Interview Reflection
To improve the project, I would have found more sources that came from the point of view of, or were interviews with, first responders. The one source I found that interviewed a former D.C. Fire Captain was very helpful in forming in-depth questions. All of the other questions were very general and could have been used for anyone.
I thought my note-taking was adequate, but if I had to do it over, I would have used a second device for a speech-to-text feature as well. It was difficult to listen for direct quotes while simultaneously taking notes. If I had that feature, I would have been able to avoid rewatching the entire video or reaching back out to my interviewee to finish certain quotes.
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The angle of the story was focused on the 9/11 attacks at the Pentagon and the personal experiences of a new firefighter. The story talked a lot about the communication struggles during and after the attacks, as well as the aftermath. It also focused on the transition in operational procedures and communications 25 years later, and the differences in local and federal fire stations.
If turned into a story, it would primarily be about the transitions within the station throughout the years, and the overall effects on emergency communications.
The only technology issue I had was on the video side of the interview. The total time was about 20 minutes, and it was a relatively large file. I had issues uploading to YouTube and exporting from a .mov to a .mp4, but they were eventually resolved after verifying my phone number through YouTube.
Next time, I would most likely film on an actual camera and SD card instead of my iPhone. That way, the large file will already be in the correct format and save phone storage. The other issues I had with uploading should not occur again, since that has already been fixed on my YouTube channel.
