Getting smart about art!

Today I visited Columbia's Access Art to do my feature story for package #2. I had never heard of this art center until a guest lecturer spoke about it in my Context & Culture (an art class for Journalism majors) class last week.

Artist Norleen Nosri and her husband Chris took over Access Art in 2003. This art center has a staff of 15 volunteers and works with more than 2000 students each year. The organization receives its funding from class fees, grants, and donations. It was founded in the 1960s and has been inspiring artists of all ages ever since. Access Art is open to everyone and part of the program includes working with special needs students.

I have to say, this was by far the most enjoyable shooting experience I have had thus far in any of my broadcast assignments. The students were excited and passionate about what they are doing, Norleen and Chris were more than accommodating, and everyone was delighted to have a student featuring the center. One volunteer even told me, "It's the best kept secret in Columbia!"

Shooting is the part of the package process that I usually find to be most challenging. I was pleasantly surprised to have had a good experience while shooting. While at Access Art, I tried to keep in mind the tips I've learned in Broadcast I and Broadcast 2 and I find myself thinking "oh, wow, that's a great nat pop!" and "don't forget to get sequence shots from different angles." As I drove away, I quickly realized I had truly been thinking as a journalist the entire time I was there.

The next challenge for me will be to decide how to go about writing this piece. Norleen is my CCC so I plan to use that as a start. My goal is to make this story as visual as I can, considering that it is about art which is a visual medium. It's also important that I incorporate nat sound pops which is something that I did not do very well in package 1.

Following the stress lecture today, I have a new perspective on my way of going about getting things done. I arrived in the Broadcast I lab 10 minutes early of my equipment pickup so that I could check all of the pieces and it's a very good thing I did considering one camera battery had only 9 minutes left on it! After my video is done capturing, I'm going to the Rec for a run and then I will come back to writing. What I learned from Greeley today is balance is key.