Hi my name is Sean Mahaney and I am from WACS News. This year I had lots of fun being able to do what I enjoy in my leisure time, Making videos and editing them. I finally had the chance to work with one of my favorite editing software that I used years ago, iMovie. Whenever I filmed a video the importing was very simple.

After I graduate I plan on possibly becoming a filmmaker.

I enrolled in multimedia production because I believed it could be a getaway to my classes in which I could work to develop a story I could only hope an audience would gain an interest.

At the beginning of the school year I mostly wrote articles but sometimes developed videos with poor audio and bad footage. One of my worst experiences was filming a video with Mrs. Hake on choosing colleges. I thought I was doing a good job but my happiness was cut rather short when I realized that the audio had not recorded. Therefore, I would have to make a fatal decision that would change me for the rest of the year. I emailed Mrs. Hake apologizing that the audio had not recorded and that I would have to re film the video with her. After I edited the video with audio I made myself promise that I would never ever make the same mistake and I would always check to make sure the audio was turned on before filming.

My favorite and greatest project ever produced was at the end of the year when reporting on the qualifications of voting for the 2017-2018 Alden School District Budget. I knew that there was lots of pressure on me to get my story right and my video filmed right. I wrote about what was required for being able to vote as well as when and where to vote. I filmed in the lunchroom and found the footage to be rather my most stable video yet. The video was also my best b roll video yet unlike most others which were more focused to one spot.

As a news reporter I was given the task to report on the political spotlight. Not only could others learn about what I was reporting but my research gave me the opportunity to learn new things as well, including the knowledge to (search through) which sources were reliable and which ones were not. My favorite reports were on Trump with which I learned something new every time I wrote up a story.

My advice for all future students is when you are given a story to report on, immediately try to find reliable sources and videos. If a school story is given contact teachers or staff to check for availability, do not hesitate or put off your responsibilities. When you have to film a video always be careful and responsible for the technology used. Also, when you sign out equipment make sure you put everything back when you are done.

Some of the challenges I faced involved having high amounts of stress. If there was a problem that I was not in control of I began to freak out. Sometimes when I would be prepped for filming I would not find the camera I was looking for and would waste an entire class having not advanced my story. A major setback was earphones. Always bring your earphones because it was extremely embarrassing having to edit your video with everyone listening. Remember to fill out your calendars for each day you are in the studio for displaying your official work of the day.

The greatest skill learned from Multimedia Production that I sharpened throughout the course of the year was perfecting my b-roll footage. WACS News has served the Alden School District by reporting trustworthy and reliable information in almost all of its stories. WACS News also makes time to report on the community as well with reporters present at many public events. In this class, I learned about not only working with stories but learning how to work with other reporters and producers as well.