My first IPP shoot was a realization that I am a communicator

Let me tell you a story...

Saturday, Nov. 6, 2010 was my first shoot for my Independent Professional Project (IPP). I booked a video camera, sound kit, and light kit from our department to prepare for my first round of interviews for the promotional video I was shooting.

My experience that morning was one I'll never forget. I was very nervous and anxious while waiting for the interviewees to arrive at Princess Street Campus. As I set up the tripod and three-point lighting (with the help of Chase Gouthro and Steve Dreger), I quickly realized that filming was not an uneasy undertaking, especially when you have to do it all by yourself. In TV class, we usually worked in pairs or in groups of three. Setting everything up by myself was definitely a challenge and I didn't want to miss a step like doing the white balance on the camera or the sound check on the microphone.

I finished setting up by 12:30 p.m. and my first pair of interviewees were scheduled for 1 p.m. I had lots of time to look over my interview questions and thought about how they might answer. The promotional video I was producing was for the Cultural and Language Mentor Program at Red River College. The video would help promote the program by encouraging students, faculty, and staff at RRC volunteer their time to meet either an international or immigrant student and help them get acquainted with Canadian customs and Canadian living. So essentially, the stories that were going to be shared in the video were happy, feel-good stories.

I was very nervous at the beginning of the shoot, worrying that the lighting and the set up wasn't good enough to be RRC-approved. I needed this video approved so the department I was producing it for could eventually use it when it is completed. The first couple of interviews were definitely a realization for me that this IPP was on its way to becoming something that I could show other people. It was really weird for me to be directing my subjects to do what I wanted them to do in the video and they looked back at me like I knew exactly what I was talking about; like I was an expert. I explained to them that this was just a school project. But for me, it wasn't just a school project: it was my IPP. It was the project I chose out of four other IPP ideas.

At the end of the video shoot, I would say that something awesome took place in me - that I gained more confidence in being a communicator armed with a video camera, a microphone, and fancy lighting. Until now, I've only wrote and designed communication pieces for school and at my previous job. Directing, producing, and editing videos was a whole new area that I would now need to explore in order to be the all-encompassing communicator I need to be.

After the shoot, I sat in amazement in what CreCommland allowed me to be. Eman Agpalza learned something new this weekend and that was: I know more than I think.