Rain, rain go away...

It's official, I hate Chicago weather. It seems like winter will never go away. A Chicago winter is like a bee, as much as you try to ignore it and hope it goes away, it keeps coming back to annoy you, and in my case, stall my shoot days.
John and I were supposed to shoot b roll of Wrigley Field and a co-ed softball game, but the rain and cold prevented that from happening. It's so frustrating when a shoot is scheduled and the weather does not cooperate.
Actually, this entire week of work was a complete let down. It is incredibly discouraging when representatives from the school ignore their students. Two of my interviews with Columbia officials fell through this week. One never returned my calls and the other stood me up for an interview. I'll never understand why Columbia folks are so hard to get on camera. I mean, I thought we went to a school that wanted its students to succeed, but how can we succeed if the school won't help out?
Even with the set backs, we were able to get some needed footage shot, but we could not work our schedules out so we could both be at the new shoots. I feel that the footage we shot could have been stronger if our schedules matched up. When John and I are together on shoots, our creativity flows and we come up with some great stuff, but I could definitely feel a difference without him at the shoot days. I'm not saying that the b roll is bad, but I know that if we were there as a team, it would have been fantastic.
Although we had a frustrating work week, I am pleased with what we have put together with the project, so far. The interviews we have are great and the video we shot is creative and eye catching. When this package is complete, I'm sure it will be a good one.

We go together...like...rama lama lama lama...

Teamwork is essential for any project to run smoothly. This week, work on the project was smooth sailing. Interviewees made scheduled times, John and I both attended the shoot days and our reporting styles completely clicked.
I was a bit apprehensive at first, being a person who often gets screwed over during group projects, but my fears and anticipation for disaster faded away this week. John has been absolutely, 100 percent dedicated to the project. Although the two of us both have crazy schedules, jammed packed with upper level journalism classes, jobs and internships, we have been able to swing it so we can both be at shoot days.
Having an active partnership while working on this final package has definitely been beneficial. John and I both are creative people and we feed off of each other. For example, we were conducting an interview with Danielle Garcia, one of the co-captains of the Columbia softball club and I truly believe that having the both of us there made the interview ten times better. As soon as I finished my round of questions, John jumped in and asked fantastic follow-up questions that have tremendously added to our piece.
We both have visions for b-roll, but we are compromising, combining our ideas and have shot some fantastic stuff, because of it. I am beyond excited about our package and I cannot wait to see our visions come to life on the small screen.

And the saga continues...

Oh how it continues. As the second half of the semester keeps rollin', the work load doesn't stop. I can confidently say that this is the toughest/ most hectic and stressful semester of my Columbia career.

This semester has taught me one important lesson: I need to learn time management oh and one more equally as important thing: sleep is a necessity for effective daily function.

I'm learning a great deal about myself though my classes this spring, such as, I tend to bite off more than I can chew. As a high schooler and even a freshman and sophomore in college, I was able to handle a heavy load. But now, as a college senior, I realize that taking on a leadership role in everything that I am involved in, leaves me exhausted, frustrated and far more stressed than I should be.

I've also learned that I need to manage my schedule better when working with a partner with an equally as hectic work and class schedule as myself. Partner projects teach you to give and take, to compromise with the other, in order to complete the task at hand. Partner projects also teach communication and I have to say that on this project, my partner and I do keep in touch.

I have been working tirelessly to complete my assignments and I only hope that the payoff is worth it in the end.

New Partner, New Beginnings

It has been only one week since Spring Break and I already am feeling the pressures of the semester's end. Last week we discussed topics for our final package for the last show and I am quite excited to be the reporter on this project.
My new partner John and I pitched a story about Columbia woman's softball and after speaking to the captain, I learned about another Columbia athlete in a school that is most known for its students' artistic talents and not athletics.
Sarah Myzska is not only an interesting subject to write a profile piece about, but she is also a fantastic person with a great personality. I always get giddy when I meet incredible people while working on a story.
Throughout my career as a Columbia College student, I have come across amazing people with amazing talents and I have learned much about myself, as a person, from experiences with my interviewees.
I am also excited to tell Sara's story because it is a topic that is near to my heart because 18 of my 21 years of life have been spent playing softball. I played on numerous traveling teams as well as high school teams and I can definitely relate to Sara's story.
I believe my experience as a softball player will allow me to tell her story to the fullest and will offer insight into the sport that a non-athlete could not bring to the table.