During this internship I have accomplished many things. One of the main goals I had going into this internship was to become more extroverted. I not only became more extroverted but taught some members of the organization how video editing works. I was able to work on video projects that I am proud of throughout the semester. I branched out as well by taking pictures for Instagram and meeting new people by taking those pictures. Even though some of the members didn’t know my name in the beginning they referred to me as “the girl that always has the camera”. Even though I didn’t know them at the beginning of the semester, they knew me and I eventually got to know them. I used verbal communication by tabling for the organization and drawing more people in.
Not only did the videos I made have meaning to me but it seemed to provide meaning for other members in the organization. They were able to appreciate the time and effort that was put into the videos. By the end of the semester I had videos from events like Fall Retreat and a promotional video for a pumpkin bash. During this internship I made videos that provoked emotion and meant something. The pictures that I took of the members looking happy effected their social media presence as well as the amount of people that came in each week.
Another one of my accomplishments during this internship is giving a speech and presenting some personal announcements. Before I started this internship speaking in front of a large group of people was something that terrified me. By the end of the internship I presented a senior speech and part of my story was also shared during a sermon. That part was really meaningful to me and I am happy that members found meaning in my videos.
This is a video I made before the first official Chi Alpha meeting of the semester. The purpose of this video was to show people the new location of Chi Alpha if they did not know already. The organization put it on their Instagram an hour before the meeting. I went outside the ballroom and filmed different types of b-roll. I stood on the stairs so I could get a pan shot of the Soza Ballroom sign. I then went outside the building and filmed a video of myself walking to where Chi Alpha was being held. The point of view shots were helpful in guiding people where to go. I made sure to be detailed enough to where I was opening the door and telling the followers exactly where to go. The theme and hashtag for the first few weeks was follow me to Chi Alpha. I filmed a shot where one of the members opens the door towards me and smiles. This shows the welcoming atmosphere Chi Alpha provides. For the last shot of the video I filmed one of the leader’s feet walking across the camera. I finished the video with the hashtag and telling their Instagram followers the time of the meeting.
In the beginning of the semester I was in charge of making a promotional video for the Involvement Fair. The Involvement Fair is a time where all the organizations at Longwood University set up tables to advertise themselves. For this specific event Chi Alpha was handing out free coffee. I made sure to film the table and how it was set up. The letters are very important so I got them in the shot as well. I also filmed the leaders with the coffee and included many pictures. The pictures included people smiling and over all exhibited a happy vibe. I also wanted to make sure to film the members smiling so other people will feel welcome. I made sure to use different transitions in the video to keep it interesting. The members all looked welcoming when they were in the video. They all seemed to enjoy being in the video and they were proud of the final product. It advertised their organization well because they are all about promoting positivity. Having all different types of people in the video represented what that strive to accomplish. By showing that mission statement in the videos I was able to successfully promote the organization and bring in new members. Click to watch the video
Every year Chi Alpha has their fall retreat. There is guest speaker that comes and it is over the span of two days. This year I was in charge of filming the retreat and making a recap video. I stood in the back of the room so I could film I wide shot of all the members listening to the guest speakers. When there were breaks I went around and filmed the members doing different activities. I made sure to edit key parts the speaker was talking about. I put specific b-roll that related to the speaker’s key points. At one point he talked about how we need to be a shining light so I used stock footage of a light bulb turning on to go over his voice. I got a few of the members with their hands raised in the air as they were worshipping. I got the worship team singing as well for b-roll. I filmed some of the games that the members played at fall retreat to show the welcoming atmosphere. I also focused some shots on individual members to show their mood. Some of the shots were quick while some of them are longer. One of my favorite shots is a zoom in on a girl that is worshipping in front of the stage.
Graphic
One of the graphics I made was to advertise the weekly Chi Alpha meeting. The graphic was posted on Instagram to reach a larger audience. This larger audience includes individuals that normally do not attend the meetings. I used pictures that were taken at the Involvement Fair to draw people in. I made sure to use a fun format so the graphic would stand out on the platform. I used two different pictures so I was able to share the diversity within the organization. Diversity is important in these two pictures because that is what the organization is always trying to promote. When taking pictures one of the first rules the director instilled in me is inclusivity. That is one of the main aspects Chi Alpha wants to show during every meeting and in every social media post. Welcoming new individuals by showing inclusivity as well as diversity is something Chi Alpha always promotes. Capturing that in the pictures that I would take and the videos I produced is something that is very important. The director always wanted me to take as many pictures as possible to showcase the organization. The pictures were always meant to show the happy members so others would feel welcome when they came to a meeting.
In October Chi Alpha has their annual pumpkin bash. I was in charge of making the promotional video for the event. The video was shown in front of the entire organization and posted on Instagram. I had some of the organization members be in the video so they could have representation. I promoted the video by making the music and theme of the video intense. When the video was shown in front of the organization it caught their attention. I also used dark filters to go along with the theme. It reached all genders as well, which is what I was going for. The boys had a fun time filming it because we smashed about ten pumpkins by the time we had stopped filming. I filmed different types of shots like pan shots of everyone participating while also including action shots. Some of the action shots were the boys smashing the pumpkins with a bat or the girls smashing some of the smaller pumpkins on a piece of concrete. I did some shots where the pumpkins went in reverse then went forward again. I lined pumpkins up and filmed them as well. One of the leaders was also briefly in the video.
