Concert coverage to the ‘Portlandia’ set

Many students enrolled in the Integrated Media program here at MHCC are motivated to find a career in which they are able to express themselves and be creative.

That was exactly the case with Kristina Strickland, a Spring 2016 graduate of the IM program. For those not familiar with the program, there are four focuses available as majors: photography, video, broadcasting, and graphic design. Kristina chose video as her major because she was always interested in it, but she says it was a bit of a tough call since she knew more about photography.

Luckily for her, many of the skills covered in the program overlap, a concept many of the instructors convey to students and particularly important because being more well-rounded makes you more employable.

One advantage students in this program have is the hands-on education that comes with the major they choose. “I really liked all the technical stuff with the cameras and everything,” said Strickland, who began a bit uncertain but then grew to really like the program.

Besides her interest in video and photography, Strickland’s other big passion is music. Ever since she went to one of her first concerts, My Chemical Romance, at about age 12, she said, “I thought it would be cool to capture that.”

This soon led to her first overall goal in IM, which was to find something that would combine elements of video, photography, and music. From there she got her inspiration to get into videoing and photographing live concerts. She has covered several bands so far, including Foals, Bear Hands, The Neighbourhood, and The 1975, who she has covered two times. This has taken her to venues such as the Roseland Theater, Crystal Ballroom, and the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.

Along with getting some great visuals of these performances, Strickland also used her experience writing for the Advocate newspaper here at MHCC to write reviews for the concerts she has covered.

She explained that as she began getting hired to cover concerts, she started out writing for really small publications. Since then, her  opportunities have expanded. “The more people you know, the better,” she said.

This was certainly true with her latest gig, taking her video skills she learned from Integrated Media and landing a job with the popular sketch comedy TV show “Portlandia,” thanks to an internship opportunity lined up through the IM program.

“It was super unexpected, and it went by really fast. I was lucky to get the internship,” she said. While on set, she recalled all the training she got in school and that gave her a pretty good advantage, even compared to some of the staff members there, she added.

“They noticed that even as an intern this was something I was passionate about and I actually wanted to do,” she said.

What advice would Strickland give to current Integrated Media students?

“Work hard, pay attention, do your assignments, and take it seriously,” she said. “Create a work ethic, and make good connections with your classmates and teachers, because a lot of this type of work is based off the relationships you build.”