My name is Alison Denne. I am a recent graduate of James Madison University with a major in Media Arts and Design and a minor in Music Industry.  I played the alto saxophone in the Marching Royal Dukes and the Pep Band. 

Through my time in college, I was able to participate in a variety of activities that enhanced my interests and helped me grow. One of those activities was managing the JMU Pep Band social media. I was tasked with creating multiple social media pages on multiple platforms, gaining a loyal fanbase, taking, editing, and posting photos from the games, communicating and relaying messages to all pep band members, as well as creating posts before and after games to raise awareness. I enjoyed the challenge of creating all of the pages and figuring out how to effectively reach an audience. I also enjoyed taking pictures and videos during the games and editing them so that viewers could have an inside look into the pep band and the games. 

My last semester at school, I was able to be the director of a student film that premiered in a student-run film festival. I really enjoyed directing and seeing my vision executed by myself and my teammates. The experience taught me a little on how much work it takes to put together even a short film and how much you have to stay on top of the schedule and the production materials. I look forward to someday being a part of a crew that produces a project bigger than myself. It takes more than just the director to accomplish a film and I am thankful for the expertise of everyone on my crew who was able to help pull it together.  

While interning at WHSV-TV3, I was able to experience behind the scenes of a local TV station. I was mostly involved with the Technical Media Producers who were the ones behind making sure every live show ran smoothly. They worked at a computer where, before each show, they programmed the keyboard to be able to operate the videos, graphics, keyframes, and titles. It was interesting to see the evolution of technology from having a show require multiple people on multiple pieces of equipment, to one person on a computer. I was also able to experience some of the other departments such as the newsroom, the creative department, and I went out with reporters a few days to see how they captured their news segments. I am very lucky to have interned at the station, and I gained a lot of hands-on experience that I wouldn’t have been able to receive anywhere else. It provided a in-depth learning on how the local TV industry worked and what it takes to operate.