Trump Presidency/Obama Legacy Campus Interviews

The day before Donald Trump's inauguration as America's new president, my broadcasting students went around campus to ask students their views on Trump's pending presidency.

They also inquired about the legacy of Barack Obama's two terms in the White House.

The students are putting together news reports with the responses they gathered. I look forward to seeing them!

Four Classic Lighting Techniques

Television, cinema, video, photography- anything involving cameras- require some thought about lighting. Lighting can be powerful force in conveying feeling, emotion, tension, even danger.

My video production students were challenged in the studio to properly light a classmate in what are termed by professionals the four "classic" lighting techniques: Rembrandt, Split, Broad and Butterfly Lighting.

News "Quick Takes" November 2016

"Quick Takes" is a video production and reporting project I have my SC State student do. They are to gather clips on three different topics, preferably timely things in news, sports and/or entertainment. Then, using Adobe Premiere Pro's "picture in picture" (PIP) feature, the students inject reporting or commentary over the three videos.

Prezi Presents: My Favorite New Book Bird Photographs!

My students will soon be producing a Prezi Top Ten list- topics of their own choosing, so I'll be expecting a lot of variety when this assignment is due. I like Prezis because of their movement, flashiness and easy of assembly.

To demonstrate what I'm looking for and to show students who haven't yet created a Prezi presentation, I put this one together of 10 favorite bird photographs from my new book, "Nature-ly Fun! Bird Photography From A to Z."

"Green Screen" Magic! "Where I Want To Be" Challenge

I always look forward to seeing what the students in my Electronic (Digital) Media Productions II class come up with in the project I assign them dealing with chromakey or green screen technology.

The idea is to blend two images, one of themselves photographed with a green background (in our TV studio, which has green walls for this very purpose) and then an image they find with the theme of "Where I Want To Be." This can be anything and everything, from dream jobs and vacations to celebrity encounters and other life magic moments.

DJ 908 Aumari Peters On "Campus Conversation"

SC State Communications student Javonte Neal interviewed his classmate and fellow Communications major Aumari Peters about his DJ hobby and passion.  The interview was shot in our TV studio as part of the ongoing series, "Campus Conversation."

This and other "Campus Conversation" interviews have been conducted as part of the SC State Communication Program's practicum course that gives students internship-type experience at various offices and departments at the university. 

Camera Equipment Set Up Challenge!

Today in my video production class I tested the students to make sure they can properly set up our program's video cameras and tripods. With the pressure of a stop watch and competing against each other, the students, three at a time, went at it.

Most of the students did great in this challenge. The fastest three finishers faced off in the championship round. Kiiyah Stokes prevailed in under three minutes.