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The Pulitzer Center Reflection

Today, we had a visit from Jenna Kunze and Alice Glenn, two grantees from The Pulitzer Center, regarding their project. Kunze and Glenn’s project focuses on many aspects within the lives of Alaskan natives. While I had some trouble tuning in, due to a unforeseen visit home and hectic home environment, I had a great time listening to the conversation and presentation. It is very obvious that Kunze and Glenn have a phenomenal working relationship, and that both of them have skills that complement the other’s.

One of the main parts of the presentation that I really enjoyed was hearing about how Kunze and Glenn worked together in order to ensure that they did right by the people they were interviewing. I do agree that Kunze likely would not have gotten the funding without Glenn, since Glenn seems to have played a crucial part in making interview subjects feel comfortable and at home. I also appreciated how much emphasis they put on talking to subjects off of the record in order to make them feel more comfortable. This is also something that I aim to do in my reporting, although I am obviously not experienced as they are yet. However, I do think that making subjects comfortable is crucial to good and thorough reporting. I also enjoyed their anecdotes of their time spent in the Arctic and Alaska outside of reporting, since it seems that they (and Kunze, specifically) truly made an effort to blend in to an area where everyone seems to already know eachother. 

Another part of the presentation I was interested in was the discussion of the man who caught the whale, only to be targeted by the Sierra Club. I think this story brings in the important topic of cultural relativism, which Kunze and Glenn essentially explained when discussing how Alaskan natives are scientists in their own right. Since I usually discuss cultural relativism in an international context, it was intriguing to see how it occurs within the United States.

Despite my difficulties and hardships managing my environment, I am glad that Kunze and Glenn came to our class to discuss their story. I think the content and context of their story is crucial for many people to hear, as it details multimedia work, connections and community. I hope to see more of their work in the future (especially because I think podcasting is a very interesting medium), and I am also sending them best wishes for the prize they were nominated for! 

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Mike Reilley Blog Post

I really enjoyed Mike Reilley’s visit to our class. I thought it was very helpful to my professional development, and I especially enjoyed his lecture regarding new Google tools. I liked learning about the MapChecking function, and believe that it will be helpful to many different forms of journalism. I particularly think that this will be helpful within political journalism, especially with things like campaign events, rallies and protests/demonstrations. One of the “bonus” tools I also really enjoyed was the “lose the very” website. I find that I frequently looking for synonyms when I am writing, and I think that it will be amazing for making my writing more succinct. I also had the same thoughts regarding the “Thsrs” website, as I struggle to make my writing the most concise it can be. I also think the Google Earth Engine Timelapse could be very helpful for examining stories, subjects or areas over time. 

Before listening to Reilley’s lecture/program, I did have some background knowledge on data scraping and using materials like Google Sheets and Google Flourish. However, Reilley’s discussion was a good refresher on how to use these tools, since I had not used them since the fall when I was in Multimedia News Production. I also liked how Reilley explained it because he made it seem a lot more simpler than it did in earlier courses. I also enjoyed that he was connected to the SPJ, 

I do think Reilley’s lecture/program would be very beneficial to students in the future. However, I think that the program would be most beneficial in lower level journalism classes, so that students can hone these skills as they move through years at Elon. I wish that I had learned about some of these tools for my Multimedia News Production class, even though I am grateful that I have these tools and skills to use now. Overall, though, I thought that this program was great for furthering my multimedia skills, and I am glad that someone like Reilley was available to present it, because he made it very accessible and easy to understand. 

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Post-Presentation Reflection

I really enjoyed working on this project, but part of me is really glad that it is over. As much as the project was rewarding, I’m equally tired of sitting and staring at times when I wasn’t truly happy or attempting to be someone that I’m not. I did gain a lot from it, in terms of closure, and I am grateful for what I’ve learned about myself through the project, but my immediate reaction rights now is that I’m tired.

In the end, I wish I could have provided better B-roll and more natural sound. However, I still do think that it’s very hard to visualize feelings and thoughts in the ways that I was feeling them during the time in question. I also had some trouble exporting the project, but eventually I just had to make sure that the “Stretch to fit” box was checked. It expanded my video a little bit, but not to the point where it affected the quality.

I also wish I gave myself a little more time with my audio. I’m not sure exactly what I would change, but part of me feels like I involved my back story more than I originally wanted to. I didn’t want to make it a pity party by any means, and I hope that was reflected in my piece. I wish that I could have included more about spirituality, but thought that if I limited any more of my backstory, the piece would lose meaning. 

In a way, I think that my story ended up the way it was supposed to. It was helpful for me and my mental health, and allowed me to at least get some closure from that whole experience. I think, if circumstances were different, I would have chosen to make the story a little bit longer. But, for 3-5 minutes, I think that I told my story pretty well. I’m also glad and grateful that I am finally at the point where my story is something I feel comfortable telling. 

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Friday Reflection

(I had this typed out in a Google Doc but forgot to post it until now! Sorry about that). 

At this point, my project is pretty much complete. I’ve spent a lot of the last few days in the editing suite, cutting audio and laying down my B-roll sequence. It hasn’t totally been easy, honestly. It’s hard to relive these memories and to put a picture to a moment that. But, in a way, it has also been therapeutic to confront all of these things and be required to sit and think about it for long periods of time. 

I have noticed that I am having some trouble with natural sound, since there isn’t a lot to use. My B-roll is pretty quiet, so I suppose the background of my video will have to be too. I also had some trouble making sure that I had enough B-roll. It’s hard to visualize a feeling like grief or peace, so I tried to portray them in the best way I can.

Overall, I am pretty close to being done with this project. I may turn it in today, but I also may wait until Sunday so I can come back at it with fresh eyes. Either way, I feel like I put a lot of good work into it, and I’m proud of what I accomplished. 

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This picture is from some filming for my project that I completed over the weekend. I got a lot of my B roll, so that now I only have to cut and put everything together. I plan to work on this today but I have 3 other midterms this week (two on Wednesday and two including this one due Friday) so I will probably be spending any and all of my free time in the editing suites working on this! Thus far, though, I am proud of myself for my accomplishments on this story. I was surprised by how easily I was able to tell my story in the audio portion of the assignment. I was vague in some cases because I just felt that that was best for the story. Ultimately, I am nervous about the 3-5 minute time limit because I feel like I have a lot of both audio and B roll to work with, and I am sort of starting to get stressed that my story will be too long. But, hopefully, I will be able to cut it down to somewhere within the time limit.

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Autobiography Progress

After my initial reflection, I took a lot of time to sit on my idea and truly determine whether or not I felt mentally capable of completing it. After some deliberation, I decided that I would be able to complete it. I have begun sorting through old family pictures for the beginning part of my story, and I have picked some pictures for the middle and end of my story. I have also drafted my outline of main points that I want to speak to during my project. During the remainder of the week, I plan to continue gathering pictures while also getting some B-roll of my daily spirituality routine etc. I am truly looking forward to completing this project, and based on my outline and progress thus far, I think it will be a great mode of communication for my story. I am still being mindful of how many pictures I have and the length of my story. One of the main issues I’m running into is that there are very limited pictures of my parents before they got divorced (yikes) but I am working on locating those pictures now!

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Pictures from adolescence. 

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Pictures of me and my mom from my childhood -- I will be using these for the “beginning” part of my story! 

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Pixar Introduction to Storytelling Reflection Post

I learned many new lessons about storytelling through Pixar’s “Introduction to Storytelling” series. Although I went into the series knowing about the basics of storytelling, the story artists and directors at Pixar showed me that there is more to storytelling than simply knowing structures and creating narratives from them. Rather, there are more thoughts and feelings invested in storytelling than I thought, or than I wanted to think. As I continue storytelling throughout this class and the rest of my college and career experience, I want to be more inclusive and in touch with my emotions, as I deeply believe my stories will benefit from them.

One of the first things that stood out to me in the Pixar series was Pete Docter’s advice to “write what you know.” I had already heard this advice, yet Docter’s touching anecdote about Monster’s Inc. actually being the story of him becoming a father further emphasized this point for me. I realized that, without my own investment from some point in my life, my stories would fall flat. There has to be an overarching message to drive stories in order for the audience to connect with them. The story of becoming a father, like in Monster’s Inc., is so effective because so many audience members can relate to it. I really appreciated this anecdote because it showed me that even famous creators use their own lives as inspiration. I think this was an important realization for me to have, because I am usually more cautious about putting personal experiences in my stories.

The second lesson I noticed in the Pixar series was Kristen Lester’s stories of how she got into storytelling as a kid. Lester said that she read Archie comics and then created stories out of Betty and Veronica. Reading the Archie comics as a kid was actually what got me interested in stories as well. I used to read the comics constantly, because I enjoyed how the stories transported me to another world. Lester’s personal story helped me realize that, like her, my past experiences have driven my desires to tell stories, even though I hope to tell stories in different medium than Lester.

Another good point that Lester makes is that epiphany and moments of insight can be used as inspiration for stories, even if you are not the main character. Once these moments are translated into a different world and character, it is almost like the author or creator is putting a piece of themselves in the story for the world to see. While this vulnerability can be scary, I think that the story overall benefits from it, because the creator is personally invested in telling their story through a different lens. I am resolved to at least start trying to incorporate these moments (or at least some sort of personal connection) in my stories. I also am more determined to explicitly outline my “What if” questions, because I believe they will lead to more solidified ideas for my stories.

Finally, I really enjoyed the anecdote that Sanjay Patel shared at the end of the series about Michelangelo’s drawings, and the presence of his errors on those drawings. Patel essentially says that part of the search for ideas is refusing to erase errors, and rather letting them stand as signs of progress. I think this is a very important lesson to use when telling stories, since they will never be perfect on the first try. If anything, refusing to erase errors shows the audience that the creator (and therefore the story) is just as human as they are. This is a new outlook I plan to aspire to when telling future stories.

Overall, I feel like I gained a lot of information from the Pixar series. I am more determined to leave my own mark within my stories by tying in my personal experiences, while also ensuring that I am personally invested in my stories as well. 

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First Autobiography Project Process Post

When we first got this assignment, at least three different ideas popped into my head. I was ready to get started, but also knew that this would be a tricky project for me to work on, since I have a hard time exposing my personal information to people who are not my close friends of family members. Eventually, I ended up deciding to do a piece on my mental health and spirituality, since that has been a very prevalent theme in my life lately. Looking back now, I am really unsure if it is still the project I want to pursue. I am stuck between creating an interesting and profound story and keeping some of my more serious life experiences to myself. 

The tension between myself and my project idea reached a breaking point when I began to think about the ways in which I would visually tell my story. I have some ideas, but how does one convey difficult topics like sexual assault and suicide without being too graphic or potentially triggering an audience member? It is a very fine line to walk, and I realized that I would really have to think about how I wanted to portray that series of events. There is also the matter of not wanting to expose anyone involved, although I recognize that it is not the healthiest way to process events like this.

Right now, I feel pretty stuck. I have a clear and concise message that I want audience members to take away from my story, yet exposing myself in that way makes me a little uncomfortable. I truly have to find a way to balance these two facets of my story, while also making sure that my audience can relate to me. I think I have decided not to completely abandon this story, since I think it has great significance, but I may edit it down and gloss over some aspects of the story rather than taking a deeper dive into them. 

This project, and story idea for that matter, cut deeply for me. Yet, I do recognize the project’s value in telling our own stories in order to be able to tell the stories of other people. I am pretty much committed to outlining my mental health in the story, it is just a matter of details that I am conflicted about. However, I have great hopes that once I figure out my approach, I will be able to move swiftly and create quality content. I simply have to be patient with myself and let the ideas for visuals and audio come to me.

Overall, I am excited to see where this project takes me. Not only do I think it has a very important message, but I also think it will provide some sort of healing quality for me, as well. I have started to gather some of my old pictures for the project, along with starting to plan aspects that I want to capture on film, like somber shots of campus and different areas on campus that have impacted my story. I am looking forward to this project, there are just details that I have to sort out still.