Good Day at School

Today seemed inspriring enough for me to talk about on this blog. It wasn't your average school day in the least. In our program we are all met with different responsibilities; e.g. This week I have to prepare a report for our weekly show called Waterfront Weekly. Imagine me, nervous as a clam trying to think in terms of thoughts on what my narrative should be. How should I word my phrases, should I sound safisticated or worried. Am I thinking too much into it...probably. My teacher, Steve, wants to talk to each student today about what we want to accomplish by the end of the year....I'm the first one he's talking to.

The day started as a normal day does, my alarm ringing in my ears. This isn't your average ordinary alarm...oh no.. it's the iPhone generic alarm that is suppose to sound like maracas but really sounds like jackhammers at seven am. Wake up, shower, grab a coffee and it's off to the Waterfront campus, where we will be working with the Avid software. I worked with Avid during my summer internship and let me tell you it was no piece of cake.

The man teaching us had edited the entire Theodore Tugboat series. If he knew that I grew up watching the show, I'd have to leave the room in embarrasment. He taught us the fundamentals of Avid and I really learned something about organization. Really cool guy, can't wait to see what he brings next week.

Now for the moment of truth...I follow Steve into a project room to announce something drastic. How drastic could this thing be...well I'm majoring in Television and I am gonna break it to him that with this Major that I would love to work in post-production...in film! Steve calls film the F-Word...let's hope this doesn't kill him!

...he seemed to take it really well! He actually gave me a couple of ideas to think about. This really boosted my spirits! He also told me what I should approve on and gave me some advise that I plan to take. Made me think about what's really important when it comes to social life vs. work. Work should be my priority but everyone needs time to sit back and relax, even for a bit.

Meet up with my friend/radio colleague Lee and talk to him about an upcoming segment on his radio show. I'll be reviewing movies for his show every thursday! Got some ideas in play, so remember listen to Lee on www.nscc.ca/cckc to hear Lee and Me talk about movies! Like I talk about anything else...Pfft.

Special guest speaker, Paul Creelman, came to our class today. He showed us some of the things he has done for CTV....mostly SoundScapes. SoundScapes are essentially telling a story with Video and Audio, no Voice Overs. He had one involving a golf course being torn down for residential housing. It was really well shot, but my favorite was one about a new season of junior hockey. With the sounds and the cheering, it truly felt like I was sitting in the stadium watching a hockey game. Felt embarrased that when one of the players scored, I cheered...that's the power of great audio/video. Yvonne, our Journalism teacher, really got into the videos, and I don't blame her! They were very emotionally powerful. Good job Paul Creelman, your cool in my book.

My day at school ended with Julie, a tv colleague, and I with a bunch of television equipment in our hands. It's time to shoot some footage for my report. I shot some on Sunday but I had an interview with my friend Lee. He has 4 jobs and is a full time student. I give him real props, that must be quite stressful. I don't think i'd sleep...imagine the amount of money tho...

Interview went well, and I find myself back in the Newsroom. Yvonne tells us a story about a radio personality who decided it would be a good idea to talk about handicapped people performing certain sexual acts. I won't say what kind of acts because it's not me to say what, it would just bother me putting that onto my blog. It confuses me why certain people thinks that could at all be appropriate. I'm glad that radio station got in trouble...just not at all good subject matter.

The rest of the day looks to be quite eventful. I plan on writing out a rough draft of my script and I am thinking of going into Halifax for a little bit. Don't know what I'll do but if it's anything interesting I'll keep you informed! So today, in all; I've learned about something I hated and actually enjoyed it, got complimented and developed a kind of idea on what's to come for me, been inspired by a couple of videos, helped a friend, excited at the promise of being able to talk to a bunch of people about my favorite subject, and got grossed at the last second. Good day! Time for me to jet! So as Edward Murrow always said to wrap up his radio show!

Good Night...and Good Luck

Joel D.