Rick Cahoon, 20-year teacher at Shepherd High School and Andrew Wawersik, first-year teacher at Harrison Community Schools, reflect on the past two years and offer insight into the future of their profession.
Wawersik, who completed his student teaching in the spring of 2019 during the height of the pandemic, has had no shortage of challenges within his first year in his new career. Cahoon, being more experienced, believes that the future of teaching may be at stake.
Daniel Smalla, an employee of Mountain Town Fitness in Mt. Pleasant, is also a competitive bodybuilder in his spare time. Before, after and sometimes during his shift at the gym, one can see him busting out extra sets or practicing his poses for competition. Here is a glimpse into his passion.
While lifting, I happened across Dan in the stretching room (as it’s affectionately referred to) as he was flexing into the mirror. Knowing that there are many bodybuilders at Mountain Town, I asked if he was indeed also one. So after a few hours of simply talking to him (in person and via text), I decided that a video would be feasible. That was really all the research required, as I’m very into fitness and kinesiology so my research was really done beforehand.
The journalistic value of the story is really inherent in the subjective predisposition towards fitness of the viewer – I think it could be an interesting feature story (if I had more time to flesh it out), yet at the same time I believe it serves its purpose as a human interest.
So why I chose Dan I believe was already mostly answered but I can elaborate: he’s a genuinely nice person. Approaching an absolutely shredded man flexing into a mirror might be a little intimidating for most, but for whatever reason Dan is just very personable. The location, however, was obvious.
I shot everything Monday, Mar. 29.
To shoot the interview, I set my Canon 5D mk. IV on a tripod with my phone as external mic on the desk just off camera to pick up better audio (as I don’t have a mic myself). Mostly I used a 70-200mm lens for shooting, but a couple shots I substituted a 50mm prime. To edit, I struggled my way through the overly user-friendly iMovie.
The editing is honestly really boring, I just got all my shots together and decided on the order (just like a photo story), and took the audio from there that would tie in to the vibes of the video. I occasionally cut to Nat audio of the gym and him lifting to really get a feel for the space.
Challenges were many – I really prefer photo as truly I see the world (or what it could be) in stills. I won’t get into what I could’ve done with this project from a photo perspective, but again my challenges are video in general. Without using a tripod for everything and fumbling with manual focus, being very un-adaptable to the unfolding situation, the video then becomes shaky, choppy, or just plain boring. Instead of where photography is the art of subtraction – creatively concluding and deducing the nonessential parts (or essentially left-out parts) of a still, video is the art of inclusion – where it’s necessary to include every detail possible to give viewers a sense of being.
I wish I would’ve had more time to follow up with him and perhaps do a shoot at home, or perhaps of his crazy diet, or even something that isn’t so linear. But for a 2 minute video, I believe this works.
Effort-wise, I’d say I tried really hard to make it’s as artistic and high-quality as I could. I really wanted this to turn out great, and I honestly don’t think it’s too far off. Sure, I see a couple things I’d have done differently in hindsight, but I spent a whole workday with this man sacrificing my pay for his story and this class. I’m not too familiar with video production, but I don’t think that’s too bad. All-in-all, I think I did a bang-up job.
In this story, produced by NPR in a partnership with WBUR in Maine, called “‘Church of Safe Injection’ Offers Needles, Naloxone to Prevent Opioid Overdoses” it is discussed that this organization known as the “Church of Safe Injection” is stepping in to provide clean equipment used for heroine injection.
Their goal of preventing diseases and overdoses in the stead of what they call a failure on the part of the healthcare system is aided by the organization’s many volunteers, who, in many instances, have suffered first-hand experience with what they are fighting against.
This story takes place in Maine back in 2019, simpler times by all accounts, and the story starts by using Nat audio from the where the “Church” is handing out supplies – audio of a bus starting up, as the folding table of supplies is huddled in a Bangor, MA. bus stop.
Then, a narrator (Deborah Becker) lays out the scene. Next, they cut directly to an interview of one of the volunteers, Dave Carvagio . He offers some interesting sound bites, and they transition directly to the next point of emphasis using his audio and, following more narration, another sound bite from Dave.
They speak briefly about the police officers in Bangor, and the laws surrounding the legality of what they are doing, then the audio cuts to a descriptive narration of the 5W’s and one H, the real meat of the story and follow up that narration with why Dave personally undertakes this illegal-yet-justifiable burden.
Following Dave’s interview is the interview of Police Sgt. Wade Betters who gives a brief synopsis on the law, how these people are breaking it, but why they haven’t arrested anyone yet. After which they again use the bus stop Nat audio to connect the next interviewee to the organization.
After a brief summation of quotes and opinions, they cut to Nat audio and an interview of one Kandice Child, a volunteer for the organization, who is rummaging through her box of supplies. You can really hear the boxes and assorted items being milled around, as well as clean audio of her speaking. A very nice job of either layering audio, or perhaps lucky mic placement.
They continue with Child rummaging through boxes as she speaks to two young men who are looking for supplies, not necessarily A-roll audio but more like B-roll Nat audio which gives you tremendous context.
Next, you hear the reporter and Kandice Child climbing up the stairs of an apartment building as Nat audio as the narrator describes the scene. Kandice Child and an unidentified, 36 year-old drug user exchange dirty needles for Child’s clean needles and you again hear the rummaging B-roll.
They finish with an interview of the founder of the “Church of Safe Injection” with the bus B-roll behind it, seemingly a driving force that is almost metaphorical for the volunteer work his organization undertakes. This is essentially the end of the audio, and they play NPR’s signature music to sound the end of the clip.
Now on to the comparison of the two formats – in the audio version, they use more of a soft lead, describing the setting more meticulously but not necessarily giving the details directly as the story seems to.
The interview with Dave Carvagio seems more abrupt as there is no soft introduction, no driving external force to set up his interview. And after listening to the story first, it simply seems out of place.
The next few paragraphs seem to align with their counterparts in the audio, as the interview with the police sergeant was all A-roll.
It should be noted that there are many instances of differing sentence structure, and a plethora of information left out of the written piece as it is easier to listen to something than read it, so the audio piece is afforded far more leniency on detail.
The part in the article where they get to Kandice Child seems lacking, as she is not introduced with as much background as the audio gives. The rummaging in the boxes is missed and a worthy addition.
The article adds a bit about how one volunteer with Child demonstrates how to use Naloxone where in the audio it is left out for some reason. The audio also leaves out a quote from a woman in the apartment, so two things right back-to-back that are in the article and not the audio.
That’s basically it for differences. I do think I preferred the audio version, this was my first audio story, but I really enjoyed it. It was more memorable for me, as I can relate the quotes to different voices, different sounds, etc.
Overall, not a terrible way to spend a Saturday..
Drew Travis Photography 