This entirety of this project plays on the idea of tropes and cliches within crime scene stories and 80s family photographs. The images here pays homage to the basic family portrait, however with the inclusion of the cats as part of the family. The work allows for technical critiquing, to connect to the unpolished ness of the basic under budget documentary and family portraits. While the viewer gawks at the strangeness of the imagery, they begin to feel nostalgic to their own childhood traumas of that dreaded JCPenney photo studio. The work brings out a humorous memory to those who view the imagery.
It is difficult to be in such a dry environment while being in a creative major. Point Park University has a core program to help us receive more education in a university setting. I see no purpose for this. Welcome to my response to wasting my time in classes that are pointless which adds up to my debt to this school.
Today we were at the Nickelback concert. We got there and set up the Q tent and equipment. We had 20 shirts to give away to people who played and won plinko. We did that for most of the time we were there. We eventually ran out of shirts but we still had our enter to win for Kings of Leon tickets. We had a pair of tickets for 4th row we were going to give to a radio winner but he informed us he was no longer coming because he got into a car accident so we had an extra pair of tickets to give away. We put on snapchat and twitter that if you came up to our tent and said “I wanna be a rockstar” you won the tickets. Well no one was coming up but I saw a friend of mine and told her to say the line so then she won. After Daughtrey finished their set, we packed up and watched parts of Nickelback’s show so that we could post on the social media accounts that we were there. After the show we finished for the day!
8/9
Today we had a regular office day. I was alone in the office today. We didn’t have Animal Friends that day so I just worked on the contest winners list. I had to call some people about some of our smaller contests that we were having and giving away tickets to and entered them into the winners list. That took a while because I was by myself. After that, I organized our prize form shelf and through away prize forms from 2015, and early 2016, since we no longer needed those. That also took awhile so after I finished organized that I was done for the day.
8/11
Today we had our Market Square Concert series. Setting up took longer than normal because the other interns just starred at the back of the van when we opened it, so I had to tell them what to do since there were only three interns that day. We got set up and then I went and grabbed a coffee so that they were forced to do something. We were Bob that day so we had our red tags and the band was called Three Sides. Everyone in Market Square really liked them and we had a lot of positive feedback about them. The day didn’t drag on like it usually does at Market Square so then we packed up and were finished. I really enjoyed working for Steel City and I’m going to miss my time there with them!
Today was an office day. When we first got there we thought of some fun things we could put on the Snapchat story for hump day since we go in on Wednesdays. We came up with the idea of having one of the radio jockeys rolling up to people working at a desk and telling a hump day joke. We got some jokes together and Diaz, the radio jock, picked one of them for us to do. Once we finished filming that, we had a lot of Nickelback tickets to pick winners for, call them and record them. That took most of the day. After that we had our Animal Friends segment. This week was a dog named Spunky. The guy that brings the pets each week told us that Superman, the cat I almost adopted from the week before, had been adopted. I was running the Snapchat and taking pictures during the segment. After that, I took some NOW CDs to the prize closet, since we had just gotten them in the mail that day. I then finished up with the Nickelback winners and then was done for the day!
8/4
Today we had Market Square again. We got there and set up like normal. It didn’t take too long because there were six of us setting up. We were Bob today so the band was for an older demographic. They were not too fun to watch but okay to listen to. There were a lot of homeless people that kept coming up to the tent to win prizes by playing plinko so we had to put it away. After the band finished we took down the tent, folded it up, and loaded the van back up with the equipment. After that we were done for the day!
8/5
Today was the Redbull Flugtag, which was part of the regatta. It was apparently the first Flugtag for Pittsburgh so Redbull was making it a big deal. We got media passes so we were able to have access to a media viewing area, a medai boat, and free food. They were letting media be a part of the VIP area. It was a pretty cool day. It definitaly seemed like a really Pittsburgh- like event. I recorded a lot of video and took a lot of photos. I edited together a video for the whole day and then sent my content over to my supervisor. A lot of the day was just the carts flying into the water off of this 20 foot barge so it was repetitive. But I did get a lot of nice content. After the last boat went off I was done for the day!
This project was our final to show how much we have learned throughout the whole semester and apply it to a unique video. I made mine a nonfiction, but it is more like an exaggerated PSA.
The planning I had while making this was using my DSLR and I used my monopod, which was the best thing I had to a tripod. I edited this video over the course of a few days but I really wanted to have it done way before it was due, to focus on other classes as well.
I think that footage wise this video could use some work. I noticed that there are some continuity errors and I wish I could fix this. I had a lot of problems trying to make the video reach the minimum length requirements so I wish I filmed more shots, but I thought what I had in my shot list was long enough for it to make sense that he is running in a giant circle, with the random face shots to add emphasis. I really think that the overall humor of the video was exciting, if I do say so myself.
Freeform
The purpose of this project was to expand our creative integrity, and create our own video with any message or idea. I decided to make another NAT sound piece on the animation program, since it is one of the most forgotten programs at the school.
The roll I played while creating this video was each part, from the filming to the editing. I wanted to help bring awareness to the animation program at this school because a lot of my friends are in the program. I know they have had some issues with what the courses are that they have to take and how they are taking more cinema classes than animation. I wanted to actually give that program attention for once.
I definitely think that the footage I made was not that great and should have been done a lot better. I used my DSLR camera and I forgot until I went to film it that I do not have a tripod. I wish that I had a better camera mic too, or at least planned better to get out a VJ kit, but I tried my best to work with what I had. I do think that my editing of this video was okay.
NAT Sound
This video was a nonfiction piece made about our friend who is a bass player and his experience playing bass. We wanted to show our friend, James, in a light he is not used to since he does not play any shows.
My role in this project was primarily editing. I formed a few shots but Nick was mostly in charge of that part. We both decided to make the focus of this video on our friend, so the creative aspect was both of us. The footage used for this project was used by me and Nick Horwat.
One of the lessons learned from this project was how to use the effects in Premiere. Understanding how to do this while editing was especially helpful and useful towards this project, since many of the shots are not color balanced correctly or are really dark. Another thing I learned was to excessively film B-roll to make sure you have enough footage while editing.
PSA
This project was created to bring awareness to recycling. The purpose of a PSA is to raise awareness to a cause, and recycling is something I care a lot about so I made mine about that.
My role in this project was each aspect of it. I recorded, edited, organized the actors, and idea for the video.
One of the lessons I learned through this project is to plan better; some of my shots are not really organized well and look sloppy in my opinion. I think the best part of my PSA was the uplifting music and positive message at the end. With that approach, it sticks with people that are watching it.
Project 1
This project was a to understand the different shots and angles. This was a video made to teach us how to use the camera correctly and white balancing.
My main role in this video was the bison shot and the last shot of the bulletin board. I recorded the last shot but I came up with the idea of the bison shot and made sure people did not walk through the shot. The footage made in this project was used by me and Nick Horwat.
I learned from this project how to make the camera work, basically. I know what a picture looks like correctly color balanced but not on a video so I think that was a big learning part of this for me. I also learned how to focus, zoom, and organize shots correctly with this camera, since it is way different than the cameras I’m used to using.
Today we were in the office. We started out by calling winners and adding them to the winners database. We had a lot to do this day because of our enter to win contests that we have at our remotes, which we’ve had more of recently. After that, we had Animal Friends. This week we had two adorable little kittens because the shelter had just received twenty kittens. They were named Superman and Captain America. I really almost adopted Superman because he fell asleep on me. He was just so precious and I hate shelters because I just want to give all of the animals homes. After Animal Friends was over, we finished entering winners and called them and told them information on how to pick up thwir prize. We then looked up interesting news stories for both Q and Bob’s Facebook pages. The kind of stories that are click bait. After finding about 10 for Bob and 10 for Q, we posted online about the Animal Friends segment. After finishing that up, we were done for the day.
7/28
Today we had Market Square and Picklesburgh. Because we had both, there was an earlier shift at Picklesburgh while we were there. Market Square ran as usual, with the tent setup, and the games we had. We had plinko for people to play and DVDs and shirts to give away. The band’s name that was there was called Deluded Youth. They were okay, and the didn’t seem to fit Q’s demographic. When they were finished performing, we packed up super fast so that we could head over to Picklesburgh. At this point in the day, the tent was set up and our shift was basically tent take down shift. So the 2 other interns left when we got there. It started raining and that is when things got really fun! Once it started raining we put away the equipment that we use to play the radio, but tried to still have crowd interaction. We had a matching game that we give them a card and they have to match it with one of the cards on the table. The cards started to get wetter and wetter. We mostly just waited out in the rain until it was time for us to pack up. Packing up was a nightmare. The woman who was with the production company running the event told us she’d get us a golf cart so we can get our stuff out of the rain faster, but later when the rain got worse and it began thunderstorming, she told us she couldn’t do that. It was extremely frustrating that once things fell apart she was utterly useless. So Zach, the full time person from Steel City, got another guy to cart our things to the van. Once we packed up the van we went back to the garage we park in and dried off the tent, because the Q tent is new so we always have to take extra good care of it. After we dried off the tent we were done for the day.
7/29
We were at Picklesburgh again today but we were there with Bob. It was a whole lot nicer out today compared to the day before, so there were a lot more people there. Our game today was to try and blow all of the cards off of a bottle except the joker, which was on the bottom. Surprisingly enough, we actually had some people who were able to do it and they were able to win some of our prizes. We also had an enter to win box for Counting Crows and Matchbox Twenty tickets. Today was just a lot of people coming up and playing our game and filling our a slip for our enter to win tickets. After a long day of that, we packed up and headed home!
Today, Wyatt and I had a remote at the One Republic concert at Keybank Pavilion promoting Q. We got there early enough that when we were setting up we heard Fitz and the Tantrums soundchecking. Since we were missing our plinko chip, we didn’t have many prizes but we had 20 shirts to give away. So to improvise, we had our Q picture frame for people to take pictures with and if they tagged us on Facebook or Twitter they got a tshirt. We also had an enter to win box for Kennywood tickets. Zach, who was there with us, left to meet Fitz and the Tantrums meet and greet for our radio contest winners and to take a picture for Mission Music, so Wyatt and I got to run the tent for a while. After he came back we had only a half hour before packing up and ran out of shirts. People kept coming up to enter to win Kennywood tickets. When our time was up, we packed up quickly so we could come back in to watch the show. During the show, we continued to post photos of people in our tent and Snapchats of the show.
7/19
Today, we were in the office and we had some contest winners to call and enter into the database. Before Animal Friends came in, we heard there was ice cream in the lobby so we went down and got some, and came back up and continued our office stuff. There were a lot so by the time we were finished, it was time for Animal Friends. This week we had a little fluff ball named Plum and I really thought Wyatt was going to adopt her. She was really sweet and young and she loved everyone in the office. We did a whole Facebook live thing where we followed them getting off the elevator and walking in and then going downstairs to do the segment with Zak Szabo, who is the jockey that does the segment each week. We are trying to make it longer to get more people to have the chance to watch. After we finished that, we went into the prize closet and cleaned and organized it to the best of our ability. We threw out so much stuff. We had so many clown noses from the circus, literally anything you can think of with Taylor Swift’s name on it, and signed books from Trans Siberian Orchestra. I found stuff from 2011, and a Colbie Caliett signed CD, and we probably have about 40 copies of her Christmas album. There was stuff in there from when we had a different logo, which is about 5 years old, and then stuff from when Q was a soft rock station. We spent most of the day cleaning the prize closet. When we finally finished that, I showed Wyatt how to post the Animal Friends information on the website, since he wasn’t there that day. After that we were all done for the day.
7/21
This week was REALLY long, but I was still excited to be doing all of our events! I went to Kennywood today with Zach, but before I did that, I went and set up at Market Square. the concert series was Bob and I was going to Kennywood for Q. It was just me and Zach at Kennywood, so the rest of the interns were at Market Square. After helping set up a bit for Market Square, I went and got some coffee before walking over to the parking lot where we keep the vans, which is by the convention center. I had never been to Kennywood so I was really excited to go. We set up pretty fast because we were allowed to have the van near where they told us to set up. Zach and I couldn’t find the plinko chip again so we had the same “take a picture with our sign and post it and you’ll get a prize” promo. But eventually Zach finally found the chip yay! So we were able to do give aways that way. We had CDs, DVDs, and shirts to give away also. At first we were slow, and the radio kept fading in and out, but once the sun came out and the park was open longer were got a lot of people coming up. The enter to win we had was for the Crash Bandicoot game and the Power Rangers movie, since those prizes were for kids we thought it would be good to have it as a give away at Kennywood. We were doing an event for WTAE. They were showing the pilot of a new show to the Kennywood guests called the Mayor which will be on ABC and has Lea Michele in it. We even got the chance to watch a screening of it and I thought it was pretty good! It was really liberal and I thought it was ironic that a person wearing a Trump hat was sitting in front of me. We rotated shifts so that Zach went and watched the show and I stayed at the tent and vice versa. When I was done watching the show we were almost finished. Auntie Annes actually came over and gave us some pretzel bites which was really nice of them. We then packed up, were escorted out and headed back to downtown. Once downtown, I went into the office for a little to help out there, and then was done for the day.
Today we didn’t have Animal Friends again. I knew we had given away some Warped Tour tickets earlier in the summer so I asked Jordan if we had anymore and he gave me a pair, so that was a good start to the day. We had a lot of winners for One Republic to call so we did that and entered them into the database for most of the day. We went out and got Subway and then went back to the office. We made up some prize bags and organized the prized closet because it is insanely messy. I don’t like going in there because the mess just stresses me out. We wrote up some more Facebook posts and then that was the day!
7/14
We didn’t have Market Square this day but I still went to the office for a little to organize the prize closet a bit.
This week was weird with the interns working days, since the offices were closed Monday and Tuesday for the 4th of July. So I didn’t have Wyatt with me today, I had another intern Luke. I like the other interns, but they do everything so messy and don’t follow the script when calling winners, and don’t really do much. I basically did everything this day because he just sat on his phone. I didn’t mind, since I know that since I am a hard worker, and Vicki, Jordan and Zach know that, I’m more likely to either A. get a job with them in the future, or B. can ask them for a recommendation letter that would say I’m good at what I do. But anyway, when I got there we were opening the boxes that TLC sent us for the Outdaughtered contest, to make sure everything they were supposed to send us was in there. After that we picked winners for Joan Jett from the previous Friday’s Market Square concert series, and for another enter to win contest at a Giant Eagle remote for One Republic tickets. We were giving away a lot of One republic tickets, for both this enter to win, and online. So I called and entered those into our winners database, and by the time I was done it was time for Animal Friends. This week we had a sweet 2 year old boxer mix come in named Ruby, and she had just had puppies. After the Facebook Live was over, we were shown by Zach, another person who works at Steel City for promotions, how to write the post on WordPress. I know how to use wordpress already so I wrote and posted the Animal Friends post for Ruby. Luke wrote and posted it for Bob, but it’s just copy and paste for them, and they get a different graphic since they aren’t the ones promoting it, and it isn’t their demographic. I saw the day before they posted one of Wyatt and I’s posts for the fourth of July. After that, we were finished for the day.
7/7
Today was a Friday so we had our Market Square concert series. This week we had a band called Still Not Sober and we had our Q tent. There wasn’t anything exciting going on in Market Square this week like a fire so we just really tried to get our demo, which is women 17-30, to play plinko and enter our One republic enter to win contest. The band didn’t fit our demographic so there wasn’t much interaction from the people. So it was just a normal Friday for our station, and after the band finished we packed up and were done for the day!
Cara McLaughlin Photography 