By Stephanie Tsoflias Siegel/@stephtsoflias
Lynette Miller came to New York from Kentucky. She is as student at Eastern Kentucky who is studying communications but she knew she needed a professional demo reel in land a job.
Lynette has an incredible story. She was born and raised in Jamaica and after Hurricane Sandy she relocated to Georgia. Lynette still has family in New York so she decided to come back, reach out to childhood friends, family and neighbors to dig up some of the best stories we’re seen in a while.
We met Lynette in Queens Village. There she did her stand ups about the dangers of a hover board. We then drove to another area where we knocked out two more stand ups. Lynette was well prepared, which always helps. She knew her scripts and when we made some changes in the field, she managed to roll with the punches. This is always the best case scenario for a coach. As trained reporters, we love when our students can roll with the punches and make changes on the fly – why? – this is what happens in the field as a professional all the time.
Lynette set up for her interviews for the afternoon – which is always nice. This gives us a chance to do stand ups, get them in the can and start brainstorming about angles for packages. If you’re thinking about working with us – here is my advice – set up ONE STOP SHOP stories. What does that mean? If you can find a story that allows for you to do your interviews and shoot all your b-roll in one place, that’s the golden ticket. It gives us time to help you with your writing and worry less about driving and traffic.
Our first stop was to Mr. Roosevelt’s house where he’s been fighting to get the city to come and take down an overgrown tree for four years. We landed great sound with him – he talked about how the roots from the overgrown tree and creeping into his home sewer system!
Then we went to Devore Dance Center. This was one of the most special places I have ever been – in all my years of reporting. Miss Devore is like a dance mom meets grandmother you never want to leave your side. Not only does she run a dance studio that trains of the best dancers in NYC … she also gives the gift of dance to the less fortunate in Jamaica, Queens. The highlight though for all of us was sitting down with Sean Bell’s daughter. Her father died a brutal and public death when she was a very young girl. This is a difficult interview for someone in college to conduct. These interviews are never say but you have to be willing to ask the tough questions and also, develop a relationship with the person you’re interviewing quickly enough so they trust you enough to let down their guard. She did. Lynetter did an amazing job and got in the tough questions, without shedding a tear!
Lynette’s reel will be up soon. If you want to work with us, email info@reelmediagroup.tv to tell us what city! To read more about our expert coaches, click here.
