WJI 2018 Blog Day 8, PM: Practice, Practice, Practice

At lunchtime, we headed to the trusty cafeteria for roast pork and a taste of Los Angeles -- via a Skype call with Sophia Lee, a WJI graduate and World reporter. Sophia shared wisdom from her reporting experiences: Prove yourself trustworthy, get to know the people you interview, remember that all stories have redemption.

After the call, we had another photography session with award-winning photographer Rylan Howe. We scattered around campus for half an hour to shoot photos based around a theme; one student chose transportation, another focused on a piano, another wandered around the surrounding neighborhood. Then we edited our photos and created slideshows with Rylan’s advice.

Next, we lugged our camera gear back to the video studio, where Mark Volkers showed us some of his recent film projects and gave us pointers for editing the videos we’ll be filming on Saturday. He showed us how to adjust our tripods, focus our cameras, and correct our lighting as we practiced for our upcoming interviews.

Dinner back in the cafeteria was a good time as always. Dr. Olasky joined us again for good conversation, and Lee Pitts’ two young kids provided endless entertainment.

Finally, the class settled in for a viewing of The Post, a journalism movie starring Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks. Between our long week and our big day of filming and photography tomorrow, it was a nice Friday-night pause in our schedule.