CPBN Media Lab

Where Multimedia Journalists are Created

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Our Interns <3

Spring 2016

LeQentez Brown is a 2014 graduate of the University of Connecticut. He is part of Lambda Theta Phi, a fraternity dedicated to community-building and support. Through their efforts, LeQentez started a program called Stockings for Seniors, which focuses on providing seniors in convalescent homes with gifts like playing cards and sewing needles so they feel loved during the holiday season. He has also been involved in several films during his high school and college career, using his experience with cinematography at UConn to direct and film, as well as teach his other colleagues about how it all works. LeQentez believes his creative voice has power to produce change, and is what drives him to help his local community and those in need. For example, he has directed a film about a family who uses medical marijuana to treat  their uncle’s seizures, and the struggles they go through due to its partially-legal status in the United States. He is very interested in politics, and takes an active role in following the scene to better aid those in need. LeQentez hopes to further his knowledge and experience in CPBN’s Media Lab, where he can build on his cinematography, learn the tools of the trade (such as Adobe Cloud), and build a strong community, all through CPBN’s colleagues and resources.

Veronica Bitz is a Junior at the University of New Haven majoring in Communications with a minor in English and Photography.  Veronica is a lifelong Connecticut resident and currently resides in Hamden with her parents in a house they built themselves.  Beginning with a two-week media production camp when she was in 7th grade, Veronica’s talent was already being recognized by her instructors, especially during the production of their live TV show.  At 20 years of age she has already amassed extensive experience in many aspects of media production with a strong focus on pre-production.  She’s President of the Communications Club at UNH, has been technical director on many projects and produced a 13 minute student film titled ‘Ashes’, and won an Student Emmy for her work in sports production for UNH. Veronica’s goal in participating in the Media Lab Internship is to is to delve more into media publishing generally with a focus on gaining more experience with television production and to develop professional connections in the business.

Johnny Grasso is a 1993 University of Hartford graduate earning a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Architectural Engineering in addition to being inducted into Tau Alpha Pi Honor Society. Johnny is a lifelong Connecticut resident and has lived in the northwest corner of the state for the last 15 years.  He began his career working with architectural firms and began designing Trade Show Exhibits in 1996. Taking between 6-12 months to design and create, he found the field to be dynamic and challenging.  He hopes to further his education with InDesign and creative writing to reach his goals. With his love for fiction, reading and writing, he dreams of making a movie, either writing, directing or editing. Through his internship at CPBN, Johnny hopes to gain behind the camera experience and explore media production as a whole.

Blaine Callahan is a Junior at the University of Connecticut, majoring in English with a concentration in Creative Writing. Upon graduation he would like to obtain a stable job before possibly returning to school to earn his Master’s degree in Storyboarding. He has experience with DSLR cameras, Photoshop, and is writing his own realistic fantasy novel “Unremarkable”, as a part of an Independent Study. Childhood influences from Pokemon, Avatar the Last Airbender, and the work of Pixar have also led Blaine to pursue an interest in animation. He hopes to utilize his time at CPBN as an opportunity to further his experience in Adobe, and animation equipment; understand the collaborative environment that accompanies a broadcasting network, and develop relationships that could potentially lead to further employment.

Fall 2015

Michelle France is a student at the University of Connecticut where she is pursuing her Bachelor's in Communications. Prior to her education at Uconn she received her Associates at Naugatuck Community College, where she had the opportunity to write for the school's newspaper called “Tamarack Student Newspaper”.She has a passion for journalism but wants to do more within the field such as research, create graphics and write. Which is one of the reason why she's happy to be apart of CPBN Media Lab. Her dream is to work for a news station where her desire is to be a media producer. Michelle grew up creating graphics as a child where the majority of it was self taught.Originally from Meriden, CT, she now resides in East Hampton, CT, with her husband and is a full-time mom to two children Nadia 7, and Mason 3, on top of being a full-time student. Michelle's objective is to work on education programs and produce quality content that are helpful to people.Michelle's hobbies include, Photography, Graphic design, Ice skating, loves to read and really enjoys spending quality time with her kids.In the future she hopes to go on to achieve her Masters,but as for now upon graduation she is excited to get her career started as a media producer.

Kevin O’Brien recently graduated from the University of New Haven where he earned a Bachelor’s in Music and Sound with a minor in Creative Writing. O’Brien has grown up around music and now works for A&J Productions where he does live sound for artists and bands at live events. He even plays in his own band, “The 30th of February” where he sings, plays guitar and sometimes keys, and does most of their music production and engineering. They started in middle school in 2007 and have continued going strong today.While a senior in college, O’Brien took a multimedia class which opened the gateway for him now landing an internship in the CPBN Media Lab. It was there that he got his first hands-on experience with programs like Photoshop and Flash, and was able to create and produce short animations and videos.Soon after graduating, O’Brien took an internship at a creative development firm for music artists, but quickly found that it just wasn’t the right fit for him.While at the library, Kevin’s mom met CPBN Director of Education Paul Pfeffer and O’Brien was able to be connected with a wonderful opportunity of interning at the CPBN Media Lab. O’Brien would like to continue to work with music and someday be able to create film scores for movies.

Mark Eiben is a student a Tunxis Community College where he studies Business Administration. After graduating from Arizona’s Conservatory of  Audio Engineering and Sciences in 2006 , Mark landed an internship at Saltmine Studios mastering sound files, and another one at Rainbow Studios working in video game development. But Mark soon realized that Arizona was too hot for his liking, and decided to move back to New England to pursue his passion for television. He started by connecting with some old friends from the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) who inspired him to take a more formalized approach to learning about media. While working for IATSE,  Mark enrolled in a video production class at Middlesex Community College where he learned about what goes into being a production assistant. He has been volunteering at Nutmeg Television since 2011 and hopes to open up his own television production company in the future. In the Media Lab, Mark hopes to learn more about the inner workings of a DSLR camera, and how to determine the correct lens to use for a specific shot.

Sarah Greco is a sophomore at Manchester Community College pursuing a degree in Communications.  She is expected to graduate December 2016 with plans on moving to Florida to pursue her Bachelor's degree.  Sarah had a passion for photography and videography since she was a little girl.  Every Christmas, her parents surprised her with a new camera which she always carried around with her.  One of her favorite things to do was to videotape family vacations.  When she was ten years old, she traveled to Hawaii with her family and enjoyed photographing the new atmosphere.  She says she loves to capture images on camera and later see the footage come back to life.  As an adult, Sarah gained photography experience working for Michelle Wade Photography shooting weddings, pregnancy sessions and PR shoots.  Sarah aspires to work on meaningful stories that bring awareness to certain issues.  She is proud of a texting and driving project that she worked on in her video production class at Manchester Community College.  She enjoyed using props to set up a scene and capturing the perfect image.  Sarah’s ultimate goal would be to work behind the scenes for a Disney production.  She hopes to gain experience for this role by working for ESPN.  

Spencer Honda is a thriving video producer in the world of multimedia. Honda originally studied film and video editing at Pacific University in Oregon where he edited film clips at the University in addition to several interviews and lectures. However, he gravitated towards news and documentary-style work as opposed to the time-consuming narratives. To Honda, news is a convenient medium to film and edit down into a five minute segment. Now at the University of Hartford, Honda majors in communications with a double major in cinema. At the CPBN Media Lab, Honda plans to bring his film editing skills to the table as well as learning about the various communities throughout Connecticut. Since most of his previous works have been independent, he is interested in working alongside a crew of media enthusiasts. Honda’s future goal is to produce news clips and informational shows in different avenues such as sports and documentaries.

Summer 2015

Zac Boulier grew up in Waterbury, CT. He attended Kaynor Technical High School where he studied auto body repair.  Zac participated in sports, where he excelled on the basketball team.  Although an injury sidelined his career, Zac’s love for the game led him develop another hobby, filmmaking.  While still in high school, Zac enrolled in Media Production courses at the Waterbury Public Access Television Station. This experience allowed Zac to become the Kaynor High School’s audio/visual technician.  He began videotaping the basketball games, as well as award ceremonies and graduations.  Upon graduating, Zac worked at a body shop for a year, but he was driven by his passion for filmmaking.  He was hired by the Waterbury Public Access and he enrolled Naugatuck Community College majoring in media production. Inspired by the opportunity to learn media at the university level, Zac enrolled in the communications program specializing in video production at Southern Connecticut State University. Today, Zac is a junior at SCSU.  He also works at North Haven Community Television, and owns his a media production company Mattatuck Productions.  

Bridgitte Prince grew up in East Hartford, CT.  Upon her high school graduation she enrolled into the United States Army with the hope of becoming a Broadcast Technician. Bridgitte’s Army career brought her to Europe for two tours of duty; traveling to West Germany, the Netherlands and Italy.  Due to a medical condition she was honorably discharged. When Bridgitte came back home she worked in administrative positions in Hartford, but she did not give on her dream of becoming a Broadcast Technician. An opportunity arose when she was offered a learning position at Windsor Public Access Television. There she learned how to edit video, operate a video switcher and cameras. The skills she learned at WIN-TV, brought with her to WVIT-TV, WFSB, ESPN and even working on The Don Imus show with MSNBC. After a while, driving two hours one way it was taking a toll and she decided again to work closer to home.  She continued freelancing and in 2015 she entered the CPBN Veterans Vocational Training Program where Bridgitte has  combined previous  working experiences and new digital media production.

Daryel resides in South Windsor, CT where he was born and raised for twenty going on twenty-one years. He attended South Windsor High School home of the Bobcats. During his time in high school, he partook in ice hockey (which he still plays to this day) and baseball. Now that he is twenty, he attends Pace University in Manhattan, NY as a Film and Screen Studies major with a minor in Communications. He was recently inducted into Tau Sigma Honor Society at Pace and is now Vice-President. Also, he and a few friends are creating Pace’s first roller hockey team to compete with other schools and divisions. Although he wants to be an actor for film, he wants this internship to learn as much as possible about the film/video making industry and gain experience for possible future jobs.

Devon was raised in East Hartford before moving to his new home in Manchester eight years ago. He attended Manchester High School home of the Indians. During his time in high school he ran track both indoor and outdoor. Now that he is twenty-three, he attends the University of Connecticut as an Economic major with a minor in Digital Media. He is also a member of the Coed Sorority, Tau Beta Sigma. In fact, he was voted Vice-President during his Junior year. Also, he is a member of UConn’s band, both the marching band and pep band. He wants to intern here because he believes that he can learn a lot from the information he receives during his time in the internship. He wants to use the information and experience gained during the internship, in order to make his way into the film/video production industry. He was recently asked, “Would you rather fight 1 horse-sized duck or 100 duck-sized horses?” He responded the following, “I would rather fight 1 horse-sized duck because I feel like it is much easier to fight a single monstrosity rather than 100 duck-sized horses.” You heard it here first.

Martha Hollister is a Division II student at Hampshire College in Amherst, MA. Originally from Bloomfield, CT, she graduated from Watkinson School in Hartford with a creative arts diploma in theater and photography. At Hampshire she is studying Game Design and is specifically interested in gaming culture, social education through games, and representation of gender, sexuality, and race in games. As an intern in the Media Lab, she hopes to learn how media is created and targeted for audiences, and plans to apply principles from media production to a career in game design. Her dream job would be to work for Frictional Games. In her free time she enjoys reading, watching TV and movies, and of course, playing video games. 

Kevin McLean is a PhD student in the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. He studies Ecology and his PhD focuses on the study of rainforest canopies. Kevin did his undergrad at Stanford. He is originally from Eagan, MN. As an intern in the CPBN Media Lab, Kevin wants to learn media storytelling techniques and the production of science and nature programming. His dream job would be to produce documentaries. In his free time, Kevin likes to play volleyball, teach gymnastics, and occasionally help coach the Yale diving team.

Spring 2015

After transitioning out of the U.S. Army, Wilfredo Rivera developed a passion for media communications as a volunteer at his church’s radio station. Freddy got his start at CPBN in the summer of 2014 while participating in the Veterans Vocational Training Program where he learned about video production and graphic design. He is currently enrolled in the Creatively Applied Storytelling course (CAST) at CPBN where he hopes to take his skills to next level.  The educational opportunities at  CBPN and NPR have allowed Freddy to shadow professionals and explore different platforms of production while giving him insight into how a non-profit corporation operates.

Freddy will be continuing his education in the Media Lab. He one day hopes to own his communication network (radio, video streaming, outreach, broadcasting, etc) that provides useful information that people can use for self-betterment.

Ayeisha Priester is a recent graduate from the University of Connecticut, with a double major in Political Science and Journalism.  She decided to apply for the CPBN Media Lab internship program because she wants to gain hands on experience within the production process.  Ayeisha wants to better her video editing skills by learning how to use after effects to change the look of the footage.

After completing this internship, Ayeisha hopes to continue her journey working for major networks such as NBC.

Robert Trotta is a senior at the University of Hartford pursuing a Bachelors Degree in the Audio Engineering Technology department. Robert has been involved with media throughout his high school and college career filming and editing everything from hometown sporting events to full in-class productions. After taking a course in sound editing for video in college, he became interested in a career in audio for television, and what better place to start than the CPBN Media Lab. On his first day Robert became acclimated with the Panasonic GH2 camera and Adobe Creative Suite software.

Jon is a graduate from Eastern CT State University where he studied Theater and Communication. Jon is a producer/host/editor at West Hartford Community Television and would like to expand his television production education at CPBN. Jon hopes to research and produce numerous projects and apply what he's learned as a Final Cut Pro editor to Adobe Premiere. He is seeking a career as a producer and host for public or commercial television. 

On his first day, Jon learned the basics of a Panasonic GH2 camera: aperture, focus, shallow depth of field, shutter speed, and so forth. 

Fall 2014

Say hello to one of our new interns Karren Saldi. Karren is a recent graduate from Southern Connecticut State University where she majored in Graphic Design. She hopes to learn how to bring her designs to life with the help of Adobe After Effects and the CPBN Media Lab.

On her second day, Karren helped to capture student interviews at Trinity College that were picked by PBS staff to air on national television. You can find them here: http://srlferguson.tumblr.com/

Meet Marc. Marc is a senior at the University of New Haven where he is pursuing a degree in Communications. He hopes to gain tons of experience in the Media Lab which will undoubtedly help him in his professional career goals: to become a director. 

On his first day, Marc interviewed WNPR News Director and host of "Where We Live" John Dankosky about the media's coverage of climate change.

Matt Fahey is a Communication Major at the University of Connecticut. His interest in production stems from a desire to convert his vision into tangible work that he can share with others. He works at the UConn Sports Video Office where he web-casts live games and produces short segments. He joined CPBN's Media Lab in order to develop a wide range of production skills and develop a greater understanding of editing software. He hopes to one day become an executive producer working in Film or Television. He also enjoys screenwriting, basketball, and fantasy football as hobbies.

Kyle is a Senior at the University of Connecticut pursing a major in Communication, with a minor in Film Studies. With aspirations of becoming a filmmaker, Kyle applies his passion for screenwriting and directing by producing his own television sitcom, "The Best We Can Do", as well as several other short films. He joins the CPBN Media Lab to improve his production skills in editing, photography, and other technical aspects. He also enjoys skiing, playing basketball, and watching his National Champion UConn Huskies.

Kareemah is a Communications graduate student at Sacred Heart University concentrating in Digital Media & Journalism . She hopes to pursue a career in producing documentary film covering topics surrounding education, poverty and women's rights, to name a few. At the CPBN Media Lab , Kareemah plans to enhance her interviewing, editing and audio production skills. She has a passion for music as well and is in gear to becoming an independent R&B artist.

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Law Student’s Thoughts on Freedom of Speech

UConn Law Student Wonchi Ju says free speech can sometimes be hurtful and make it difficult to agree with the ideas of others, but she also sees the advantages. Press play to learn more..

What do you think the advantages/disadvantages of free speech are?

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Should Speech Be Regulated?

Media Lab interns are at the University of Connecticut School of Law to find out what law students think about their First Amendment rights. Are there just some opinions society could do without, or are there pros to allowing offensive speech in our public discourse? Does our right to freedom of speech make us feel free, or simply make others feel oppressed? Are there any fears in allowing the government to regulate speech? Share your thoughts below.

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Freedom of Speech: Where do we draw the line?

According to a recent study by Pew Research, 40% of millennials ages 18-34 believe it is OK for the government to limit speech that is offensive to minorities. This demographic has been represented on a microcosmic level at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut where students protested in the March for Resilience' last month.

Media Lab interns spoke to First Amendment Attorney Dan Klau to for more information on which type of speech is or isn't protected by the First Amendment. Here's a clip.

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You Are Cordially Invited

"Art that speaks to your heart is the best investment." - Holly Holden, Interior Designer.

Guests were 'cordially invited' to the New Britain Museum of American Art to showcase a new PBS show hosted by Interior Designer Holly Holden. Media Lab students captured the pink carpet event on camera. Press play to learn more.

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Thanksgiving Disaster Stories

The National Turkey Federation reports the average American ate nearly 16 pounds of turkey in 2014, but not everyone gets to feast on Turkey during the holiday season. CPBN Media Lab interns asked students from the University of Connecticut about their Thanksgiving disaster stories. But while some wonder about their most disastrous meals, others worry if there will even be food. CPBN Media Lab's Michelle France has more.

Do you have a Thanksgiving disaster story? If so, share yours below. We’d love to hear it!

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Do you know when to stop for a school bus? Well if not, you may get hit with a $450 fine. Find out how the state is cracking down on drivers who don’t obey stopped school bus laws. 

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Kevin + Calculus =?

Interns were asked to convey an emotion in this 60 second silent film challenge. Can you guess which emotions our actors are feeling?

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60 Second Film Challenge!

Our interns are working on a short film for the 60 Second Emotion Challenge where they'll have to produce a silent movie that conveys an emotion---- in just 60 seconds! Our audience, YOU smile emoticon, will then have to guess which emotion is being displayed.

Here's a sneak peek. Have any ideas?

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Happy Friday!

Picture Mosaic by Intern Kevin O’Brien. 

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Transgender Bill in Connecticut Takes Effect Today

Its October 1st and 12 new laws take effect in Connecticut this month. One of them allows transgender individuals to change the sex listed on their birth certificate without undergoing gender reassignment surgery.

Hear from Terrell Parker, a transgender male from Naugatuck to learn about how this new law will impact him.

Find out what the other and 11 new laws are here: http://www.courant.com/politics/hc-connecticut-new-laws-october-photogallery.html

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Interns were asked to create scenes using sounds only! Can you guess what’s happening in this scene?

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Backgrounds Matter

Interns learned how to set up what we like to call a 'reporter sandwich' and practiced set dressing. It was all captured using the time lapse function on our Panasonic GH4 cameras! Check it out

What’s a ‘Reporter Sandwich?’ We’re glad you asked :)

http://www.powtoon.com/t/dVBiPQFtPiu/1/

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Lighting & Color Temperature

Today we're teaching our new cameras some old tricks. Interns are purposely white balancing to objects that are not white in order to produce a colored tint over the images they'll be capturing. Check back to see what they will be doing with these funky, tinted images.

The examples above were taken by Media Lab Instructor Tikeyah Whittle. Let’s see what the interns come up with :)

Intern Michelle France white balanced to a red piece of paper to achieve a green tint over her footage, and to an orange piece of paper to get a blue tint. She stitched her images together in Photoshop to make this. Can you guess what it is?

Intern Kevin O’Brien white balanced to purple to get a yellow tint over his images. He pieced them together in Photoshop to make this smiley face! Take a closer look at the images, you’ll spot some of the equipment we use :)

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Tomorrow at 5ET I’ll be interviewing three astronauts (read all about them here) live on Periscope and Snapchat (user: nprnews). 

What would you like me to ask them? Submit questions here.

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This is happening TODAY! -Emily

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A Man on a Mission

Paul Pfeffer is the Director of Education at the Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network. He enjoys teaching various television and media techniques to interns, volunteers and students.

Paul's ability to tell stories is what sparked his interest in the media field, with over 30 years of experience he still loves the process of storytelling.

Paul's greatest accomplishment is a foster/adoption documentary that he wrote and produced called “A Child, a Family, a Future: Foster Care and Adoption In CT”. He was interested in the topic because Paul believes “children need families and families need children.”

One of Paul's favorite filmmakers is Ken Burns. Like Ken, Paul also loves the process of discovery and telling stories truthfully.

When asked what qualities are important to up-and-coming journalists and filmmakers, Paul believes there should be a drive to get it done right, don’t go for easy and cheap; do the research. “It should be something that you aspire to.”

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From Barney to Bryn Mawr

Rose Pierre-Louis’ personality is as loud as her hair. Last month the 21-year-old had blond-colored hair before changing it to its now grey color. She said her creative expression of her hair is one way of saying she’s not afraid to stand up and speak up for what she believes in.

Having gone to all-women’s college called Bryn Mawr, right outside of Philadelphia, Louis felt it was empowering being around other driven women especially through the Posse Leadership scholarship where she and a group of 10 students supported each other through graduation.

“I don’t have to be the loudest person in the room, but I know how to express myself so that people listen to what I’m saying when I need them to,” Pierre-Louis said. “I credit that to being in a single-sex environment that encouraged me to use my voice in an impactful way, even in the face of misogyny which was very apparent when I took co-ed classes.”

Pierre-Louis has been at CPBN for just under two months as a Newman’s Own Fellow and has been working on updating the organization’s website. She’s also working on a year-long project to create tools that allow middle-school teachers to use more public media in the classroom.

Public media is what helped Louis learn English at an early age. She was born in Haiti and moved to Boston when she was just five years old. Only speaking Haitian Creole at the time, she learned English by watching reruns of Barney. It was one of the first challenges she overcame and it didn’t stop her from earning her college degree in English.

As a child, Louis’ mother worked as a nurse’s assistant in Hospice and would often come home with stories about her patients. This inspired Pierre-Louis to want to help others. In college, she helped Alzheimer’s patients at a nursing home. Now, she hopes to inspire students to voice their opinions and speak up for what is important, a guideline that she continues to live by.