NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The
experience MTSU students gain while working behind the scenes at events like
the Newseum Institute’s “Freedom Sings” at Nashville’s Bluebird Café Tuesday
night is much more than camera angles and lighting.
They also develop
even more of the professionalism demanded by an industry that survives on
speed, efficiency, ratings and the idiosyncrasies of the people in front of the
lens.
“Events like this
give me an opportunity to do professional projects,” explained MTSU senior
Phillip Dixon, director of the university’s TV coverage of the 15th anniversary
of the event celebrating free speech and music.
“This is something I
can put on my resume and go out and say, ‘I directed this project.’ It gives me
an edge that other people might not have. It’s another great opportunity to
begin my career.”
Ken Paulson, dean of
MTSU’s College of Mass Communication and president of the Newseum Institute’s
First Amendment Center, said that Dixon and his classmates’ experience is
precisely why the college’s Department of Electronic Media Communication is
producing such successful students.
“It’s a hallmark of
our EMC program that our students learn very quickly to work at a professional
level,” Paulson explained while Dixon gave instructions to crew members a few
feet away.
“We want to provide
our students with a sound, multifaceted educational foundation that’s also a
real plus when they leave school already knowing the tools of the trade.”
Freedom Sings, the
signature program of the First Amendment Center, features prominent recording
artists playing music that has been banned or censored, or has sounded a call
for social change. It was launched at the Bluebird in 1999 and has toured U.S.
college campuses since then, supplemented by CDs, a documentary and teachers’
guide.
The two 15th
anniversary “Freedom Sings” shows at the Bluebird included performances by
Grammy winners Janis Ian, Ashley Cleveland and Don Henry, Bill Lloyd, Kim
Richey, Gretchen Peters, Webb Wilder, Will Kimbrough, Jonell Mosser, Lari
White, Joseph Wooten, Dez Dickerson and more. The backing band included Dave
Pomeroy, Craig Krampf, Danny Flowers, E-Street Band member Garry Tallent and
Lloyd.
MTSU crews work
regularly with ESPN3 and Sinclair Broadcasting Corp. to produce sports and
other events and have gained a strong reputation for their work on projects with
PBS affiliates.
The students,
identifiable only by the “MT MASS COMMUNICATION CREW” scrawled in white across
the back or on the breasts of their black shirts, scurry behind the scenes to
set up and operate audio and video equipment at events like Tuesday night’s
“Freedom Sings” performances and Monday’s Barry Gibb performance-lecture on the
MTSU campus.
As unconcerned about
working alongside a multi-Grammy winner as they’d be next to a professor or
fellow student, they walk into a venue and immediately launch into technical
jargon with longtime industry pros without missing a beat.
“You guys are
great!” renowned bassist Pomeroy announced at one point during the sound check
in the Bluebird’s infamous tight quarters.
“Do y’all have any
more cameras to bring in? Any more cables? Something I can trip over?”
Pomeroy grinned at a
passing student, who laughed at the musician while carrying a tripod to
another, better angle.
“Oh, we have fun,”
said Mike Forbes, the EMC department’s assistant director of technical systems,
as he watched the last-minute preparations for the shows. “It’s serious work,
but it’s fun.”
You can see more
photos from the “Freedom Sings” 15th anniversary event at the MTSU Facebook
page at http://ow.ly/qiUSx.
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