Cal Poly Students Training wtih Dogs

This cycle went much cleaner for us compared to the first one. Once our story was properly pitched, we didn’t have a ton of hitches. Kayla had sources almost immediately. Thanks to that we were off and running.

View post on imgur.com

The outreach for this piece went as expected: People wanted to see the dogs. Pictures, video. We probably could’ve just set up a camera while the dogs hung out and it would’ve been satisfying for some. People also wanted to know about the class (LS 380) and how they could get involved. The Cal Poly Parents page on Facebook was a great sounding board — along with the Cal Poly subreddit, though they netted mostly similar responses: PHOTOS OF DOGS was the sentiment.

View post on imgur.com

Performance wise, everyone did an exemplary job. Krista was a very poised interviewer. She was calm and asked good, open-ended questions. Casi was great behind the camera, as well. During one of the interviews, a loud leaf blower started up outside, and instead of letting the loud drone ruin the audio, Casi politely suggested we wait for the blower to pass by. A maneuver that saved the video’s audio and showed that she can take control as a videographer.

View post on imgur.com

A few words from our group:

Kayla: “This cycle was interesting because I haven’t gotten much experience with photography, and hadn’t had any experience with interactive components. It definitely gave me new skills that I’ll be able to use once I graduate. I also really enjoyed the topic we covered and I think our group worked really well together when it came to interviewing the subjects and putting the story together as whole.”

Casi: “This cycle was interesting to me because I learned how to shoot video with a moving subject that I couldn’t control. Working with the dogs as the subject was really a learning experience for me on how to get more creative with shots. I felt more confident in filming after doing that shoot. I feel better about directing a shot after this cycle. I was also reaffirmed that you never really know what to expect before an interview and you have to be flexible.”

Krista: “This cycle taught me the importance of asking the right questions. Coming from the writing perspective, I needed to make sure I covered all the different angles to get quotes that would be beneficial for the story. This was a fun experience and a topic that I enjoyed covering!”

Jaelin: “Engaging an audience before the story was something I hadn’t done a ton before this, but it was pretty beneficial. It allows you to generate angles and questions that you hadn’t conceived. It was also interesting to watch a reporter interview a subject. As someone who has interviewed people, it’s hard to step outside that and see what it looks like.”

Overall, this cycle was a success. Our team was very communicative and fluid. I believe working on a story that is also fun to report is a great motivator. Dogs help everything.