I’m in the first-ever group of Grant MacEwan University Graduates!

I am a University graduate!!!

November 9, 2009, was my convocation from Grant MacEwan University. It was the first-ever Grant MacEwan convocation with the new “University” name and not the “College” name. (The college officially got University status in September).

Pretty historic, if I do say so myself.

If anyone is wondering why it took me this long to graduate after officially finishing Journalism program classes back in April, it’s because the program included the summertime internship, which we needed to complete before being eligible for graduation. Thus, they stuck us in with the Fall graduates which turned out great for us because our diplomas include the University name!

(Note to self: Update resume with University name).

Anyway, the graduation felt kind of silly because I’m still in school. In fact, I had school the next day. Ha ha. But still, it was nice to sit with the class I’d spent two years with and it was nice to be recognized for my good grades (I got a special string to indicate that I had graduated “with distinction“/honours! It even said ‘with distinction’ on the actual diploma paper. Yay!)

I had a great time in the Journalism program at Grant MacEwan. I learned a lot and I received a lot of great experience and writing opportunities.

Blog post to update all on NAIT TV Broadcasting life, coming up next.

Linda

My articles for the NAIT Nugget student newspaper (Sept. 24-Oct.8)

So since starting TV Broadcasting at NAIT I’ve been volunteer writing for the student paper (The Nugget). I’ve got a regular technology column (I forget if I mentioned that in the last post) and I try to do at least one entertainment-related piece for the paper per week too!

Here are scans of the articles I’ve written in the last three weeks:

• October 8 2009. A Google Wave. News & Features ( Tech Talk), Page 4.

• October 8 2009. Mraz strikes a chord. Entertainment, Page 11.
• October 1 2009. Mirror, Mirror…. News & Features (Tech Talk), Page 4.
• October 1 2009. 24 Hours, Edmonton style. Entertainment, Page 13.
• September 24 2009. Mobadass is Back. Entertainment, Page 14.

Here’s a picture preview for funsies:

I’ve had a lot of fun writing all the articles actually and I’m glad I’m still keeping up with print journalism whilst studying the broadcast side! Plus it’s awesome because The Nugget actually PAYS you for articles! Being paid for my work? What a concept.

My first month at NAIT.

So my first month of school is wrapping up and I haven’t blogged about anything all month, my bad. I’ve definitely been busy!

This isn’t really the best blog post but I just wanted to post up a quick summary of my first month in school.

Here are the classes I’m taking this semester:

• Promotions and Marketing
• Mass Communications
• Computer Applications
• Basic Broadcast Writing
• Effective Communications
• Law and Ethics
• Introduction to Audio
• Basic Video Production
• Introduction to Studio Production
• Team Skills (2-Day Workshop)

When I first saw the program details and the semester course list, I was confused as to how 10 courses were going to be able to fit into a semester schedule (well, 11 courses actually– I was able to get credit for one course (English/Grammar) that I completed already at MacEwan so I am exempt from it at NAIT, woo hoo!) Anyway, it does work. It just means my Tuesdays are absolutely brutal. I had gotten used to three-hour classes at MacEwan but on Tuesday I’ve got a four-hour Intro to Studio Production class. Which, actually the hands-on in-class exercise stuff so far has been a lot of fun, but the theory part makes me want to just die of boredom. Four hours with just a 15 minute break is just wrong…

Anyway like I said above, I was able to get credit for the English/Grammar course because I had taken English 101, Proofreading & Copyediting, and Grammar for Writers, back at MacEwan. I’m totally stoked about this because it frees up my Wednesday afternoons! At the same time, I wouldn’t mind taking the class because there are vocabulary/definition tests and other grammar testing that I am actually really interested in. HA how nerdy am I?

There was a big Radio & Television party this past month too. It was called “Meet the Firsts” and it was basically a chance for all of the first semester students (that’s my batch) to get acquainted with each other and also meet the second and third semester students. The interesting thing is that my entire class is already SO close with one another. It’s great actually, it’s really cool but it’s also totally weird like I’ve never seen a group of students mesh so well together so quickly. I think it’s going to be a great next two years with these guys!

I’ve also started writing for NAIT’s newspaper, The Nugget! Since I’ve done so much news stories at MacEwan and for my newspaper internships, I’m really trying to get more entertainment/not-so-hard-newsy type stories to write for The Nugget. And so far so good! I’ve written a piece about a band, an Edmonton Film Festival competition, and I’ve also somehow gotten myself my own column?! It’s a weekly technology column and it’s pretty sweet I’m pretty excited about it. I wrote about a dual LCD screen Samsung camera for this week. And this weekend I’ll be writing another tech piece along with a review of a Jason Mraz concert!! Once this week’s issue comes out I’ll scan the articles I’ve written so far and post them up. Writing for this paper has been pretty great so far because everyone (like my class) is super nice, they PAY you for articles ($$$!), and they provide free sandwiches at the weekly lunch meetings! Hehe. I’ve also gotten really good feedback about my writing from the editors and I totally appreciate the comments. I mean, I would hope that my writing is good given that I just finished two years of journalism and have written things for legit newspaper publications, but it’s always nice to get the compliments!

Anyway, now to fill space I am going to post a few pictures!
(Click to view a larger size).

(Top L-R): (1) Me & Julie on TV!! haha. Our class did an exercise where everyone got to be an anchor-person, a camera-person, and a floor director. I actually loved doing all three roles but there’s definitely something about all the control that the floor director has that I am mighty attracted to! (2) Me & Julie as professional cord coilers! We learned how to properly wrap up cables so that they wouldn’t get tangled when you unwrap them. Under around, over inside! Ha. (Bottom L-R): (3) Some of the ladies of the TV program, Class of 2009-2011. (4) Me posing with a very old NAIT News banner.

More soon!

My Articles with Metro Edmonton (Sept. 1-5/2009)!

Here are articles written by me for Metro Edmonton this week:

• Sept 1, 2009. Family centre gets facelift. Local. Page 3
• Sept 2, 2009. $2.1M for Métis attending NAIT. Local. Page 2
• Sept 3, 2009. Keeping roads safe for students. Local. Page
• Sept 3, 2009. Vans remind drivers to mind speed. Local. Page
• Sept 4, 2009. Arts Days are coming, Alberta. Local. Page 2
• Sept 4, 2009. Surface routes planned for LRT. Local. Page 1

Yay! I really love the feeling of seeing my byline in the paper and then clipping out the article and adding it to my collection. Heh.

Linda (:

My week with Metro Edmonton.

I did a short, one-week internship with Metro Edmonton this week! It was a great way to get back into the journalism feel of things since my last internship was back in June and I’ve mostly just been vacationing since then (though I consider my SYTYCD blogging/interviews to have that journalism-y feel to them as well).

Anyway, I had a lot of fun, met and spoke with some nice people, got out and about in the city and the community, and got some clippings that I’m happy to showcase in my online writing portfolio! I also got nice reviews from my editor. Yay!

I did at one-two stories a day, along with multiple little briefs, as well as streeters. And I also took my own photos for one of the events, which reminded me how I want to get back into more photography too!

This week, more than ever, I was reminded of how the media industry is a small world. It seems like you see the same people – newspaper or television reporters, camera people and photographers, at all the same events that you go to cover. And once you actually figure out the names of those people you constantly see, you find that they’re not even strangers really because you recognize their name, you recognize their byline, or you’ve seen them on TV. Everyone’s pretty interconnected. One good example is that I met a freelance photographer who had also graduated from the same program as me, and had did his internship at the Journal as well, just like I did. He also told me he does freelance work for a photographer who was my photography teacher last year. And one of my Metro co-workers also graduated the same year as he did, and also from the same journalism program. Small world right? But definitely neat and interesting, and it has it’s advantages.

But at the same time that made me think how that small world and interconnection could really hurt someone who maybe has the wrong attitude at an event, or made a mistake of some kind. Because if you rub shoulders the wrong way with someone, chances are they could very well have graduated from the same program as a guy who could eventually be the editor of some tv station or newspaper that you end up applying for a job at. And maybe you don’t get that job because said editor remembers his friend who mentioned that so and so was unprofessional or what have you.

Anyway I’m not saying any of the above stuff happened to me (because it hasn’t, I’m pretty friendly and nice with everyone I encounter at media events, and in general), but that’s just an alternative scenario that popped into my mind this week as I kept seeing the same people covering the same events as me.

The media industry being as small as it seems, with everyone somehow knowing everyone else, means that as a reporter, or as a journalism student in general, you just shouldn’t be douchey to anyone because word of your douchbaggery could travel fast and to someone important.

Then again, who, no matter what field you are in, wants a bad reputation anyway right?

So be nice. Thank people for their time. Make sure you let people who have helped you in some way, know that you appreciate it. And so on and so forth!

Linda

I’m way too poor to want what I want, but I do! I do want these!

April 22 2009.

Hello all As I wrote in my last post, I’m spending the next few months trying to save up money to pay for a bunch of things I want/need.

Here are 3 gadgets on that list that will add to my video blogging and photography arsenal, in more detail:

1. Flip MinoHD (customized for my pink-loving dorkiness )

Flip MinoHD: The World's Smallest HD Camcorder (CUSTOMIZED!)

What: The world’s smallest HD camcorder
Some Specs: Weighs only 3.3 ounces, convenient flip-out USB arm plugs directly into your computer, records high-quality H.264 videos that work with iTunes, iMovie, and iPhoto, silent mode for recording in sensitive situations, more specs @ official website.
Why I want this: I’ve wanted the Flip Video before the “MinoHD” version was even developed. Now this HD one, well… It’s portable. It’s convenient. It’s high quality. It’s customizable and it’s therefore adorable. And it uploads quick and easy to a computer. It’s perfect for video blogging, capturing random but awesome shots, and amateur film making, and this is why I want it!
Cost: $229.99 USD.
I say USD because the customizable option is only available for ordering online and shipping to the United States. Therefore I plan on getting it shipped to my cousin and having him bringing it over to me when he comes to Edmonton for my brother’s wedding in July!
Official Website: www.theflip.com/store/MinoHD

2. Canon Speedlite 430EX II Flash

Canon Speedlite 430EX II Flash

What: A flash to attach to my Canon EOS Rebel XTi
Some Specs: Superior build quality, including a metal foot for added strength, virtually silent flash recycle, Full swivel, 180° in either direction, zoom flash head covers range of 24-105mm; maximum guide number 141 ft./43m at ISO 100, more specs @ official website.
Why I want this: I need a flash. The built-in flash on my Canon XTi is really bad and does ridiculous crazy blippy flash things during its recycle time. My friend and I have determined that we think all XTi built-in flashes do that because she has the Canon XSi which is one-up from the XTi and her built-in flash is fine and does not do weird blippy things. Anyway, I basically fear taking photographs in darkly or dimly lit areas with my DSLR because I don’t use flash (because of said blippy thingy) and I’d like to. Therefore, I need a flash! And this one will be fairly cheap!
Cost: Regular (new) cost is $369 but I’m buying a used version from my photojournalist teacher for $225!
Official Website: www.mcbaincamera.com

3. Canon EF 15mm F2.8 Fisheye Lens

Canon EF 15mm F2.8 Fisheye Lens

What: A fisheye lens for my Canon EOS Rebel XTi
Some Specs: 180° Diagonal Angle of View, Rear Gel Holder (accepts up to 3 pre-cut gel filters), short minimum focusing distance of 8 in. (20 cm) gives new meaning to close-up shots, more specs @ official website.
Why I want this: Ever since I saw super wide-angle pictures posted by James Hill (a Best Job in the World candidate), I have fallen in love with the fisheye lens. I am so attracted to the effect that the fisheye lens has on images. Visually fantastic. Examples: 1 | 2 | 3 (All credit: James Hill) I knew that he had been using a fisheye lens, but I didn’t know the exact lens name and well, to be honest I didn’t try too hard to search for it. But then a few days ago on Jame’s blog, he wrote a post about the equipment he’s been using ( here ) and since then I’ve added this very expensive fisheye lens to my list of things to save up for! I want it hopefully before my trip to Los Angeles at the end of July.
Cost: Regular (new) cost is $949 but if I buy it through my photojournalist teacher he’ll get a discount!
Official Website: www.mcbaincamera.com

So there you go! (:

It is a shame because I’m way too poor to want what I want, but I do… I really do want these and I think they’ll all be quite an asset for me in terms of my filming and photography interests!

Linda

Linda-Hoang.Com Version 2.0

April 17 2009.

Hi everyone!! I’ve updated/redesigned my personal website (/online portfolio). Please check it out below:

    My personal website/online portfolio / http://linda-hoang.com Version 2.0

( http://linda-hoang.com )

P.S. You might notice the main picture is one of the pictures I had used to submit to The Best Job in the World. I didn’t want it to go to waste!

Linda-Hoang.Com

I’ve just launched my I guess.. “professional” website – Linda-Hoang.Com.

This website will act as sort of the one-stop hub where all the other websites, fansites, blogs, etc., that I’m involved with, can be found and linked to on this main site.

It will also serve as sort of a professional site where I’ll be putting up some of my writing samples, graphics samples, video samples, broadcast-related samples, all that kind of career-related and/or just for fun but technically impressive (?) projects and creations I make.

So check it out!

STOMP out hunger (Article)

Hi everyone!

Since I am extremely interested in dance as a whole, I make an extra effort to come on here to post up any dance-related stories I write so this is a story I wrote for the school paper this week about STOMP in the city, helping out the Edmonton Food Bank in their “STOMP Out Hunger” campaign. To be fair STOMP is I guess more musical than it is dance but it still has several elements of dance and movement so it definitely counts!

I was kind of bummed I hadn’t brought my digital camera with me because I’d love to have filmed their impromptu performance and also get a fangirly-type photo with them because, well, I can’t turn away a photo op with performers!

Anyway here is the article including a photo I took of one of the STOMPers, John Angeles:

STOMPing out hunger

Hitting ceramic bowls. Shaking macaroni and cheese boxes up and down. Slapping an empty paint can. Slamming drum sticks onto the bottom of a flipped-over trash can.

Members from the international percussion sensation STOMP used all of these and more to create an improvised musical show at Edmonton’s Food Bank Tuesday as part of their STOMP out Hunger campaign.

“They wanted to collect food and money at all of their performances to help out as they were in the community,” said Marjorie Bencz, executive director of the Food Bank. “They’re encouraging people to come to their performances and bring a loonie or a toonie or a can of food.”

A few STOMPers performed an impromptu musical piece for volunteers using items found in the food bank’s warehouse. They then spent a part of the day volunteering by sorting food.

“This is like a day in the park for us. We just have a lot of fun,” STOMPer John Angeles said. “It’s such a good feeling to do something to help out.”

The brief performance, which received cheers and applause from food bank volunteers, was just a sample of what STOMP is doing during their Jan. 20-25 run in Edmonton.

STOMP uses trash like plastic bags, plungers, boots, broomsticks and hubcaps – everything except real instruments – to create an exciting and interactive musical production.

“They’re just fabulous. For me, I see a can of food, I see a box of macaroni and cheese, I don’t see it as something to be creative with as they do, so it’s really inspiring,” Bencz said.

She said STOMP Out Hunger is important as it helps highlight the food bank’s need for donations year-round.

“Our needs are throughout the year,” she said.

“We have people who are experiencing poverty throughout the year so it’s important for us to create awareness at various points throughout the year.”

What started as a street performance in Europe 14 years ago, STOMP is now an internationally acclaimed, award-winning show that has been performed in over 350 cities in 36 countries worldwide.

STOMPers can create music out of practically everything.

“Absolutely anything can be made into an instrument,” said Nicholas Young, who has been touring with STOMP for six years. “With STOMP, you walk around and start to learn what things really produce a good tone and the best way to get that tone.”

“I found a paint can here that works great as a hand drum,” he said.

STOMP performs at the Northern Jubilee Auditorium until Sunday.

Here’s a video of their performance and some quick excerpts from John Angeles from the Edmonton Journal’s site:

STOMP OUT HUNGER!

More blog posts soon!

Linda

Megan Lawson – Dance Crew Star originally from Alberta (Article)

Hi everyone!

I had meant to post this earlier but I hadn’t gotten around to it until now.

While I included this story I wrote in my list of stories I wrote during my internship with the Edmonton Journal over winter break, technically this story was written before I actually started my internship so it was technically a freelance job I did for the Journal.

This story is right up at the top of the list of stories I’ve written that I’ve absolutely LOVED interviewing for and writing up and clipping out the final version.

It’s an article about Megan Lawson, a 23-year-old dancer originally from Calgary, Alberta, who moved to Los Angeles to pursue dancing. She wasn’t there long until she became a part of the very talented and very popular dance crew “Fanny Pak”, competing with the crew on season 2 of America’s Best Dance Crew.

I absolutely loved talking to Megan, she is an amazing person and a brilliant dancer, and I absolutely loved writing up a story about a dancer whose been on an extremely popular television show that I watch!

Reporters will always talk and reflect on who some of their best interviews were with and when I talk about mine I will say that early on, while I was still in school, I got a chance to interview this incredible dancer from Fanny Pak and it ended up being the first article I ever got published in the Edmonton Journal!

So again the link to it from the paper (online version) is here: HERE!

And here it is for this blog’s sake:

Dance Crew star returns to Alberta
Calgary woman a hit on reality TV

An Alberta dancer from the popular U.S. dance crew Fanny Pak is performing Thursday as the hit MTV show America’s Best Dance Crew brings its live tour to Edmonton.

Megan Lawson, 23, who grew up in Calgary, will be back in Alberta after a week of performing and meeting fans in cities across Canada, and after finishing a 25-city live tour across the U.S. last month. The tour show includes Lawson’s Fanny Pak, along with three other top crews from the show’s second season. Several Edmonton dance crews will also perform as openers.

“I’m so excited. We’re doing new stuff. … It’s going to be awesome,” Lawson said. “We’ll do a few pieces that we did on the show so people can get excited for that, but for our own sanity we had to do some new stuff.”

Lawson, who trained in tap, jazz, ballet, contemporary and hip-hop, left Alberta only a year and a half ago to go to Los Angeles to pursue a dance career. She calls L.A. the “epicentre of the dance industry.”

As a Canadian dancer, she felt the need to work even harder to make it in L.A.

“Because there is so much competition, it’s very easy to get discouraged. You try not to compare yourself to others. You’ve got to keep going no matter what.”

Lawson shot to stardom this past summer when she and six of her friends formed Fanny Pak to compete on the reality TV dance show America’s Best Dance Crew. She is the only Canadian in the crew.

Fanny Pak was praised each week for their innovative and creative dance style and routines. They garnered legions of supportive fans, and were crowned the third best dance crew.

“I’m doing everything that I had hoped to do coming here (to L.A.), performing, travelling … . It’s so much better than what I ever expected in such a short time. That’s the power of TV. It’s so crazy.”

Now that Lawson has achieved success as a dancer, she hopes to inspire more Canadian dancers to break out of their comfort zone and try to make it in the industry.

“There are actually a lot of Canadian dancers in L.A. but not nearly enough because they say it’s a struggle. It’s expensive. I hope to inspire people to come, to know that it is possible to make dance a career and make something of it, whatever it be — in music videos or tours or movies, commercials, or in a random dance crew.”

Lawson said choreographers and other dancers in L.A. often comment on how talented the Canadians are. “That’s probably because the ones who really want it are the ones who make it out (here) — the ones who are fighting for it.”

Lawson said Fanny Pak sneakers will be released at the end of the month. A Fanny Pak clothing line is also on its way, along with more touring plans and maybe another TV gig.

“We’re going to try hopefully to do a tour of Europe and a tour of Asia with a few of the other crews,” she said. And what’s next beyond that? More dancing, teaching and performing, but Lawson doesn’t like to plan too much.

“You never want to make plans because they always change. You’ve just got to go with the flow.”

DANCE PREVIEW

Best Dance Crew Tour
Crews: Fanny Pak, Sup3r Crew, Supreme Soul, SoReal Cru
When: Thursday at 8 p.m.
Where: Edmonton Event Centre, 8882 170th St.
Tickets: $41.95 plus surcharges through Ticketmaster,
780-451-8000

As a side note, I went to the ABDC show and met Megan and Matt Cady (also from the crew) afterwards, here are some shots from the show (the actual performance photos are shoddy quality because I actually just screencaptured them from the video I took):

All in all, it was a great experience and I’d do it all again in a heartbeat!

Also, can you tell yet that I love dancers, dancing, writing about, watching, and listening to people talk about dance?

Linda