SC State's Archivist is Sharp with the Knives and the Axes!

 

By day Avery Daniels is the mild-mannered archivist at SC State's Miller F. Whitaker Library. 

His third-floor office is packed with more than 130 years of the school's history. 

Daniels helped my students with a research project a few years ago. 

Thanks to a recent University Relations feature story I learned about a passion of Daniels outside the library. The Orangeburg Times & Democrat has also featured Daniels and his world-class skills in throwing knives, hatchets and axes. 

The coverage headlines say how he is aiming for national and world titles in a sport that is growing in popularity around the globe. 

Daniels has honed his throwing at his home "court" you could say. This is at Black Water Axes & Ales located in the Orangeburg Mall, a short drive from campus. 

In an interview recorded for both my video and audio production classes, Daniels says he finds the sport therapeutic...this after the loss of a loved one two years ago. 

SOT: Avery Daniels :25
In: Yes, absolutely
Out: competitive drive going 

Listen to his response here.

If you watch Daniels throwing you may notice he uses both hands. Is he naturally ambidextrous? 

SOT: Avery Daniels   :20
In: I was in a car accident
Out: my left hand 

Listen to his response here.

Daniels is earning a name for himself in throwing competitions locally, nationally and internationally. 

Next month November 9-11, he will will be in Appleton, Wisconsin for the inaugural World Ax and Knife Throwing League Pro-Am Championships. 

In an interview my students and I had with Daniels at Black Water Axes and Ales, he was asked about the challenges of competition. 

SOT: Avery Daniels   :57
In: The challenge is nerves 
Out: it comes second nature 

Hear his answer here.

We wish Avery Daniels great success at the upcoming world competition in Wisconsin! May he bring home the gold and prize money too. 

As if ax and knife throwing wasn't enough of a passion hobby for him, Daniels told us he also plays pickleball several days a week. 

"Me in 30 Seconds" Video Project

This semester 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 camera, some held the boom microphone and others held up a stopwatch so the length would be a close to 30 seconds as possible. 

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

Patrick Jenkins

Getting Basic in Basic Television Production Class

 

We've hit the ground running in Basic Television Production. In just our third class... It's lights, camera, action! 

Click here to listen to this post. 

I call this project "Me in 30 Seconds." 

One by one students go in front of the camera and talk about themselves...giving their names, hometowns, interests, hobbies and aspirations. And also maybe what they like best about going to SC State. 

This is Nia Smith speaking in our classroom in Turner Hall. 

Paying Respects to the Orangeburg Massacre Victims

 

On the eve of the 55th annual Orangeburg Massacre memorial event at SC State, my students and I visited this sacred site on campus: the Smith Hammond Middleton Legacy Plaza. 

This is named for the three young men who perished on that tragic day, Feb. 8, 1968. 

These three young men were shot to death by highway patrol officers when hundreds of SC State and Claflin students gathered around a bonfire. Two days prior the students protested a segregated bowling alley. 

Killed, from right to left, were Henry E. Smith, 18, Samuel Hammond Jr. (both SC State students) and Delano Middleton, 17, a Wilkinson High School student. 

The three bronze busts were sculpted by one of SC State's own: Dr. Toulupe Filani, chair of the Department of Visual and Performing Arts. 

He is pictured here shaking the hand of school President Alexander Conyers. This was at last year's Feb. 8 commemoration when Filani's creations were unveiled. 

Filani, who goes by Tolu, signed each bust that he crafted from clay. Curiously, he completed them in 2014. So why did it take eight years for them to be bronzed and displayed like this? 

In an interview I conducted with Filani at last February's event, he admitted to having trouble getting the backing of SC State's leadership to fund the bronzing, which he says cost $30,000. 

Listen to his comment here.

Fortunately, Filani didn't give up! 

In this next soundbite, he modestly responds to my question about how pleased me must be that his creations are finally on public display.

Listen here.

In this third comment, Filani says how his vision of creating art for the SC State campus dates back to when he came here for his job interview back in 2006.      Listen here.

Butterfly, Rembrandt and Other Creative Lighting Techniques

Here at SC State we are stepping up our lighting game after our previous two lessons with a reflector disc and three-point lighting. Using this video as guidance along with some handout material, we captured images using the following lighting techniques: flat frontal, side, butterfly and Rembrandt. And then we had a little fun with the students giving their best scary face!  Here the results: 

FLAT FRONTAL LIGHTING

Communications students Sharlene Luke and Lawson Danley pose for our "flat frontal" example. Here only one light is used, the key light that is placed at eye level next to the camera. It's not a bad look on these two good-looking young people. I think this one is first on our tutorial list because, as explained in this photography link, "Basically, flat lighting is lighting that produces very little contrast in your scene. Flat means there's very little difference (contrast) between the highlights and shadows in flat light." 

Delighting with Three-Point Lighting!

In my television production class at SC State University, we are spending a few weeks on lighting. We covered the use of reflector discs, now we are looking at a mainstay of photography, videography, film, and television: three-point lighting. See this YouTube video for details and tips. 

Essence Adams (right) is at the center of this popular, widely-used lighting concept. You see the video camera's position in front of Essence and the three lights surrounding her. 

Here is another perspective of the lights from behind Delano Whitfield (left). The light in the center, under the clock on the wall, is called the key light.

On the left side of this photograph is the fill light. And the light behind Delano, along the right side of the photo, is the backlight. 

I will explain and show how the lights work in tandem to create a high-quality image of the subject, whether for a yearbook or LinkedIn picture, a TV interview, model shoots, and other scenarios. 

Lighting it Up with a Reflector Disc

 

This handy production device can, in a flash, rescue a low or poor-lighting situation. 

Reflector discs, like the one held by Sylvester Brown, folds down to the size of frisbee and fits in a carry bag. It's a vital tool to have among a video producer's cameras, microphones and lights. 

This short video from YouTube shows a disc reflector in action.

Last week, after explaining the how and why of reflector discs, my television production students and I went outside for a demonstration. 

Sometimes you cannot avoid taking photographs or shooting video into the sunlight. This can shut down the camera's iris and make a person's face look darker than is desirable. 

Here is Sharlene Luke's "before" photo. 

Now we see her after the reflector disc is deployed. Note the improvement. 

(For Sharlene's blog post for this assignment, click here.)

Here we see the choreography of where the video camera and disc are positioned.