Wow, I can’t believe it’s over already; it went by so fast! This morning, I shadowed John Renigar from the graphics department. Today was another one of my favorite days because I actually learned as much about graphics as I did about John! He’s such an awesome, kind guy and I’m so glad we had the time to just chat on my last day.
In his position, John creates graphics for the news, which ranges from stills to animations to logos to basically anything that the producers may need. He usually receives somewhere between 5-15 requests a day from producers for graphics. For example, yesterday one of the producers need an animation that was about the increased crime rate in Durham from last year. From just that and the hard numbers about the percent increase, he created a beautiful animation that showcased the skyline of Durham and numbers that slid up and down slowly to display the information.
Because most of his work is centered around news graphics, it can get a bit repetitive at times. To stay motivated and inspired, sometimes John will watch youtube videos on cool techniques to try, read magazines, or watch tv programs. Today, we actually made a graphic for fun, so I could see what the process looks like and how to fabricate what I was imagining in my mind.
For example, John asked my who I was a fan of for college sports (he’s a tarheel fan), and I’m a blue devil 100%. So, we created a graphic about about me going to Duke, incorporating a bunch of cool effects in the span of like 5 minutes. John is a whiz at the program After Effects, and his ability to create new, fun things everyday makes me wonder if perhaps I should take video productions.
After lunch with Emma, I returned to the Creative Services department to work with Marc Derro. Marc is a promotion producer, so he essentially does a bit of everything in his job.
Today, he created a promo for the Destination Sunfest festival in Dorothea Dix park. Although this promo was sponsored, he also does weather promos that advertise for the WRAL brand in general and promotables, which are news stories.
Because Marc knows so much about every aspect of the broadcasting business, I took all his advice down in my notebook. Perhaps the most important and memorable tip was to tell a story. To relate to viewers, to make a promo more interesting, to tie together each of the shots, there must be a story behind it. Another interesting tip was in regards to audio. Although I already discussed the power of music to the enticing qualities of a promo, Marc reinforced in with a new idea. In several of his edits, he requires a VO, so he uses a site called “Who Did That Media?” that puts him in contact with someone who can meet all his voicing needs. I had no idea the market for those stretched so far!
All in all, my experience at WRAL was more informative and exciting than I could’ve imagined! It definitely changed my perspective and I think I may even reconsider what I want to do for my career.
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