gingers do have soles

The most exciting development for my capstone this week was conducting my very first interview. I brought my Blue Snowball microphone and laptop with me to meet Neal, the redhead football player, and recorded our conversation in the Academic Support Center. I remembered to bring a release form for Neal to sign, and he also agreed to meet up again if I need to rerecord any questions I had for him. It was a pleasant, relaxed interview session and I'm thankful to Neal for being so friendly and open to the project.

What I Learned:

• Group Study Rooms in the Library are now first come, first serve. This proved somewhat problematic, as Neal and I didn't have a quiet space to record. The background noise should be able to be removed in Audacity, but I hope to find a better environment for recording next time around.
• Redheads have softer skin on the soles of their feet. After asking Neal about the commonly accepted theory that redheads bruise and bleed more easily than those of other hair colors, Neal revealed to me that actually redheads blister more easily on their feet. I am constantly facing issues with the soles of my feet when other members of my family don't, but never connected the dots.
• Letting conversation flow naturally is a good way to go about podcast interviews. Although I came prepared with a series of questions to ask and an idea of how I hoped the interview would go, after the interview 'ended' I actually started to record once more because Neal and I had plenty more to say to one another. Being prepared, but also being casual and letting conversation go where it wanted made for a better environment overall. I'll remember that for next time.
  

Thinking about the ease of bringing my laptop and Blue Snowball microphone with me made me consider some options for interviews that I hadn't before. I'd now like to conduct a group meeting with a bunch of redheads for the beauty episode. Instead of finding one person at a time and asking a set number of questions, I believe it would be more fun to have a more full conversation about what it means to be a redhead in a world of "Do you like blondes or brunettes?" Because the project is about the shared experience of being a redhead, it's better to gather together!

Meeting with my capstone director this week was also incredibly helpful. I was able to discuss some of my concerns about my schedule, my final proposal, and how to put together my podcasts. I now have a better idea of how I should go about finding people to speak with for each episode theme, and feel more comfortable with taking the time I need to make sure this project brings out the best of my abilities as a communications student.