Friday, May 30, 2008

Week Two - Jazzercise

Hello everyone! It is great to hear that you're all doing really well at your respective internships. Now don't go and get so comfortable that you decide not to come back in the fall.

This week has been a very fun one for me. First of all I had Monday off, always a nice beginning. On Tuesday when I came in one of our producers had me run a camera for an aerobics show they were doing in the studio. Wow can those old ladies move! I'm hoping to produce a show like this sometime during the course of my internship.

I have continued editing, and have finished a couple of projects now. I've been assigned to help Wendy Brokaw, a producer here, with some non-profit video brochures. Wendy is great, and used to work as a news producer/reporter in California. These video brochures are each 3-5 minutes long, and will be a summer-long assignment for me. These non-profit organizations are excited to have a free, but professional, promotional video, and I'm excited to have an opportunity to give something back to the community with my work.

I also had the opportunity to sit in on one of CCTV's bi-monthly production meetings this week. At these meetings they make assignments and decide what equipment will be sent where during the coming weeks. It has been fascinating to see this process. As a bonus, everyone I work with is a blast, so the meeting was funny and engaging.

Later today I'm off to set up for a softball tournament, and this weekend I finally get a chance to work with the production truck! Have a good week everyone!

Check out This Article to see me in action!

Script writing

Hey guys! It's so cool to hear what everyone else is doing. Glad you are all doing well. Life here in Madison is still good. The other two interns made it here, one is from Oregon and the other is from Virginia, so it's nice to have company back in our little intern cave as we have so affectionately named it.

I have finished writing the script for the student testimonies that I will start editing next week. We have a "show and tell" every week where we show what we are working on and get feedback, (it's definitely a team effort/environment here) so next week my four scripts will be on the chopping block and I'll see what they say and then start editing accordingly. The team is currently working on a set of multi-ethnic stories of various InterVarsity chapters and it was fun to see them and their progress. As college students, the other interns and I are pretty much the target audience for these videos so they really respect our opinions and listen to what we say. So that is pretty cool.

I was also asked to go with the production team to Indianapolis for an IV conference there to help with the audio/tech side of things. So I am stoked that they asked me and I am excited to travel down there and help out how I can.

Things are pretty slow now. Just helping out where I can becasue they are in the middle of a project right now, but soon I will get my time to edit and start shooting some things for the next line of videos. I have spent some time watching some of their old stuff that they produced earlier in the year and it's been helpful to watch those and learn their editing style and how they approach story-telling.

So things are going well--I am enjoying living in America's Dairy Land and all the perks that go along with it. I'll check in next Friday!

Melissa

Getting Close!!!

Hey Everyone!!!!,


This is Alex, I figured that I would say hi to everybody on here it sounds like people are having a great time on their internships. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, if things go well I will be going to LA/San Deigo for my internship working with PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) in their media productions dept. Hopefully that means I will be working with underwater cameras!!! that would be sweet... anyway I find out June 2nd. so I guess I will drop a line then to give the rest f the details. Have fun everyone talk to you soon.

Alex

Thursday, May 29, 2008

You Can Shoot Your Own Stuff?

KELO just lost their only weekend reporter, so last Saturday I got to go out on my own and shoot, write, edit my own package.


On Sunday, I got my chance again. Only this time, no one could do an interview on a South Dakota education committee (Memorial Day weekend-not many people are in the office) so I got my first lesson in conducting a "phoner" and using file video. I also edited my first package using tape-to-tape (i'd cut a few sports highlights back at KPAX on it, but never a whole package)
The weekend anchor/producer, Lou, had me introduce it live at six (and i think i have a lot to learn about being live..)

Money they sent me south to Yankton, SD, (1 hour, 20 minute drive) for the Memorial Day celebration. Only I was late and had to improvise by going to the VFW.

Tuesday I stayed close and did a story on absentee voting in the primary.

I love how I'm just thrown into into it. Most the reporters here work with their own photographer on every story and don't have to edit, but since I know how, they let me. They all tell me to get my face in the stories as much as possible so the community begins to recognize me. My reporting rotation ends Sunday and I'll begin the producing one.
-Bre

Week Number 2 At Loopline

Frankly, I don't think I could have picked a better time to be here in Ireland with this company. The project I mentioned in my last posting (the artist Brian O'Doherty 'burying' his alter-ego Patrick Ireland) has transformed into a major short-term project for Loopline. The goal is to quickly produce a film within the next few months to hopefully premier at a master class on filmmaking which would be attended by O'Doherty himself! So it's possible that while I'm here I will have seen almost the complete arc of a film being made, from shooting done the first days of my internship, to production now, and on to completion potentially before I leave. 
I helped scan newspaper articles on the event (including a several page article from the New York Times) to include in an emergency funding proposal sent to different financiers yesterday. This thing was a bigger deal than I originally thought, and here I am thrust straight into the middle of it. And hey, I'm almost done logging all the tape!

Anyway, I'm doing great. This place keeps me constantly busy and engaged, and I really feel part of something kind of important. I could get used to this...

Take care all,

Dan

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Week Two!

Hello again everyone!

Soooo I've got to do some fun things lately. Yesterday I went to Pablo MT to cover Hillary Clinton's speech. It was outside and the weather was beautiful so that was a plus! I was going to go with Jill Valley and watch the one-on-one with Hillary but the other reporter on the scene asked if I wanted to conduct the interviews of the people who attended the event. Of course I jumped on that and the first lady I interviewed ended up in tears! I didn't make her cry I swear!!! She was just really moved by what Hillary had to say. I interviewed about 5 or 6 people and a lot of their sound bites made it on the news at 10! That was exciting. It ended up being a 12 hr day so I am truly getting to experience the life of a reporter;)


I like what I'm doing because they pretty much send me with the most interesting stories everyday! I went to a crime lab today and got to see what they do to catch criminals with just a drop of DNA. I also attended fire training today to be prepared for Montana's fires. It's nice to be introduced to all of the officials in case I ever need to interview them. Whenever breaking news comes across the scanner they all look at me and ask if I want to partake! It's a blast! I am already starting to decide what kind of news I want to go into. I feel like I've learned a lot and it's only my second week! Everyday I sit in the control room or in the studio to watch the 5:30 news. It's comforting to see how relaxed everyone is! They really don't ever seem stressed on set. Surprisingly!!!

Everyone is really nice and they all let me shoot and interview so it's teaching me a lot! This is my first summer staying in Missoula and although the weather has been a little too rainy lately its been beautiful otherwise. I love the farmers market and how the downtown is always filled with people walking around and hanging out. I know many of you are used to Missoula in the summer but I am definitely loving it! I have been biking everywhere when I'm not working just enjoying the town in spring! All the trees are green or blossoming! It's so pretty!!! Well that's about it.

Have fun doing what you're all doing!!!

ally

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Paige's first three weeks... in a wrap

Hello everyone,

Paige Browning here from good ol' Spokane. I have been interning for a few weeks here at KHQ-TV. I finally figured out the website for this blog, so will start my postings a little late... Anyways, I have learned a ton already about how a newsroom is run from reporting to producing, directing, photography, updating the web, and all the smaller jobs in between. For the most part I follow reporters each day and practice editing their stories. I am starting to write my own versions of the stories now which I will edit and hopefully start posting soon.

Since I will be a Junior in the program next year, I really didn't know a lot about the newsroom coming into my internship. I am so much more comfortable now with how things are run! This week I will start doing more hands on work than just following reporters and producers. Today I went out with reporter Cindi Dehoog. For her two stories she is doing a vo-sot and a package. I wrote my own version of each, and will go into edit them myself when I get a chance. Pretty cool stuff here at KHQ!

Enjoy the summer. Ps: everyone should watch the Spokane Shock game this weekend... I get to help with photography at the event! (but seriously, why does Spokane love indoor football so much?)

Starting Soon

Hey Guys,
Stacy here, doing my first blog. It's soo exciting to se the blogs of those of you who have already started your internships. Congrats everyone!

My update is that my internship will officially start Tuesday, June 3rd and run until mid-August. This Friday my little brother will accompany me on the dreaded 11 hr drive from Salt Lake City to Denver.

I picked KMGH (ABC Denver News) because for the first third of my internship I get to rotate through 7 positions (ie: reporting, producting, researching, online news, etc.) and for the next 2/3rds I get to specialize in my favorite couple of areas. I predict that I will specialize in Reporting and Producing, as those are the areas I am currently most interested in.
The internship coordinator (Robin) sounds really passionate on the phone and she specifically requested to be the intern coordinator at KMGH because she loves fresh faces. This is a relief because I don't want to be an annoyance if I can help it.

Ray, I'll send you the learning agreement that first week. Do you have a fax # you'd like me to send it to? or should I snail-mail it?

Wish me Luck!

Sunday, May 25, 2008

First Couple Days

Hey Guys!

I officially started my internship at KHQ in Spokane yesterday (Saturday). I met everyone who works on the weekends and headed to Coeur D' Alene and Caltado with their weekend anchor Poala and photog Dave to check the flooding status. When we got back to the station I watched the interviews and wrote a package on the flooding, for some practice. Then I went out with Poala and Dave for Poala's live shots for the 5pm and 6pm shows.

Today, (Sunday) I hung out at the assignment desk for part of the day with the producer Jade and weekend assignment guy Jared. I wrote about eight vo's 4 for the 5pm news and 4 for the 6pm. I also went through and interview and did a vosot for the 5pm news. Then I went out for paola's live shots and that was pretty much my day.

Soon I will do live shots and stand-ups on the stories the reporters are working on just so I can have them for a resume tape. I'll also write and edit packages, vo's, and vosot's to get some experience. Along with writing some vo's and vosot's for the news.

Spokane is good, not a whole lot going on but soon the lake water should be down and then it'll be time to hit the lake! Hope everyone's having lots of fun!

Marianne
Oh Ray, Jeff is on vacation until Tuesday I think then I'll have him sign my papers and fax them over...Thanks!

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Hello Everyone!

I hope everyone is having a blast interning. I am enjoying beautiful San Diego! I t took me 14 hours (917 miles) to get here. Nevada is a very boring and hot state to drive through. Anyway, I have started at Cloudbreak Films, it has been 1 week. I have filmed two weddings and I begin editing (which I am very excited about) on Monday.The 1st wedding was in little Italy in downtown SD and I was filming with tripod and everything right on the altar. The second wedding which was on Thursday was right on the beach, which was beautiful. I really enjoy being able to work with the camera right away. Jerry my boss might even help me do some cool photoshop work as well. So far California has been fun. I am driving on the freeway plenty and yesterday I experienced lots of traffic. But being here and see the beach every day is worth it. I hope that all of you are having fun and I look forward to blogging with you. See you on the flip side. Hang loose!

CCTV


Hello fellow bloggers! Noel Pederson here. Sorry this post is coming a little later than it should, but I'm on Oregon time now. I began my internship at CCTV in Salem, OR this week. CCTV runs three public access channels in Salem. After a forty-five minute commute, I arrived in Salem ready to show off my production skills. My boss put me right to work. After giving me a tour of the facilities, I was given an editing project.
The footage I was given is of an inter-faith religious celebration in Salem. It is about an hour long after taking out the boring transitions. I have been working on this project intermittently throughout the week. The footage comes from two cameras, but I only had to log one tape because one of the cameras was working off of a firestore drive. Instead of going to a tape, the firestore drive plugs right into the camera and converts all footage into a digital format instantly. They came off of the drive as QuickTime movies, and made doing my job a lot faster.
Later that day, my boss Alan asked if I wanted to head out on a shooting assignment. I went with another employee to film the school board budget committee meeting. While the subject matter was less than enthralling, their equipment is fascinating. CCTV owns several portable editing studios called "Tricasters." These machines look and run like computers, are easy to set up, and allow a crew to do on-site directing. The program screen looks just like our newsroom’s board, complete with digital fader bar. I look forward to learning how to use and run this equipment.
The week went on with much more of the same. I've gotten to do a lot of shooting and editing now. Everyone here has been impressed with my camera skills and FinalCut experience. Soon they'll have me start directing. I got a tour around their production truck. It can support 7 cameras, has several replay machines, and will be fun to work with in the coming weeks. I think I'm heading out in the truck next week to film some softball tournaments. TV production and a tan. What could be better? (No comments from those of you in California – let me believe I have it good.)

Friday, May 23, 2008

Greetings from Wisconsin!

Hey everyone!

Looks like Friday is the official posting day--so I might as well jump on board. . .

So I have been at work here at 2100 Productions for 3 days now and it is going very well. I have a nice little corner cube with two other interns (that will be here next week) and I have had fun pretending to be a grown up and decorating it. It feels like I am playing house. Anyway--the first days I toured a lot and met a ton of people. Everyone here is super friendly and I have been so warmly welcomed. They had a sign at the front desk on my first day welcoming me and I haven't had to buy lunch yet.

As far as work goes, as soon as I got past the paperwork, I have started logging some tapes. They had a project deadline come up on them pretty fast and didn't have time to log the tapes for the archives. So I have been doing that for most of today. I have to work on transcribing them Tuesday and then the editing begins. I will be working on short testimonies of students in InterVarsity that the staff will use. It's been fun going around and meeting the rest of the crew and seeing what other projects are going on.

Madison frickin' rocks and I love living right on two lakes. So green and so pretty here. I can't really complain so far and can't wait for the rest of the summer. It was fun to read your updates as well--hope everyone else's first weeks went well.

Melissa

Greetings From Sunny California!

Hello fellow bloggers! I am officially a "California Driver" as I like to call it. I've been honked at more than once while navigating my way around the sprawling city of Los Angeles. I started my internship at the Late Late Show on Wednesday. When I got to the CBS Lot I found myself more than a little confused. I wandered by the Price is Right studio and found a very nice old man to help me find my way to the LL Show. No it was not Bob Barker, but I was very greatful for the directions. Everyone at the LL Show is very nice. I am learning that Coffee is as essential to a TV show writer as oxygen. Yesterday I made at least five pots within one hour. My main duty is to make sure every staff member has all the scripts for the show, along with revisions and rundowns for that day's production. We shoot one show Monday through Wednesday, and two shows on Thursday. Friday seems to be a day to wind down after the 9 to 10 hour days the rest of the week demands. I met the legendary producer Peter Lassally on my first day. He is a big player in World Wide Pants, the production company for both the Late and Late Late Show. As for the show host Mr. Ferguson, I have seen him from a distance, but have not had the pleasure of introducing myself yet. I would say the best part about this internship is getting to be in the booth during the taping of the show. It can be hectic, answering phones and getting scripts out, but I feel like I am right in the middle of the action. It is incredible to see all what goes into making a TV show. The producers definatly fly by the seat of their pants when making split second decisions on camera angles and script changes. I have to say the show is pretty hilarious. I say if you can't go to work and laugh than quit your job. I don't think that will be a problem here.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Hello from KELO

My first day at KELO-TV, they immediately swept me into the mix. Before even signing any paperwork, they sent me out with morning anchor, Katie Janssen and the photog "Rock." (They like nicknames.) We went to interview the Hy-Vee grocery store manager regarding their remodel and "curb appeal" in Sioux Falls. Katie will be a great mentor as she, too, once interned at KELO. She showed me the tape-to-tape editing bays and ENPS (their "inews").

After two of the reporters bought the other intern and I lunch, I got sent out with Ben Dunsmoor and the photog "Buddah" (you can imagine what he looks like) where we drove 45 minutes to the small, windy town of Spencer that was completely wiped away by a tornado ten years ago. KELO is producing a half hour special on it. Unfortunately, the people of Spencer don't seem to want KELO there. We found that out the hard way when Ben's interview didn't show and the bank secretary said "Well did you really think he was gonna be here?" Well, yeah! Luckily, she hooked us up with the assistant fire chief who showed us the fire truck Sioux Falls donated Spencer after the disaster--and it's still in use today!

Back at the station, I finally filled out my paperwork and received a door key. Co-intern Shane and I discussed calling it a day and went to check with our advisor, Dexter. He was busy discussing three phone calls on the tip line regarding a "mini tornado" in the Wal-Mark parking lot. When we caught his attention he said we were free to leave, but I asked if there was anything else we could do.

"Wanna go to the East Side Wal-Mart?"
"Sure!" And with that, he handed us a mini-dv camera (about the size of our school ones). I asked for a tripod.
"Aren't you rock solid?"
"Uhh..not exactly.."

And with that, we were off the the East Side Wal-Mart parking lot. Luckily Shane spent last summer at KELO as a production assistant and knew his way around. (Sioux Falls is so expansive, I didn't even know there was an "East Side" Wal-Mart.) We figured there probably wasn't a story, or Dexter would've sent someone else. Besides, the skies were sunny.

But once we arrived, we saw a police car with its flashing lights and piles of glass shards. People standing around, confusion. We hopped out, I grabbed my notebook and asked questions. The Wal-Mart employees seemed to know nothing other than something strange had happened. The police said it was not a crime, but an act of nature. Witnesses claimed they saw a "mini tornado" destroying vehicles, shattering glass and even knocking over a cart return. Police advised those with damages to contact their insurance companies. Shane went inside to ask about surveillance video and they simply said "Um, yeah, well maybe we'll check it later tonight." Meanwhile, I did my best without a tripod in the parking lot to capture the scene on tape. Without a mic in our gear, we left without an interview but with enough shots and information for a VO. We called Dexter, he put it in the rundown.

We arrived back at the station a few minutes before air and Shane quickly edited the footage as I clarified details with the producer. Ten minutes later, our work was on-air to Keloland as a transition story to the first weather update in the A-block. (Because KELO coverage area reaches more states than South Dakota, they've always gotten away with dubbing it "Keloland.")
<


The story ran again at ten and the next morning.

Hallo Hallo!

Hoy Everyone!

It's yer ol' chap Dan speakin' at ya from the heart of Ireland!

Wow, it sounds like we're all going to have some great summers-feels like we're getting pretty close to that real world stuff.

I've only been in Dublin city for six days at this point, but I already feel very much at home. Those of you who have been to Ireland know- the people are the friendliest you'll EVER meet. The ability of the average man on the street to strike up genuine conversation and make you feel welcome is nothing short of extraordinary. The country is beautiful as well--The green here hurts my eyes.

It's good that I love it so much because the price of things is astronomical...


As for my internship I couldn't expect more out of these first few days. The employees (typically Irish) at Loopline have done a great job making this Calendar Boy American seem like part of the team. The atmosphere is refreshingly open, and the passion for good, important filmmaking is quite apparent. 
I did require a bit of job acquaintance on the first day, but not anything extreme because frankly, we didn't really know what I was going to do outside of some major projects down the road a few weeks. But with a staff of around six people, tasks soon began to flood in. This week I am helping create a year long wall calendar which clearly displays every funding request deadline and film festival which Loopline could possibly benefit from WORLDWIDE!! It's a huge but very educational job.
I already have started logging and making notes on tape (certainly know how to do that...quite well) and yesterday I went on my first shoot! I watched over equipment and helped out as producer Sé Merry Doyle interviewed a very famous Conceptual Artist, Patrick Ireland.

Patrick Ireland is very very well known in both Ireland and the U.S. (his home for 30 years or more). His real name is Bryan O'Doherty but he had gone by the name of Patrick Ireland following Bloody Sunday in Ireland in 1972. He vowed to go by this name until peace was formed between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Anyhow this week was monumental in that Bryan O'Doherty effectively killed Patrick Ireland, feeling a suitable peace has been reached between the north and south. He  buried a likeness of himself in an actual grave with a real headstone (saying Patrick Ireland 1972-2008) here within Dublin City, and retook the name Bryan O'Doherty. The New York Times was there, and several other documentarians. Loopline is talking with an American Filmmaker to do a collaborative film profiling this man. The project, like Ireland itself, is fascinating to me.

I'll write again, naturally next week. Enjoy your Summers everyone, and let's all get as much use out of these internships as we can.


Cheers,

Dan

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

First day... sort of.

Hello guys!! Last Monday I went in for a tour around safeco where I will be working this summer. I met my two bosses, got a parking pass... secruity pass etc. It only lasted about an hour and it was mainly just showing me around to where I will be working. It sounds like I will be interviewing the players getting soundbites for the big screen.. working with the graphics designer etc. A ten day home stand is coming up this week and then I will get my schedule and know exactly what I will be doing. So when my first week begins I will send out the learning agreement!

Kelly.

First Week!

Hey Blogger Buddies!

So Today is my third day at KPAX in Missoula. On my first day I went to Hamilton and covered floods. I got to take a few pictures and look around. Yesterday I wet to Ronan and Polson to do some updates on stories with one of the reporters. I pretty much just tag along with the reporters right now to become more familiar with the process of making stories. They even let me shoot some footage so that's been fun! The cameras are tape less and really awesome quality so that's fun!
We just got called out on a Car in the River. When we got there it turned out that a guy got out of his truck to get some pictures of the river and his truck rolled into the raging waters! The guy was shaken up but unharmed! I felt bad for him. The police could not find the truck so they are just going to wait until the water goes down and the car resurfaces, or until someone spots it.
Poor guy!

I'll keep ya updated on life at KPAX.


Take care all!

Ally

First and Second days

hey everyone,
My first two days at FSN have been... interesting. On my first day i was there for about 20 minutes, the guy i was supposed to talk to wasn't there so i got a tour. My second day which i just finished was longer, about 5 hours, looked up some stuff and got a more detailed tour of the control room. The guy i'm supposed to talk to about my schedule and hours still hasn't shown up so your gonna have to wait for that slip Ray.

Byron

Here's Where You Are!

Hi everyone. Sorry I'm a couple of days late but we're finally up and going to the summer internship season. I'm excited with the places you all are going and the things you'll be experiencing. Here's where I think you are:

Natalie Neumann--Barrett Productions, Missoula
Stacy Gray--KMGH-TV, Denver, Colo.
Breanna Roy--KELO-TV, Sioux Falls, So. Dak
Greg McDonald--KECI-TV, Missoula
Owen Brown--Buddah Jones Trailers, Los Angeles, Calif.
Rob Norton--Ignition LA, Los Angeles, Calif.
Lauren Pedrick--Barrett Productions, Missoula
Alex Krigsvold--Undecided, Missoula
Marianne McCormick--KHQ-TV, Spokane, Wash.
Cody Munson--Barrett Productions, Missoula
Byron Norris--Fox Sports Net-Northwest, Seattle, Wash.
Melissa Berry--2100 Productions, Madison, Wisc.
Dan Boyce--Loopline Films, Dublin, Ireland
Holly Baker--The Late, Late Show, Los Angeles, Calif.
Ally Weller--KPAX-TV, Missoula
Paige Browning--KHQ-TV, Spokane, Wash.
Alison Scheel--ABC's "Wanna Bet?", Los Angeles, Calif.
Liam Scholey--Rhi Entertainment, TBD
Noel Pederson--CCTV, Salem, Ore.
Teal Kenny--Cloudbreak Films, San Diego, Calif.
Samantha Bury--KPAX-TV, Missoula
Amanda Shuler--Seattle Mariners, Seattle, Wash.
Kelly Hanson--Seattle Mariners, Seattle, Wash.
Badria Al-Abdullah--Griz Country radio, Missoula

I hope you all have a good time. Please send weekly updates, post pictures of you at your station or production house and post links so we can see your work if it's posted on-line. We all want to see what you're getting to do this summer.

IMPORTANT NOTICE-
Don't forget to register and pay for RTV 490. If I don't have you on my list by the end of the month, I will be dropping you from internship consideration.

Also,
Don't forget to send in your internship learning agreement the first week you're at your internship. Dan Boyce--good job. You're the furthest away and the first to get it in. Thanks.

Enjoy your summer and keep in touch.

Monday, May 5, 2008

Welcome to the UM Daily Intern

Welcome University of Montana broadcast interns. Here's where you'll be posting weekly updates while you're interning. Tell us what you get to do, link to any videos, pictures or stories you post on-line and find out what your friends and classmates are doing on their grand summer adventure. I'll also post reminders about paperwork and deadlines. And of course, I'll be checking this blog to see what great things you'll be doing, writing, producing, editing, etc.

Just as a reminder, here's my contact information:

Ray Ekness
ray.ekness@umontana.edu
406-243-4088-office
406-542-0251-home
406-243-4650-RTV fax

Feel free to give me a call or email if you have any problems.

This is a very exciting time for you. It's the kickoff to your career and your first opportunity at professional networking. Remember--you're representing the University of Montana, the School of Journalism and the Department of Radio-Television.