I Survived My First Month! - Khadijah

A month into my internship, I'm still just as excited as I was when I first started here. Since becoming an intern for Palmetto Scene, I've grown, a lot, and not only as far as my career experience is concerned.

One thing I'm really glad that I received is amazing friendship among the other interns. Since the beginning, we've all made an effort to get to know each other, and to develop a close relationship with one another. We're supportive of each other with everything that we do, and we really are hardworking individuals. We've all come so far on our journeys, and I'm excited for what lies ahead for them in the future.

 

 

Something about myself is that I love a good challenge, and being here at ETV, I've worked on so many different projects that I'm not used to working on at school, and I'm really grateful for that experience. A lot of the projects that I've enjoyed most are definitely the production shoots. Whether traveling, or shooting live in the studio - I enjoy seeing how live production works, and am more and more motivated to do more with live production shooting in the future. I also enjoy being able to edit the content together for the web. My most creative project was my most recent video work on South Carolina's Historic Aviation Foundation which featured an interview on the preservation of the B-25C Mitchell Bomber, which was a plane that was involved in many war projects, including D-Day.

 

 

 



The ambition that I possess being not only a woman of this field, but only being an intern is what really appeals to the directors and higher ups around me. The more work and effort that I put into my daily tasks, the more quality assignments I'm assigned that really begin to test my knowledge and skills at all angles. This week, instead of just working on editing video and writing up stories for the web, I got to play a key producer role by doing some script writing for one of the segments of Palmetto Scene. Anyone that knows me, knows that writing is a great passion of mine, and it's something that I take very seriously. Being able to do this, I didn't possess the greatest knowledge of scriptwriting as far as experience was concerned, but I applied what I knew and allowed it to work for me.

 

 

As an intern, you have to be prepared to put your knowledge and skills to work, even if you don't think it's necessary at the time. You honestly never know who's watching you and what that ambition and drive can direct you to with your career path.

 

So with all of that being said, I leave with a few tips and pieces of advice to other interns or aspiring interns not only in the field of Mass Communications, but with any career, because it's important that you know this.

 

1. Have an open mind.

With all internships starting out, it may not be your first choice as far as your career and your goals for your future. However, that doesn't mean that it can't be useful to you to work in another area of your field. Being well rounded is the new attribute that employers look for. With the way that the economy and amounts of job openings are now, employers want individuals that know how to do more than the basics. It shows that they have someone that knows what they're doing, they're well rounded and open minded about the projects that they take on, and they carry valuable skills that could be useful to the company or brand.

 

2. Embrace those around you.

Whether they're older than you, such as your boss, producers, directors, etc. or around the same age as you with the same career interests, embrace everyone with the same level of respect that you wish to have from someone else. It makes the world of a difference in the end.

 

3. Don't be afraid to say that you want to try something that you weren't necessarily assigned to do.

Much of what I've done with ETV were not my assignments at all. I learned more about the platform, and I built off of that with the skills I possessed and things that I was interested in seeing happening with ETV. The same could be extremely beneficial to your company.

 

4. Have confidence in yourself no matter what.

If you don't believe that you can do it, everyone around you will begin to question your ability to make it in your field.

 

I'm excited for all that I've learned, and I'm even more excited to put that into action. Though I have a little more than a month left here, I think it's great to acknowledge how much I've grown since I've been here, and to embrace the love and happiness and joy I have being surrounded by others that believe in me. It makes the world of a difference, and I'm excited for what's next with my career here at ETV and beyond.

- K

P.S. As a woman, I am also very interested in looking and dressing the part at ETV, so here are some looks from this week that I've done. Enjoy! xo

 

 

Busy Week - Marina

This has been a busy week here at ETV. Tabitha and I had two shootings back-to-back again in Charleston. The first shooting was for a story about a kiteboarder! We had so much fun going to interview her in her kiteboarding store and then going to the beach to shoot some pictures of when she was younger! We spent the night in Charleston because we scheduled another shooting for the next day.

So the second shooting was for a story about Robert Mason, who is a volunteer for an amazing organization called Bumper T Caring Clowns. The Caring Clowns go to hospitals and deliver smiles, hugs, and laughs! Dr. Geezer (Robert) talked to us about how powerful and effective is humor in promoting the healing process and helping to relieve some of stress and anxiety of a hospital stay.

Best prescription ever!

Today is Friday and we just got back from another shooting here in Columbia. Hopefully the video will be on the web soon! My video on Meals on Wheels will be aired for the first time next Thursday in Palmetto Scene!!! How exciting :) I can't wait to see it on TV! Stay tuned!

My First Production Shoot - Khadijah

 

 

It's been a while since I've posted about what's been going on with my side of the internship boat, so here goes a whole LOT.

 

 

After a week of getting to work on some content for the web, and ending my week with birthday celebrations, it was time to prepare for my very first location shoot in Charleston! I got to work with the greats of the Palmetto Scene Production Crew: Rickey who is a producer for Palmetto Scene, and also from what I've seen and heard, the master editor, AJ and Xavier who brought all of the great laughs to the trip, and also do a lot with camera work and audio production. It was my first time getting to work with them, and my first time working outside of the ETV Office. It didn't hurt that it was in the beautiful area of Charleston.

 

 

 

Spoleto Fest is an annual event that showcases many forms of art, from dance, visual art, music, etc. The list goes on and on. The shoot took two days, so I even got to stay the night! The first day, Rickey and I went out to the College Of Charleston to hang with some of our partners over at ETV Radio to shoot some behind the scenes footage and interviews of some of what they do to prepare for and cover Spoleto Fest.

 

I learned a lot about the planning process of what it takes to plan a radio show. There is a team that comes in during the week and they go over visually on a white board who's being interviewed and when it's being aired. Their shows are recorded up to 48 hours in advance to make sure that their interviews are in good condition for airing under review.

 

Another fascinating tidbit was learning about a Spoleto Class the College of Charleston has in partnership with ETV Radio where students gain hands on experiences with planning the show and coming up with ideas for content.

 

 

After spending some time there, we briefly had lunch and time to explore the area downtown. Once we were settled into our hotel rooms, we planned for another outing to shoot part 2 of the ETV radio sequence.

 

ARP Studio is an at home studio base that is owned by one of the participants of ETV Radio. When the production team walked in, we were amazed at how ordinary the building looked on the outside - simply looked like an outhouse or storage unit, and walking in to red painted walls, instruments, production studio and recording studios. It was definitely an advanced unit of work.

 

There, we set up lighting equipment and our camera to record the action from both inside the recording booth and through the window of the production side of the studio. It was pretty cool to see the act of recording radio come alive, and observing the people of ETV Radio, they seemed to really enjoy what they do.

 

 

 

Once we wrapped up the shoot at the studio, it was time to head back to the hotel for R and R. While X and AJ went out to explore the area more, Rickey and I stayed closer to the view of the ocean of Charleston and I got to talk with him about what I learned and what I wanted to see more of here in ETV, including hopefully being able to go on another shoot, SOON!

 

Day 2, we actually got to see some of the action of Spoleto. Though it was a pretty hot day, we managed to overlook the heat to prepare for P.A. Bennet's portion of the Palmetto Scene show, as well as some of the sights around Spoleto Rickey wanted to include.

 

 

I really enjoyed seeing the artwork of the artists during Spoleto Fest. There were work that showcased still life, visuals of the world's features, such as the ocean, sky or flowers, and it was pretty cool to see artists brushing up on some of their pieces while the festival went on. Overall, I learned a lot about how to conduct a location shoot, how to set up the lighting properly, interacting with new people for the first time and working with others.

 

I would encourage all interns to assist with a production shoot. Even if you weren't chosen to go, it never hurts to ask. I thought that I would never really go to one of these, and after I got back from this one, I was encouraged to always ask if there was something my department wasn't necessarily doing that I wanted to. This really allows you to make the most out of your experience, and can do a lot for your career.

 

Next up, I'll discuss some of the projects I've been working on most recently with Palmetto Scene.

 

Stay Tuned,

 

Khadijah Dennis

 

 



So Far, So Good - Marina

Friday!

I just realized that I've been in ETV for a month today and wow... Time flies!

Today I went to shoot my first story in Anderson, SC. I thought it would be great to do a story on Meals on Wheels, an organization that delivers meals directly to the homes of the elderly and disabled that may not have help from anyone else. Besides delivering food, the volunteers also make sure that the recipients are doing well and they offer all their support. It's beautiful! And the reason why I chose this story was because I totally fell in love with the organization's purpose. There's nothing more beautiful in this world, for me, than the practice of charity in small gestures of service. You give, without asking anything in return. This is charity. This is love.

So the roles now were reversed. I was the producer and videographer and Tabitha was assisting me. That was interesting and definitely an experience! I never thought I would be creating my own stories here at ETV, but Tabitha let me make my own decisions, create the storyline, record and edit everything for this video! After getting some b-rolls of the volunteers packing the food into the carry-out containers, we interviewed the Executive Director, a volunteer and one of the recipients. And then, more b-rolls. B-rolls are the key factors for any story! More and more I've been refining my ability of shooting b-rolls. Tabitha has been teaching me a lot of good techniques and encouraging me to use my creativity to shoot b-rolls, after all, that's what makes a good story.

It was a success! I can't wait to start editing it :)

Yesterday we had another shooting. Rachel and I went to assist Tabitha with a story for Original SC about Chef Brandon Velie. He's the chef of a restaurant called Juniper, in Ridge Spring. I was able to observe a lot of Tabitha "in action" yesterday so I could use a lot of what she was doing to shoot my story today.

Tabitha, Brandon, Rachel and I.

As you can see in the picture I was wearing my Brazilian shirt because yesterday Brazil played home in the World Cup opening!!! And of course, like any Brazilian, I've soccer in my blood! Anyways, coming back to business... The shootings and the interview went great! It was pouring rain at the end but we had to leave...

So far, so good!!! No complaints!!!

My summer at ETV has been filled with lessons that not only will be useful in my career but also in my life as a whole. Those are life lessons. And I'm very grateful for everything I've been learning. After all, learning is growing. And I'm glad ETV is part of this growth. I'm so glad... :)

Great People, Great Learnings - Marina

And another great week just flew by!

And it was an intense one... I got to write articles for Palmetto Scene website, do research for the videos, do phone calls, send e-mails, help with the political debates, and travel for shootings.. This last one was my favorite!

I always wanted an internship where I could travel, meet new people, new places... And here I am at ETV traveling every week!

On Wednesday I went to Charleston with Tabitha, Don and Mark to present a documentary ETV is producing about the Yorktown, the aircraft carrier built during World War II for the US Navy. It came along very well! After the presentation we went Downtown Charleston to have lunch and walk in the market (They have the best lemon cookies ever!!!). It was just a great day!

And the week could not have ended any better... We went to Greenville today to record a story about Rachel Weeks. Rachel is an a-m-a-z-i-n-g person, great personality! She is also a great athlete who has been running several races, marathons and even participated in an ironman triathlon. Rachel has a hearing loss and visual impairment but she does not let it stop her from following her dreams! I think I have never met someone like Rachel in my life, she is an example of passion and determination for all around her. Here is a link to her webpage,

http://theimperfectjourney.com/welcome-the-imperfect-journey/

Me, Rachel, Tab

After recording the interview in the morning Tabitha and I went downtown to have lunch and of course, we ended up getting an ice cream :)

Delicious!!!

We came back after lunch to get shots of Rachel and her guide running and practicing. Rachel's daughters were also there with us and they are simply lovely young girls :)

After everything was done we returned to Columbia with the heart filled with energy and determination to face all obstacles that may appear along the way. Thank you Rachel for being a wonderful woman, mom, athlete, and for showing that we can ALWAYS go one step further!