Byrd Portfolio(r)

8/22/2019 Byrd Portfolio(r)

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Duis Sed Sapien

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Nunc Et Orci

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Morbi Posuere

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Rikki Byrd brands herself as a

journalist, photographer poetand lover because she hasno regrets in doing any of theabove. Before even decidingto pursue a career inmagazine journalism, shewas tailoring her talents forthat area. She discovered her

passion for journalism in highschool after being asked towrite for a local paper. Shepenned her first sonnet to apair of sneakers that she fellin love with in 7th grade. Shedecided to turn her lens in theother direction to capture theobscure beauties she found.She found love through thesethings.Now, as a recent graduate ofthe University of MissourisSchool of Journalism she isprepared to pack all of hergifts into a bag and hitchhikeher way to a promising future.

She dreams of being adevastating editor, aninnovative creative director,an uncompromisingphilanthropist and aunwavering lover. Will you

join her for the journey?

Meet rikki byrd


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JOURNALISM EXPERIENCE

Fashion Assistant/Intern, ALIVE Magazine, St. Louis, Missouri; June 2013 Prepped wardrobe for photo shoot Recorded clothing credits for print Processed returns for more than 30 items at Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus

Direct Client Services Intern, MBS Textbooks, Columbia, Missouri; June 2012-June 2013 Assisted account managers, who provided textbooks to more than 900 schools, with day-to-day tasks Communicated with major publishers such as, McGraw-Hill and Random House, to obtain updates on backorders

Worked with editor of office newsletter to brainstorm and write storiesContributing Writer and Columnist, Collegegloss.com; June 2012-December 2012

Contacted creators and contributors of blogs for interviews Wrote weekly blog reviews confirmed by editor Researched and wrote articles on hair trends

Style Guru, Collegefashionista.com; May 2012-Present Took on-the-street photographs of mens fashion for online college site

Wrote articles on mens fashion trends for section titled, Lets Hear It For the Boys

Promoted website through social media networks

Intern, Inside Columbia Magazine, Columbia, Missouri; January 2012-May 2012 Researched and produced content on s/s 2012 golf and interior design trends Interviewed local boutiques on 2012 prom dress trends Worked closely with editorial assistant to brainstorm content and pitch story ideas

Student Reporter, Columbia Missourian, Columbia, Missouri; August 2011-December 2011 Pitched and wrote stories about local neighborhood

Produced multimedia content for online publication Worked bi-weekly shifts in the newsroom and wrote breaking news stories

Arts Marketing Intern, Regional Arts Commission, St. Louis, Missouri; May 2011-August 2011 Designed flyers for events hosted and sponsored by the commission Created advertising manual guide for prospective interns Produced multimedia content for local artists associated with commission

Editor-in-Chief, s c u l p t Magazine, August 2010-Present Founded and launched s c u l p t magazine to promote young emerging artists

Designed, edited and photographed for stories Recruited and managed staff

EDUCATION

University of Missouri Columbia, MissouriBachelor of JournalismBlack Studies MinorGraduation Date: May 2013

ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCES

Advisor, Pastels and Paparazzi Fashion Show; March 2013-May 2013 Counseled committee on how to run model calls and choose designers Developed day-of-show details with committee

Producer, MODEL P!NK: Fashion for Fischel; August 2012-October 2012 Assisted on-campus mens organization with fashion show to raise funds for breast cancer research

Oversaw day-of-show activities, such as makeup and hair, backstage organization and technology

Press and Publicity Chair, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Unit 4361; August 2011August 2012

Wrote and emailed press releases for associations events Organized committee for associations week of events and annual awards ceremony

SKILLS

Mac and PC | Nikon D40 |Microsoft Office | Adobe Photoshop CS, Illustrator and InDesign | Associated PressStylebook | Wordpress, Blogspot and Tumblr|Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram


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Writing

samples


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Ending a relationship doesnt come easily, especially when youre in love. But when its to embark ona greater path and possibly a bigger vision, its sometimes necessary. That is where this story begins.I was focused,says Hill when attempting to critique his growing body of work. When asked whathe meant by focused, Hill responded that he had just broken up with his girlfriend when he arrived toSingapore, where hes been studying film since 2009 as a graduate student at New York UniversitysTisch program. Per his breakup, the filmmaker had fallen in love with something else. Not withanother woman, but a film that Hill says he ate, drank and slept. He titled it, Love, Guns and Amy, ablack-and-white western centered on a woman who has two men in love with her. The film has

become Hills favorite thus far. My girlfriend was my movie,says Hill. The time andcommitment that you put into a relationship was put into the movie. No cable. No video gamesNo partying. Just Love, Guns and Amy. 24/7, 365, thats where I was at.His portfolio is a growing body of work ranging from short films, documentaries and music videos. Inaddition to Love, Guns and Amy, he has written, directed and/or worked on six additional projectsincluding Connection, Four Bar Blues, New Billy, Boomand his upcoming project Prom Date Blues.Collectively I look at them as a learning experience, says Hill.The beginning of his experience with film did not begin in Singapore, however. It began at the age of10 when he would assist his uncle with filming family functions. The hobby later evolved into a careerfor the aspiring director. In high school he participated in broadcast journalism courses and clubswhere he says he shot on handycams. His experience shooting highlights for his high schools

football team led him to landing a position as the video production coordinator for MorehouseUniversitys football team when he attended the university from 2002 to 2006. While at Morehouse,Hill met his best friend Julius Pryor. Since then, they have developed not only a long lastingfriendship, but have fused together their love for film to potentially become the next generation ofdynamic filmmaker duos since Spike Lee and Ernest Dickerson.Pryor is present for Hills latest project, as the two usually work together on their films. On a cloudyday in St. Louis, the cast and crew fill the second floor hallway of Hills alma mater, Clayton HighSchool. As Hill yells quite on set, its hard to determine whether or not Pryor is there for support or towork, as he stands in the corner thumbing through Twitter on his iPhone. Nonetheless, Pryor is theproducer, and this is just as much his project as it is Hills. At the end of the day, nobody can do it bythemselves, says Pryor, who attends the New York University Tisch Program in New York City. Its

something thats genuine because its something thats not based around work; its based around truefriendship.When asked what the two have to offer the growing world of film, the duo says style and substance.This is something they have been developing since2006, when they shot their first film titled Noir etBlanc (Black and White), a five-minute black-and-white thriller about a schizophrenic man whobelieves he has to kill his therapist. Pryor developed the concept and the two were ballsy enough toenter it into Campusmoviefest. The film is quite amateur (Hill does not even consider it a part of hisportfolio), nonetheless, the film consists of the oddity and surprising twists, which can be seen acrossthe board in most of Hills works.His films tend to develop, taking a short turn to throw off the audiences predictability, but stillrendering a sense of believability, which is what Hill strives for, and what he believes Hollywood has

gotten away from. Although he calls himself a simple-moviegoer Hill still has his critiques as afilmmaker. Hollywood is safe, he says. He thinks that most Hollywood movies are predictable. Whathe looks for is structure. Getting to the point of the film has to make sense, while still entertaining theaudience. It has to come full circle. Much like his favorite film, Mo Better Blues, by Spike Lee, whoHill is most inspired by.

The influence is evident not only in Hills detailed reviews of Lees films, nor the outstanding historyhe knows about the director off the top of his head, but also his quirky style that greatly resembles theaward-winning director. If its not his maroon slacks cut right above the ankle to reveal his cheetah-print socks that he wears to meet me at a pastry bar on the Delmar Loop, it is most definitely the RayBan 5283 glasses Hill wears that closely resemble the quirky frames worn by Lee.Despite the heavy influence that Lee has on Hill, thats not to say that the aspiring director doesnt


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have a mind of his own. In fact, his upcoming film, Prom Date Blues, sends the message of findingyourself and being yourself.In Hills words: Prom Date Bluesis a coming-of-age comedy about an awkward AfricanAmerican teenagers attempt to find his mojo.The awkward high-schooler falls in distant lovewith the prettiest girl in school and makes a fool of himself in an attempt to take her to prom. Its atypical guy-gets-the-girl film that Hill ensures all of us can relate to, but hes written in a delightfultwist. The uniqueness about my story is this kid is an old soul in a young mans body. Themain character is the son of divorced parents and lives with his mother. Hes a late bloomer,

attempting to discover what exactly a man is, without the constant presence of men in his life. Hessmart. Hes quirky. Hes awkward. Hes Hill. Its a personal story for me, says Hill.Themessage is you love yourself for who you are, you be proud of who you are and theneverything else will follow. The confidence you have for yourself, the love you have foryourself will exude naturally, organically.Natural and organic, much like the love of film Hill found three years ago while working on his first filmin Singapore. Now, hes back in his hometown, St. Louis, sowing his roots, to not only give back, butalso give more, to himself and his craft. The film will be his longest one yet, running 20 minutes, withpotential to run longer if Hill decides. To extend the film, Hill will need more funds and more time, butthats the least of his concerns. When asked how he continues to grow, producing more and betterfilms, Hill says it is about betting on yourself and investing in yourself. For Prom Date Blues, he has

done just that. With a local cast, national crew and seven days to shoot, Hill is ready to work. This filmwill be a marriage of some sorts, to the love of his life. When he completes his film, which is also histhesis, he will graduate as a director from New York University. Through sickness and through health,to death do them part, Hill and his camera will be hand in hand hopefully coming to a theater nearyou.


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DOUGLASS: Art teacher pushes students to discover themselvesFriday, October 14, 2011 | 6:24 p.m. CDT

BY RIKKI BYRD

COLUMBIA On a recent morning, second- and third-grade students at Ridgeway Elementary

School rehearsed for a classroom performance.

A week before they had cut out words from magazines and pasted them on small pieces of cardboard,

creating what they called "headline poetry." Now, it was time for them to share their work with their

classmates, as spoken word.

Students walked to the front of the class, their untied shoelaces dragging behind them. After a deep

breath, the first student began to recite her poem. When she finished, her classmates burst into a

round of applause.

"These kids are loving it, said Amber Ward, an art teacher at Ridgeway. "We can't get them to go

home at the end of the day."

Through critiques, songwriting and lessons about famous artists, Ward motivates her students to

make meaning out of their work and to develop a sense of identity.

While second and third graders found themselves through spoken word, fourth- and fifth-grade

students discovered themselves through images. They cut out images, words and phrases to create

archetype cards describing who they believed they were or who they aspired to be.

Anxious to get started on their projects, the young artists grabbed containers filled with magazines

and began ripping out pages.

"Can someone help me find dead animals?" one student asked his classmates. "I want to be a hunter."

Lesson plans are developed to help students learn without feeling like they're learning, Ward said.

Before moving to Columbia to pursue a doctorate in arts education at MU, Ward taught at a middle


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school in Shawnee, Kan.

But teaching hasn't always been on her agenda. Ward, who comes from a matriarchal line of artists,

said her primary dream was to pursue a career in fiber art.

She had no backup plan, so her father encouraged her to pursue a teaching certificate.

Ward, who said she never had an art teacher to help her discover the value of art and didn't learn the

importance of meaning making in art until she was in college, now seeks to provide students with

opportunities she didn't have.

After completing her degree, she said she hopes to teach college students about the power and

importance of art. She's already began to spark an inspiration in a student not sitting at the small

tables in her classroom

Adair Stokan has been student-teaching in Ward's classroom for eight weeks. She's paid close

attention to Ward's teaching style and made mental notes on things she wants to use in the future.

"She knows exactly what she's trying to get them to understand," said Stokan, who graduated from

Columbia College in 2009. She is currently following in Ward's footsteps and pursuing a teaching

certificate in arts education.

During a recent planning period, Ward and Stokan practiced a song Ward created for her

kindergarten class.

"I'm a circle, I'm a circle," sang Ward, mimicking a circle with her arms. "I'm a square," Stokan sang.

Ward said her kindergarten artists are having a difficult time remembering the shapes they're

assigned. After several failed attempts while rehearsing the song, Ward and Stokan burst into

laughter, took a deep breath and began the song again.

"I did not do this in middle school," Ward said.


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Although she teaches the same skills in her elementary classes that she did in her middle school

classes, she said she's noticed that she's had to implement more patience and less sarcasm to help the

younger students learn.

"I really want them to become thinkers, to find the deeper meaning in what they do," she said.

"Because I think only through that meaning-making process that they learn."

By the end of class, students are remembering their shapes.

And Ward's learning too. She applies what she's teaching her students in her own practice of art.

In her recent sculptures, "Confessionals," Ward said she reveals the authentic version of herself she'sbeen hiding since childhood. According to her blog, each sculpture documents aspects of her identity

and the confession within.


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CELEBRITY BLOGS: BEYONCE & SOLANGE KNOWLES

Celebrities often seem out of reach to most of their fans. Other than buying their albums, watching

their videos and attending their concerts, we rarely get a chance to see the human inside of them.

Fortunately, due to the advancement of the Internet and the popularity of blogs, celebrities such as

Beyonce and Solange Knowles have started to offer an inside glimpse into their behind-the-scenes

lifestyle.

For some time now, Solange Knowles has been attempting to slip away from her infamous title,

Beyonces younger sister. After chopping off her hair and opting to let her natural beauty shine,

Solange has evolved as fashions newest socialite. Her blog, My Damn Blog, is a glimpse into her

fashion evolution. From photos of her time overseas, her shopping trips and even her gorgeous, gray-

eyed son Julez, fans everywhere are finally seeing Solange as an independent diva and not

connected to her sisters hip/career.

Most recently, Beyonce launched her blog, I Am Beyonce. The blonde-haired songstress has not only

been dominating charts for years, but in several other facets as well. Her marriage to raps most-

domineering artist, Jay Z, her clothing line and newest addition, her daughter Blue Ivy, has made

Beyonce one of the most inspirational and desired public figures. While fans everywhere would faint if

they were in her presence, Beyonces blog takes us beyond the paparazzi shots and rump-shaking

moves and instead into what her real life looks like. Although there isnt much text available on the

site, her photos surely speak for themselves. From shots of her family on the 4th of July to shots of

her feeding baby Blue, were all getting to know Beyonce just a little bit more.

Aside from Beyonce and Solange Knowles, several other celebrities are launching blogs, all with a

different flavor but for the same purpose: showing their human side. Take time to Google some of

your favorite celebrities, and check to see if they have blogs. Youll be surprised to see what youll

find.

By: Rikki Byrd


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projects


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JACK. MagazineFOOD.DRINK.ENTERTAINING. PIONEERING INFORMED TASTE

JACK. Magazine was created as a part of my Senior Capstone coursein Magazine Publishing at the University of Missouri. Each year,

seniors in the course are commissioned by Meredith PublishingCompany to brainstorm and create potential publications. I worked

with a team of four other classmates to create JACK.

The Mission

Our team wanted to develop a mens publication dedicated solely tofood and entertaining. Our catch: We wanted to approach it in a snarky,Esquire-esque way that would attract recent male graduates moving intoa new space in their lives. Men with an acquired taste, who just needed afew more ideas.

The How

Each team in our capstone was expected to select a design team from theMagazine Design course in the School of Journalism, who would designiPad and website editions, and a website. We were also expected to draftstory ideas, create editorial calendars and hire freelance writers to producethe stories. We also created a 20+ page prospectus including our mission,financial budget and advertising specs. At the completion of our project, wevisited Meredith Publishing Company in Des Moines, where we presentedJACK. Magazine to editors.

The Result

Our team not only received countless accolades from editors atMeredith, but we were also awarded 1stPlace in the Association forEducation in Journalism and Mass Communication 2013 competition.

A

B

C


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s c u l p t magazineTHE EVOLUTION OF AN ARTISTS MASTERPIECE.

s c u l p t magazine was createdin 2010 by Rikki Byrd to give aplatform for emerging artists of

all genres to freely and creativelyexpress their crafts.

The Mission

When Rikki Byrd created s c u lp t magazine, it became herpassion. After realizing how

much she wanted people to knowabout what she loved, shewanted to give others anopportunity to show andpromote what they loved aswell.

The Result

Since its conception in 2010, s cu l p t has grown an estimated 19percent in viewership andreadership. The publication

recently launched a campaign onIndiegogo to raise funds for itsdesign programs, promotionalitems and more.

The How

s c u l p t is published two to threetimes a year and is hosted onwww.issuu.com. The publication is

produced by individuals studying inthe fields that they aspire to be in oneday. Internships are hosted threetimes a year for editorial, marketing,advertising, social media and webpositions. Contributing writers andphotographers volunteer their serviceson a rolling basis.

Each issue has a theme and isdesigned in InDesign.

A B

D C


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marketing


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Regional Arts Commission For theLove of Cities AdAs an Arts Marketing Intern for theRegional Arts Commission, I was askedto create an advertisement for theCommissions event For the Love ofCities. The advertisement was used for

email marketing and as the poster at theactual event.

Regional Arts CommissionLuncheon

As an Arts Marketing Intern for theRegional Arts Commission, I wasasked to create a flyer for theCommissions Luncheon. Theadvertisement was used for email

marketing.

Regional Arts CommissionArtszipper AdAs an Arts Marketing Intern at theRegional Arts Commission, I wasasked to create an advertisement forthe Commissions online artscalendar that was used in handbills

at local events, newspapers and onthe Commissions website.

NAACP Graduate School PrepFlyer

As the Press & Publicity Chair of theNAACP, Unit 6341 chapter, I wasasked to create a flyer for an eventthe organization co-sponsored withanotherorganization.

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Event Advertisements & Flyers designedby Rikki Byrd

s c u l p t magazine Model CallFlyer

As the Editor-in-Chief of s c u l p tmagazine, I created a flyer for a modelcall that the publication hosted for oneof its photo shoots. The flyer was usedon social media sites and posted aroundthe University of Missouris campus.

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