Tuesday, August 14, 2007

The learning curve


I was apprehensive about giving my first interview as part of our audio exercise today. I'm typically the one who asks all the questions. But I passed that test OK, despite all my uhmms and uhs. Long pauses, too.
Victor Cristales of the Abilene (Texas) Reporter-News and I took turns interviewing each other in this assignment.
I had no problem holding the big microphone up to him and peppering him with questions about his childhood recollections of him migrating with his family to the United States from his native El Salvador. (What a treat to meet a paisano! I'm Salvadoran, too.)
I'm sure I could have interviewed him for at least an hour. We limited the interview to under 11 minutes for the sake of the exercise, and trust me, it was more than plenty. Almost an hour after I began editing the file, I'd only shaved off some 45 seconds. That didn't include instruction time our class received from Mindy McAdams of the University of Florida or the help from more experienced colleagues who also are getting trained. Mind you, Mindy had asked we strive for 90 seconds to two minutes.

I'm blown away by the incredible amount of work involved in editing an audio file.
Times like this make me feel overwhelmed and completely helpless.
Needless to say, I have a newfound appreciation for short interviews, clarity in sound, complete sentences and the power of technology.
I'm comforted in knowing I'm not alone in my quest for proficiency in the digital age. It will take its time.
Having said that, I take to heart Chips Quinn Scholar coach Mary Ann Hogan's comment that yes, the technology is new, but it's not the story.
-Jenny Espino

1 comment:

About Meena said...

Jenny!!! It's Meena from Texas. I miss you! Email me meenakthiru@gmail.com. I'm still at the same old cell number to. Nice blog post, especially the line about technology not being the story.