Broadcasting Blog

Monday, October 30, 2006

Update

Ok, so this weekend, I realized that before November 15th, I have literally 12 things due, four of which are BIG things. Actually, quite possibly the biggest things I have had to do in my college career. So, I decided to take the time to blog this week about my schedule to help organize myself.

My senior project will be completed by the end of this week so that I can have it in advance of the S.T.O.P. the Violence convention. I also plan to compile a list of all my contacts since I will be seeing many of them on the November 17th weekend.

As for my capstone presentation, I am beginning to put it together. I still have a lot of work to do on it, but at least I'm making some progress.

My alumni research project is a work in progress. My intentions were to interview Mr. Finkenpearl, but that has proved fruitless so far. So, my next choice is to interview Jimm Needle because he is working in entertainment instead of news. Hopefully that will work out well.

As for the rest of the million things I need to do, Im just going to try to manage the two weeks I have to get it all done as well and thoroughly as possible. On that note, I'm off to the library.....

Until Next Time,
Kirstan :)

Monday, October 23, 2006

Random

So this week we are allowed to blog about anything of our choice. As I was contemplating what in the world I could write about, I remembered an episode I saw on Oprah last week. The show was a series of clips from her road trip across America. It was very neat to watch someone of Oprah's stature living just a normal life, in addition to the impact she has on American people.

One of the most touching parts of the show was when she visited an Amish family. She was very respectful of their privacy, and they did agree to let her conduct an interview with a young couple. In the interview, they stressed how they like their privacy and live totally satisfied lives. This interview got me thinking about the recent Amish school shootings. I know it has been a little bit since them, but I have been heated about the media situation for quite a some time now.

I understand that most pictures that were published and such were taken with high-powered lenses from a distance, but when does the actual morality come into play. I do not feel that cameras needed to be taking pictures of the faces of the Amish while they are mourning the loss of their children. The Amish community hasn't had a tragedy like this before, and I feel (just from my experience going to college in an Amish town) that they would not have wanted to be photographed at all, let alone close-ups of them crying.

So, this got me thinking, and I am having some moral issues with the media. I wouldn't want cameras at my funeral.....would you?

Until Next Time,
Kirstan :)

Friday, October 13, 2006

Senior Project

So this week we are supposed to blog about what we are doing for our senior project. I decided that I am going to make a PSA or commercial for the S.T.O.P. the Violence Convention that is held annually in Pittsburgh for area high school students. I was very involved in the convention in high school, so I thought this would be a nice tie in.

As far as what I have done so far, I have talked to the director, Richard Garland, about what exactly the PSA should say and where we could play it. I also spoke with him about being very involved in the actual convention.

For a timeline, the convention is on November 9th this year. I have been drawing up my idea for a PSA and will start shooting when I get back from fall break.

Other than that, it is DEFINITELY time for a break....

Until Next Time,
Kirstan :)

Sunday, October 08, 2006

Some people I look up to...

This week for capstone we were given three choices of things to blog about. We could either talk about what we've done in broadcasting this week, discuss a topical news issue, or talk about a person of interest in the broadcasting field. So, I decided I would talk about not one, but two people in the entertainment field.
The first person I would like to discuss is Richard DeLancy who I interned with this summer. Mr. DeLancy is a talent agent/manager/casting director who I had the opportunity to work with this summer. From working with him, I got to see how all the "behind the scenes" stuff happens in the entertainment industry. He allowed me to get hand-on experience, with confirming auditions and submitting our talent for different roles. Working in his office gave me great experience and great insight into what I may want to do when I "grow up." Unfortunately, I'm "growing up" really fast.....like in two months!
The second person I would like to talk about is casting director Stephen Snyder. I met him when I was thirteen in an acting class he was teaching in Pittsburgh. From there we kept in contact, and I had the amazing opportunity to help him with the casting of the film "Out of the Black" in Pittsburgh. This summer, I took acting class with him, where I met many casting directors and a few directors. In addition to this, I got to help cast a Toby Keith music video that is now on CMT. Heather Locklear is the actress that was cast. All summer and pretty much since I met Mr. Snyder, he has taken me under his wing and is helping me get on the right path.
So I just wanted to take the time to thank both of them for the opportunities they have given me. Well, that's it for now.

Until Next Time,
Kirstan :)

Sunday, October 01, 2006

Employed or unemployed?....that is the question

This week in capstone we were asked to look into some possible job search sites to see if they would be beneficial to find jobs. We were also asked about whether or not the site seemed worth it to pay. As for those, there are very few sites I have found that I think should be paid for. One in particular that I agree with is Actors Access. This site allows you to submit your headshot and resume for different acting gigs that come up in the Entertainment Business.

As for non-pay sites, I normally just type in the name of the station or company that I am interested in applying at and look on the positions they are looking to hire, for instance Paramount Pictures.

However, the best site I have found for jobs in entertainment is at Entertainment Jobs. This site allows you to search all jobs in the entertainment industry and tells you how to apply. I have used this site in the past, but now it seems that they have changed it to a pay site aside from the jobs that are hilighted. So, I plan to look into this and hope to use the site a whole lot in the near future.

Until Next Time,
Kirstan :)