I think that one of the hardest things that I’ve run into when writing and researching my topics would be contacting people. More specifically, contacting people from a big organization who do not want to speak to someone who’s just an undergrad student. It was definitely harder to get information from establishments once they asked who I was writing for. If it wasn’t the NY Times or some other large entity, they would just give me a poor response to just get me to leave them alone. Other than that, it was definitely hard to find a mutually convenient time for both parties to meet or talk. Most of the times they were available I had class, and when I was available they were closed which was a tad infuriating. There’s nothing I could do but continue trying.

I write for an online tech magazine so I constantly have to contact large companies for information or review units. They tend to ignore my emails and calls but I still contact them weekly until I get a human response. Its not easy but once I have established a PR contact, things tend to go more smoothly. I think this is relavant to finding sources to talk to for our articles since perseverance goes a long way. But then again they can always decline.

In class today I found great information for my conflict story! I typed in the fire department online and I saw that they have had fundraising events at restaurants for the fire department. They also do great events for the families who live in Englishtown. One weekend they had an open house where they had a bake sale and the fire trucks outside for all the kids to tour. This weekend I am going to the fire house to hopefully get more information!

For your projects, you’re going to want to have two video elements ready when you begin editing: your interviews and your B-roll. Interviews will consist of your basic “talking head” shots. B-roll is everything else that illustrates your story and provides context and color. You’ll edit it over sections of the interview, so that you’re hearing the person talk but you’re seeing footage that fleshes out what they’re saying.

Interviews

– Frame your shot like you would a still photo, with the person you’re interviewing on the thirds. Make sure there is sufficient light on their face.

-Make sure you have good audio. Interviews are unusable if you can’t hear what the person is saying. If you’re not using one of the school’s cameras with a clip-on microphone, considering having the person hold your phone or audio recorder just out of the shot for backup.

B-Roll

Think about this like you would a photo slideshow. You want a variety of shots: close-up, details, medium and wide. Movement is visually interesting. So are shots of people in action.

Mainly, focus on getting shots that tell the story. It helps to shoot your interview first so you have a sort of shopping list of B-roll. Did the person talk about a new skating rink? Then get an external shot of the building, then a wide shot of the ice, then closeups of people’s feet as they skate.

B-Roll Examples from Jeanious on Vimeo.

Not many can say they had an inspirational writer come to their class as our class can. Katherine Vaz was such an inspiration for writers in college to pursue there dreams. From the tips she gave us to start a story to her own journey of becoming a published writer, Katherine Vaz gave us useful information for our futures.

Many of Vaz’s stories stem from her some of her own life experiences. Her first story came from her school bus experience as a child. She was protected by a boy who she helped with his homework. A lot of her work was based on Saints she had to read about in second grade. But although Katherine Vaz used real life experience’s she also wanted us to understand how much should we can create. We can use our own imaginations to expand our writing.

My favorite quote that Katherine Vaz gave us in class was, “I think we fear the death of those we love, then our own.” This quote has stuck with me since she came to our class. Vaz explained she has a connection with death which is inevitable. She lost her grandma during the birth of her father. She attended high school during the Vietnam War as Vaz describes this as a time of “upheaval.”. Vietnam started in November and JFK also passed away in November. This was a month of loss.

I can also relate to Katherine Vaz . I recently lost my grandfather in August. He was my best friend and I feel privileged to be able to have spent 20 years with him. After his death my life changed. I felt a piece of me missing. Not even 3 months later, his sister (my great aunt) passed away. My family feels she died of a broken heart because my grandfather and aunt were the only two who came to America. From August to November of this year, I have done nothing but attend shiva calls and wakes.

While I was listening to Katherine Vaz, I felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. I wasn’t the only one going through hard times in my life. It has helped me be able to write about my own experiences in stories.

“We are all in this together.”

Katherine Vaz was a very helpful mentor as a journalist.

Conveniently placed on the north-east corner of a highly-populated intersection, the Strand Pharmacy stays true to its goal of keeping an intimate neighborhood feel.  On Broadway, at the light for Crescent Street, owner and pharmacist, Paul Mastrogiannis, who has an extensive background and personal experience in owning a business, says he chose the location because, “It became available and because of the number of people who live per square block here. If you have a large number of people living per square block, you can support a lot of different businesses.”

The pharmacy has a comfortable vibe, with its mere three aisles and one counter for items to be rung up. In the middle of one of the aisles is a cozy setup of three folding chairs, where Paul was sitting for the interview.  Visits on different days found customers seated in the chairs, chatting, catching up, or simply taking a needed rest while waiting for their prescriptions.  Specifically Diana Polopoalous, a resident of the neighborhood who lives four blocks away, finds trips to the pharmacy convenient, as well as enjoyable.

“It’s a great place.  I actually come here and drop off my prescriptions, and sit around talking to Paul, or Mike, or whoever’s here while I wait for them,” she says. “For the most part they know what I need already, and it’s just all around a much more pleasant experience than going to CVS or Rite Aid.”

Mastrogiannis finds getting to know his customers on a first-name and individual basis to be an important aspect of his business.  Engaging in small-talk and sometimes deeper conversations, Mastrogiannis and his staff often befriend some of the customers and learn details about their lives.

“I’m a social person. I like to find out where people are going on vacation. So I start a lot of different discussions, you know.  I know everybody by first name.”

The pharmacy business is one of the very few that, fortunately for Strand Pharmacy, is fairly recession proof.  People will always need medications, and will always frequent a pharmacy to get them. “I haven’t noticed much of a change in business. It’s a pharmacy.  It’s steady. I have the same people coming in all the time.  You know even if you lose one customer another one will come in. You start talking to them and the people that move to the neighborhood want to come to a small pharmacy.”

But what about the competition from large-scale chain pharmacies such as Walgreens and Duane Reade? Mastrogiannis launches into a passionately fueled response, but interrupts to help a customer.  “They won’t do you a favor, you know.  They won’t go out of their way to take care of a person, and I like to know everyone who comes to my store.”

Again, his response is quickly interrupted by a “Hey, how are you,” directed to an entering patron.  His friendly nature is evident in his willingness to answer the questions, and the atmosphere of the pharmacy is proved to be a welcoming one.

So what is the real difference between going to a local chain pharmacy and a local small business?  A concept that seems outdated in today’s world, but nonetheless an important one.  Mastrogiannis sums it up in a phrase: “We deliver.”

For many elderly or disabled people, it is extremely difficult to pick-up prescriptions, especially in a neighborhood in which the primary means of transportation is walking.  Strand Pharmacy will deliver through rain, sleet, or snow to anywhere in town.

Owning a small pharmacy also allows the privilege of having more control over the abuse of prescription drugs.  In contrast, chain pharmacies are at a large risk for distributing drugs that aren’t needed because of the impersonal element they possess.

The other advantage of being a privately owned pharmacy is the ability to control price. This principle also works to the benefit of the consumer, because prices at chain pharmacies are often a good deal higher, according to Mastrogiannis.

Mastrogiannis recalls an instance taking place earlier that morning.  “Some lady came in for a cream, and I told her it costs $45.  And you know, I make something on it.  They went to Walgreens and asked the price and it was $95 there for the same cream, more than double.”

As far as the demographics of their customers, they vary from teenagers and young adults, to the business’ logically dominant group of senior citizens. Employee demographics vary as well.

“I have one guy that works for me who is like 45 years old.  I have younger guys who were in their 20’s,” Mastrogiannis says. “Anyone that needs a job, who’s friendly and comes from the neighborhood, I’ll try to help ‘em out, you know.”

Conveniently placed on the north-east corner of a highly-populated intersection, the location of the Strand Pharmacy stays true to its goal of an intimate neighborhood feel.  On Broadway, at the light for Crescent Street, owner and pharmacist, Paul Mastrogiannis, who has an extensive background and personal experience in owning a business, states he chose the location because “it became available and because of the amount of people that live per square block here, so if you have a large amount of people living per square block you can support a lot of different businesses.”

The pharmacy has a comfortable vibe, with its mere three aisles and one counter for items to be rung up, and in the middle of one of the aisles is a cozy setup of three folding chairs, where Paul was sitting upon the beginning of the interview.  Visits on different days found customers seated in the chairs, chatting, catching up, or simply taking a needed rest while waiting for their prescriptions.  Specifically Diana Polopoalous, a resident of the neighborhood who lives four blocks away, finds trips to the pharmacy convenient, as well as enjoyable.

“It’s a great place.  I actually come here and drop off my prescriptions, and sit around talking to Paul, or Mike, or whoever’s here while I wait for them,” she states.  “For the most part they know what I need already, and it’s just all around a much more pleasant experience than going to CVS or Rite Aid.”

Mastrogiannis finds getting to know his customers on a first-name and individual basis to be an important aspect of his business.  Engaging in small-talk and sometimes deeper conversations, Mastrogiannis and his staff often befriend some of the customers and learn details about their lives.

“I’m a socialite.  My biggest thing that I like to do every day is find out where people are going on vacation. So I start a lot of different discussions, you know.  I know everybody by first name.”

The pharmacy business is one of the very few that, fortunately for Strand Pharmacy, is fairly recession proof.  People will always need medication, and will always frequent a pharmacy to get it. “I haven’t noticed much of a change in business, it’s a pharmacy it’s steady, I have the same people coming in all the time.  You know even if you lose one customer another one will come in. You start talking to them and the people that move to the neighborhood want to come to a small pharmacy.”

When questioned about the inevitable difficulties encountered by the competition found in large-scale chain pharmacies such as Walgreens and Duane Reade, Mastrogiannis prepares to launch into a passionately fueled response, but interrupts to help a customer.  “They won’t do you a favor, you know.  They won’t go out of their way to take care of a person, and I like to know everyone who comes to my store.”

Again, his response is quickly interjected by a “Hey, how are you,” directed to an entering patron.  His friendly nature is evident in his willingness to answer the questions, and the atmosphere of the pharmacy is proved to be a welcoming one.

So is the real difference between going to a local chain pharmacy and a local small business?  A concept that seems outdated in today’s world, but nonetheless an important one.  Mastrogiannis sums it up in a phrase: “We deliver.”

For many elderly or disabled people it is extremely difficult to pick-up prescriptions, especially in a neighborhood in which the primary means of transportation is walking.  Strand Pharmacy will deliver through rain, sleet, or snow to anywhere in town.

Owning a small pharmacy also allows the privilege of having more control over the abuse of prescription drugs.  In contrast, chain pharmacies are at a large risk for distributing drugs that aren’t needed because of the impersonal element they possess.

The other advantage of being a privately owned pharmacy is the ability to control price. This principle also works to the benefit of the consumer, because prices at chain pharmacies are often a good deal higher.

Mastrogiannis recalls an instance taking place earlier that morning.  “Some lady came in for a cream, and I told her it costs 45 dollars.  And you know, I make something on it.  They went to Walgreens and asked the price and it was 95 dollars there for the same cream, more than double.”

As far as the demographics of the customers, it varies from teenagers and young adults, to the business’ logically dominant group of senior citizens. Employee demographics vary as well.

“I have one guy that works for me who is like 45 years old.  I have younger guys who were in their 20’s,” Mastrogiannis states. “Anyone that needs a job, who’s friendly and comes from the neighborhood, I’ll try to help ‘em out, you know?”