Clark Convention Video Clips

The following video clips are from the 2008 Clark Convention Video News Program. The first clip features the news packages from the first night's (Dec. 4) airing of YIG 360.




Shortly after the live Secretary of State show in the lobby of the hotel, Candidates for the 2009 Clark Convention had the chance to air their candidate commercials on Ch. 13.



The last video clip showcases the news packages that aired on the Friday night (Dec. 5) YIG 360 newscast . This video clip does not include the news anchors featured in the live newscast aired through the hotel's cable system.

Lewis Convention Video Clips

The following video clips are from the 2008 Lewis Convention Video News Program. The first clip features a welcome message from the Lewis Convention's governor:



This next video clip showcases each reporter's news package from the Thursday night (Nov. 13) YIG 360 newscast . This video clip does not include the news anchors featured in the live newscast aired through the hotel's cable system.

Candidates for the 2009 Lewis Convention had the chance to air their candidate commercials shortly after the Secretary of State show on Ch. 13 at the hotel.

The last video clip features the news packages that aired on the Friday night (Nov. 14) YIG 360 newscast . This video clip does not include the news anchors featured in the live newscast aired through the hotel's cable system.

Whats going on !!

Hey Everyone,

In case your wondering what's going on in the world of Room of 224/225 here is a rundown.

Tonight we will have the Secretary of State Show will Collin Baker at 6:30 and will feature the candidate commercials.

Then tune back in at 11:30 for the YIG 360 Newscast.

We had some tech. issues last night but we hope to have all that resolved tonight.


Remember if you have a story, tip, or even a comment to please email us at moyigvideonews@gmail.com.

Check back later for more updates.

Chase Snider
Video Director

Coming Soon...

We will be posting newscasts from the 2008 Lewis and Clark Conventions soon, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, if you have any questions, comments, or story ideas for the Clark Video News Team, please e-mail us at:

moyigvideonews@gmail.com

Thanks,

Your Video News Team.

Helping Those Who Are Less Fortunate

Recent news from Missouri YMCA Youth In Government State Director Ken Hussey:

Dear YIG Students and Advisors:

As the Clark State Convention approaches, I hope that everyone is excited about the opportunities that await you in Jefferson City. This time of year is often one of reflection and thanksgiving for many of us. As we grow closer to the holiday season, we begin to think of gathering with family and friends around delicious meals. However, it is important for us to remember that not everyone in our communities and state are so fortunate to have these opportunities.

This year, I would like to start a new tradition in YIG, one that pulls us together to collectively make an impact in Jefferson City. In our program, we gather in Jefferson City for three days, engage in an intense and inspiring program, and leave just as quickly as we arrived. This year, I call on all of you to help make an impact in this community.

The food banks in central Missouri are very low on resources, facing new challenges each day. I challenge each of you to bring at least one non-perishable food item to share with the food banks of Jefferson City. If each of us brought at least one item, we could provide families in central Missouri with over 450 items. What an impact we can make!

At the Lewis State Convention, we collected many boxes of food that were donated to a local food bank, making a tremendous impact. We will collect items upon arrival at the State Convention on Thursday and throughout the weekend at the Registration Table.

When you pack your suitcase for Jefferson City, please consider going to your pantry and adding an item to your luggage. Your small act of kindness will go a long way to those in need.

Thank you for your participation in YIG. Please share this message with your fellow participants and challenge them to follow your lead in this effort.

Sincerely,
Ken Hussey,
State DirectorMissouri YMCA Youth In Government
(573) 635-6215
khussey@jcymca.org
www.moyig.org

Lewis Convention, Day 2

Hey guys! Hannah and Amiria here... The two hot blonde bombshells of YIG 360 are in the house! Here's a quick update for you all of how the convention is going so far...

Convention's started off with a bang here in Jeff City! Early arrival was uneventful, but productive (we ironed out our green screens for our broadcast later tonight, "Live From Wasilla..." yeah, you betcha!), and Thursday we kicked off to a great start thanks to Governor Hanna Xu and the ever-wonderful Ken Hussey. Today, we're just working on the news and letting YIG take its course.

This isn't to say we haven't run into any problems, however. One of the delegations sent their school with a camera that wasn't compatible: it burned their story straight onto mini-DVDs that our computers couldn't read, and then didn't have a the proper cord for uploading the stories from the camera to the computer. Consequentially, we haven't been able to air their story, but Ben is endlessly toiling to work it out, and they're off working on a second story now.

There was also another issue at 11:30 as we were getting ready to go on: Final Cut wouldn't render the video. So, in the meantime, we showed a video of shorts Ben had already prepared: a spoof of the Grizzly Man trailer called Pussy Man, and a cartoon about balloons hitting a guy on the head. Needless to say, they were a hit, and Ben saved the day. Then the video was rendered, and we went live.

Also, while we were airing the news, we had a DVD in the recorder, but it didn't record. Luckily, we caught it before the broadcast was over, and were able to tape the latter half. Luckily, Ben was on the ball again, and had saved all the news stories to his hard drive.

We encountered our most recent problem this morning, when we went to do YIG Morningside: our converter box wouldn't work! We just scrapped the broadcast, and we're going to get our hands on a new converter box before The Secretary of State Show tonight. (And we'll still do Morningside tomorrow, too.) Our luck must not run out, because converter boxes are only about three dollars! To put that in perspective for you, that's as much as sixteen pieces of bubble gum! YAY US!

But enough about our dreary past problems, and let's talk about the future. At 6:30 this evening, provided we have our three dollar converter box, we'll be broadcasting The Secretary of State Show, with information for yigsters on how to vote and what they should be aware of during tomorrow's elections. Then, after the banquet and ball tonight - where we'll be the two prettiest girls there, of course, gracing the faculty and students of YIG with our presence and beautiful faces - we go live for the second night of YIG 360, and, providing all goes well, "Live in Wasilla." Morningside is on the schedule for tomorrow.

Later, we'll be updating our intro, credits, and news stories for you all to watch.

Signing off, yigsters!

Hannah and Amiria

October 18 YIG Program Committee Meeting

On October 18, we had our first meeting as the YIG Program Committee (formerly YIG State Committee) at the Knowles YMCA Annex in Jefferson City. Video news directors and advisors worked closely with print press advisors and directors to prepare specific details for the Lewis and Clark Conventions.

Governor Candidates Debate

First on the agenda was discussing how the print press and video news was going to handle the governor candidates debate on Thursday night at the state convention.

Moderators:

The print press and video news programs are in charge of moderating the event. Two members from the print press and one member from the video news program will moderate. Katie Lynn of the Springfield Delegation will be the video news moderator for the Clark Convention. Hannah Pingelton will be the video news moderator for the Lewis Convention.

Room Setup:

The Governor Candidates Debate will be held in the Capitol and Truman Ballroom in the Capitol Plaza Hotel. Approximately four rows will be set up with moderators placed between each row in front of the stage for the candidates to see.

Candidate Questions:

Questions for each candidate may be submitted by YIG students through a submission box that will be located in the hotel lobby on Thursday. The question box will be retrieved by the moderators around 9:00 p.m. (the governor candidates debate begins at 9:30 p.m.). Moderators will have approximately 30 minutes to review questions from the submission box (all questions read at the debate will be supplied by YIG students, print press and video news program members).

Question/Answer Timing:

Each candidate will have three minutes (3:00) to answer each question with a one minute and thirty second (1:30) chance for a rebuttal. Delegated YIG students will hold three different color cards announcing to each candidate how much time he or she has left in their response — green cards = half of the allotted time is up, yellow cards = one minute (1:00) left, and red cards = fifteen seconds (:15) left.

Utilizing Channel 14 at the Hotel

Channel 14 is the channel the video news program uses to broadcast the nightly and morning newscasts, as well as the Secretary of State Show and candidate commercials. At the YIG Program Committee Meeting, we discussed using Channel 14 as a looping message board that will be broadcast over the hotel when the video news students are not airing their already-scheduled programming. The message board would include the schedule of events for each day as well as short preproduced segments over particular program events.

Special Project: YIG Testimonials for the Web

State Director Ken Hussey has a special project for the video news program this year. He would like students in the video news program to create short video testimonials for future and current YIG students. Each testimonial would be between :30 and :60 long, focusing on why students participate in YIG, what they love about their specific programs, etc. Ken would like to take these video testimonials and upload them on YouTube (the video testimonials will be edited into one concise 3-5 minute production). The video would also be embedded in the YCMA YIG website.

At the Program Committee Meeting, Katie Lynn, Chase Snider, and Amiria Harper-Rose got a jump start on the project by interviewing directors and advisors from various programs. There will be additional opportunities at each convention to interview students from different programs about their YIG experience.

According to Ken, these short testimonials could be great recruitment tools, as well as good videos to use with prospective donors to the YMCA YIG program.

Here is an example of what the YMCA of the USA did this past summer at the Youth Governors Conference in Washington, D.C. (The communications team at the YMCA of the USA put this production together.): http://www.youtube.com/user/ymca

Giving Back To The Community

At the YIG Program Committee Meeting, State Director Ken Hussey talked about having the Missouri YMCA YIG program give back to the community during their state conventions this year by donating nonperishable food items to the local food bank. As details are scheduled, more information will be posted on this particular issue.

Please note: This would be a great story idea for both state conventions!

Best Buy Community Relations

Thanks to the research of Chase Snider of the Springfield Delegation (Clark Convention), he found out that Best Buy donates equipment and technology to certain nonprofit organizations. At the meeting, State Director Ken Hussey was informed about this program and will be looking into applying for equipment for the 2009 state conventions.

http://www.bestbuyinc.com/community_relations/index.htm

From the Best Buy website:

"Giving back to our communities is central to the way we do business at Best Buy. Each year, Best Buy donates up to 1.5% of pretax earnings through the Best Buy Children's Foundation and Corporate giving programs to help strengthen our communities.

As a Company, and through our Foundation, we work with nonprofit organizations to support programs that provide opportunities for youth. Our goal is to provide positive experiences that will help them to excel in school, engage in their communities, and develop leadership skills. We also support national organizations that provide essential social services, such as the United Way and American Red Cross, to improve the vitality of the communities where our employees and customers live and work."

There Is Much Work To Be Done!

Video news directors — make sure to stay in contact with each other regarding work for your upcoming state conventions. This blog is just a way to keep the line of communication open for video news program members...however, it's up to you to make it all happen!

YIG In The News

Thanks to State Director Ken Hussey for pointing us to this article. And great quote from Nick Book, who was interviewed by the St. Charles County Suburban Journal about the video news program.

Teens learn the ropes of political process

Howell Central hosts Youth in Government training conference

It doesn't take an Einstein to be an elected official, but Kalaan Travis shows it does take concentration as he listens during a Youth In Government candidate training session Saturday at Francis Howell Central High School. (Ryan Prewitt photo)

By Raymond Castile Tuesday, October 7, 2008 3:18 AM CDT

Political hopefuls drilled themselves Saturday preparing for debates, campaigns and interviews.

There were no elephants or donkeys, just hundreds of teenagers learning the ins and outs of the political process.

The Missouri YMCA Youth In Government program conducted its regional training conference Saturday at Francis Howell Central High School, attracting nearly 300 students from 15 high schools and YMCA delegations throughout the St. Louis area.

The program's lieutenant governor, Tim Coady, 17, spent the day helping student senators learn to draft and debate bills.

"I feel it is the duty of each generation to learn the fundamentals of democracy and exercise their voice in the political process," said Coady, a senior at Francis Howell Central.

This year, both the governor and lieutenant governor are from the Francis Howell School District. Organizers said this is the first time that has happened in at least 18 years, and perhaps in the program's entire history.

Hanna Xu, 17, a senior at Francis Howell High School, was elected lieutenant governor last year. She advanced to the top post in December after the elected governor resigned.

Xu spent Saturday leading the senate training sessions with Coady, making sure the youth senators will not be "confused" at the state convention Nov. 13-15 in Jefferson City.

"We do whatever the actual people do in state government," Xu said. "We might even work better than the actual state government."

Margo Hoffmann, a Francis Howell Central Youth In Government facilitator and math teacher, said students who learn to write bills will have a better understanding of how and why laws are passed.

"I hope it makes them better Americans," Hoffmann said.State program director Ken Hussey, 29, said YMCA Youth In Government teaches students about responsibility and leadership, giving them the skills and confidence to be active citizens.

The program is divided into six groups. Students in the legislative branch learn how bills are developed, debated and enacted. Members of the judicial branch learn how trials are conducted. The executive branch helps lead the training and oversee parliamentary processes. Lobbyists support the legislators in passing bills. Print press and video news students interview candidates and file reports during the state convention.

This is the first year the program has been divided into two sections, each with its own state convention.

The Lewis convention is in November. The Clark state convention will be Dec. 4-6 in Jefferson City. Schools pick which convention they want to attend. The split was necessary to accommodate the record number of participants - more than 750 students from 38 schools and YMCA delegations.

During the convention, students will vote on pretend bills and elect their 2009 leaders.

Emily White, 16, a junior at Francis Howell Central, is running for secretary of state. During the training sessions, she practiced debating bills in the House of Representatives, something she will do during the state convention in Jefferson City.

"I think it is actually pretty close to reality," White said. "You use the same words you would use in government, like a real representative would do."

Eileen Koppy, 14, a freshman at Lindbergh High School in St. Louis County, is part of the program's judicial branch. She said she learned what to say and what not to say in a mock trial.

"You should say all the things that will help you win the case and don't say anything that will not help you win," she said. "Especially, don't say anything negative about your client."

Koppy said it was fun to act like a lawyer.

"You can act like you have a real job, like a grown-up," she said. "And you can miss school to go to conventions."

Lindbergh freshman Emily Antrobus, 14, was enrolled in the lobbyist program. Antrobus said a good lobbyist has to be outgoing and persuasive.

"You have to learn how to get credible information," she said. "Because if it's not credible, it's not really worth anything."

Disseminating credible information is one of the skills Nick Book, 16, is learning in the video journalism program. Book, a sophomore at Francis Howell Central, will interview teen politicos at the state convention for a closed-circuit television news broadcast. Book said he is undecided about his career, but is considering journalism.

"I think it would be a fun job, talking to different people and learning about different things," Book said. "It keeps your mind open to ideas other than what you believe. You can't have any bias."

Coady will preside over the youth senate in November. He said he looks forward to working with people of different opinions to find solutions based on facts rather than argument.

"It's not how the real government works, but it's how it should work," Coady said. "If everyone in this program continued on into politics, this is how the real government would be."

Newscast Name and Song Chosen

At the St. Louis Regional Training on Oct. 4, students voted and here are the results:

This year's newscast will be called YIG 360 and the newscast theme song is "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey.

Stay tuned, more information will be posted later.

Kansas City Regional Training

Seven Video News members dared to wake up before the sun even began to think to enter the Missouri sky to make their way to the Pembrooke Hill campus in Kansas City and enjoy the most entertaining two plus hours of their lives. Okay, so maybe learning the basics about writing a news story and taping video isn't the most exciting thing at 10:30 in the morning after (from what I hear) were some long bus rides, but I think these regional training participates are ready for their state conventions.

Among the participants were:
Hannah Pingelton — Lewis Convention
Katie Lynn — Clark Convention
Nate LaVoy — Clark Convention
Chase Snider — Clark Convention
Brooke Patterson — Clark Convention
Matt Nienaber — Clark Convention
Lori Brusherd — Clark Convention(Springfield Delegation Advisor)

During this regional training, students learned what exactly makes a news story as well as the elements that come together to create a news story, video terminology, and taping techniques. Students also watched news stories from last year's convention and talked about what they'd like to see in candidate commercials this year (you can see examples of candidate commercials in one of the posts below).

Students were also in charge of nominating names for the video news production this year as well as the theme music that goes along with the program. On Oct. 4, the St. Louis regional training participants will vote from the nominations below:

Show Name
— The YIG Report (like the Colbert Report on Comedy Central)
— YIG News Update — "Y-NU, because we told you"
— YIG 360

Show Theme Music
— Bring the House Down — SClub7
— Don't Stop Believing — Journey
— Carmina Burana
— We Didn't Start the Fire — Billy Joel

(I will have these linked as MP3s at a later time so you can listen to these nominations. It's best [and faster] to right click and choose "Save Target As" and save these files to your hard drive before you listen to them.)

After the St. Louis regional training, I will post this year's Lewis and Clark Conventions Show Name and Theme Song — as they will be the same for both conventions. I will also post any latest YMCA YIG video news happenings.

A "How To" To Video News

This is the handout for regional training participants regarding video news concepts, including determining what is news, video production terminology, brainstorming and storyboarding, recording guidelines, and tips for interviews.

What is news?
Information that is of broad interest to the intended audience.
With that in mind, think about your audience. What is of
interest for YIGsters? (Example: changes to the conference
this year)

Words you should know:
• VO (voice over): the voice of an unseen narrator broadcast over footage
• B-roll: “extra” video footage taken to supplement the main elements of a news story
• Package: your voice over, b-roll, and soundbites [one or more interview segments of your subject(s)] included in a short story

What to think about before you film your story...
• What kind of news package do you want create? Is it a human
interest piece or hard news? Once you decide, plan out the script
and order of your story (this part is also called storyboarding).
• Make sure to answer the basic who, when, where, and why (the why
and how are usually answered by your interview soundbites).
• Remember to show both sides of the issue!
• Plan in advance. Find out all the information you can before
actually going to cover the event or conduct your interview.
Contact possible interview subjects beforehand if possible.

A checklist before you go:
• the camera and a fully charged battery...even better, bring an extra battery
• a fresh tape
• a tripod (if you have one)
• a microphone
• headphones to listen to your audio during your interviews (don’t just
rely on your audio meters on your camera — your ears are your best audio tool)
• a reporters notebook and writing utensil (since we don’t use name graphics in the newscasts, you need to note in your script who you are interviewing and what delegation they are from)

Some notes about location:
When you arrive, take notice of things like lighting and noise and think about what will work the best. Example: open areas of the Capitol (like the hallways) have an echo and tend to be dark / the hotel lobby’s fountain will drown out sound.

Ready to tape?
• Record your package sequentially so that editing will be quick and friendly to the YIG schedule. [For example: start out recording a wide shot of the chamber for 10-20 seconds (stop recording), zoom into a medium shot to a group of desks and record for 10-20 more seconds (stop recording), and then zoom in to a close up of a lawmaker and record for 10-20 seconds — this is called shooting a sequence]
• Think about the shots you will take...you have plenty of options, and creativity is a good thing. Whatever you do, make sure you’re not going to make your watcher sick with too much/too quick movement — think “Blair Witch.”

Now let’s focus framing interviews:
• The subject should be facing slightly left or right of the camera. This shows that the subjectis talking to someone else and not directly too the viewer (which could get creepy). This iscalled giving the subject “looking room.”
• Avoid a profi le shot (where you only see the side of their face) or else the viewer won’t feellike a part of the conversation — you should always be able to see both eyes.
• Imagine drawing a tic-tac-toe grid on your TV screen and circling each intersection of lines. The subject on the camera should be in one of the main circled areas. Use a mediumshot (hits the middle of the body...and cuts off the subject at the bellybutton if someone is standing and they have a little space above their head) to medium close-up (the subject’s eyes are in the top 1/3 of the screen and they are cut off at the shoulders). Try to avoid cutting someone off on camera at a critical joint, such as at the knees, neck, or elbows. If your footage makes your interview with the subject look painful, then viewers will have a hard time concentrating on the actual interview itself.

Interview techniques:
• Have your questions planned ahead of time. If you are nervous and uncomfortable, your subject will be as well. So, be confident!
• Make sure your questions are clear and to the point...their answers should be too. If you don’t get a clear answer, feel free to rephrase or ask more directly. But, don’t push so hard that the interview becomes hostile or unfair.
• Avoid too much explanation. Think of concise questions like, “What does your bill do?” “Why is this important to you?” “How will it help the public?” They should be talking more than you.
• Remember, your subjects should say their name and their delegation before answering their question on camera.

Other things to remember:
During your voice over (VO), make sure to say your name(s) and delegation(s) when you conclude your story... “Reporting for the Parkway Delegation, I’m Joe Smith.”

Helpful Video Production Links

Up until the Lewis and the Clark Conventions, we will be posting helpful informational links to assist you with writing, shooting video, and editing together your footage. Stay tuned...there will be more links posted soon.

Candidate Commercials

What are candidate commericals?

What are these videos used for?

How long should a candidate commerical be?

According to the new YIG Election Process, candidate profiles will be placed on the YIG website three weeks prior to the State Convention (posted Oct. 23 for Lewis Convention and posted Nov. 13 for Clark Convention). Profiles will include the candidate's photo, statement of candidacy, platform, and the option of including a campaign video. This campaign video will be the same one the candidate turns into the video news program to air on the YIG nightly newscast.

Candidates can also include their contact information, their campaign website, link to Facebook site, etc.

Below are speaker, governor, and secretary of state candidate commericals from 2004.