Capstone ePortfolio Essay

Revision

Chelsey Cunningham

BIS 499 E

5/30/15

Capstone Portfolio Essay

As I conclude my undergraduate education, and when I look back, I notice that I have gained so much knowledge that will benefit my future endeavors. I have hopes of becoming a multimedia news journalist for a small market news station in the North West. This job requires a Bachelors degree in journalism, media communications, or broadcasting, and this was my initial motivation for attending college. I wanted to fulfill the checklist of requirements to move forward with a desired career path. Now, when I look back, my education was more than just a series of checkpoints, instead, this was an experience that enriched my knowledge about various things such as learning about art, group work, research, and to top it all off, two relevant internships.

To start with, I will touch on the subject of art. I was always interested in the performing arts. I grew up playing the violin, performing in musicals and theater productions, I sang in choir, and I had dance experience as well. As far as conceptual art, and art that required a technological skill, I wasn’t experienced at all. In multimedia news journalism, you are required to handle the filming equipment and shoot interviews and your own standups. On top of that, you must edit all of your footage and put these stories into complete news packages for TV. My production classes at the University of Washington Bothell have helped me to acquire some of these skills. I went from having no film experience to having a few quarters worth. In BISMCS 472, Advanced Media Production Workshop: Visual Storytelling, I learned how to handle video cameras, tripods, microphones, lighting kits, and editing software such as Adobe Premier and Final cut pro. Each couple of weeks we were assigned to create short films that emphasized storytelling in a new way. We were then responsible for editing the footage and creating a seamless story out of everything recorded. All of these assignments taught me “the ins and outs” of pre-production, production, and postproduction. I learned the importance of external microphones to avoid the issue of “white noise” in production, and I learned the importance of setting the white balance to avoid inconsistent color tones in filming. Along with these skills I learned a bit more about the art of storytelling and the relationship production has with many stories. Each conscious production-based decision has a direct correlation with what the audience will feel. For example, if you have shaky camera work with a documentary feel to it, you may feel on edge and personally connect with it on a more practical level. If you shoot footage from certain angles you get a different feel for each. If you are filming a conversation you can film a wide shot, behind the shoulder, or a front-facing perspective. This class opened my eyes to valuable production techniques.

Another skill that I acquired in my undergraduate education is working on assignments and projects with groups. I will be honest; group work hasn’t always been enjoyable for me throughout college. I felt I was efficient at working with various group dynamics, and I was flexible in my approaches, but it wasn’t always an easy or enjoyable task. One of the things I have learned is the art of speaking up for myself and being honest. I have worked in several groups where people don’t pull their weight and expect me to make up for it. I used to let this anger me and frustrate me and I would bottle up my irritations. I now have learned to confront people in a diplomatic fashion when I am confronted with these feelings. I tend to be a leader in situations so I feel that some people take advantage of that. However, I use this leadership quality to reshape the conversations and create a fairer outcome. One of the more pleasant group experiences I had was in my BISCLA 380, Arts in Context: Contemporary Art Theory class. In this class we were responsible for taking notes on the class readings by Ader and Adorno, then, we were meeting up each week to discuss the readings in effort to create a strong conversation in class discussions. We would create group summaries of our discussions, where we would compare and contrast our thoughts on certain lines from the readings. We would draw conclusions from each of our opinions and document these issues. These readings related to art by questioning and dissecting the questions "What is art?" and "How does context change art?". We would bring these to class and discuss them with everyone. This group dynamic was beneficial because we all showed up to class each day, met up each week, and we did our fair share of work. Although groups won’t always be this fair and enjoyable, I have the skills to move forward in a productive and prepared state of mind.

The next skill I have acquired in college is research. I have had the opportunity to work with librarians in workshops, learn where to search for scholarly research, and acquire the skill of writing strong research papers. One of the assignments I learned from was the “Paris research paper- based on the Disneyland Paris success rate.” This was completed for the “Paris: The City and it's History” BIS 417 class. It was a thirteen-page research paper that I put together over the course of a month. There was a definite component of Interdisciplinary research and inquiry throughout this assignment. I was asked to develop a research question pertaining to the Paris culture. I posed the question “Disneyland Paris: How successful is it?” I found out more about a Disneyland Park that I had no idea even existed in the first place, such as the huge financial struggle the park faced, the tourist attraction it became, the Parisian culture dealing with an Americanized concept and the long process of working through these problems. My knowledge about the Parisian culture helped me better understand my findings throughout the research process because I was taught about the strict culture differences between Americans and Parisians. I.e. smiling has a positive connotation in America and in the streets of Paris one is looked at as a fool for smiling from ear to ear. I learned these cultural norms through class lectures about the Parisian culture and then critically evaluated how these norms would effect the Disney Land park in Paris. I believe that the research in this assignment will help me in future endeavors. As a reporter, you are obligated to research stories every single day to write and talk about them. I feel confident that I can critically analyze sources and draw conclusions based off of information given to me. I also believe I will be able to effectively document this information thanks to assignments such as the Paris research paper.

The last and most important source of knowledge for me in my undergraduate experience is my two King 5 internships. The experience starts all the way in the beginning, where I learned the skill of finding a job on my own. I wanted practical experience to become a reporter and I knew I needed it to survive in the industry. In this job search process I had myself, my computer, and my burning motivation to get a job. I applied to about 12 different internships or entry-level part time jobs in the broadcast industry through online forums and I researched how to put together cover letters. After a long month of not hearing back, the New Day Northwest supervisor invited me in for an interview. Things went well, I got the job, I made networking connections, and I had informational interviews with people at the station. I reflected on this experience through BIS 495 A, an internship course at school. We had a poster project at the end of the quarter where we created a visual display of our internship journey and shared it with the campus. The learning objective of this course was to reflect on our experiences analytically, network with each other, and develop a sense of camaraderie with each other in the class. While I was networking at the career center for a resume assignment, I was able to meet another intern at king 5. She happened to work in the department I was interested in for spring quarter and I was able to get the email address and name of her supervisor. This connection and my last internship set me up for success and helped me get to where I am at now, which is at my current internship with the morning news department. The most valuable piece of it all is that this King 5 department is helping me put together my demo reel/resume tape so that I can apply to small market stations after I graduate. This is a priceless opportunity and is a crucial component for me to move forward with this process. Working with reporters to learn how to speak on camera is the best thing and probably the most valuable thing that has happened for me in my entire undergraduate experience.

As I conclude my undergraduate education, and when I look back, I notice that I have gained so much knowledge that will benefit my future endeavors. I believe that my education and my internships have shaped me to become a future news reporter. I still have much to learn, however, school has given me the critical thinking skills I need to move forward with this venture and to continue progressing forward. My career path is complex and long term, but I now feel confident that my five year plan is going to be a huge success.

Chelsey Cunningham

BIS 499 E

5/17/15

Capstone Portfolio Essay

As I conclude my undergraduate education, and when I look back, I notice that I have gained so much knowledge that will benefit my future endeavors. I have hopes of becoming a multimedia news journalist for a small market news station in the North West. This job requires a Bachelors degree in journalism, media communications, or broadcasting, and this was my initial motivation for attending college. I wanted to fulfill the checklist of requirements to move forward with a desired career path. Now, when I look back, my education was more than just a series of checkpoints, instead, this was an experience that enriched my knowledge about various things such as learning about art, group work, research, and to top it all off, two relevant internships.

To start with, I will touch on the subject of art. I was always interested in the performing arts. I grew up playing the violin, performing in musicals and theatre(theater) productions, I sang in choir, and I had dance experience as well. As far as conceptual art, and art that required a technological skill, I wasn’t experienced at all. In multimedia news journalism, you are required to handle the filming equipment and shoot interviews and your own standups. On top of that, you must edit all of your footage and put these stories into complete news packages for TV. My production classes at the University of Washington Bothell have helped me to acquire some of these skills. I went from having (no) film experience to having a few quarters worth. In BISMCS 472, Advanced Media Production Workshop: Visual Storytelling, I learned how to handle video cameras, tripods, microphones, lighting kits, and editing software such as Adobe Premier and Final cut pro. Each couple of weeks we were assigned to create short films that emphasized storytelling in a new way. We were then responsible for editing the footage and creating a seamless story out of everything recorded. All of these assignments taught me “the ins and outs” of pre-production, production, and postproduction. I learned the importance of external microphones to avoid the issue of “white noise” in production, and I learned the importance of setting the white balance to avoid inconsistent color tones in filming. Along with these skills I learned a bit more about the art of storytelling and the relationship production has with many stories. Each conscious production-based decision has a direct correlation with what the audience will feel. For example, if you have shaky camera work with a documentary feel to it, you may feel on edge and personally connect with it on a more practical level. If you shoot footage from certain angles you get a different feel for each. If you are filming a conversation you can film a wide shot, behind the shoulder, or a front-facing perspective. This class opened my eyes to valuable production techniques.

Another skill that I accumulated(acquired) in my undergraduate education is working on assignments and projects with groups. I will be honest; group work hasn’t always been enjoyable for me throughout college. I felt I was efficient at working with various group dynamics, and I was flexible in my approaches, but it wasn’t always an easy or enjoyable task. One of the things I have learned is the art of speaking up for myself and being honest. I have worked in several groups where people don’t pull their weight and expect me to make up for it. I used to let this anger me and frustrate me and I would bottle up my irritations. I now have learned to confront people in a diplomatic fashion when I am confronted with these feelings. I tend to be a leader in situations so I feel that some people take advantage of that. However, I use this leadership quality to reshape the conversations and create a more fair(fairer) outcome. One of the more pleasant group experiences I had was in my BISCLA 380, Arts in Context: Contemporary Art Theory class. In this class we were responsible for taking notes on the class readings by Ader and Adorno, then, we were meeting up each week to discuss the readings in effort to create a strong conversation in class discussions. We would create group summaries of our discussions, where we would compare and contrast our thoughts on certain lines from the readings. We would draw conclusions from each of our opinions and document these issues. can you discuss the issues, content, concepts and ideas from these readings just a little bit to provide context? how did these readings relate to art, for example? If the readings or group conversations raised questions such as? we would bring these to class and discuss them with everyone. This group dynamic was beneficial because we all showed up to class each day, met up each week, and we did our fair share of work. Although groups won’t always be this fair and enjoyable, I have the skills to move forward in a productive and prepared state of mind.

The next skill I have acquired in college is research. I have had the opportunity to work with librarians in workshops, learn where to search for scholarly research, and acquire the skill of writing strong research papers. One of the assignments I learned from was the “Paris research paper- based on the Disneyland Paris success rate.” This was completed for the “Paris: The City and it's History” BIS 417 class. It was a thirteen-page research paper that I put together over the course of a month. There was a definite component of Interdisciplinary research and inquiry throughout this assignment. I was asked to develop a research question pertaining to the Paris culture. I posed the question “Disneyland Paris: How successful is it?” I found out a whole lot(slangy) about a Disneyland Park that I had no idea even existed in the first place, such as the huge financial struggle the park faced, the tourist attraction it became, the Parisian culture dealing with an Americanized concept and the long process of working through these problems. My knowledge about the Parisian culture helped me better understand my findings throughout the research process because I was taught about the strict culture differences between Americans and Parisians. I.e. smiling has a positive connotation in America and in the streets of Paris one is looked at as a fool for smiling from ear to ear. how did you find these things out? what methods and specific sources did you use? I believe that the research in this assignment will help me in future endeavors. As a reporter, you are obligated to research stories every single day to write and talk about them. I feel confident that I can critically analyze sources and draw conclusions based off of information given to me. I also believe I will be able to effectively document this information thanks to assignments such as the Paris research paper.

The last and most important source of knowledge for me in my undergraduate experience is my two King 5 internships. The experience starts all the way in the beginning, where I learned the skill of finding a job on my own. I wanted practical experience to become a reporter and I knew I needed it to survive in the industry. In this job search process I had myself, my computer, and my burning motivation to get a job. I applied to about 12 different internships or entry-level part time jobs in the broadcast industry through online forums and I researched how to put together cover letters. After a long month of not hearing back, my most desired internship invited me in for an interview (logic here--someone from the station invited you, not the internship...rephrase..). Things went well, I got the job, I made networking connections, and I had informational interviews with people at the station. I reflected on this experience through BIS 495 A, an internship course at school. We had a poster project at the end of the quarter where we created a visual display of our internship journey and shared it with the campus. The learning objective of this course was to reflect on our experiences analytically, network with each other, and have(develop) a sense of camaraderie with each other in the class. While I was networking at the career center for a resume assignment, I was able to meet another intern at king 5. She happened to work in the department I was interested in for spring quarter and I was able to get the email address and name of her supervisor. This connection and my last internship set me up for success and helped me get to where I am at now, which is at my current internship with the morning news department. The most valuable piece of it all is that this King 5 department is helping me put together my demo reel/resume tape so that I can apply to small market stations after I graduate. This is a priceless opportunity and is a crucial component for me to move forward with this process. Working with reporters to learn how to speak on camera is the best thing and probably the most valuable thing that has happened for me in my entire undergraduate experience.

Concluding paragraph?

Artifacts

Comments

Deborah Caplow

Jun 4, 2015

Hello Chelsea,

Some good changes here, especially the concluding paragraph. It's a good solid essay and represents you well.

Deborah Caplow

May 23, 2015

Hello Chelsea,

Excellent work--this is a thoughtful, well written and articulate essay, covering important projects and artifacts, and explaining many aspects of your education and the overall value it has for you. You are very clear about how your education relates to your future career.

Could be a bit more specific in places--based on comments in bold, and also your own critical analysis of this essay.

In addition to the material you present here, you might consider including new material from your IAS program that you haven't examined in the portfolio yet,

In your revision, can you please mark all changes in bold so that I can see them easily?

Revision due June 5th at noon!