Day 11: STN

Whats up guys? Today was the third and final day of STN competing, and it was another great day. Since Marlena and I had already competed yesterday, today was our day to attend breakout sessions to learn more about media from experts. The first session we attended to was basically all about using discretion when putting together a story for TV, and to be a human being before being a news reporter. In the session, this reporter talked about how one of the stories he covered was a burning building, and he showed us the raw footage the shot of people getting burned, and without their feet, and crying and pulling their hair, and a dead person getting carried away, and a bunch of other just really sad, sad shots. He explained to us that he purposely chose not to put those shots in the story because while he believes in telling the truth, he believes in doing it in a way that doesn't create harm, and since the people didn't really need to see those shots, they weren't put in. After that session, we went to a Les Rose Session where we basically just watched a bunch of really awesome news stories. And what sets these news stories apart from so many others is that they were interesting! Like really interesting and intriguing and inspiring and cleverly written. I really enjoyed that, and I will definitely be looking up more Steve Hartman videos! You should too! Since Les Rose is my favorite mentor at the convention, I stayed in the room for another one of his sessions, and this one was about camera tricks and tips. He reviewed cut in and cut aways and all that good stuff, and he also showed us how to walk with the camera on your shoulder. After those three sessions, I had lunch and went up to the room for a nap because I was still super tired. When it was time for more breakup sessions, I actually stayed in the room to finish more homework until it was time for dinner. We had a really special dinner tonight because we got to have dinner with our Castaic pen pals and exchange gifts! It was really cool to get to get to know our pen pals in person, and my pen pal Aiyannah is really nice! I also enjoyed talking with Janelle, Dylan, and Mia, along with all the other people! After dinner was the STN Showcase, which I wasn't too impressed with, but it was still fun. Now I'm just about ready to go to sleep, if I can sleep, that is. I'm so nervous because tomorrow is the STN Award Ceremony, and I'm just dying to find out the results! I have to keep on reminding myself that even if we don't win, we can still be proud of the work we did, but I'm just really anxious right now. Well anyways, be sure to check back tomorrow where I'll write about the final results. Thanks for reading!