The Double R internship team covered Allison Silberberg’s re-election Campaign Kickoff for Mayor of Alexandria, Virginia. We decided our roles would be as follows: Woojae as videographer and Mahalia as reporter and producer. It was a very educational and practical experience. Allison Silberberg and her team showed us the layout of the room and where she would be speaking. We then worked together as a team to capture the event and interview her supporters.
Mahalia:
One important lesson is to always protect the videographer as Woojae was bumped and pushed around by a lot people. I had to get aggressive to ensure people were cautious of Woojae as he filmed. My final lesson was how to interview people on camera. The trick is to have them look at you and not the camera so the interview seems more natural. In all, I got to flash my interviewing chops, which was exciting! Through our teamwork I believe we were able to gather some great sound bytes for Allison Silberberg’s re-election campaign video.
Woojae:
While Mahalia was looking for interviewees, I tried my best to get some good b-roll footage. The hardest part was finding a stable place to shoot, as there were people moving and walking all around us. There were a lot of people there, and not just volunteers or potential voters, but also other photographers and videographers. So every time Allison hugged a person, all the camera operators would move to the same spot to get the perfect angle. I learned an important lesson: “To get a good shot, you have to be fast.”
We believe that this shooting opportunity has helped develop our abilities for later shoots with the whole Double R team. Also we have gained confidence, which will be important in our next shoot. Learning to shoot in a busy environment is a really valuable opportunity for growth.
