Natalia's Maternity Shoot...

Here are some of my favorites from Natalia's photo shoot at Wilson Park! She is a beautiful pregnant Zumba instructor who showed off some of her moves.

My first documentary video...

I finished my video. It came out pretty good. Not perfect but good enough for a first try. The whole experience was awesome and I look forward to the documentary class in the fall. :)

The story is about a veterinarian and the issues she sees while on the job. It's also about animal cruelty. We show footage from an ongoing criminal case.

WARNING: The footage is kind of graphic but it's a good piece to show what can be done to prevent animal cruelty.

Rylan's Photoshoot...

Rylan is such a cutie and here is my favorites from his shoot...

The "joys" of editing...

I have been editing my animal abuse video. It's a lot to remember but playing with Final Cut Pro makes it easier to figure out but it's slow. Here is a preview of my opening. It's pretty dramatic and I have toned it down a bit now. Enjoy!

opening from Brooke Galligan on Vimeo.

Shooting in the Field

While taking this video class I had to pick a subject to follow. I picked a large animal vet here in West Fork. After my interview I was worried it wasn't going to be a very interesting story but on Friday she called and said she was heading out to a farm to put a horse down. Of course I jumped at the opportunity. Not because I am morbid but I needed footage of her interacting with a large animal.
When I got there I found out this was an animal cruelty case and she had been called out by the Sheriff's department to come out. It was one of the saddest things I have ever seen! The horse was only 8 months old and couldn't stand because it was so malnourished. Everyone tried to get the horse to stand up but it just couldn't. The vet gave it a shot and stopped the poor horses suffering. The owner was charged and the footage I shot may help put him behind bars.
Needless to say this story has taken on a totally different angle and I look forward to setting up another interview so we can talk about the experience and get the vet's view on it.

Shooting a Scene...

I decided to shoot my Jazzercise class. There is a lot of repetition but man those ladies move fast!!! It's not perfect but there are a few good match cuts in there, lots of angles and audio. Overall it was a good experience but it was a lot different than walking into a situation with a camera. There is so much more to look for when shooting video.

Jazzercise from Brooke Galligan on Vimeo.

Also I was bummed about some of the white balance because it looked good on the screen but looked a little yellow once on the computer. :(

Controlling Light

Today I played with the camera to figure out how to use it. The hardest thing to find was the white balance button. I had no idea where it was but after some searching I found it. Everything else was pretty much like using a still camera. The most difficult part is figuring out which buttons control what. After doing this assignment I feel much more comfortable with the equipment. I can't wait to start filming!!

Old Airplane Edit...

Untitled from Brooke Galligan on Vimeo.

I edited some video together for my class. This wasn't footage I shot but I edited it together based on a "voice over" The main thing I tried to do is follow what the voice over was saying so the footage would match the words. Too bad the voice over isn't added to the video. It would make so much more sense. :)

10 Shots edited...

Today I got to use the 10 shots I took in Wyoming in an edited video. It was fun to use Final Cut and get more familiar with the program. I have so much more to learn!
I didn't have a tripod in Wyoming and it shows in the video. Oh well next time. :)

Untitled from Brooke Galligan on Vimeo.

Still video shots...

While on vacation in Wyoming I walked around Teton Village and shot shot videos for my “A Place” in 10 Still Shots assignment.



I went to Jackson, Wyoming last week with my husband and his family. It was such a beautiful area. The mountains were everywhere. We stayed at the base of the Teton Mountains so the videos I shot were the views around the resort. During the week we were there it snowed off and on every day so some of the clips show the snow. I wanted to show how different the scenery and weather was in the northern area. In Arkansas there isn't any snow on the Ozark Mountains but in Wyoming they were massive and everywhere. Along my walk around the resort there were creeks running through the resort to help deal with all the run off from the snow melt. At some point I got hungry and went inside to a restaurant to get a snack and shot some of the interesting scenery in there. It had a stuffed moose hanging from the ceiling which added a local flair. Actually the entire restaurant decor was moose themed. It was fitting since the resort had moose walking around and living in the forest nearby. Although I didn't see a moose while out. Over all the walk and scenery was exciting and a great way to spend the afternoon.

1. Place1_DSC_1276.MOV Close up of flower blowing in the wind
2. Place2_DSC_1270.MOV Wide shot of the mountains
3. Place3_DSC_1254.MOV Mid shot of a rocky stream
4. Place4_DSC_1273.MOV Mid shot of a grassy stream
5. Place5_DSC_1274.MOV Close up of rock
6. Place6_DSC_1272.MOV Mid shot of Moose in restaurant
7. Place7_DSC_1253.MOV Wide shot of the mountains
8. Place8_DSC_1267.MOV Close up of moose light
9. Place9_DSC_1268.MOV Wide shot of a mural
10. Place10_DSC_1255.MOV Wide shot of snow at the resort

About Me blog post for my Video Production Class

My name is Brooke and I was born in Arlington, Texas but I spent most of my teenage years in Northern Virginia. Then I went to college at Shepherd College in West Virginia and got a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree with a concentration in Photography. I moved to Fayetteville 8 years ago when I got a job as a staff photographer at the Northwest Arkansas Times. After 6 years at the Times I went out on my own as a freelance photographer and wanted to broaden my skills to video. That's why I am pursuing a M.A. here in the journalism department.

Photography is what I have been doing since I was 14. I took a black and white darkroom photography class in the 8th grade and was hooked after that. Since then I have interned at multiple newspapers and done all sorts of freelance jobs. It's been so much fun but I look forward to expanding my skills to video production and editing.
These days I am married to a guy I met after I moved here, live in West Fork, which is 20 min. south of Fayetteville, and have a freelance photography business. http://www.facebook.com/brookemcneelyphotography
My goals for this class is to learn how to shoot video and edit it. Another thing I look forward to learning is how to better plan and write out projects. As a photojournalist I just show up to situations without a plan and just let things happen in front of me. Sometimes when I get to the editing part if a video project I wish I had filmed more. I'm excited to learn it all!
As for my final project I have few ideas but my favorite would be finding someone at the Fayetteville Animal Shelter and do a short documentary about their daily routine and what goes into taking care of so many animals. While at the Times I went to the shelter weekly and am still amazed by the amount of work that goes into taking care of all the dogs, cats and occasional hamsters.
If that doesn't work I have some other ideas but I'm a sucker for the animals.

Kacy's senior portrait session...

I love Dickson Street. After multiple bridal, engagement and senior portrait sessions there I am still finding new places to shoot.
Kacy's shoot was no different. Here's a few of my favorites...

Fashion Shoot

I got together with Bella Vita Jewelry and Good Things Boutique in Fayetteville to shoot a fashion shoot. It went really well. Thank you to Little Bread Company and their patrons for letting us shoot in their dinning area. The shots came out great!!!

WCO TV episode 12

This episode is one of my favorites. It's really amusing and only 3 min. Watch it and see what people around the world think of the Washington County Observer TV. :)

Engagement Shoot

Earlier in the day I thought we weren't going to have this photo shoot since a nearby control burn left all of Fayetteville under a smokey haze but later it turned into a perfect day to have an engagement shoot at Gulley Park and Dickson Street. There were two other photogs shooting photos on Dickson Street so we tried to keep it original by going to different places. :)

WCO TV

Here's the latest WCO TV episode. :) I have been shooting and editing the weekly shorts for awhile now. It's a lot of fun!

Fun with freelance...

So I have been working with the awesome people with the Northwest Arkansas Newspapers promotions department the past few weeks. It's been so much fun! Here's a few of the photos I've taken for them...

Snow, Snow and more on the way...

After getting 4 inches of snow earlier this week we got 4 more inches on Friday. Finally on Saturday the sun came out and melted it. The light was really pretty so I broke out the camera and had fun!

Snowpacalypse

We got about 4 inches of snow and a quarter inch of ice. Now we have been stuck at home for the past few days. It's been so cold but I managed to get out and shoot some pics...

Senior Portraits

Yesterday I took advantage of the 70 degree weather and shot some senior portraits. It was a fun day filled with hiking around the family's amazing property. Here's a few of my favorites...

WCTV's first episode...

The guys at the Washington County Observer and I have started making a little news cast to help preview the paper every week. Here's our first attempt...

Maureen and Travis' wedding...

In October I shot Maureen and Travis' wedding. It was fun! Since they are good friends of mine I just shot it as a friend so I got to drink champagne and hang out. :) It was nice to take some of the pressure off but here are some of my favorites...