Hosted my first workshop today and boy, was it nerve racking! Using a DSLR comes as second nature to me, but having to break it down to teach others helped me gain more in depth knowledge for the craft. The protege effect was in full force here!
HOSTING A HANDS ON WORKSHOP
My problem solving skills to work under pressure were put to the ultimate test today.
Understanding DSLR and photography lingo can be very confusing and overwhelming. I had only one hour to explain everything. I had to break it down into simple and concise steps, as if how I'd want someone to show me when I first started. I told everyone to bring their cameras to follow along with my live demo. It was essential that I can show how the numbers relationship in the works.
I spent a lot of time preparing for this and did run throughs in the room I was presenting. I found out I had to switch to a different room that doesn't have adequate equipment thirty minutes before the workshop. There were so many technical difficulties - the live cam and the computer programs kept on shutting down. As much as I prepared, I didn't plan for this. There is full classroom of people watching me and time was clicking. I improvised, disregard the techs after a few more tries and just went analog. I only allowed my mind to work out different solutions instead of wasting time thinking: "Crap, this isn't working and I am scared."
Overall, it was a fantastic learning experience. With more practice, I will soon to be able to speak more confidently and relaxed.
RUNNING A CLUB
I became President of the Gnomon Imaging Club three weeks ago. I was reaching for the stars and had to persevere through the intimidation. As a lower class man that barely started the program, I had to be able to structure the club to be beneficial to lowerclassmen and upperclassmen. It was difficult to create relevant events to Gnomon students because I had no prior experience to 3D, photogrammetry, texturing, etc. All I was sure of is that I love cameras. I have the eagerness to learn new things and I am passionate about bringing people together.
The objective of the club is to be a community for students to acquaint or strengthen their knowledge for techniques and materials that will aid them in cinematic storytelling. I create opportunities for students to share their area of expertise. I believe it helps students excel their craft and improve their professional presentation.
Being the first person to start something is scary, but I am fortunate to have a supportive peer and access to many resources. A lot of people helped me out to make the club happen. That's something I have to take a step back more often to remember.
After today, people came up to me about hosting their own workshop! It's really exciting! And the public media responded well to the event. Tomorrow I will take a few people to do location shoot to practice. I can't wait to see how much the club will evolve from now the following years come! And watch out, this isn't going to be my first demo! It's only going to get BIGGER and BETTER from here.