Day 1 at Fox 4

I got to the studio just before 9am and signed in with the front desk, got my fox 4 visitor badge, and waited for Mr. Kukla. Right away, Mr. Kukla took me on a tour of the building. On the first floor there is a studio for bands/musical guests, a studio set for the main news, and a studio for interviews/guests who will be cooking or presenting items. There is also a large news room with lots of desk space, computers, and the sets for traffic and weather. As I was touring the downstairs I met many of the reporters, producers, anchors, and other Fox 4 staff. Upstairs are many of the offices, including Mr. Kukla's office, the editing rooms, and lots of electronic storage.
After the tour, we went back to Mr. Kukla's office and talked about some of the projects going on that day. Basically, as director of creative services, Mr. Kukla spends his day "putting out fires", as he calls it. First thing I did was listen in on a conference call between Mr. Kukla and The House of Blues. Some of the members of Good Day, the morning show at Fox 4, have composed a band which they have named "Good Daze". Good Daze will be performing at House of Blues on June 18th, as an opener to "The Who Show". The conference call was about working out details for the concert, with questions from both sides. It was interesting to sit in on the conference call because I got to see what goes into setting up events such as these, and how much planning must actually happen.
After the call, I went with a man named Keith (I cannot remember his exact job title), to work on a promo for a watermelon contest Fox 4 will be holding soon. I was able to see how much editing and re-editing goes into just a short 15-20 second commercial. I also got a feel for some of the software used to edit these promos and how to use it. I heard from many of the people that worked on promos, how it was important for even the news reporters and anchors to have a feel for what goes into making promos. With this sort of understanding, the jobs of those making promos generally become easier and there is a better relationship between everyone in the studio.
At noon, we took a slight break from the studio and headed down to my old school, Good Shepherd. This trip was not Fox-related, however Mr. Kukla is the "official" video camera operator for many Good Shepherd, and the 8th Grade Drama Class teacher spoof was happening today during lunch. I was happy to go and help film, because I got to go back to my old school and see the student run teacher spoof, that I was a part of my 8th grade year.
After the skit was over, we picked up lunch and headed back to the studio. At 2, I headed down to a meeting with the evening news producer. While in the meeting, everyone discussed where the reporters were/what they were able to cover, what stories would be taking top priority for evening news, and what stories need to be followed up on. I sat there, slightly amazed, as they discussed who had called in to help with a story, info on American Idol, the possible bad weather, and numerous other topics. After the meeting was over, I headed back upstairs with the producer and helped him with wording for the promos that would be on before the evening news. By that time, it was 4 o'clock, and time for me to leave.
Overall today was a good experience, and I had fun. There was two pieces of advice today that really stuck out in my mind. The first was from Mr. Kukla. He told me that in college I need to expose myself to as many opportunities as I can. Even if it is only volunteering to help at the college tv or radio station. He told me that a lot of your experience is not only figuring out what you do like, but it is also figuring out what you don't like to do. Also, all of the experience will be good in applying for future internships and jobs. The second piece of advice came from a director soon after I walked onto the Good Day set first thing in the morning. After he introduced himself, he asked me, "What is your passion?" Well this stumped me...I mean I know what things I like, but passion? It seems like such a strong word. I was not able to give an answer. After this, he said to me "That's what you need to do. Find your passion. Because once you walk in the door with that passion, everything else will fall into place." The whole rest of the day, I had this idea of passion in the back of my mind. I will continue to contemplate on this idea.