Summer 2023
5/15/2023
Monday 10-6 (8 Hours)
Today was the first day of the internship. We arrived at 10am and met with Dr. P. and the Crew. We introduced each other and stated our skillsets and expected roles on the team. After introductions we began looking over the lineup for this summer’s projects. We discussed our largest project, a prospective 10-15 minute documentary about the Coalport Area Coal Museum. We played some of last year’s Underground Railroad conductor videos to familiarize the new interns with the project. We then discussed the new promotional video and potential documentary. After that, we broke for lunch from 1pm-2pm. When we returned at 2, we began constructing an outline for a new project that was given to us days before the Internship started. The project is a promotional video for the invention of a retired faculty member’s husband. We visited the client’s webpage and began outlining our ideas for different promotions in a word document.
5/16/2023
Tuesday 10-6 (8 Hours)
We arrived at 10 am and began reviewing our rough ideas for the Weaver’s Perfect memory script. We started rewriting and crafting the outline into a more cohesive script. We then created a list of equipment needed for our on-location shoot that’s taking place tomorrow. We planned to take two video cameras, 1 photo camera, and field recording kit. We then went to the TV studio in Davis Hall to get a lavalier microphone. We retrieved the rest of the equipment from G-9 in Stouffer. We got batteries and chargers for the cameras and the field recorder. We spent some time doing test shots to get familiar with the cameras. Lucy was able to test out the field recorder. We spent the rest of the day working on the prospective script and creating a potential shot list. We know their won’t be any active projects on Rhonda’s loom, so we came up with a large list of improvisations. We then created a list of potential questions and prompts for Alan’s interview. We left at 6pm.
5/17/2023
Wednesday 10-6 (8 Hours)
We arrived at 10 am and talked out our game plan for the Weaver’s Perfect memory shoot. We reviewed our shotlist and script with Dr. Piwinsky. When we arrived at the Luckey’s we set up our two video camera’s in the garage, which is Alan’s workshop. There was lots of natural light, so we opted to forgo the studio lights we brought. We positioned out two cameras and blocked off Alan in front of his workbench. Lucy got him hooked up to the lav mic and we began the interview. After the interview, we took lots of B-roll of Alan woodworking and assembling the Weaver’s Perfect Memory (WPM). We then ventured inside to Rhonda’s studio, where we got shots of the WPM with a pattern card and on the loom. We took photos and B-roll of the looms in her studio, as well as some of the fabric pieces she made on her looms. We then finished and struck all of our equipment, thanked the Luckey’s and returned to the office. We got to work right away, Lucy began listening to and cutting the audio. We uploaded all of our new assets to the Y drive and organized it appropriately. We then reviewed the visual assets we had and began putting together a very rough timeline. We ended our day at 6pm.
5/18/2023
Thursday 10-6 (8 Hours)
TOTAL: 32 HOURS
5/22/2023
Monday 10-6 (8 Hours)
I arrived at 10 am. We reviewed our various projects and began sifting through materials for a series of training modules for Vocational Education. We started some rough edits for this video series after reviewing our assets. Later, we discussed and planned our recording session for voice-over work for the Underground Railroad. We worked through the script and made some edits. I left at 6pm.
5/23/2023
Tuesday 10-6 (8 Hours)
I arrived to work at 10am. Today, we spent most of our team working on the script for Coalport. I worked through constructing a rough draft based on the outline Mac and I created in the Spring, then the rest of the crew jumped in to bounce ideas around and offer critique. We had our daily meeting with Dr. Piwinsky from 11:30-12:30. Later, we reviewed some of the ideas for Voc-Ed and then found some more work with the IRMC podcasts. I left at 6pm.
5/24/2023
Wednesday 10-6 (8 Hours)
I arrived at work at 10am. I jumped into working on the Coalport script right away. We had a lot of branch ideas that needed to be revisited and reconsidered now that time has passed. We have one story that can be branched into its own independent piece separate from the promo. I began outlining a script for a biographical short to produce later depending on our time at the end of the summer.
5/25/2023
Thursday 10-6 (8 Hours)
I arrived to work at 10am. I was able to speak with Bill and Dick from Coalport, who are seemingly excited about the scripts progress so far. I was able to integrate some of their advice to the current working script. We spent some time reviewing the IRMC podcasts with Dr. P and the rest of the crew. We checked in with the Voc-Ed videos, and I mainly worked on refining the Coalport script for the remainder of the day. I left at 6pm.
TOTAL: 64 HOURS
5/29/2023
Monday OFF (MEMORIAL DAY)
5/30/2023
Tuesday 10-6 (8 Hours)
I got to work at 10am. We reviewed our progress on the Coalport script and critiqued. We started a promotional campaign launch for the Underground Railroad’s new Conductor’s Exhibit, so we brainstormed and reviewed some logo designs with Tony. Later, we reviewed Levi’s progress with the Midnight Lights promotions. He started creating different posters. While Levi worked on the posters. I synced all of the audio and video clips from our three-camera music video shoot in a premiere file to be edited later. I left at 6pm.
5/31/2023
Wednesday 10-6 (8 Hours)
I arrived at work at 10am. We have an upcoming live-shoot for IRMC. They are holding a training session at the KCAC. We scouted the location at the conference room in the KCAC for Friday’s IRMC training. We took photos of the space, made note of power sources and outlets, and planned out where we would set up our equipment. We then traveled back to Stouffer Hall, where we prepared an equipment list. Before leaving, we gathered our necessary equipment, changed and charged batteries, and tested audio gear. I left at 6pm.
6/1/2023
Thursday 10-6 (8 Hours)
Visit KCAC to find and talk to Jim. Denise meeting and recording for Underground RailRoad Promotional video. 4-5
6/2/2023 8-2:30 (5 ½ HOURS)
Friday
We arrived at Stouffer hall at 8am. We spent an hour there collecting our equipment and reviewing our inventory to make sure we are set for the 9:30am shoot at the KCAC. We left around 9am to set up in the conference. We set up out two camera angles and an external field mic for room audio. We filmed the training session from 9:30- 1pm. After the training session concluded, we arrived back to Stouffer Hall where we put away our equipment. I then backed up the files from both cameras and the audio recorder, which took about and hour and a half. I left for the day at 2:30.
TOTAL: HOURS 125 ½ Hours
6/5/2023
Monday 10-6 (8 Hours)
We started our day at 10am. I emailed Jim Kinneer from IRMC to get the slideshow from the presentation we recorded last week. With Dr. Piwinsky out of the office for the day, we had our review session without him. We looked at other podcasts for IRMC and had Tony start a new file for a corrupted episode. We had a zoom meeting with Dr. P later in the day to review our final draft of the Coalport script and to plan out some things for the completion of that project. I spent the rest of the day sorting through the media assets from the IRMC training shoot. There was more than two hours of footage from two different cameras, plus external audio. I created a project file and began syncing the audio in Premiere.
6/6/2023
Tuesday REMOTE DAY 10-6
I woke up feeling extremely ill so I called in sick. Luckily, I had the IRMC project backed up on my drive, so I spent the day working on that. Jim was able to send me the slideshow from the training speaker. I began the long and arduous process of cutting between camera angles and inserting slides where applicable. I checked in with the crew late in the day and critiqued some of Tony’s logos for the Underground Railroad. I concluded my day at the usual 6pm.
6/7/2023
Wednesday 10-6 (8 Hours)
I returned to work in person at 10am. We started the day by reviewing Tony’s UGRR logo and giving him some picky critiques since it’s pretty much finished. I continued editing the extremely long training session from IRMC, unfortunately I still have about an hour and a half of footage to cut together. I shifted gears after become numb to the training session edit, and I reviewed the Weaver’s Perfect Memory narration with the crew. After making some miner adjustments, the team and I headed to the advanced audio lab where we recorded a few different takes of the narration. I left at 6pm.
6/8/2023
Thursday 10-6 (8 Hours)
We arrived at 10 am. We began the day reviewing the Underground Railroad Promo and Tony’s Logo for the Museum. We decided to implement more silhouettes in the Logo, so we acquired costumes from the theatre in Waller Hall. At noon, we went to Waller hall and borrowed several hats. We then went to the photo studio, where Tony took pictures of me wearing the different hats. He used these images to create the silhouettes for the logo. I continued working on the assembly and sync for the audio and video of the IRMC training session. I emailed Jim Kinneer of IRMC to get the slides from the speaker of the event.
TOTAL: 157 ½ HOURS
6/12/2023
Monday 10-6 (8 Hours)
We arrived at 10 am in G-12. We got to work right away, reviewing Tony’s Logo for the Underground Railroad, and finding the best way to implement the critique and feedback we received from Denise.
6/13/2023
Tuesday 10-6 (8 Hours)
We arrived at 10am. Lucy is out today, and Levi is coming in for the afternoon. Tony and I reviewed the images that Bill and Dick sent for Coalport. We downloaded them and organized them by the contents of the image in the Y drive. We then spent about an hour reviewing the Coalport script and making changes to it. After that, we began an outline for a secondary script surrounding the biography of a coal miner who survived an explosion. We then Met with Dr. P at 12:45, where we spent another hour reviewing Coalport with him, and integrating his critique and feedback into the new working script. We broke for lunch from 1:45-2:45. After lunch we began to review the Weaver’s Perfect Memory video and Tony started editing some Images. Levi Joined us for the afternoon and finished working on Midnight Lights. I spent the rest of the day editing the IRMC training module. We left at 6pm.
6/14/2023
WEDNESDAY 10-6 (8 Hours)
We arrived at 10 am and immediately began reviewing the Coalport main script again. We started cutting out parts that talked about a specific mine explosion, and began adapting that into a more solidified script with the explosion survivor. Abby Strittmatter joined us around 10:45 and began working through the Midnight Lights audio with Lucy. I reviewed Levi and Tony’s Voc-Ed training modules and we discussed ways to make them more cohesive in regards to editing styles and fonts. We broke for lunch and had pizza from Venice together. After lunch, I resumed editing the IRMC video, Lucy and Abby continued with the audio, Tony worked on the Marina Coccia Script, and Levi began revising Voc-Ed. We ended our day at 6.
TOTAL: 189
6/19/2023 OFF (JUNETEENTH)
MONDAY
6/20/2023
TUESDAY 9-6 (9Hours)
I went in an hour early because I received a lot of emails from various projects throughout the weekend. I received about 20 new pictures from Dick for the Coalport documentary. Paula Andrei was able to get us the headshot we needed for the Voc-Ed OCA modules. We were lucky to learn that Alana and Rhonda Luckey will be in town for 10 days next week, and we’ll be able to meet in-person and hopefully shoot more video. Lucy was out sick and worked from home today; so, when Levi and Tony got in at 10, we reviewed the UGRR Promo video that she had been working on. We made some minor notes and timestamped them. We then broke off to work on our respective projects until Dr. Piwinsky got in around 11:45. We reviewed the UGRR Promo again and gave him our notes, he added some and we sent it off to Lucy. After that we discussed all the clients’ projects who emailed us over the weekend. We took lunch from 1:15-2:15. When we got back, I worked with Tony on the rough cut for the Weaver’s Perfect Memory. We had a meeting at 3 with Laith to talk about the coding for his research project. After the meeting, Tony and I finished the rough cut of the Weaver’s video. We then joined Eli Dospy in the advanced audio lab to record rough lines for the Coalport Script. After we back everything up, everyone left for the day. I stayed behind to finish the IRMC training video and start the export, I left soon after.
WEDNESDAY 10-6 (8 Hours)
6/21/2023
I arrived at 10am. We spent a lot of time reviewing our various projects. We combed through the UGRR promo and the Weaver’s videos with fine-toothed combs and noted the necessary adjustments. We got to see some of the different special effects Levi made for Midnight Lights. We had a meeting with Dr. Piwinsky where he presented on resume building and the workforce. I left at 6pm.
THURSDAY 10-7 (9 Hours)
6/22/2023
Today is our trip to Coalport. We got in at 10am and began reviewing our gameplan. We packed some light equipment: three cameras, two hard drives, and a laptop. We left at 11:45 and arrived in Coalport at 1pm. Bill and Dick took us through the museum and let us take pictures of everything. We made some notes of artifacts and photos that were in cabinets for our next trip. After walking through the museum, we sat down with Bill and Dick in the genealogical room and sifted through binders of photos, birth certificates, paystubs, and other records. We downloaded all the photos and assets to a hard drive and finished around 4:30. Then Bill and Dick took us for pizza in town to debrief. At dinner, we discussed the best parts of our findings and how we would incorporate then in the script. We left at 5:30 and arrived back in Indiana around 6:30. We backed all of our files up and left at 7pm.
SUNDAY12:30-2 ( 1 ½ Hours)
6/25/2023
I got to the office at 12:30 to prep the recording space for Dante. Dante arrived at 1:15, and we recorded the revised scripts for the Voc-Ed videos. It took us about 45 minutes to get everything recorded. We then struck the equipment we used and returned the space to neutral before leaving at 2pm.
TOTAL: 208 HOURS
Monday 10-6 (8 Hours)
6/26/2023
I arrived at 10am. Tony is on vacation this week, so the Voc-Ed videos are being transferred to Levi. We had our daily meeting where we mainly talked about our game plan for Coalport. We reviewed our prospective narrators and sent out a message to Rich Tavalsky, asking for his vocal services. We reviewed all of our media assets, and talked through the potentials for how they could be used. After our meeting, I began inserting some of the photos into the script table to make a story board.
Tuesday 10-6 (8 Hours)
6/27/2023
We arrived at 10am. Today it was just Levi and I, so we reviewed his work on the Light’s Video first. We then looked over the photos from Coalport and began organizing them in the Premiere file. After working on that for an hour we reviewed the Weaver’s Perfect Memory video. We noted where our visual gaps were and made a shot list to take with us to the Luckey’s. We broke for lunch from 12:30-1:30. When we returned, we packed our cameras into Dr. P’s car and drove to the Luckey’s. We left there around 3:15 after capturing more video and photos in the workshop and the studio. When we got back, we reviewed our new media and organized them into folders. We began editing the photos we liked in photo shop. We ended our day at 6pm.
Wednesday 10-6 (8 Hours)
I arrived at 10am. We reviewed the Weaver’s project first thing. With Lucy back, we made a plan to record new lines for the video next week. Lucy got the final export of the UGRR Promo out, and I shipped it off to Denise in Teams. I spent the morning making character descriptions for the different Coal Miners, to help the voice actors get into their roles. I was able to schedule a meeting with Bill and Dick for tomorrow evening at 7pm. We met with Dr. Piwinsky from 11:45-12:45 and reviewed the Weaver’s project as well as the Voc-Ed videos. We broke for lunch from 1-2pm When we returned I continued to edit the Weaver’s Perfect Memory video. I worked primarily on this for the remainder of the day. We hade another meeting with Dr. P before he left, where he reviewed my progress on the Weaver’s video. We then discussed the formatting and marketing plan for a new video series featuring past research dissertations.
6/29/2023
Thursday 10-6 (8 Hours)
I arrived at 10 am. We started our daily meeting by reviewing the Weaver’s Video. I animated some photos with Ken Burns affects and added some different graphics for title cards and lower thirds. I worked in color correction for a few shots. I met with Dr. P while Lucy was in her site evaluation. We discussed the new Research Radar series and reviewed the outline he made for Erin Lewis. We talked about our Zoom meeting with Bill and Dick tonight at 7. We then went over the list of dissertations with Levi and Lucy. We each chose one to outline. I began looking over Brian Johnson’s before we broke for lunch.
TOTAL: 240
7/3/2023
Monday (OFF)
7/4/2023
Tuesday (OFF)
7/5/2023
Wednesday10-6 (8 Hours)
I arrived at 10am. I answered some emails that Bill sent over the weekend. We are planning to record He and Dick next Tuesday the 11th for the Coalport Narration. We reviewed Weaver’s Perfect Memory and made some notes for editing. I went ahead and finished the edit and exported a version for the Luckeys to review. We reviewed the Voc-Ed videos and gave some critique to Levi and Tony for them to finish up. We reviewed the new logo that Levi made for the new Research Radar video series. After lunch, we reviewed the Sport Research Codebook with Dr. P. We were able to condense some of our categories and look through some of the Wall Street Journal Articles. For the rest of the day, I read through my assigned dissertation and began adapting it to the Research Radar template.
7/6/2023
Thursday 10-6 (8 Hours)
I arrived at 10am. Erin Lewis emailed us back with some notes on her script for the Research Radar series. We reviewed her notes and rearranged the script. Bill from Coalport emailed later to let us know that our prospective voice actor would not be joining them in next Tuesday’s recording, but would be available on Thursday when we travel to Coalport. I planned with Lucy to take the correct audio equipment and one of the Steinbergs.
TOTAL: 256
7/10/2023
Monday 10-5(7 Hours)
I arrived at 10am. We reviewed some graphic samples of the new Research Radar project from Levi. We then went over the Weaver’s Perfect Memory video and made some light edits. After our tweaks, we shipped the latest rendition off to Allen for review. We reviewed the Coalport script and devised a gameplan for recording narrations tomorrow. I left for the day at 5pm.
7/11/2023
Tuesday 10-5 (7 Hours)
I arrived to work at 10am. Today we have Bill and Dick traveling in from Coalport to record voice-overs for the Coalport project. Richard Tavalsky also came in to voice-over one of the miner characters. We set up the studio and spent most of the day in the advanced lab getting everyone’s lines. We met with Bill and Dick outside of the recording for about an hour to have a production meeting regarding the video’s progress. I left for the day at 5pm.
7/12/2023
Wednesday 10-6 (8 Hours)
I arrived in the office at 10am. Tomorrow is our big shoot in Coalport, so we of course reviewed our script, watched the latest rough cut, and identified the areas that needed attention and how we would fill them out. Since we don’t have a teleprompter, I spent some time creating cardboard cue cards for Bill to read from. We then made a list of all the equipment we planned to bring. We had a lot more than usual, so after we made the list, we went to retrieve all of our gear. We made sure everything with a battery was charged and ready to go. All the SD cards were prepped and formatted. We organized our portable audio recording kit into some travel boxes. Lucy and I did a test with the Steinberg on my laptop. I left for the day at 6pm.
7/13/2023
Thursday 10-7:30 (9.5 Hours)
We arrived in the office at 10am. Today is our final shoot day in Coalport. We packed everything into Tony’s care immediately and left for the Museum. We arrived in Coalport around 11:30 and got straight to work. We set up the Steinberg in one of the museum rooms and put together a quick recording set-up. Lucy recorded some additional voice-over lines from Bill while Tony, Levi, and I set up our cameras outside. We recorded three different set ups, two exterior scenes and one interior. We took a few takes of each setup on a wide and a close-up angle. After our staged set-ups we spent some time gathering b-roll of various museum artifacts. We then downloaded some more media assets before leaving for the day. We arrived back in Indiana around 6pm. After backing everything up and organizing the files, I left for the day at 7:30.
7/17/2023
Monday 10-6 (8 Hours)
I arrived in the office at 10am. I wasted no time jumping into the Coalport footage. I reviewed all of the shots and takes and chose the best ones. I synced all of the audio and video clips and refined the edit. I spent the entire day only working on Bill’s shots of the video. I had Tony start making different graphics for two of our other trouble areas. I left for the day at 6pm.
7/18/2023
Tuesday
I arrived at 10am. I continued to edit the Coalport project. We reviewed the current edit as a team and collectively identified about three pages worth of edits. I tried some different shots of Bill and finished identifying the audio for Lucy to continue her mixing. Tony came up with a nice graphic for the segment on the Black Lung. I added this to the project and animated the text. We sent off the current edit for review at the end of the day. I left at 5pm.
7/19/2023
Wednesday
I arrived at 10am. Today is my last day in the office for a week. I won’t be Back until August 1st to finish things up. I prepared a list of things for the crew to work on while I’m gone, mostly having to do with finishing the Coalport edit. I spent the entire rest of the day working out the bugs in the edit and incorporating the feedback we got from Bill and Dick. At the end of the day, I had the edit in a near finished condition, just waiting on Lucy to finish mixing the audio, add bed music, and some sound effects. I left for the day at 6pm.
7/20/2023 -7/27/2023 (MAINE)
8/1/2023
Monday 10-3
I arrived to the office at 10am. I opened the Coalport project file to see where the crew left off. Lucy finished swapping in the mized dialogue, but unfortunately the music she picked wasn’t opening for me. I spent the morning looking for new music and found two nice tracks on a copyright free website. After taking care of the music, I realized we didn’t have any sound effects yet. I went through the video and Identified a few places where sound effects would be a nice touch. I was able to source a steam engine, a whistle, mine carts rolling, and a pick-ax striking rocks. I placed the effects throughout the video. I made a small adjustment to one of Tony’s graphics, then exported this new version. I uploaded the video to an unlisted link and sent it off to Bill and Dick for review. I left the office at 3pm.
8/2/2023 1-3
Tuesday
I arrived at 1pm, since everything is pretty much wrapped up. I received an email from Bill and Dick expressing their gratitude and excitement for the video. Bill gave me one small spelling critique on the Black Lung graphic, but otherwise greenlit us for release. After reviewing the video with Levi and Dr. Piwinsky, we also concluded the voices needed one more quick equalizing to balance the levels. I spent a couple minutes fixing the spelling mistake, and about an hour equalizing the audio. I exported and re-uploaded the video. I left at 3pm.
Miles Majercsik 