My name is Katherine (Kat) Beyer and I am a fifth year student at Old Dominion University. For my internship experience I had the pleasure of working with the crew at Monarch Media at ODU. Monarch Media is ODU's sports broadcasting hub, home of all things related to ODU and the many sports that are broadcasted from the Jim Jarrett Athletic Building onto ESPN+. I spent most of my time filming games live, with a few times where I got to work in the control room as the "Insert Graphics/Insert Scorebug" person. I've learned so much at this internship and I am excited to use the skills I have learned here to excel in my future career post-graduation.
Figuring out how to pan the camera smoothly, follow the action with precision, catch key moments that add dimension to the broadcast, and more, were all skills I had to learn during my internship. The camera is the heart of the program; it's what makes the whole broadcast able to happen. I had never used a camera like this (see picture to the left) and it was pretty intimidating at first. On top of this, setting up the tripod and making sure everything was connected to the right parts and set up correctly, it's not necessarily tedious, but definitely a process that took time to learn and become confident doing on my own.
SMART GOALS
When creating my SMART goals, I didn't want to choose anything too insignificant, nor too out of reach of my capabilities. I gave myself some challenges like getting all 150 hours completed a month before the semester finishes. I can say that I achieved that and an extra 24 work hours all finished by October 31st. I wanted to make a goal that I would improve to increase the screen time my camera position had on-air. From August 6th to November 1st I worked eight womens soccer games, five mens soccer games, seven field hockey games, and nine volleyball games. In each sport that I filmed, I was the main camera that would be used for most of the broadcast. This was very exciting for me because I felt that I was improving rapidly and given the chance to grow my camera skills tenfold. Being the main camera, especially for the outdoor games was not only a test of how I handle pressure and fast-paced work, but also a test of resilience. Resilience of braving the elements like torrential downpour in fifty degree weather (at night!), being able to stay focused and pay attention to small but important-to-catch details for extended periods of time, and also being able to handle criticism from others whether its the director or ODU sports fans. Overall, I am proud of my ability to surpass most of my SMART goals. I fell short at my goal to film two football games, but I still believe my experience in the sports I did film will allow me to use the knowledge I already have and build off of that in any other type of sport or regular broadcasting.
monarch media
Working under Mr. Boyzie Hayes at Monarch Media has been nothing but pleasant. He is one of the most level-headed and generous supervisors I have ever worked with. When I had a question, he was there to answer it. When I was not ready to do something, he made adjustments to help me out. If I was confused or needed guidance, he always made it a comfortable space to come to him. He is timely, considerate, gracious, and somebody who I would work with again. If any improvement should be made to enhance the experience of other interns, it would be helpful too ensure our camera equipment is ready at all times. I only had minor issues with this where sometimes myself or other camera operators would have our monitor batteries die and no replacement which made it difficult to film. It was not often, but enough that I would say maybe more chargers are needed to ensure that everyone is readily equipped. Other than that, I truly feel that my experience was very lucky to be able to work with an amazing supervisor and a great team of coworkers who also supported me heavily during my learning process. I will always remember and love Monarch Media as my first broadcasting job!
Majors, Careers, the Future, OH MY!
Sports broadcasting is not something I ever envisioned myself doing. Before this, I barely had any knowledge of sports at all and definitely did not watch sports for entertainment. However, this internship helped me see how many different roles there are in broadcasting, how many different routes I could go post-graduation. Through this experience it shaped my views of my major and career aspirations because not only did I get to experience something out of my realm, but I also got to see a variety of jobs that I could see myself doing. For example, working in the control room on graphic inserts was not something I ever thought about someone actually doing for a job. Putting up names, pictures, transitions, and all types of information that we typically see on screen during a sports broadcast-- Yes, a person is putting those on the screen live! Another example is the post-game interviews. Ever since becoming a media studies major, I have loved the idea of possibly interviewing people. I got to witness these interviews happen which has allowed me to conceptualize what it would be like if I were to interview others. This experience has opened my eyes to all of the different possibilities that are out there for me and what direction I may want to go in. It might not be sports broadcasting, but with the knowledge I have now, I can see myself in the broadcasting world and loving every second of it.
So... What Now?
I have the privilege of working with Monarch Media again until I graduate, but that is not stopping me from looking for opportunities after that, nor is it stopping me from working towards my goals. While I continue my studies and broadcasting, I will be educating myself more on how to research specific topics I have interest in and start the process of building my own digital magazine. I hope to use my writing skills with my media experience and combine that with my passions for photo/film, art, books, journalism, and history to build a magazine that is eclectic, inquisitive, inspiring and authentic. Of course, I will be job searching for something more stable and I am ready to start my career in any type of digital and/or traditional media.
To Future Monarch Media Crew,
When you start interning with Monarch Media, don't be scared to film or do graphics on your own quickly! Even if you make a mistake, it will help you learn the right way quicker. I am the type of person that gets nervous something won't work and it will mess everything up. Sometimes technology doesn't work the way it should and when that happens it's important to not panic and just communicate with Mr. Hayes and the team when technical difficulties are happening. Most of the time, these issues can be fixed fast enough that it does not disrupt the broadcast. But all you need to succeed is to listen carefully, have confidence, ask questions and learn from your mistakes. Good luck and enjoy every moment. Even the dark, long, cold, and rainy moments!