To put things in perspective, as a student journalist, writing and reporting on stories during the COVID pandemic is very challenging. I find myself getting easily distracted at home and I continue to struggle with motivation because the story is never going to be as professional as I want it to be. Although hindsight is 2020, so as I reflect on my challenges … I think about other people and the struggles they might be going through. Everyone is in the same boat with the coronavirus impacting some aspect of their industry and/or daily life. Although here at Cal Poly, some students have had it easier than others with classes being held virtually and with limited or no access to campus buildings anymore. That is exactly why Christine Lee and I chose to highlight one of the most impacted majors … the music department.
After speaking with one senior, Liam Reece, the unique challenges music students are facing during this time became clear.
“The transition is obviously hard for most people because everyone’s been so used to playing with a bunch of other people, whether it be in an ensemble or the orchestra,” Reece said. “It’s definitely not the same over zoom. I’m in a jazz combo class with four other people and we record ourselves on our own time and the professor combines the recordings together to make a song.”
Working on this story, Christine and I wanted to get a compelling video together to showcase this topic visually, in addition to the written story. Most people enjoy watching videos instead of reading an article, especially young people. Although that also came with unexpected hurdles we were forced to jump over. When I asked my partner Christine what the biggest challenge was when making this video, her response was not surprising.
“The b-roll,” Lee said. “I struggled to get enough clips and footage for the second video, but I was able to use Edmond’s Instagram posts.”
Christine was able to complete the video using a Zoom interview with Edmond McGinley’s, where he shared his screen and walked her through the software and music production programs he was using. It was very interesting, and offered a first-hand look at the current projects he was working on. In addition, McGinley is an aspiring artist, with his first single called DREAMWORLD out now.
Here’s an instagram post that shows inside look at how the music production happens behind the scenes during the pandemic. Cal Poly is hosting virtual concerts and students are working toward one final performance on-stage in the PAC at the end of the quarter.
As far as the writing process, it was difficult for me early on as I was unable to get my head around the Q&A format. I decided to write this story as a feature because I found that the Q&A format was too cluttered and confusing to read. The story was much easier to follow as a feature, instead of breaking up the thoughts into segments with each interviewee answering them. After reflecting on the writing process, I am very happy with that decision.
In conclusion, Christine and I wanted to make sure this news story was compelling and interesting to read, especially for those SLO residents who are unaware of these challenges. The compelling quotes and academic perspective by the music department chair India D’Avignon helped me formulate the story I was looking for. Christine and I are very happy with the outcome. As the final step, I uploaded the story to the Mustang News WordPress for review and on Trello as well.