Irene Rojas Media • Blog
My adventures as a multimedia producer
18th Street Singers Rehearsal & Concert
The 18th Street Singers begin a concert warm up with massages.
I was asked to shoot photos of the 18th Street Singers in DC before their latest concert. I went to a rehearsal and the warm up before the concert. They were especially interested in facial expressions.
The 18th Street Singers as seen from the balcony of the First Trinity Lutheran Church in Washington, DC.
A pitch pipe rests on sheet music.
More photos here.
Virginia Imagination Conversation at Wolf Trap
Back in October, Wolf Trap asked me to shoot a meeting of the Imagination Conversation, a project of the Lincoln Center Institute. The project aims to address problems in America’s educational system to make American graduates more competitive in the marketplace. I’ve had quite a few teacher friends over the years. As an undergrad, I finally saw how hard my teacher friends worked to create lesson plans for their students. I realized I had taken teachers for granted for a long time. Since then, I have come to agree with what one of the panelists said: we have undervalued education, especially in the last decade. I believe this is a shame and I truly hope initiatives like the Imagination Conversation can show people why education must be a priority for a society.
Back to the videos. They were shot in October. This is not to say that it has taken me this long to edit them. After shooting the meeting, I was asked to first create some videos for the Board at Wolf Trap. Those were intended just for the Board. A few months later, I was asked to create shorter versions that Wolf Trap could post on Youtube. I also created the accompanying graphics.
Two more videos after the break.
Ask the EU Ambassador: Social Networking & Human Rights
My latest video for the EU Delegation to the US through Momenta Creative. Opening graphic by Femath Media.
Zonta & Scholarship
The Washington, DC chapter of Zonta, an international women’s service organization, asked me to shoot a video at their scholarship recipients dinner and then create a short piece that gave an overview of Zonta’s involvement in the educational community.
Joint EU-US Press Brief
Back on November 28, the Eu and US ambassadors held a joint press brief after Pres. Obama met with EU leaders about the European economic situation. The video is 20 minutes long, so feel free to skip around.
EU Ambassador Vale de Almeida on Upcoming EU-US Summit
This is a video I shot on November 17 in which EU Ambassador Vale de Almeida spoke about an upcoming EU-US economic summit.
National Park Foundation – Saguaro Electronic Field Trip
Back in September, I edited a series of videos for the National Park Foundation through Blue Land Media. I edited most of the primary footage in the field segments, with the park rangers and the students. The Saguaro National Park electronic field trip premiered on October 21, 2011. Since I’m not clear as to how or if I can post video samples, I got a screen grab that showed my editing credit.
“From North Korea to South Sudan: The Path of Crisis and the European Response”
A video I produced in September 2011 for the EU Delegation to the US through Momenta Creative.
Fort Hunt Goes Back to School
Elizabeth Maurer hugs Nathaniel Hancock before classes while Hannah, center, and Herold Hancock, right, look on at Fort Hunt Elementary School on September 6, 2011.
Students filed into Fairfax County Public Schools once again on the Tuesday after Labor Day. I went to Carl Sandburg Middle School and Fort Hunt Elementary School for a gallery for the Fort Hunt Patch. As the principal at Fort Hunt pointed out, sometimes the first day of school is harder for the parents than the kids.
Elizabeth Vargas, left, and brother Matthew Vargas wait for their bus to Mt. Vernon High School on the morning of September 6, 2011. Elizabeth was worried when the bus was "already 15 minutes late on the first day of school."
I found these students near Carl Sandburg. I’d be worried too if my bus was 15 minutes late on the first day.
Science teacher Dale Witt prepares his classroom at Carl Sandburg Middle School for the first day of school on September 6, 2011
Work essentially started last week for teachers, so there wasn’t much for them to do while waiting for the doors to open.
Students unload from buses at Carl Sandburg Middle School on September 6, 2011.
Mari Frost watches as a father waves to his child on the first day of classes at Fort Hunt Elementary School on September 6, 2011. Frost is a student safety patrol.
More photos after the break.
Wolf Trap Patrons: Beyond the Lawn Rush
You can find the video here.
This is my final major piece for Wolf Trap. I shoot the footage throughout the summer at a variety of concerts and then produced this story about patron experiences.
My supervisor Graham liked the video so much, he decided to make an entire blog post about it and asked me to write some accompanying text, with insights into how I found these patrons, why I used these particular stories, and other tidbits. I want to make this clear: “All the people I interviewed were real patrons… no actors, no scripts, just candid conversations.”
Here’s the text from the post.
A few weeks ago, we had an intern “show-and-tell.” It was much like the show-and-tell sessions from when we were in kindergarten, except no one would’ve allowed me near a giant TV back then. I showed three videos that day: one about this year’s Annual Swamp Romp, one about the Theatre-in-the-Woods program, and the Wolf Trap Patrons: June At-A-Glancevideo. Afterwards, one of my fellow interns said one of the best things a video producer can hear. He said that before coming to work at Wolf Trap he had heard much about the “Wolf Trap experience,” but he didn’t actually know what it meant. He felt that after seeing those videos, he felt he understood it perfectly. If someone knows and understands something about Wolf Trap a little more after viewing my work than before, then I’ve done my job. (more…)
