Interview with Herb Corona

On Thursday, 24th February I conducted my first video interview, it was with Herb Corona, a video maker who hails from Caracas, Venezuela, and now resides in Geelong, Victoria. I met Herb whilst surfing Jan Juc, he is a really positive, friendly person and was the only one out there smiling. He is involved in many sports media projects: a freelancer for his own media company, Surf Coast Media, a cameraman and editor at GEST Media and News Geelong, and a skilled surfer and instructor. We discussed his attraction to working in sports media, how he got to where he is, his views on new media, advice for potential media workers and what the future holds for him.

Click on the link to watch my interview with Herb Corona.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFmnVLLx4nI

I really enjoyed interviewing Herb at Jan Juc, it was interesting to learn about his path into the media industry, his views on new media and his hopes for the future. I also really enjoyed experimenting with the editing suite on iMovie. The last time I had tried my hand at editing was from VCR to VCR for a Year 11 project on the rollerblading scene in Melbourne in 1997. It surprises me that so much time has passed between getting back into something I had really enjoyed when I was 17.

I believe I could improve my interview technique by rehearsing the main questions, and only holding short point-form notes, to avoid becoming trapped into a scripted interview. In future, I hope to stay in the moment, think quickly and bounce questions back, so as to let the interview happen more organically, like a conversation.

Interview with Tim Myers

I met Tim Myers whilst snowboarding at Perisher Ski Resort in NSW. He is an extremely skilled skier, stunt-man and camera-man.

Tim currently works for Channel Nine News and The Today Show, and also directs the One Hit Wonder Down Under Big Air Event at Thredbo during winter. I spoke with Tim about why he was drawn to media production, how he became involved in working in media, what he likes about his work and advice he has for potential media workers.

Click here to listen to part one of Tim's interview.

And here for Part two.

It was great to catch up with Tim and I enjoyed practicing my interviewing and editing skills. It was interesting to hear Tim's views on opportunities for women in the media and learn about the variety and highlights of his work. I tried to keep in the moment and respond to Tim's replies, however I still stuck to my script which may have restricted the interview to a direct question and answer form, perhaps more suited to a formal interview, and which also may have reduced the fun level. I would like to practice a more conversational style to make interviews more lively and entertaining. I also noticed I have more energy, professionalism an personality on camera, on location, as opposed to conducting a verbal interview from home. I would like to bring that energy and personality out when I am involved in on-air media presentations, such as in the radio studio.

This is another interview of Tim, on mountainwatch.com by Reggae Ellis.

And here you can view a behind-the-scenes look at covering a major natural disaster, produced by Tim and his team at Channel Nine's The Today Show.

Interview with Andrew Deane, Saturday, 26th February.

On Saturday, 26th February I interviewed my brother, Andrew Deane. Although younger than me, he is an inspiration in his creativity, ingenuity, his can-do-anything attitude, his board skills and is downright honest personality. He has a fascination with media, is a skilled photographer, board rider and the owner and maker of Australia's only wood wake-skate company Frontier Wakeskates.

We spoke about what drew him to photography and digital video, the freedom and ease new media technologies enable in terms of creativity and timely exposure, the benefits underground sports may experience in terms of growth and progression, the advantages a smaller grassroots company can have over larger brands and I also found out more about his latest project.

Click here to view Part One of my interview with Deano.


And here for Part Two.


I really enjoyed interviewing my brother as I wasn't nervous, but perhaps being so close to the subject caused me to use a more casual technique. I discovered some interesting views on sports media and I loved being on location filming. And although allowing my subject to speak without unnecessary input from the interviewer, I realised my technique could be more energetic, involved and fun. I also plan to save up for a camera that can take better quality footage, and learn more about video editing and compressing, perhaps via a course at Gordon Tafe, or via online tutorials and practice.

Here are a couple more clips, filmed and edited by Deano, on wakeskating in Melbourne and Frontier Wakeskates.

Interview with Gary Dalton

Gary Dalton is the Station Coordinator and Program Manager for 94.7 The Pulse, Geelong's only community radio station. Gary had not planned to work in radio, but found it to be a natural progression from his background in researching, interviewing and music. I met Gary last year after visiting the Pulse to see about volunteer opportunities. Gary had the time to chat and now we co-present and produce a weekly gardening show with Paul Buttigieg of the Geelong Bonsai Club, every Saturday morning at 10am. It has been an awesome opportunity to learn first-hand about radio and practice my on-air skills.

I spoke with Gary recently about his path into the radio industry, the diversity of work in radio, the importance of listening, advice he has for getting into the industry, interviewing techniques
and his hopes for the future of 94.7 the Pulse.


Click here to listen to Part 1 of my interview with Gary.
And here for Part 2.

I enjoyed the interview with Gary as I had prepared well by mentally rehearsing what I would ask, and planned to ask questions that flow on from one another as the conversation progressed, as opposed to being bound by my own script. We conducted the interview in the studio after the live broadcast of the 'Dig It' show, so it was a relaxed atmosphere and we were warmed up. It was interesting to hear about Gary's views on the importance of ears over voice, his advice for mirroring guests formalities for interviews and thinking ahead. I thought I was more responsive and quick in my role as interviewer than the other interviews I had conducted, however I still had a few ums, hms and ahs, so I plan on learning some better responses and quick-thinking techniques.

Interview with Reggae Ellis, March 7th, 2011

John 'Reggae' Ellis has been referred to as a surfing aficionado, he is a commentator on the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour, a seasoned snow reporter for Telstra, Thredbo Ski Resort and mountainwatch.com, and is also the co-publisher and managing editor of Surfing World and Chillfactor Magazines.

Wayne 'Rabbit' Bartholomew and Reggae.

 

I met Reggae up at Thredbo during the filming of snow reports for the 2008 season. Reggae's variety of work in sports media, his friendly and fun personality and his stoke on life intrigue and motivate me to follow my aspirations of working in sports media and I always look forward to chatting with him at surf events or in the mountains.

Reggae's roles in sports media have utmost appeal to me, as he is often travelling, meeting and speaking with exciting people and he seems to have so much fun. I spoke with Reggae recently about how and why he got into surf media, advice he has for entertaining and informing audiences, advice for women hoping to break into a male dominated sport and industry, and the changes that new media are bringing to the sport.

Click here to listen to my interview with Reggae.

 

 I had fun interviewing Reggae from the studio at 94.7 The Pulse. I had practiced what I was hoping to ask him so I would be familiar with what we were going to talk about, and so I could let the interview progress naturally, like a conversation. We had a few laughs and it was interesting finding out more of Reggae's path into the various roles in surf and snow media, his opinions on new media, and his advice of being yourself, being natural and maintaining humour when you are on the mic. Although I know Reggae well, and was not nervous during the interview, I feel as though I sounded a bit too polite, slow and monotone. I think I need to incorporate more excitement, energy and expression whilst taking interviews, and try to remain really natural and fun.

Interview with Marine Cole

Marine is the Girls Advertising and PR manager for Rip Curl. I met Marine last year when I worked alongside her in the Communications department during the Rip Curl Pro. She always seems so happy, and I was intrigued to find out more about her work in sports media and marketing.

It was interesting to learn about Marine's path into the sports media industry, and of some of the exciting media projects she has been involved with. Interviewing Marine instilled my belief of confidence as a valuable attribute, and her love of the diversity of her work made me more attracted to a future in sports media.

Here is the transcript of my interview with Marine.

Ali:  What drew you to PR, communications and sports media? And how did you first become involved?

Marine: Well I have always been involved in the surf industry - I was born and bred into it as my father is a surfboard shaper! So my interest in surfing has been there since the beginning. I used to go down to surf contests when I was little and was always intrigued by what the media crew did!

At Uni, I studied a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Marketing and PR. I saw this as a relatively broad degree with great career opportunities. And from there I kind of just fell into a job at Rip Curl – working in the marketing department.

Ali: What are some of the ultimate highlights of working in communications/sports media? What do you love about your work?

Marine: The best part about working in this industry is that it is so diverse. I’ve got to meet a lot of amazing people over the years and worked with some incredibly talented photographers, stylists and journalists. I love that no two days are the same!

Ali: From your time in the industry, are there obstacles for newcomers to overcome, specifically for women? Or perhaps advantages?

Marine: The biggest obstacle for a newcomer to overcome would be building their reputation and contacts list. I don’t think it’s necessarily more difficult for women, though you need to know your sport if you want to success in sports media.

 Ali: What advice would you give a woman heading into a career in sports media?

Marine: Be confident! The best advice I could give anyone is to be confident in themselves and what they are doing. And a great way to feel sure of yourself is to be knowledgeable – the more you know about the subject, the easier it is to talk about it.

Ali: Do you like the developments and changes new media are bringing, specifically in the surfing world? Last Sunday a friend counted 173 surfers out from Centres to Winki, what do you think about online surf reporting, weather and photo updates, live streaming videos and webcasts? Are the pros outweighing the cons?

Marine: I don’t really like that there are more people in the water! It makes it harder to catch waves!
I think it’s great to be able to check the surf on your computer without leaving the house, but I also believe that you will always get a truer perspective from the beach.
Event webcasts are improving each year which is great for the sport. Fuel TV & ONE HD are broadcasting these now too so it has come a long way from where they initially started.

Ali: And finally, what future projects are you excited about taking on?

Marine: I’m excited about taking on new projects! I’ve recently been working on the PR for a film “First Love” which was about 3 girls from Phillip Island who are chasing their dreams of becoming pro surfers. I thoroughly enjoyed that and am looking forward to working on the PR for “Soul Surfer” – the story of shark-attack survivor Bethany Hamilton which is due to hit cinemas this year.




I am looking forward to chatting with Marine again to find out how her latest project is going, and more about the sports media industry first hand, working together at this year's event.