For the first time in my life… I just might be tongue tied…

Those were the words that rang in my ear all day long. Today was my day to shoot an interview during my internship at theGrio. The entertainment editor Chris was interviewing singer Tamia about her upcoming album, marriage and motherhood. Immediately when Chris asked me to help with the interview I started researching Tamia’s new single and listened to it a number of times on YouTube, so it was naturally stuck in my head! I was excited–I mean Chris likes to argue that Tamia was before my time….but who doesn’t know about The Stranger that was in her house, or the man she was Officially Missing but wanted to Spend her life with? That she was STILL in love and couldn’t get enough of her hubby? See–I knew Tamia songs!lol

Honestly, I was excited and nervous all at the same time! Excited, because Chris chose me to assist him during his interview! On the other hand I was nervous because I was worried if I would set the interview shots up correctly (although we went over this   MILLION times in P. Rob’s class), if I would forget the basics of 3 point lighting (despite the fact that Dr. Bulloch gave us countless quizzes on those LIGHTS) and more importantly I was extremely worried that I wasn’t going to recognize any of their studio equipment!!!!!

Despite my nerves…time was ticking , the interview was to start at 11am and we had less than 45 minutes to set the equipment up. Someone who was occupying the room before us ran over, so now we had to rush–I mean that’s how the game goes. Soooooo in this case, I didn’t have room for my nerves to get in the way! I was thrown into the studio to quickly set everything up. It was definitely one of those situations where Chris would say “Put your poker face on and let everyone believe that you know what you’re doing”…..because I didn’t have time to study everything. The good thing: I was familiar with majority of the equipment! The equipment I wasn’t familiar with was later explained to me by Todd, another employee at theGrio. We completed the set-up and I was sent to Guest Relations to escort Tamia and her publicist(s) up to the 4th floor. It was an interesting elevator ride–I felt very official…guiding people through 30 Rock like I’ve been working there forever! HA! It’s that poker face! lol

Nonetheless, we made it to the 4th floor and proceeded with the interview. It went wonderful–Chris was a pro, the mics all worked, and Tamia was a very genuine person throughout the interview. Towards the end of the interview, Chris asked her if she wouldn’t mind doing a ‘drop’ and maybe singing a bit for us….Surprisingly she sang a nice length of her new song “Beautiful Surprise” loud enough so everyone could hear through the paper-thin walls of the Fonzworth Room.

Overall, it was definitely an amazing experience to actually see how studio interviews are set up. I NEVER could have dreamed of the Fonzworth Room transforming the way it did! We have our workshops for Ms. Reid in their and it appears to be a bland room….but today I saw a completely different view! What made the experience more valuable were the people I had the opportunity to work with. Todd and Chris had no problem answering every question I had and once the interview was complete they showed me how to work every piece of equipment I was unfamiliar with. PRICELESS! 

To top it off Chris gave me a tour of the 5th floor, showed me where to ingest tapes, the studio where we will be laying his tracks down (voice overs), and where to return equipment…..(mind you–the equipment guy wasn’t having the best Friday)….ANYWHOOO…

For the first time in my life…I just might be tongue tied…

Definitely describes how I felt by the end of the day…Forget news! I’m turning my life over to entertainment! Its fun, being nosey comes easy after a while, it seems like you have more freedom and the people I have worked with may the experience awesome!LOL Just KIDDING! I’m not leaving the basics, but I wouldn’t mind evolving to an entertainment journalist one day.

Goodnight New York that The ‘Colorful Peacock’ did it again! Today he offered me a Beautiful Surprise on Friday the 13th and continued to open my eyes to new opportunities. I wouldn’t change today if I had the opportunity to….