A Wicked Good Interview

by Lucas Tully
September 28, 2005

Lead singer for Wicked Liz

elevision reporting is something that Lucas Tully, a student at Hoover Elementary in Dubuque, has always wanted to do. But apparently Lucas is a young man of action. He discovered he could check out a camera from Mediacom and actually produce his own show on Community Access Television thanks to the Mediacom Community Cable Franchise Agreement with the City of Dubuque. His natural curiosity about everything is just what a journalist needs to be successful.

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Lucas, with the help of his always encouraging dad, honed his interview skills with family members. He's not afraid to walk up to adults with a micophone and ask questions. When he had heard his school was going to play host to a regional favorite rock'n roll band, Wicked Liz, he quickly secured the camera for the concert date.

He checked with school district webmaster, Gary Olsen, himself a video journalist, and asked for some pointers. "Avoid asking the yes or no question," advised Olsen. "It's unavoidable sometimes, but always follow up with 'tell me about that,' or 'what are your feelings about that?'" instructed Olsen.

"And always use a good microphone, preferably plugged into the camera as opposed to wireless. You'll get better fidelity and you don't want a battery to go dead in the middle of a great interview," he advised. "Here's a better microphone... use one of mine."

To look the part, Lucas combed the Internet looking for a microphone flag (you know those logos on microphones you see on television?)to make him look official. He found a company in Florida who had just what he was looking for, and he actually telephoned them. They sent Lucas a free flag to get him started.

This first Video Safari video clip is less than 5 minutes long, but we think you'll agree, it's history making. We will be featuring other short films by Lucas and his dad on this website in the form of Video Safaris. As they say, "Stay tuned."