Author: kaitapia

Organizing is tough, but here is a simple and effective way to organize your premiere projects and know exactly where all your assets are when making a video.

https://vimeo.com/406861930

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Over the years, I’ve met so many people and been part of so many things. People are my inspiration and have helped me become who I am and get to where I want to be. The friends I’ve made and the people I’ve had the opportunity to meet, have inspired me so much and have helped me see all the beautiful things life has to offer. 

My biggest inspirations are Ryker M, Courtney W, JoDee D, Parker H, and Matt M. They the people who inspire me the most because of their dedication, work ethic, drive, and so much more. They have been the people I have looked up to the last few years and are people who have encouraged me and believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. 

Everyone needs someone to inspire them to become who they want to be. Having people who believe in you and that you look up to is what can help you see your true potential. When I first started doing video work, I did not believe I would be able to make it far and that it’d only be a college job. But having these people help me learn, and be there every step of the way has made me realize that I can make my passion into a job and be successful. 

Matt has encouraged me every step of my video journey. I worked closely with Matt for two years and he helped me learn most of the video editing/filming techniques I use today. Matt inspired me to not give up being a videographer and showed me that even beginners can grow and become some of the best videographers. Whether its in sports, wedding, or something else. You can only learn by trying and failing. He taught me that failure is the key to success, because failing helps us learn. 

JoDee, Courtney, Parker, and Ryker have shown me that being truly dedicated to what you’re doing is how you can grow and get to the place you want to be. They showed me that the only opinion that matters is your own and that anyone can become successful in any field, they just have to put in the hard work and dedication. 

Find who inspires you. Find what inspires you. We all can be inspirations to each other and can learn to grow in places we never thought were possible. Inspiration is what helps people find their true passions and in turn they can learn how to inspire others.  So no matter what level videographer you are (beginner or expert) you are capable of more than you think. Find what Inspires you and use that to create your content. For some inspiration comes from those we are closest to and for others it comes from where we least expect it. 

Who or what inspires you to create? Comment down below! I would love to hear all of your inspirations and how you find inspiration in your creative work?

We all have our own stories and we’ve all been told stories by family, friends, and society. Most stories we hear from the people they occurred with, but other times we see them in the form of movies and videos.

Telling a story through a video gives it a whole new sense of feeling, emotion. It shows up what actually happened instead of just hearing about it. It helps visually see the story happen right in front of us. Whether it’s a movie, a documentary, or even a recap video of a sporting event. They all have one thing in common. They are trying to visually tell a story for their viewers to see, relate to, or understand. 

My favorite part about my job, is being able to tell a story through video and show people things they don’t always get to see. Stories help people connect to the story the video is about. It also helps people see someone in a different light than they’d normally see someone in. Like the beginning quote of my blog says, “It has been said that next to hunger and thirst, our most basic human need is for story telling.” Storytelling is a basic human need. Everyone loves hearing stories. More so seeing them in action. 

Not everyone has the same way of telling a story. And that’s a good thing. Like all stories are different. All videographers tell stories a different way and represent the people they are showing in a different way. Videographers goal (at least in my opinion) is to not only accurately tell someone’s story, but to do it in a unique and creative way that no one has ever seen before. Another goal would to be able to evoke emotion, whether that be FOMO, sadness, empathy, hope, love. Whatever the emotion may be, that is one driving factor on how you edit your video, tell your story. You also want to be able to keep the viewers attention, and you can do that by giving them something that they can connect or relate to. Maybe they’ve gone through a similar situation as the person in your story, maybe they want to become the person you are representing when they grown up, or maybe they’ve been to the event you’re trying to induce FOMO for. Once they know they been through, gone to, or want to be whatever it is you’re showing, they’ll keep watching til the very end to see what happens. 

Some of my favorite stories, have been the ones I least expected to tell. Sometimes it’s in those times where you come up with the most creative ways to tell a story and inspire others. My stories may not be like everyone else’s, but I do know that I want to become a better storyteller, and I will do so by following some of the things I told you guys. 

We all have a story to tell. What’s your favorite way to tell a story? Comment down below and let me know how you like to tell your stories!

Over the last few years working for athletics, I’ve been able to go on several away trips where I filmed our team playing at different venues across the country. During these trips is when I learned more about video and how I want to be able to do things. 

One of my first away trips was my first year and I went to the WAC Basketball Tournament in Las Vegas. I was still new to this whole video thing and I was so nervous and truly had no idea what I was doing. But I had to be brave and do hard things. Matt Mansfield (who was my video buddy at the time) helped me a lot during that time. He helped me learn to believe in myself and to not be afraid and just go with the flow. He text me a lot that day to make sure I was getting all the shots we needed and be where he needed me to be. I made countless memories that trip and learned a lot of video tricks. 

One of my other favorite trips was when I went and filmed our Men’s Basketball team at Rupp Arena in Kentucky. This was my first solo trip without Matt and to say I was terrified is an understatement. I had called Matt the night prior to leaving and he helped me write down all the shots we should get, what we should be filming in, etc. During this trip I learned just how much Matt has been there for me and how much I rely on his insight. He’s been one of the people who has helped me grow. During this trip I learned how to better use our stabilizer, be in multiple places at once, and how to not be afraid of things around me and to just be present and myself. 

Now the last trip I went on was a little different. I went to the WAC Basketball Tournament again, but it was different this time. This time I didn’t learn more video skills, but I learned how to be there for people when they need you most. We went up thinking we were going to see our teams take on big wins and fulfill a dream they’ve all had. But that dream was cut short due to the COVID-19 virus. This is where I learned to take our trials and hardships and use them to our advantage. During this time, I’ve learned to check on people even if you don’t always talk or see them. I’ve learned to try and better myself from learning new video techniques and how we should try making content for next year. During this time I’m taking the time to learn and grow, and become the best videographer I can be. And I believe that is what all videographers should be doing. Take time to learn something new, gain a new skill, and never give up no matter how hard times may be. 

What’s one of your favorite video/photo trips you’ve ever been on? What did you learn? Comment down below! I would love to hear your stories and what you learned. 

We always find inspiration in the places we least expect it. We look to others to inspire us, but sometimes what we need to build us up and give us come creative fire is right in front of us. 

For me, finding inspiration or coming up with creative ideas has been hard. Most of the time it’s just me overthinking all of the details and trying to make it something that people will love and will want to watch over and over again. Sometimes I let that thought control how I make things, and most of the time you don’t really need that. Sometimes you just need to sit and let the ideas and creativity come to you. 

When it comes to big projects, like intro videos, I have to go through other schools videos and gain inspiration that way. That isn’t me taking their idea and turning it into my own, but it is using someone’s own creativity to spark my own. We can use bits and pieces of what someone did, but you can also incorporate the ideas and aspects you’ve come up with from looking at other people’s videos or projects. Being able to see someone else’s creativity in the form of art can end up helping us find our own creativity and grow from the inspiration they gave us. 

Inspiration for me means that you see something that makes you want to show, be, or create something that will move people. Something that will invoke emotion in the people watching what you created. Whether the emotion is hype, happiness, sad, etc. Making someone feel something is why I choose to keep doing what I’m doing. Trust me, it gets tough to keep going and try to find inspiration to create things, because sometimes you have to do things so fast and they really aren’t things you’re proud of. But you have to use that to inspire you to keep moving forward, to keep growing and learning and becoming they best videographer, designer, photographer. 

Inspiration is being true to yourself. Being true to what you stand for and who you create for. If all else fails and you feel like you’ve lost all inspiration. Find one person that you want to inspire. We all have people who look up to us and we need to show them that even in the toughest times, its inspiration, compassion, and love that keeps people going. 

Who or what inspires you? Where do you go for inspiration for projects? Comment below! I would love to hear all of your inspirations! 

Recap videos are some of my favorite videos to make. Everyone creates them differently because we all are playing off different vibes and content ideas. But here are my five tips on how I create my recap videos. 

Tip 1: Know what you want in your video before making it.

-number one thing is to know what you want to see in your video. When you know what you want make sure you film those assets and film them multiple times so you have a few different options. 

Tip 2: Film “broll” or filler footage. 

– you want to be able to have footage that can help create a build up in your video or add another element to break up the content you have. Make sure to film assets that follow along with what you’re trying to create. 

Tip 3: Find the music before you start editing. 

– the number one thing I do is find a song. Then once I find a song, I edit the video to that. Some people edit the video first then put a song to it. But for me personally, I find it easier to edit to the song, because then you can create the video to follow the vibe you are trying to create. 

Tip 4: Film more than you need

– you can never have too much footage. So if you find shots that you like a lot film them a few different ways. Give yourself options. Also, film constantly (if you are working in sports). It will help you so you don’t miss big moments during a game. 

Tip 5: Tell the story

– when I create recaps I like to tell the story on how people would see it. So for example at a basketball game. I would start with pregame stuff so the players shooting, warming up, fans walking in, etc, then once the music hits or the beat drops that’s when I would go into game stuff, so dunks, 3’s players celebrating, fans cheering, etc. Then I would end with maybe the coach saying something to the players and then the players high-fiving fans, and celebrating in the locker room. Tell a FOMO story and show people what they are missing. 

These are my tips and what I try to follow when I make my recap videos. Have you ever been to a sporting event? Comment below what event you’ve gone to! 

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Everyone has a different story to tell. We all start in our careers and hobbies in different ways. I definitely did not think that I would have the job I have today. 

Bear River High School Student Government

In high school I was taking a digital media class, it was honestly just an elective class and I didn’t think anything would come out of it. I thought it would be a fun class to try out and just learn about digital media, from photo and video to social media. At the end of the trimester, my teacher came up to me and asked me if I ever thought about joining Student Government. I told him, not really. With that he told me that Student Government wanted to offer me a position to be their Student Body Tech. The Student Body Tech is basically someone who takes care of all things video related, from making senior tribute videos to making videos for fundraisers. That is basically their main job. I told him that I was interested and then he sent me to the Student Government Advisor, who at the time was, Ashlee Reeder. Ashlee talked to me more about it and told me should would let me know in a few days whether or not I was chosen for the position. A few days later I found out that I was chosen to be the Student Body Tech for my Junior and Senior year of high school. 

Now to say when I started I had no idea what I was doing is an understatement. The only video stuff I knew was what I had learned in my digital media class. But those were some of the best years of my life. Student Government showed me what it takes time to learn things and to never give up. I had no idea what I was doing, but I worked hard, asked for help when I needed it, and keep trying to improve. The people I met on Student Government helped me get to where I am today. 

UVU Sports Videographer

In 2017, I ended my time on Student Government and graduated from high school. In order to pay for college I applied to be a work study student and I got a job interview for a social media job working for the Athletic Marketing Department at UVU. When I went into my interview I didn’t think that I would end up being a videographer. In my interview I talked about my experience and how I made video for Student Government in high school. After that they decided to hire me on as a videographer.

I was so nervous and had no idea what I was doing. But I had the best teacher. Matt Mansfield, who currently works for Turner Sports, was my supervisor for two years while he was at UVU and he helped me becoming the videographer I am. When I first started, I helped a little bit with editing during games, but at one women’s soccer game Matt told me I was going to film. To say I was terrified is an understatement. I kept telling him I had no ideas what I was doing and that I wasn’t sure where to go. And he was just like Kailee you can do it. So I did and ever since I having been filming for almost every sport and have created content for almost all of them. Matt is who helped me be the videographer I am today.

He showed me that we can’t let fear rule what we do, that failure is the key to success and when we fail we just have to get back up and learn from what happened. I definitely didn’t think that I would be doing videography for Athletics, but it has showed me something and given me the opportunity to do something that I truly enjoy and want to continue as a possible career when I graduate. We all start somewhere and my journey happened to begin at Bear River High School and continue on to Utah Valley University. 

When you first start learning about either photography or videography, you learn the basic shots. 

Extreme Wide Shot (ELS)

Long Shot (LS) / Wide Shot (WS)

Full Shot (FS)

Medium Long Shot (MLS) / Medium Wide Shot (MWS)

Cowboy Shot.

Medium Shot (MS)

Medium Close Up (MCU)

Close Up (CU)

You can definitely (and should definitely) stick to using some of these shots, but there are also ways that you can jazz them up a little bit and make them more exciting. Most of the time when you see first time videographers or photographers executing these shots they are all straight on. Now that is a great start, but trying to use the rule of thirds or different angles is one way to create a different shot. Here are 5 ways that I jazz up a couple of these basic shots. 

1. Get low

– getting low to the ground and filming up at your subject tends to make them look bigger. For athletes that is what they want. They want to look bigger, so this is my go to when filming pregame for men’s basketball. 

1. Transitions

-when filming something and you want to have a quick transition, film your subject then quickly move the camera up, down, left, or right. When piecing the clips together you can use the quick movement to transitions the clips together

1. Close ups

-use the rule of thirds and get as close as possible. If you’re filming sports like me, try focusing on the sweat dripping off players or focus on them talking, close ups are all about focus, but you don’t necessarily have to focus on the subjects face. 

1. Framing

-along with filming sports, I also have filmed weddings. A good thing for wide shots at weddings is to move from behind something and move the subjects into the camera, another thing you can do is have an object off to the side giving the shot more depth. If you look at the picture to the right, you’ll see how much more depth the shot has with the tree in the frame rather than just having the subjects. 

1. Lighting

-lighting is key for good shots. Whether you’re shooting indoors or outside lighting is so important. One this that I do for indoor events is use the available lighting to my advantage. With video and shooting sports you can’t really bring your own lighting, you have to create your own and use what’s available. For basketball games, during intros, I use the spotlights. So when I am standing next to the players, I wait until the spotlight is on their face and then try to film as many shots as possible, film their reactions, their faces, their jersey, etc. You can use lighting to emphasize detail and normally I use this when I am doing close ups of someone or something. 

I love sport and video and being able to teach all of you. Comment below and tell me what your favorite tip is. 

“People have forgotten how to tell a story. Stories don’t have a middle or an end any more. They usually have a beginning that never stops beginning.“

–Steven Spielberg

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Stories. We love hearing them, creating them, and seeing them come to life. Stories can be created in a number of different ways, and that’s really the beauty of it all. Not all stories are the same and they don’t all have to be told the same way. You can tell stories verbally, in photos, and especially in video (which is my favorite way). 

Becoming a videographer isn’t as hard as some may think. We are all capable of learning the necessary skills to become a videographer, but truly every day after you begin you’ll never stop learning and growing. When I first started I had very little experience and it is definitely something I didn’t really consider doing when I first started. Over the years, I have grown to love what I do and be able to share some of my own stories with people and my university. 

These are just a few tip I learned when I first started doing videography (from my coworkers and friends who are videographers). 

Tip 1: Find the area of video you enjoy the most. 

-whether you enjoy shooting weddings, commercials, travel, sports, or anything in between. Finding the area where you have the most passion is key, because that’s where all your creative ideas can come to life and you’ll never get tired of something you love and enjoy doing. 

Tip 2: Find the camera equipment or gear that works best for you. 

-From Nikon and Kodak to Canon and Sony. There is truly a camera out there that works for you and your current abilities. You want to start off by finding something that you feel comfortable using and is within your current price range. If it’s one of the cheaper brands, that’s totally okay. Once you get your foot in the door once you start creating content, you’ll soon be able to afford the more expensive brand and step outside your comfort zone a little bit. 

Tip 3: Find a shot you like and film it over and over. 

-For me personally, since most of the video work I currently do is in sports, there are certain shots we have to get over and over again. But that’s not really a bad thing. Once you find a shot you like film it again whether that’s at a different angle or with a different person, background, or in my case a different player. The more shots you have the more shots you have to choose from later. 

Tip 4: Never give up. Keep going. 

-Trying to get your foot in the door to do videography is tough. You always think “there’s someone better than me.” Now, yes that is true, but if you put in the max amount of effort and keep going and working to get to where you want to be, you can be just as successful as the people you think are “better than you”. 

Hopefully these help some of you who are trying to become storytellers. Creating stories is fun, now you just have to find which stories you want to tell.