New "Action Sequence" Production

I have always been fond of the assignment that I call "Action Sequence." It depicts one of my SC State University students getting up, leaving the classroom, making his or her way out the door, through the hall and down the steps from the third floor to the ground level of Turner Hall. 

Another student is the director and videographer, and later the editor using Adobe Premiere Pro to put it all together with titles and music and the clips that should be edited together into a smooth, flowing process. 

Last week I shot a sample "Action Sequence" with two students, Ariana Pinder and Andrea Fullington. 

The skills tested in this production exercise include communication and planning between the director and "actor", shot composition, lighting, white balancing the camera in different settings, editing and blog posting correctly. 

Here are some other "Action Sequence" examples from previous years. 

"Five Questions" Interview Project

 

In my Radio Production class here at SC State, the students are working on a project I call "Five Questions." 

The students have the chance to interview a classmate, a professor, a campus leader, a student-athlete, really anyone they choose. 

The idea is to conduct an interview in an interesting and informative way to help the listener get to know the subject and also get a sense of the host's style and personality. 

Listen to the three-minute interview here.

This is one example of such a "Five Questions" feature. Keira McGowan sat down with her classmate Ali Hardwell, who is a guard on SC State's women's basketball team. Ali, who is from Washington state, is in her first semester here after transferring from a two year college in Texas where she led her team to a conference championship last season. 

To learn more about these fine and talented students, check out Ali's blog and Keira's as well. 

"Fotos from the Field"- Students Shoot Interviews

 My SC State TV Production students are getting some practical hands-on experience recording interviews for their "Person on the Street" video project. Each student comes up with a topic question and then goes on campus with a camera crew to record at least five different interviews and their on-camera "stand-ups" too (check out these tips for better stand-ups). I'm looking forward to seeing their final projects!  

Here they are in action on the plaza: 

Aaliyah Felder conducts interviews with Ryan Stubblefield running the camera and monitoring the audio levels. 

Aaliyah does her on-camera open and close. The interview clips or soundbites will go in between her on-camera parts. 

"Me in 30 Seconds" Videos

 

This semester at SC State I'm teaching Basic Television Production and it's a very hands-on class. Students have been quickly exposed to the tools of the trade: cameras, microphones, lights and tripods. 

As a first project I asked them to be in front of the camera sharing "Me in 30 Seconds." Just talk briefly about yourself: where you are from, your major and year, hometown, hobbies, ambitions, what you like about SC State- things like that. 

The students rotated from in front of the camera to behind it. They operated the cameras and gave time cues so the student on camera would be as close to 30 seconds as possible. 

Here are some of the videos that the students will post on YouTube, then their own blogs. 

Adobe Creative Cloud Access Steps

 

Go to the SC State apps page, via the school's homepage at www.scsu.edu 

Click on this image on the apps page. 

Enter your SC State email address. 

This screen should open next. Click on Company or School Account. 

Enter your SC State user name and password. 

Public Service Announcement (PSA): All-Star Justice Center

 

There's still much work to be done, but the old All-Star Triangle Bowling Lanes on Russell Street is on the path to reopening. In its new life it will be called the All-Star Justice Center. It will not only feature 16 bowling lanes but will also have a civil rights museum to reflect the business' role in what became the Orangeburg Massacre. 

My students and I are producing public service announcements to help raise awareness about the important project and also to solicit donations.

To follow is the script for my 60-second PSA.
Click here to listen to the final product.  

All-Star Justice Center PSA
Patrick Harwood
April 18, 2024
Time: 60 seconds 

Music bed

Two SC State students are walking on campus when they hear this sound: 

Bowling bowl hitting pins

Student 1: Hey did you hear that?

Student 2: Yes I did! It sounded like a bowling alley!

Voice from the great beyond: Greetings S-C State students. I'm a voice from your school's past. Have you heard about how in 1968 hundreds of us college students tried to integrate the All-Star Bowling Lanes over on Russell Street?

Student 1: That's when the owner wouldn't let Black folks in to bowl. 

Student 2: Right, that sure was an ugly time.

Voice from beyond: Things got really ugly the night of February 8th, 1968. Law enforcement opened fire on students gathered on your campus. Three young men were killed and more than two dozen others were wounded. 

Student 1: That was the Orangeburg Massacre!

Student 2: So I here there's something going on with the bowling alley?

Voice from beyond: Indeed there is! Work is underway to reopen the All-Star Lanes and turn parts of it into a civil rights museum so people will always remember the tragedy caused by segregation back then.

Student 1: This sounds great!

Student 2: How can we help? 

Voice from beyond: With your help, the All-Star Justice Center can get to the finish line sooner than later. For more information and to make a donation, please go to center for creativepartnerships-dot-org. That's center-for-creativepartnerships-dot-org. 

End with bowling alley sound 

Podcast Productions: Student-Athletes, Campus Issues and More!

We recently dusted off one of our department's old Allen and Heath mixing boards to record a series of podcasts. 

Podcasts seem to be as popular as ever so this project gave the students a chance to be part of one. They will be writing blog posts that feature their particular podcasts complete with the recording, photos and their thoughts about being part of one in our Radio Production class.