The First Annual Student Body Holiday Drop-In.

A few members from the Pre-Alumni Council pictured. The Pre-Alumni council and The Executive Student Leadership Council presented the First Annual Christmas Drop-In on the campus of South Carolina State University. The turn out was great, and everyone enjoyed it! Refreshments, a D.J. and Royal Court was there. Awesome job overall!!

Orangeburg Christmas Parade iMovie Presentation

In my Online Journalism course with Mr. Dante Mozie, the class had to create an iMovie or Audacity production on an event we'd attended, for our final project in the class. I chose to do my project through iMovie and the event I chose for the assignment was the Orangeburg Christmas Parade. Here is the production, hope you all enjoy! 

SC State Sports Talk

This recording was done as a class. It was so entertaining to see fellow classmates do what they love. Devante Williams interviewed Javonte Neal on sports, college and Pro, for that week. They both did a great job for their first official recording for this class. I was impressed with how the class came together to work the camera, and learning how to direct in the control room. I helped out in the control room this day, alongside Lynn McGrier and Mr. Harwood. Great Experience!

POS Report

The last assignment for BC-340 was a Person On the Street Report. Each student in class had to ask five people a question of their choice. My question for this report was, "What Does Christmas Mean to You?". Since it is the most wonderful time of the year, I thought it was more than appropriate to ask people this question, and all of the participants enjoyed it. So did I. Wishing everyone a Happy Holiday this season.

Movie Review: Chi-Raq

Spike Lee's Chi-raq has everybody talking! I was able to see the movie today and I rate it a 10! It's a must see. In this film, Lee showed how people typically look at society. He showed how people are quick to blame people of other cultures but fail to blame or check themselves and communities at times. He also depicted how powerful the black woman could be if she used the power of "womanhood" to change the ways of a man.

SCSU Sound and Sight: Group Interview/Production Recording

In my BC-320 Basic Television Production class, myself, Craishaud, Shay, Stephen and Terrance all participated in a group project where we had to record an interview. Craishaud Foulks and Stephen Wells were on air. Shay Bowman and myself were in the control room, where Shay was the Director and I was the associate director. Terrance Jones was the camera operator. Our group focused on Music and Movies. I learned so much and really enjoyed the experience. The control room is such a complicated, tense, yet exciting job. I never knew I could do all of that stuff until I actually did it! So I'm really thankful for the experience.

Orangeburg Christmas Parade

The Orangeburg Christmas Parade was a success today! I was so happy and pleased to see the turn out. The Marching 101 band, Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School's marching band, Mary Jane's School of Dance LLC, Girl Scout Troop 79 and so many other organizations were in attendance and participated. 

West Family Welcomes New Addition

After what seems like forever, Kim Kardashian-West and husband Kanye West finally gave birth to their son on December 5, 2015. On the 11th season of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, fans and audiences were able to see complications that Kim was having during her pregnancy. No news on how the delivery went but I'm hoping everything is great! Congrats to the parents and big sister of the baby boy!

Kylie Jenner's Lip Kit

Kylie Jenner launched a new project entitled, LIP KIT by KYLIE, which made over $8 million in less than a minute! Awesome right?! The 18 year old Reality Star is already doing great things at such a young age. Way to go Kylie! Keep up the good work! 

Lil Wayne's Mixtape Review: No Ceilings 2

Rap phenom Lil Wayne recently released his mixtape, No Ceilings 2 on Thanksgiving day. The mixtape consist of 24 hot news songs from the Young Money artist. The rapper went to Twitter to acknowledge his appreciation to fans by saying, "Thx for the mixtape luv y'all !!!!".

Greenville South Carolina Native on Broadway!

Greenville, South Carolina native Danielle Brooks is starring in The Color Purple on Broadway. Brooks plays the role of Sofia, the same role that Oprah played in the movie. The musical started in November and ends in May 2016. I would love to see a show! 

Adele's Album Review: 25

Adele is an English singer and songwriter who released her third studio album, entitled 25, in late November. The first single from the album, "Hello", is absolutely amazing and the stats prove it. The album sold over a million copies in two different weeks... Amazing right?! Adele's last album which was released in 2011, entitled, 21, left her fans speechless. Her fans have been anticipating her recent release for almost three years now and she did not fail to disappoint. Great job Adele! 

The Wiz Live!

NBC presented The Wiz Live!, this past Wednesday, December 3, 2015. The musical was great. Legendary, Grammy award winner Stephanie Mills played Aunt Em, while 19 year old New Jersey native, Shanice Williams played as Dorothy. This is Williams first major show and she did GREAT! The musical was full of familiar faces and phenomenal talent. Rapper and actor Common was the Gatekeeper of Emerald City. Actress and singer Amber Riley played Addaperle, the Good Witch of the North. Actress Uzo Aduba as Glenda, the Good Witch of the South. Actor Elijah Kelley as the Scarecrow and also a Farmhand. Actor and singer, Ne-Yo, as Tin-Man and a Farmhand. Actor David Alan Grier as the Cowardly Lion and a Farmhand. Actress and singer Mary J. Blige as Evillence the Wicked Witch of the West. The legendary actress, rapper and singer Queen Latifah as none other than the Wiz! I loved the songs, "Soon as I get Home", "You Can't Win", "Ease on Down the Road", "Don't Nobody Bring Me No Bad News", "Everybody Rejoice/A Brand New Day", "Believe in Yourself", and "Home". 

Movie Review on CREED

Yesterday I was able to see Creed starring Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone. The movie was absolutely amazing! On a scale from 1-10, I would rate the movie a nine! Michael B. Jordan's character went around to different group homes until he was taken back in by his mother. He then found an interest which turned into a passion for boxing. His mother was not enthused by his interest since his father had died from boxing. He then sought the legendary Rocky Balboa, who was also a great friend of his father's to train him. Just like his father, and as you can imagine being trained by Rocky, he became a great boxer! I recommend for anyone to see this movie.

Class Activity Fun

As BC320-Basic Television Production, comes to an end this semester, a lot of fun and cool things have taken place in class. The week before the Thanksgiving break/holiday, the class was separated into teams to conduct a recording. Myself and Shay (pictured to the far left) were in the control room, while Terrance was behind the camera and Craishaud and Stephen were in front of the camera! The entire experience was amazing and I really learned a lot in the control room. Excellent experience and kudos to our Professor Patrick Harwood!

Chapter 7 Discussion Questions

1. Explain the essential role of the interview in television news stories.
Interviews provide essential detail and helps give stories spirits and atmosphere and impact a sense of spontaneity that would otherwise be lost.

2. Discuss ways that will help you establish trust with an interview source.
Make an effort to go out and talk for at least five minutes over coffee. Be genuine with self confidence.

3. What personal conduct and manners are important to observe whenever you are in someone else's home or coffee?
Good manners and being genuine. Arrive on time and don't stay too late. Don't chew gum, refrain from sitting unless asked. Be friendly but not overly familiar. How you treat the interviewee may reflect how viewers respond to you.

5. Discuss techniques you can employ to help put the interview subject at ease.
Help the interviewee focus on what they are used to. Typically if an interviewee is engaged in a familiar activity rather than sitting or standing in front of a wall, they'll be more comfortable and relaxed.

6. Why is it important not to reveal the questions you intend to ask until the actual interview begins?
Be spontaneous. To help preserve the feeling of spontaneity, try not to share questions in advance of the interview. That's because subjects ordinarily put most of their energy into their first response. The best interviews address the moment and the feelings of the moment and grow naturally from the honest interaction between you and the subject.

8. Explain why research and planning are so important to the interview process.
The more you know, the more confidence you'll have and you'll also concentrate more. Use all resources available.

11. What constitutes a "dumb" interview question?
A typical question that people will more than likely know the answer to already including yourself, as well as something really "easy" for the interviewee to answer.