This year has helped me grow immensely in my skills as a videographer. I came into this year wanting to learn more about video and workflow. Since doing is the only real way to learn in video, The Feather helped me immensely.
Being a part of a productive team has helped me to better my skills and learn new techniques. Working on a project with others has been a great opportunity to be exposed to new creative avenues and workflows. Another great way to improve was having deadlines which pushed me to be more productive and get projects done, while sometimes tight they served as an important motivator.
Through filming the volleyball promo, I learned valuable lessons in producing a product that I could be truly proud of. It was my first sports promo and I was super excited because sports have lots of potential for video. Being given full creative control of an exciting topic was amazing. After polishing it with my own creative twists it was shown in chapel and I was able to hear the crowd reception of my work. When it was finished, I was super happy with it and it got viewed far more than I initially expected.
The greatest learning experience for me was when we went to New York for the annual CSPA convention in March. In addition to winning a Gold Crown award, I was exposed to people, places, and experiences I had only dreamed of previously. I got to see iconic places all over the city including Times Square, the Empire State building, the Brooklyn Bridge among many other things. Seeing all these wonderful landmarks was a huge eye opener for me. It was also my first experience where I realized the true impact of video and the people around me. Throughout the week we attended the convention, people came up to me and gave me compliments about my videos. It absolutely blew my mind that people from states all across the country had seen and appreciated my work! Being able to film the talk put on by the staff of The Eagle Eye (school newspaper for Stoneman Douglas High School) was completely surreal after seeing them through the news and other media. It was a true realization of the fact that things and people that seem far away are much closer than we often think.
Although I do not plan to use these skills in a professional capacity, they will prove valuable for the other things I hope to pursue in life. I would like to tell future classes that there are great opportunities in this newspaper. The team dynamic and national connections are a great way to better your skills and expose you to new opportunities. Thank you to my teammates and advisers for the great learning experience.
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