My journey at WTIU began during the fall semester of my junior year, nearly two years ago. It started with a conversation I had with a former professor. After taking her class as a freshman, I made a habit of stopping by to catch up. During one of those visits, our conversation about media production shifted to a potential opportunity with one of her contacts, Todd Gould.
At the time, I was working as a teaching assistant for the Media School’s “Story Lab I” course, the same class my professor taught. Knowing my interest in photography and video production, she connected me with Todd, which led to a two-semester internship at WTIU.
Getting started in production
One of the first tasks I worked on with Todd was assembling transcripts for interviews. During the spring semester of my junior year, I helped with a series of interviews for The Nutcracker at the Jacobs School of Music production, which WTIU was developing into a behind-the-scenes feature.
This was my first real exposure to the media production process, and I had never considered how transcripts could be used to shape and strengthen a story.
First shoots in the field
Later that semester, Todd invited me on two video shoots: an interview at the Indiana Historical Society for a Journey Indiana feature on astronaut Gus Grissom, and an overnight shoot covering the South Bend Chocolate Company and the Indiana Dinosaur Museum.
That trip to South Bend was where I fell in love with this side of media production.
One of my favorite memories came on the second day of shooting, when we set out to capture b-roll at a buffalo ranch on the property. Without a drone, we planned to film from outside the enclosure. Instead, a staff member invited us to climb into the back of a pickup truck and get a closer look.
Sitting in the bed of a moving truck while buffalo tried to eat the camera was not something I expected when I started at WTIU, but it is a moment I will never forget.
Seeing the full process
Since then, I have been fascinated by the kind of work filmmakers like Todd do. Combining genuine interviews and video sequences into compelling narratives brings together every aspect of media that I am passionate about.
In our most recent work together, Todd and I have been assembling content for his latest documentary on environmentalist and photographer Gene Stratton-Porter. In addition to helping coordinate interviews and review transcripts, I had the opportunity to join the production crew for a recording session of the documentary’s original score.
This experience gave me insight into another side of media production, showing how everything from the script to the soundtrack is crafted with a clear vision.
Looking ahead
Working with Todd has given me a clearer sense of the work I hope to pursue in my career, along with skills I can apply both in and out of the classroom. Because of my time at WTIU, the projects I have created for my journalism and broadcast courses have improved significantly.
As my final semester at IU comes to a close, I look back on my time at WTIU and feel excited about what comes next. Even in a media landscape shaped by viral content and polarization, there will always be a place for compelling stories and the people willing to tell them.
The same love for storytelling that drives so many people at the station now drives my own work, and I am eager to see how I can carry those skills forward.
In the meantime, I am looking ahead to whatever comes next. No matter where I look, there are always stories waiting to be told.
