Kell Olson's Senior Project Blog: Friends of Baseball

  This week was the big week. The week we did the filming. I could tell that both Gerald and I had some nerves when we began filming and we struggled some at the start, but we found our rhythm and comfort zone really quickly. I learned a lot about how to work in front of a camera that day. It felt really unnatural at first but I got accustomed to it. Knowing that there are three cameras pointed at you and feeling that a mic is clipped onto your shirt changes the dynamic entirely. Because I was aware of that, I felt more pressure to act or present in a certain way. Thankfully, pretty soon after I got used to it and was able to present in the same manner I had when there were no cameras.  If I messed up a line it seemed like there should be repercussions and I would need to start over again. But because we have the power to edit parts out or cut wherever we feel like, it meant I could just pause, count to three in my head and just keep going from where I left off. That was a HUG...

At the start of week two, I met with Gerald Bolden on the Catlin baseball field on Saturday and we spent a few hours planning and rehearsing each of the lessons. They started out a bit rough, but once we got into it they started flowing better. By the end of the session, I was surprised by how natural it all felt. Sure there were hiccups here and there but for a run-through with no practice, I couldn’t have asked for more. We are both excited to see it all come together during filming this upcoming weekend. We recorded each of the videos and we have both reviewed them. Below are still images of the practice videos, but I expect that the actual videos will look more professional when done by the videographer. One of the things that I noticed when doing these practice videos is that the speaker has more impact when they are looking into the camera. There will be times when we can’t but whenever the option is there I think it is far more impactful and will create more of a connection with...

Baseball has been an important part of my life growing up. From making lifelong friends to playing in the Dominican Republic it has offered me so many opportunities. As a Catlin student, through community engagement, I have developed a deeper care for my community around me. My senior project combines these two aspects of my life.  I will be working with a coach, mentor, and family friend of mine named Gerald Bolden to make videos instructing kids on the basics of baseball. These videos will be made for Friends of Baseball, a nonprofit organization dedicated to teaching kids life lessons and life skills through the sport of baseball. The videos I will be making are directed towards young children who have never even picked up a bat or a glove (around 6-8 years old), as well as their parents.  Gerald Bolden: The first week of my senior project consisted of the fundamental groundwork that will allow for the next steps of the project to occur. I reached out to a professional vide...