b-roll was limited to just a reception area but I think his interview will definitely make up for it. We ran into another learning opportunity too. The issue: recessed lighting. Recessed lighting is not a fimographer’s friend. Recessed lighting reflecting off of glass in almost every shot is a filmographer’s nightmare. We made it work though. Tabitha used the bigger zoom lens to try and get tighter shots and avoid the light.  We also turned off the lights when that worked better. Other than that, the day went pretty smoothly. I always love learning new tricks and tidbits of advice. In this industry it’s crucial to continue to learn on every shoot and I definitely want to take full advantage of that.  

Summerville Shoot

Jenny:

If it weren't for having to put the date at the top, I honestly don't think I would have known just how fast this summer is flying by. We are already halfway into the internship and it feels like just yesterday we were walking in the front doors waiting to get out ID's made. Nonetheless, we are still going. Today we went to Summerville for another shoot. Our first stop was to visit a place not as foreign to me as some, Summerville High School- one of Beaufort's rival's. We went to interview Coach McKissick, the most winningest high school football coach in the nation! It was news to me that he had that title because I hadn't heard anything like that when I was in High School. But I wish I had, he was a sweet man and really down to earth. We went to the football field to shoot some B-roll and it really made me miss home. Good thing I'm going home this weekend. :) Our second stop was at the Summerville Chamber, where we learned why Summerville has become the birthplace of Sweet Tea. Their setup for us was so pretty and they had the whole spread laid out for us to get some B-roll. Our third interview was at Coastal Coffee Roasters, which is, up to date, one of my favorite shoots. The owners were so nice!! Their space reminded me of a cozy, laid back, family atmosphere, because it was. It is family ran, and they support the small entrepreneurial businesses. While we were shooting, people were in and out and I swear the owners must have known each customers life story. It was a really eye opening experience- makes you realize not every business out there is in it for the pure sake of making money. This was also a great shoot because it was the first one where Tabitha let loose of the reigns and let me and Meagan shoot all the B-roll. We loved it! We were experimenting with the focus, zooming, the slider, asking the owners to participate, and just having fun with it. 
About half way through, Tabitha came in and informed us of some uncomforting news. Our car had been taken over by ANTS!! And seeing how I was sitting shotgun- I became the designated ant killer on the way home. They were coming out of the air conditioning vents, cup holder, dashboard, and the side of the doors. But, after a good slaughtering, they went away and we were able to sit comfortably for the rest of the ride. 

Meagan:

Today is the day! I am sOoOo excited about our Summerville shoot today the uppercase and lowercase “o’s” are absolutely necessary! Why so excited? Well, the Summerville shoot is like my baby. Tabitha gave me the opportunity to contact the Chamber of Commerce and completely book all of the interviews, set up interview times, etc. by myself. I worked with Tabitha to decide which stories to do and followed through with all the contacts to make it happen… and after today, I feel like a proud mama. Our first shoot was with the all time most winningest football coach, Coach McKissick! Touch down! After coaching 60 seasons at Summerville High School and with almost 600 wins under his belt, it was an honor to interview him. Not to mention he also coached UGA’s legendary A.J. Green (GO DAWGS!). I’m just thanking my lucky stars the interview worked out because he almost couldn’t make it. But man… what an experience. Tabitha always gives us a chance to ask questions during the interview too. Naturally, I’m as curious as a cat and a “Chatty Cathy” so I usually do have something to ask. I just had to know what he considered the highlight of his 60-year coaching career (check out the ETV “short” to find out the answer!).   While we were there, Tabitha discussed the possibility of a follow up interview for a SC Hall of Fame documentary. She is trying to book the interview soon, so I just hope Jenny and I are still here so we can help with that as well. SC Hall of Fame pieces are filmed and edited on a much larger scale, so it would be awesome to be a part of the project. After we shot b-roll of all of his honors, awards, and the football field named after him, we left for our next interview.

Our second story highlights Summerville as the “Birthplace for Sweet Tea.” Sweet Tea is the staple drink of the south so what a claim to fame that is! Now all southern sweet tea lovers might want to put earmuffs on when I admit this: …I am NOT a huge fan of the notorious southern beverage… at all.  However I did enjoy learning about sweet tea’s SC history. Even though b-roll was somewhat limited, we put our thinking caps on and came up with some pretty “suh-weet” shots. (You’ll have to check out the ETV shorts page to see!) I ran audio while Jenny served as the “looking point” for the interviewee, and Tabitha asked questions while filming. It’s important for the interviewee to have a focal point to look at if the interviewer is behind the lens. Therefore Jenny’s job was pretty crucial.  After leaving the very hospitable visitor’s center, it was off to Coastal Coffee Roasters for our third story and a cup of joe!

Coastal Coffee Roasters not only sells coffee but they also roast coffee in-house! The coffee house, or shall I say coffee “warehouse” is heaven for any coffee feigns like myself. They sell all types of coffee beans, fresh brewed coffee, and tons of local treats from other sellers. Jenny and I had free reign to film ALL of the b-roll for this shoot. We must have inhaled too much caffeine because we filmed just about every angle of the roasting house we could. We varied from tight shots to wide shots and even practiced using the “slider” (a metal piece you can add to the tripod to slide the camera across). I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE filming so I can’t wait to film more b-roll in the future. After filming all the cool shots we could think of and enjoying a nice espresso, it was time to head back to ETV. Well we weren’t alone when we situated ourselves back in the van. Before we could even buckle our seatbelts we realized there were a few pesky visitors in the van with us. Few as in a few hundred, and pesky visitors as in ANTS!!! Tabitha killed most of them before we got in the car and Jenny acted as the exterminator the rest of the way home.  Luckily for me, the ants were only in the front. (Sorry guys!) Sometimes there are perks to not riding “shot-gun”.

*PS. I would like to give a shout out to Summerville’s Tourism Coordinator, Tina Zimmerman, for such great stories and working so closely with me in booking my first shoot. :)

Office Day

Jenny:

Well, we started today off in the office just finishing up the last of the PTSD editing and putting in the templates for the text. Meagan worked on that pretty much all morning. While I was going down the checklist of things to do. I had to call the Abbeville and Cherokee Chambers to find stories. That worked out pretty well, it was just a matter of finding the people to book the stories with. I called several places to try and book some interviews for July 5th (not really thinking that the day before is a national holiday). So, booking didn't go as smoothly as I had wanted it to. But, tomorrow I will keep trying. Tabitha also wants us to find a county with some stories that are of interest to us and so far I think I have mine picked out. Just need to do a little more digging. 

Around 3:30 Meagan and I ventured off to the Sumter studio to help them this week on Making it Grow. This is the part of the week that I look forward to- next to when we go out and do the shoots. The crew there is so inviting and fun. We showed up just in time for the snack sesh! We had substation with Greenbrier Farm's homemade bread and pesto! It was sooo good! The guest for the week so nice!! After the show we pretty much went shopping with all that she had brought. I took home a loaf of bread, pesto sauce, some italian chorizo sausage, and some peaches and plums! Next week is Rowland's last show so the studio is getting ready for that and I hope to come back next week!!

Meagan:

I think I can say I am becoming a pro at Final Cut Pro now. I worked on the PTSD interview project pretty much all day. We cut the interviewee’s answers and replaced the questions with wrapping text on a full screen graphic. I went back and checked all the sound levels to make sure they were peeking around -12 and transitioning smoothly. Now the sound flows “smooth as butta” (in a Boston accent).  The next task is to add in music and make sure it is… well… perfect! The perfectionist in me is definitely taking over in editing this week, which has its pros and cons. Pros: the interviews will all be cohesive and flow the same with flawless transitions (if I must say so myself). Cons: spending painstaking time making this happen. But I’d say the Pros outweigh the Cons in this situation, so painstaking editing it is! (*Please acknowledge the hint of sarcasm and keep in mind that I really do love editing anything and everything.)

Well before we knew it, the clock struck 3:30. What’s so special about 3:30 on a Tuesday afternoon? Making It Grow! Jenny and I jumped in “Ranger the 2^nd”, my car, and set out for our road trip to Sumter. Over the river and through the woods, to Making it Grow we go! When we got there we met up with Destinee, the summer intern in Sumter, and watched how she is logging tapes to make a special show for retiring host, Rowland Alston. It was really cool to watch old footage and see the set then versus now and the range of guests that were featured on the show. I can’t wait to see the final product and record his final episode on a VHS, considering the fact that I still do not have DVR like the rest of the modern world.  After asking Destinee some questions about her project and the editing software she was using (that I can’t remember the name of), it was dinnertime! Man oh man… walking onto the set never smelt so yummy. If only there was a such thing as “smell-o-vision”, the audience would have had the pleasure of inhaling the smell of fresh sour dough bread and pesto. The guest today ran a CSA and made her own products fresh from Greenbrier Farms. She brought in pestos, loaves of bread, and so much more.

Okay so aside from getting sidetracked with the food, Jenny and I had the chance to work camera 2 again! I was more confident this time around and really feel like I’m getting the hang of it. We worked the camera for the full hour of the live show while taking turns sitting in the control room as well. After the show we had the chance to honor Rowland with the rest of the volunteers and interns. We recorded a special message that he will see next week! Rowland is a fantastic host and I wish him the best in his retirement. I know Amanda McNulty will do great in taking over in this new chapter of the show.

Final Cut Pro's?

Jenny:

Our external hard drive is up and running! Don gave us some PTSD film footage to edit and put together and I definitely had a tricky time with the text, but it was a learning experience for sure. I forgot to view the text within the window it was supposed to be in, so I had to go back and resize and reposition the text to fit the window. Other than that, we got it done. Meagan definitely helped me out and taught me a lot of things with FCP.


Around 2 o'clock we went to the control room for rehearsal for Saturday's show. It doesn't seem like it will be too hard, but I'm still a little nervous for it. I learned how to use the DDR (digital data recorder) and we were able to figure out how tomorrow was going to go. I'm pretty excited for the show!

Meagan:

So this morning Jenny and I thought we had a magnificent plan. We are currently editing interviews for a PTSD program on our external hard drive. Well today was also supposed to be the day we buckle up and put our Final Cut Pro skills to the test. The original plan was to edit the Anderson footage into 3 “Shorts” while also editing the PTSD footage. Then came the problem… we can’t edit using two different computers and one external hard drive. Awwww shucks, yah killin me smalls! Tabitha said the PTSD editing took precedence, so Jenny worked on that until problem number two.  For about 2 or so hours we could not figure out how to “wrap the text” on the full screen graphics to make the project cohesive. After youtubing and googling… we were still lost puppies. The search and trial and error was pain staking work, but hey no pain no gain. Even though we still never figured it out until the next day, we did learn more about FCP with all the research we had done. So looks like it was a win-win in the end! Tick tock, tick tock, 2’oclock… and off to the TCC! Weeeeee.  Many of the interns volunteered to work at the live recording of a program called “America’s Armed Forces: Time for a Checkup” tomorrow.  I am assigned to work with the great Richard Jablonski running teleprompter for CNN’s JOHN KING (no big deal…), while Jenny is working with the equally great Don Godish as DDR operator.  Today was easy breezy but I’m nervous/excited about tomorrow. I practiced working the teleprompter a bit and my only other job is recording time. I’ve worked teleprompter before at UGA’s NewSource but this is a little different, and a much bigger deal. Fingers crossed tomorrow will go off without a hitch! Pressures on and I couldn’t be more excited! 8:30 am call time… bring it on. 

June 16, 2012

Jenny:

While my friends were up and getting ready to go on the river, I was putting on the business clothes for this morning's shoot. I came early just to make sure I knew exactly what I was to do and to see if they needed any extra help. I was able to meet John King and the crew that was working the cameras/audio. It was really cool being able to experience the behind the scenes aspect of the show and I look forward to more opportunities like this. The show went smoothly and there weren't any problems. I sat next to Don in the control room and observed how directing goes and it could definitely be something I'd be interested in! We were able to take pictures after the show was over and mingle with some of the guests.

Meagan:

Lights, camera, action... it's show time ladies and gentlemen! Today is the big day in the TCC main studio. When I arrived I went straight in to fire up my teleprompter, check my stop watches, oh... and get a glimpse of John King of course! The teleprompter was acting up a little but we smoothed out the issues rather quickly. At 9am we recorded the promos for the show and I was able to get a feel John King's prompter speed. Luckily, it was much easier than I anticipated! I loved being in the control room. There's something magic about being apart of how a show runs. I sat next to Richard Jablonski who was a huge part of the show's operations. He was so nice and laid back, that he made this awesome opportunity even better. By the end of the day we were pounding knuckles... now that's a sign of good teamwork! 

Well like I had hoped, the show went on without a hitch! The timing ended up being perfect and the panel answered each question in a concise and timely matter. I was planning for chaos but that definitely wasn't the case. After the show we went in the studio to take group pictures with John King. I'm glad I have the pictures to brag about my wonderful experience! I don't think many other internships give as many hands on opportunities like this, so I'm very grateful today. All I can think now is when we can do it again? 

It's funny that I know I am truly following my dreams when most people think I was "giving up" some of my weekend... but in my mind there is nothing else I'd rather be doing. 


June 18, 2012

Jenny:

So I don't think I've ever spent as much time behind a computer in one sitting than I had today. And I really hope I won't have to again. Meagan worked on my computer to do the PTSD interviews because we started the FCP version with my computer and hers didn't have the same version so they wouldn't be compatible to switch. So I was on a computer that didn't have Microsoft Word, so mainly today, I surfed the web going to random county sites to see if I could find any good or interesting story ideas. I jotted down a few and then would occasionally find myself wandering off. It was then that I'd take trips to the bathroom just to walk around. I was super tempted to run up and down the hallway a few times. Sitting down for long lengths of times is not exactly what I like to do. But, sometimes we have to do the boring stuff to get to the good stuff. Tomorrow we get to go to Sumter again and I can't wait!!

Meagan:

Ouchie-wah-wah. After editing from 9am to 5pm, I think my right arm is going to fall off. And after leaving my lunch at home today... if my arm doesn't fall off, I may eat it off. Today it was my turn to edit the PTSD interviews. Jenny and I split the project in half, so I tried to start and finish my portion today. However that was just wishful thinking with the amount of film there was to watch, edit, and trim up. The format of the interviews is a Q&A with a full screen graphic with text as the question and the interviewee on camera as the answer. The editing wasn't hard, just time consuming. The task was extremely beneficial though! When Jenny and I couldn't figure out how to make the text wrap, I emailed my professor and discovered a new way of making text on FCP. Instead of using the regular text, you use the 3D title... and it gives you WAY more customized options. I was able to solve the text wrapping problem and fit the text in the wire frame with no problem. Then my second learning curve was inserting the full screen graphic and making it fit the widescreen. I figured it out eventually and now I feel like I've learned even more shortcuts in FCP which will definitely come in handy! 

Anderson Shoot

Jenny:

Well, third time is the charm I suppose. Meagan and I are starting to get the hang of the routine for the shoots and today we went to Anderson SC to interview people for their Downtown economic development, their newest addition of an ADA accessible water ramp, and an overall idea of their up and coming economic plans. Not only were the shoots a lot of fun and insightful, but I feel like the car ride held a lot of thought provoking conversation. Meagan and I know that this internship is definitely helping us experiment and try new things in a variety of fields, but that also makes it difficult to narrow down exactly what it is I want to do. Going to all of these different places keeps putting more and more ideas in my mind and now I just have a lot of research and planning to do. 

My favorite part about today, besides getting to kayak on the Saluda, was when we went into the Art Gallery. I don't know when I became so fascinated with art, but I suppose it all goes hand in hand with photography and film. Well, anyway, the building, architecturally was gorgeous in that it had brick walls, wooden floors, unique tidbits of art incorporated into the stairwell, and of course the walls were decorated with oil paintings, mixed media art, and more! 

Meagan pretty much sums up our excitement for the places we went today! Tabitha mentioned how she's about to let the reigns go and give us some freedom to choose where and what story we want to cover and do it completely by ourselves from start to finish. I'm sure I speak for Meagan as well when I say that I am so excited!! 

Meagan:

“On the road again, just can’t wait to get on the road again!” So today was shoot numero tres, in Anderson County. While riding in the ETV van on the way to our first destination Tabitha, Jenny, and I had a really eye opening conversation.  I personally want to get my own video camera to record packages, make commercials for small businesses, and even create my own mini documentary series. However, investing in equipment is so scary. With technology changing every few years, I really don’t know what to invest in without breaking the bank. Tabitha really helped sort this issue out though. I’m still not certain what direction to take in my purchases but she was very supportive in the overall idea of going out and working on our own projects. We also talked about the importance of experience in the field in terms of figuring out what career path Jenny and I really want to pursue. The most complicating thing for me is that I love EVERYTHING. I love being on camera, I love filming, I love photography, I love producing, I love shooting b-roll, I love interviewing people, and I love editing… ok so you get the point, I love it all. But with all that love comes confusion. Approaching my senior year is bittersweet. I find comfort in my certainty that journalism is the career path for me. However I am hoping by the end of this internship I will have a clearer idea as to what particular avenue suits my wants, dreams, and talents best.

But back to the shoot. Our first stop was City Hall to discuss the revitalization of downtown Anderson.  Every step we took we found some evidence of the revitalization project. From the various statues throughout the town, to the artistic fish project Anderson really impressed me in all of the future plans for the “Electric City.” My favorite part about the tour downtown was the new development called “Wise Walks.” Wise Walks is a project that puts inspirational, witty, or famous quotes on stone slabs in the downtown sidewalks.  My favorite stone is a quote from the late Dr. Seuss, “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” Ahhh… so true, right??? After we wrapped up filming downtown, it was off to Powder Springs to try out our kayaking skills. Well sort of. Our second shoot was at a kayak send-off on the Saluda River. What’s so cool about that you may ask? Well, the launch point is wheel chair accessible and is the first of it’s kind in the state of South Carolina. Jenny and I even got the chance to test it out! We zipped up our life jackets, held on to our paddles, and launched into the fast flowing waters of the Saluda. Needless to say, we were “overflowed” with excitement. While on the shoot we also used the light reflector panel for the first time to balance out the light on the interviewees face. After learning about Anderson’s latest public recreational feature, we headed back to town to cover a story on the county’s economic development. Filming b-roll for this topic was very interesting. An economic development employee rode with us in the van to point out the various industries and manufacturing plants housed in Anderson. To film all of these places however we had to do our best to get the shots of the plants, even if that meant pulling off on the side of the road. Now that’s journalism for yah! You gotta do what you gotta do to get the shots that count! The Anderson trip turned out to be so much fun. Now I can’t wait to see all of the footage tomorrow and start editing the ETV shorts with Jenny. 

A lot of 'Vaultage'.

June 11, 2012

 Jenny:

We spent the day in the Vault again but the morning went by so fast because we were constantly doing something. They received a lot more boxes and our job was to go ahead and unpack them, sort them into the correct order, and place them on the shelves. We got done with this in about three hours. Afterward, we had lunch and began to input more into the system.

Meagan:

Hi ho, hi ho, back to the vault we go! Today was our second “team meeting” with the vault crew. During the meeting we discussed last week’s issues and accomplishments, as well as ideas for the upcoming week. Lydia, heading the vault project, announced the project is running on time and is half way through. That’s great news for the vault grant, congrats you guys! After the meeting, Jenny and I got into a good rhythm unloading, organizing and re-shelving news archive tapes. Time flew by and before we knew it half the day was done. After cataloging tapes for an hour or so, I worked on confirming interviews for our Dorchester/Summerville shoot. The calls were a success and we are booked to film and interview the most winningest football coach in history (Coach McKissick), the Coffee Coastal Roasters, and “The Birthplace of Sweet Tea.” The responsibility of finding stories from a county’s chamber of commerce and setting up the interviews is so much fun! Making these contacts and learning how to interact with them is essential in this business. 

June 12, 2012

 Jenny:

We had a late start to the day because we went to the ETV studio in Sumter to help them on their Live Making It Grow Segment. We left around 1:30 and got there at 2:30ish. We were introduced to Sean (the producer/director), Lacey (the head intern), Destinee (another intern), Tom (camera man/audio/editor), Kevin (another behind the scenes man), and the whole crew along with some special guests. We had a lot of time to mess around with the cameras and get the hang of the different shots and focusing and zooming in smoothly. We also got to go in the control room and play director for a little while. Today has definitely been one of my favorite days so far. At 5 we broke for dinner (Substation and snacks) and got to socialize with the crew and guests. The guests they featured were called “Blue Moon” and its new types of spices, sauces, and spreads. They brought some of their products that we were able to try and test out and it was so good!! I really enjoyed the environment and got a feel for how the equipment was operated. I love the hands on experience and hope we can continue to come to the shows on Tuesdays to help!

Meagan:

Jenny covered the day perfectly... today was SUH-WEEEEET! Jenny chaffered us to the set in Sumter where our adventures began. Upon arriving, the friendly environment was contagious. Mr.T (Tom), Sean, Distinee, Lacey, and well.. everyone was just so helpful and energetic. As Sean put it in the first 5 minutes, "we already put your names in the credits so be prepared to work." Prepared we were, and work we did. We couldn't wait to help in any way, shape of form. Mr. T showed Jenny, Destinee, and I how to operate the studio cameras. We learned how to zoom in quickly and smoothly, focus on the subject, and correctly frame a shot. The crew told us we might be working the cameras that night and sure enough Jenny and I were assigned camera 2 for a LIVE show! SCORE! Aside from working with cameras, we practiced directing cameras in the control room and controlling programming. Over our yummy sub dinner, we had the opportunity to meet the unbelievably intelligent hosts Rowland Alston and Amanda McNulty, and the guest for the night with Blue Moon. And speaking of Blue Moon, we had the pleasure of digging into some of their very own pimento cheese, deviled eggs, and chicken wings after the show. Even after loosening my belt, I still wanted more! Thank goodness they let us take some treats home (you're welcome mom!). Working at Making It Grow allowed us to have hands on experience even our first time there. I think Jenny can agree that we could have stayed there all night. I feel like there is still so much to learn about production by volunteering at Making It Grow and I hope we can go back as many Tuesdays as possible. Especially because Rowland is retiring after the next show, and it would be an honor to wish him farewell, while also welcoming Amanda in as the new host. I could honestly write 5 more paragraphs about the amazing experience we gained today but I will refrain and sum it up in a quote by C.S Lewis, "Experience is a brutal teacher, but you learn. My God, do you learn." (In no way was today "brutal" but boy did we learn!)

Oh hey, no big deal. Just working at ETV for the next 10 weeks. :)

May 29, 2012

 Jenny:

We met with our supervisor, Tabitha Safdi and were placed in a cubicle across from her office. We were able to get our ID’s made with another intern (Kala). We took a tour of both the building we are working in for the summer (the old building) and the TCC (telecommunication center). We were able to sit in on two live news feeds. One was broadcasted to MSNBC and the other was on CNN. It was really fascinating to me to watch everything behind the scenes and it’s definitely something I think I would be interested in. We also were able to help test out microphones on one of the sets they were prepping for a show later that day.

 Meagan:

“IT’S FINALLY HERE!” My exact thoughts as I jumped out of bed this morning at 6:30am. Yes… I said it, 6:30am! I must admit I am not a morning person but I have a feeling that’ll change this summer. So as I arrive at the ETV building in Columbia all bright eyed and bushy tailed ready to meet our supervisor Tabitha Safdi, I realize I’m in the wrong building. #Rookie mistake.  When I finally get where I am supposed to be across the street, I met my fellow intern Jenny and toured what will be our home for 10 weeks.  From then on, the first day couldn’t have been better! We toured the new etv studios (the TCC), met some of the nicest staff members, sat in on live news feeds to CNN and MSNBC (what-a-dream!), and saving the best for last… we got our intern badges and our own cubicle space making us official.  We each have our own computers and desks, our own phone line, and office supplies galore! What else could an intern ask for? Literally. Later in the day we helped with mic checks for a production the next day. It was pretty cool being behind the scenes and seeing everything that goes into producing a show. Overall day 1 was a success and I can’t wait for our first day in the field tomorrow. Greenville here we come!

May 30, 2012

 Jenny:

I feel like this internship has already started out on such a good note. Everything we did today is exactly what I would love to continue to do. We traveled to Greenville for three different interviews. The first was with SCIO Diamonds, which is a new industry which grows diamonds. I have no doubt that this business will begin to boom soon. I was so interested in the science behind it too because I usually shrug off things that deal with chemistry or science. This company was located in the Next Innovation Center which is a large modern designed building that houses office space and we interviewed the CEO of Gnoso in order to get more details on the space and how it’s impacted the city of Greenville. Our third stop was at Zike Bikes- a new type of hybrid scooter/bike. We were able to talk to the brains behind the operation and hear all about his story. We rode the bikes around the shop and take some fun B-roll footage. In all three places we got a feel for how to set up the scenes, what questions to ask, how to stage the set for B-roll and how to work the audio portion. Going around the state and traveling to meet other people and talk about their stories or passions is definitely something that I couldn’t get from another job and being able to video it and bring it back and perfect it to share with everyone is just like me giving back something to them for their time.

Meagan:

It’s the second day of the internship and we are already going in the field and filming. We went upstate to Greenville, SC to film 3 genuinely awesome stories. My genius TELE professor, David Hazinksi, always preaches that a good story must be “new, interesting, and different.” After today’s shoot, I can say we definitely met those requirements. Our first story was about SCIO Diamond Technology Corp, a company that actually “grows” their own manmade diamonds. Of course some people try to grow their own tomatoes, try to grow as an intellectual, and even try to grow their own hair…. but DIAMONDS??? Like I said, new, interesting and different. SCIO Diamonds is actually housed in the NEXT Innovation Center, which was our next story idea.  The NEXT Innovation Center is pretty indescribable. It is a huge state of the art technology center created to help entrepreneurial industries collaborate ideas and brainpower to take their businesses to new heights. Even the design of the innovation center seemed… well “innovative”. The building walls were lined with dry erase boards filled with ideas and the interaction amongst companies definitely seemed like a great business environment. The third story was on Zikes! Zikes are a hybrid between a bike and a scooter and come in 4 different types. While we were there test-drove the Zikes with the CEO and inventor himself! It was pretty tricky to learn at first but such a cool experience. 

Even though it was exciting just visiting and touring all of these cool places, the best part of the whole day was filming, setting up shots, and interviewing the interviewees. From a technical aspect we learned how to film with a DSLR Canon 7d, how to use the audio recorder, how to interview someone for the "shorts," and what makes for a great b-roll shot.  However, not everything we learned on the trip was technical knowledge. I personally discovered how much our work meant to these companies. Everyone really seemed to appreciate the  time we spent highlighting their growing successes and their connection to Greenville County. Now, I can't wait to get back and learn how to edit the ETV "shorts" for the website. The experience I have gotten in just one day is EXACTLY what I was looking for in an internship.

May 31, 2012

  Jenny:

We went to the Senate house this morning to control the different camera feeds for the ETV live segment. In the beginning everything seemed overwhelming with all the buttons and screens and lights, but as we observed and got the run down on everything, it really wasn’t too difficult- just really time consuming. Afterwards we went back to the office and researched things for Pickens County. We also got a glimpse at how Tabitha edited the interviews on FCP.

 Meagan:

Good Morning SC State House! Today we sat in on the taping of a live House of Representatives meeting. We sat in a private control room where we learned as much as we could about what goes into filming a House meeting and how to work the different cameras. Luckily Tabitha is a champ, because it seemed pretty challenging to us. There were 3 different cameras with multiple presets to punch throughout the meeting. In some circumstances Tabitha had to zoom, pan, and tilt to create new shots for the segment while finding the correct lower thirds for every speaker at the same time! Whew, what a morning. Just being in the state house made me feel important and in actuality we were. Even if politics may seem dry, filming the meeting was quite interesting! It was hard for us to just sit there and watch because we wanted to dive in and help, but learning how it wall worked was awesome too. After the meeting adjourned we headed back to ETV and researched story ideas for Pickens County, our next stop! We also had the opportunity to see how Tabitha edits the “shorts” using FCP (Final Cut Pro). This knowledge will come in handy when our external hard drive comes in and we can edit packages ourselves. 

June 1, 2012

Jenny:

After having watched Tabitha work with FCP I was really excited at the possibility that we would be able to edit. However, our external hard drive has not come in yet so we were given other jobs. My duty today was to transcribe an interview. I jumped on the opportunity- not knowing what exactly “transcribing” entailed. What I quickly learned was that I had no idea what I had signed up for. Transcribing is typing up everything- word for word that is said in an interview. So I had to play and pause every few milliseconds in order to accurately do the job. I now know the childhood, career, and motives of Jasper Johns, a local artist who now resides in Connecticut. It was definitely time consuming, but not difficult. The story was interesting so it was neat being able to write on it.

Meagan:

Our external hard drive is still on its way, so in the mean time we filled our first Friday up with other tasks. Oh, and a PIZZA PARTAYYY! While Jenny transcribed an interview on local artist, Jasper Johns, I worked on finishing tweets for the ETV “Shorts.” My job was to watch about 45 “Shorts” already posted on the ETV website and then create intriguing tweets to entice twitter follows to watch the videos. Now I must say I haven’t jumped on board the twitter train yet, but I am one of those obnoxious people who #hashtag on facebook status’, so I do have some previous experience. I realized creating tweets for the “Shorts” is actually a pretty beneficial skill to develop for today’s social media frenzy. With twitter taking over as a main social media site, learning how to attract followers and popularity through twitter is essential. By the time I was almost done with the wittiest tweets I could muster up, it was pizza party time in the office! OM NOM NOM. We were lucky to share the spoils with the content division for winning the college basketball bracket as a team building exercise. Village Idiot pizza sure made this rainy Friday a brighter day. Jenny, Kala, and I sat on what we dubbed the “intern couch” and met many staff members we haven’t seen before. #makin’themcontacts! (ß See so useful!) After pulling ourselves away from the gooey cheesy goodness, it was time to get back on the grind. After I finished my tweets, it was time for task number two, calling a few Chambers of Commerce for story ideas. Calling the Chambers of Commerce in different counties is the main way we get our story ideas for the “Shorts.” We really want to give the county the chance to highlight their community the way they want to. It’s also important to keep a relationship with the Chambers across the state for future projects and connections. Tabitha created a general guideline of how to speak to the Chambers to create a relationship with them, and ultimately get interesting story ideas. I was assigned to call Berkeley, Myrtle Beach, and the Commerce Chamber. I was a tad rusty my first go around but Tabitha gave me some tips to sound more personable. I originally thought it was best to be overly business-like and serious, but I soon realized it is best to just be genuine and relaxed. So with the tweets under my belt, the pizza making me loosen my belt, and learning how to find story ideas, I’d say it was a great first Friday on the job! 

June 4, 2012

  Jenny & Meagan:

The day was mostly filled with observing Tabitha work on the Greenville videos and we were also able to make more Tweets for the newest Shorts online. We found it really helpful to see the process she uses to make the Shorts. We learned to match up the interview's audio and video first, cut the sound-bites we want to use, then go back in and add the b-roll. Later in the day we researched and called around to different chambers in order to find story ideas for Anderson. 

June 5, 2012

Jenny:

It rained a lot today and we were supposed to go to Pickens, but since its raining it ended up getting rescheduled to Thursday so Tabitha gave us a lot of different documentaries that were made by ETV and some that were international. I learned a lot, and not just educationally, but also the different angles and styles of documentary filming. Dave Adams made a bunch of the documentaries we watched that were made from ETV, so we were able to talk to him about it afterward. We were also introduced to the possibility of talking with Amy Shumaker, a woman who works at ETV but also represents the INPUT team for the United States.

Meagan:

The rhymes I used to sing as a child on rainy days popped into my head this morning as I nearly hydroplaned my way to the office … “Rain rain go away, come again another day,” “It’s raining it’s pouring, the old man is snoring…” Originally we planned to head to Pickens County today for our second shoot, but simply put we had a rain delay. There weren’t many alternative tasks to accomplish since we thought we would be trekking back to the upstate so Tabitha suggested a documentary day. She loaded us up with all different types of documentaries to watch. From ETV Carolina Stories by Dave Adams, to documentary series like “Women, War, and Peace,” we were fully equipped with videos to view, critique and learn from. Jenny and I watched them on the Mac Book ETV is letting us use. We ventured to one of the frigid meeting rooms and made ourselves as comfortable as possible in the refrigerator temperature. Bundled up in blankets, coffee in one hand and a pen to take notes in the other… we were ready for documentary day! We started with the Carolina Stories. The segments we watched covered mass murderer “Pee Wee,” homelessness in Columbia, the rise and fall of detective Melvin Purvis, and photographer Richard Roberts. All of the stories were quite captivating. They each had there own style and format so it was interesting to get a sense of making documentaries. The other documentaries were powerful as well. I highly recommend “Patriot Guard Riders” by Ellen Frick, “Fire Storm” by Julie Winkokur, and the PBS series “Women, War, and Peace.”  So even with numb fingers and sniffling noses, it was nice to just take the time and appreciate the different stories and the work that went into them. In retrospect, it’s incredible to think of all the research, filming, and postproduction involved in making a documentary. I’ve always been fascinated with the idea of making documentaries of my own. Watching the documentaries inspired me to pursue that goal. I want nothing more than to bring certain issues to the light and hopefully expose that issue to the public. Exposure and awareness can bring change, and with positive change comes progress. What did I learn at our internship today? With a camera, a cause, and passion, you can make a difference in the world. 

June 6, 2012

 Jenny & Meagan:

Today we were introduced to the Vault. It’s where ETV houses the majority of their film on tapes. Well they are currently organizing the tapes and putting them in a logical order and inputting them into the system. We got the hang of the system after a while and was able to enter in a good bit of tapes. We started to tackle certain jobs together toward the end of the day. We’re probably going to be in here a lot more in the upcoming weeks because they have a deadline to finish the project. 

June 7, 2012

Jenny:

We went on our second shoot today in Pickens and it was a more historical aspect of things than Greenville was. We went to the Sassafras Mountains, The Hagood Mill, and Andrew Pickens House. We were able to stand at the highest point of SC and be in two places at once, we were able to visit an area that’s history exceeds other places and we were able to walk in and around the house of a major political figure in the county of Pickens. I really enjoy the experience to do this and the opportunity to showcase these places that people wouldn’t otherwise know about.

Meagan:

“Oh, play me some mountain music… like grandma and grandpa used to play!” Alabama may sing the song but today we’re off to Pickens, South Carolina to Sassafras Mountain! After pushing putting the pedal to the metal, the van finally made it to the top. Sassafras Mountain was breath taking. I haven’t been to the mountains in so long, it was great to be back. The highlights of the mountain: standing in NC and SC at the same time, the beautiful back drop of the interview, almost stepping on a snake without knowing, and managing not to get car sick on the way down. Ok so the fourth one is a joke… kinda. After we ate at a gas station/restaurant/museum we were off to the 2^nd location, Hagood Mill. Hagood Mill is a historic gristmill that continues to produce grains today. It is also home to the largest wooden water wheel in SC! The Mill had so many options for shooting b-roll, and Jenny and I made sure to snap pictures the whole time we were there. Then it was time to head to the last stop, the Hopewell Home. The Hopewell Home is the former home of general Andrew Pickens! The white wooden house is currently going through renovations but it’s still a site to see. Oh, and if your last name is Pickens, you may want to attend the Pickens’ family reunion at the Hopewell Home next summer for the chance to meet some long lost relatives!

June 8, 2012

  Jenny:

Today I went straight into the vault and since I kind of knew better what I was to do I was able to go ahead and jump-start into the cataloguing and organizing of the films. We worked on that until around 12 when we took a lunch break with the other girls and we went to Yesterday’s and enjoyed the meal and just socialized. I feel like I can really learn a lot of from them by listening and asking them questions based on their experience. We went back to work and instead of continuing the cataloguing, I was able to watch some of the blank tapes and make descriptions of what were on them in order to better organize. 

Meagan:

We were summoned back to the vault this morning. Apparently we rock at cataloging so back to the warehouse of tapes it is! Jenny and I added random collections into the system until the clock struck noon. The vault crew made lunch reservations for us all at Yesterday’s in 5 points. My stomach was growling and my mouth was watering until I heard the words, “let’s eat!” Jenny and I hopped into Gypsy’s convertible, a fellow vault worker, and we were off. With the wind blowing through our hair we set out to our first “business lunch”! The head of the vault project met us all there. It was a great opportunity to get to know everyone on a more personal level and enjoy some delicious food at the same time! When we realized how late it had gotten, we wiped the crums off our faces, paid our bills, and headed back to ETV. For the rest of the day we continued cataloging tapes until it was time to go home. Cataloging tapes into a new system may not seem like a dream job, but it is fascinating to see the work that goes into such a necessary project. Everyone in the vault continues to thank us for our work so it’s great to know how helpful we have been so far!