Have you ever met someone that left a lasting impression? Well I have, and not long ago. Sent out on a multimedia job shadow assignment by Kent Miller, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. After multiple phone calls and nothing concrete, things were starting to look bleak. That all turned around with an e-mail from Melanie Maxwell regarding a day of kids making slime. To say the least I was intrigued.
Maxwell has a well rounded background with a B.F.A in Photography and a B.S in Photojournalism, both from CMU. She has worked at several newspapers and is currently working at AnnArbor.com as a photographer/videographer and owns her own business,Melanie Maxwell Photography.
Something that stood out to me right away while shadowing Maxwell was her attention to detail and multitasking capabilities. When pulling up to the first assignment before even getting out of the car she commented on the number of windows the building had and how much light they would provide for us. Shortly after getting inside it wasn’t long before she commented on the location of the heater and how it worked in our favor.
During the assignment she had her phone out about as much as her cameras but it wasn’t to talk. Using her iphone to capture audio for backup in-case the camcorder didn’t pick it up was the technique used several times, and then immediately e-mailing the files back to herself for later use.
As a photographer I have heard the term, “shoot and move, shoot and move,” a time or two and apparently so has Maxwell. Constantly on the move never getting settled in she covered every angle and documented every detail.
Along with being an amazing journalist she has a natural born talent to be a great teacher. During her rounds when possible she would stop to explain what she was doing and why. This added a lot of insight on how things worked because at times when it might have looked like she was checking a text, she was really sending audio to herself in an e-mail.
After the first assignment was over we headed back to edit. The learning didn’t stop there as I was in shock at how fast she was able to organize photos through her system. “Half of it is figuring out how not to waste your time,” she Maxwell as she cut and pasted file names altering a digit or two.
While editing the video take she brought up some very good points that I previously hadn’t thought about. While playing the same section over and over during the edit to get it just right, I thought it seemed understandable. Yet she mentioned, the amount of times we had listened to it and to someone listening to it for the first time, they might miss some of the message.
Trying to keep viewers tuned in for the credits? Maybe try what Maxwell does, include a clip at the end of the credits as a payoff for watching them. Something funny or worth seeing but might not have fit in the video for various reasons.
She also discussed how a stories natural flow should have an effect on how long photos are up. A high energy story would have a faster paced sequence of photos where as a slow maybe sad story would be noticeably slower.
My thoughts on being a multi-media journalist, it certainly looks to be a fast paced think on your feet type of job. You never really know what to expect as Maxwell said, “You can’t plan these things.” It’s true, you don’t know what is going to happen during your story but instead observe and react. I personally think that is a good thing.
With today’s technology a multi-media journalist’s work station could be anywhere. I like the thoughts of that as it seems to offer some freedoms as long as you tend to your responsibilities. As long as you get your assignments done you make up the composition of your day, coffee break anyone?
Before we parted ways Maxwell told me how lucky she is to be working in this field. Meeting so many people and being able to tell their stories is a great way to live and after watching I have to agree. It’s been said before and I’m sure it will be said again that a journalist won’t grow to be rich, but rather rich with life experiences. I can’t imagine a better life and I hope one day I too will be as fortunate as Maxwell.
A Day with Melanie Maxwell from Ken Kadwell on Vimeo.
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