Class, project hits midway point

By Vorani Khoonsrivong

By the time this entry is posted, it’ll be the halfway point for this multimedia class. At this point, students should be filming and interviewing subjects for their stories.

Today, I’ll be updating you on my progress.

I visited Strawberries Picked Fresh Daily — I yelped it, that’s what it’s literally called — last Friday hoping to catch an interview with the owner, David Lee.

It was hot and humid and I regrettably chose to wear a long sleeve tee, shorts and sandals.

Unfortunately, Lee wasn’t available to interview but he did allow me to film b-roll and take pictures of the fruits and surrounding area. The farm was vast filled with rows of unripe strawberries. I also saw rows of corn and an array of Asian herbs.

I got great video and photos but really wanted to get video and photos of workers tending the fields. I finally scouted a worker tending a field of herbs and managed to get a few seconds and shots. During this brief filming, I was interrupted by a young Asian-American worker asking what I was doing. I explained my project. He then told me I was in the wrong area and politely instructed me to where Lee’s section of the farm was at.

I was discouraged and disappointed because the shots and photos would have been great for my photo gallery and video but I out of respect for the owner, I will not post video shots of his section.

I returned to Lee’s area of the farm and continued to film b-roll — this time with an emphasis on customer and worker interaction.

Working today was Lee’s son and an older woman — I’m assuming his wife; I will confirm and get names today. I managed to interview a customer and speak to various customers.

Many of them were regular customers including former Record staff, Kevin Parrish — he and his wife were pleasant to talk to, might I add. I ended up filming and shooting photos until they closed the farm at around 6:30 p.m.

This was quite experience. Aside from filming and shooting, spending a couple of hours in the sun in the fields was difficult—and it wasn’t just because I could literally feel the melanin on my skin getting darker. It was exhausting, holding the tripod and camera bag while trying to figure out what to shoot. I can’t imagine being one of the workers planting and working the field under hot conditions.
Despite some setbacks, I can honestly say it was a productive day. My shots were reviewed and approved by my adviser — surprisingly — and I plan to return to catch that interview with Lee, as well as his family and customers.

Here’s to continued success in reporting!