Giving Day at UMD
The Agora
On this week’s Beyond the Lens (yes I changed the name LOL), we’re talking about Giving Day!
As you all may (or may not) know, supporting Black small businesses and community organizations is a pillar of mine. When I was little, my dad used to fix computers with my godfather, as well as run coding classes for local teens in Hartford, CT under an organization called Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA). My mom didn’t run an official business, but she’s always putting together a graphic here, a website there, or helping plan somebody’s event from decorations to food.
I grew up in The Artists Collective, an arts program rooted in honoring the rich histories and cultures within the African Diaspora. I danced there for like 10-12 years. During our showcases, there would always be a line of jewelry displays for sale.
It’s me! The tap dancing queen LOL. But this is a picture of me and my Nana after one of my performances when I was little.
So needless to say, entrepreneurship runs through my veins. Anyways, part of the creative pivot I’m making involves helping community-based small businesses and organizations tell their stories how they see fit. As I work to build up my portfolio, I’ve been trying to make opportunities out of the connections I already have. Hence, how these two video pieces came to be.
Backstory
As a recently inducted member of the illustrious Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., I’ve focused my energy on my undergraduate chapter’s reactivation. I reactivated our chapter in Spring 2021, and we’re still working hard to get off the ground. The work I do to co-advise the chapter is happening simultaneously as the UMD NPHC (remember, this is the umbrella organization the nine Black fraternities and sororities fall under) strives for more unity and collaboration.
This year, the NPHC and Multicultural Greek Council (MGC) will be opening a house, called The Agora, on Fraternity Row right off of Baltimore Ave. in College Park. This is a big deal because historically our organizations haven’t had houses on the row or even off on Knox and Calvert Roads.
Every year in March, the University of Maryland holds this big fundraising push called Giving Day. During Giving Day, a host of departments, student organizations, and scholarships are making a joint effort to fundraise. There are challenges for departments that can raise the most money and big name donors dedicated to matching donations for particular causes.
With The Agora opening soon, the councils were tasked with putting together their own appeals.
Creating a Win-Win Situation
I knew that NPHC was going to be filming a video for The Agora, so I figured why not volunteer to help. It’d be a chance for me to get back into my videography bag, but also a chance to help our council in a concerted effort of unity and growth.
Session Details
So this was all a little bit impromptu LOL. But the weather was nice, and I planned out some potential questions + B-Roll for the video. I’d insert a picture…but I ended up losing my notebook that day. I wanted the questions to highlight the importance of The Agora, and especially what purposes it served to our council. I also included some questions like “what does being part of the Divine Nine mean to you” and “how will The Agora support the work your chapter is doing?” I always try to go for a colloquial and conversational tone in my video pieces to draw out some real and honest answers from my subjects.
In terms of B-roll, we faced a few challenges like
the building being completely empty, ruling out the chance for us to show the building’s interior and
there being five people, as opposed to the entire council.
But I turned those challenges into advantages. Since the building wasn’t open, sure it’d make for more of a “talking heads'“ video if you will, but it also meant the people viewing it wouldn’t be so wrapped in the physicality of the building. And with a smaller group of people, it’s much much easier to give directions and coordinate the group.
Again, I wanted this piece to be the epitome of the Divine Nine. So the B-Roll was primarily each organization member doing their hand signs or a particular pose. This served as
a way to introduce each speaker with their title cards and
cover up the jump cut from speaker to speaker.
I really like how this particular set of B-Roll got used at the end. As you’ll see (at 2:46), Rae talks about the importance of each organization’s uniqueness, but also our uniqueness as a whole council when we come together. So it was cool to layer in more portraits of each organization as she talked about the individuality of our orgs.
We shot some intro and outro B-Roll of everyone walking towards and away from the building, as well as some clips of everyone chatting and laughing on the steps.
Editing
I was under a tight deadline (24 hours LOL). But, I wasn’t really stressed about it considering how fast I’ve gotten with cutting interviews, creating graphics, and embedding B-Roll. I always use Adobe Premiere Pro (shoutout to university software cause Lord knows I refuse to pay for it LMAO). I plan on doing some more in-depth pieces about editing so I won’t drag on here.
Creating a Win-Win…Win Situation
After producing the piece for NPHC, I was then hired to create a similar piece for the Multicultural Greek Council. My main focus with this piece was trying to make sure it wasn’t exactly the same as NPHC’s. Granted, the two councils are unique in their own ways, but moreso content-wise in the questions I asked. For the MGC piece, I emphasized the students answering more questions related to their reasoning for joining their organizations. You’ll notice both pieces have a similar construction and format.
In Review
I actually really enjoyed working on these pieces for several reasons:
I had a lot in common with my subjects (be it age, organizations, interests, etc.)
it was a low pressure way to continue improving my craft
met some cool people along the way.