Daytime TV Segment!

I don't think I'll ever get used to talking in front of a camera, but that won't stop me from trying!

This past Saturday, I was reached out to by a producer from WFLA News Center in Tampa Bay about doing a segment on their Channel 8 Daytime show. As you can imagine, I did a happy dance and immediately started thinking about what I wanted to say. We scheduled the segment filming for Wednesday (yesterday) and decided that I should bring some of my artwork to display in the background.

When I arrived at the studio, I got to watch the hosts film and interview for other segments. Everything was so streamline and fun! Then, it was my turn (cue nervous sweating - I'm so glad I didn't wear gray). I first had to set up my art display of 6 pro panels, the artwork hanging hooks, and all of the large, heavy artwork. I'm so glad I dragged my husband with me to help because they were on a strict time crunch and my set-up would have taken double the amount of time to finish if it was just me doing it.

After set-up was done and everything was looking gorgeous, we immediately started filming. Two things happened that I wasn't expecting:

1. The two hosts (who were so kind and sweet) introduced me to their audience in exactly the same way I describe Wild Planet Creations on my website. This definitely threw me off because I was low key anticipating saying to them exactly what they were saying to me! I had to quickly think on my feet and make sure my facial expressions weren't showing my surprise!
2. While I was answering their questions, my brain completely went blank. I know I was talking, but I honestly couldn't tell you exactly what I said. 

After filming was done, everything wrapped up so quickly. I had to hustle to take my art display down and transport it to my car (seriously, my husband was SO helpful), and we began our drive home. That's when some of what I said started coming back to me. There were quite a few things that I really wanted to mention that I didn't remember to say...But there were a bunch that I successfully talked about!

One of the key things that I really hit home was that my goal is to generate awareness of wildlife conservation related issues and gather a community of optimistic people who can collectively make a positive difference through collaboration and conscious efforts! I also made sure to mention that the artwork is for a collaboration with the Raptor Center of Tampa Bay to make a book about the human-induced challenges native animals face in the wild. Yay! For the rest, you'll have to tune into the segment on Daytime Tampa Bay Channel 8 :)

To be honest, I was being very critical of myself, which unfortunately isn't out of the ordinary for me. But at the same time, I'm very proud of myself! This was my first time being in a news studio for an interview about Wild Planet Creations. Honestly, it was my first time in a news studio ever. Right now, I still have no idea how the segment turned out - it airs this Monday, August 11th. When it does, I'll make sure to do two things: 1) learn from my mistakes for the next news interview, and 2) continue being proud of myself!

EDIT: Here is the link to the final segment!

Highlighting wildlife challenges in watercolor | WFLA

As always, thank you so much for your support! I hope I make you proud!

Sammy