FTC STUDENTS SHOW OFF THEIR BROADCASTING SKILLS DURING HVIAC BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKEND

By Rebecca Evangelist

Photos by Vanessa Tewes

Throughout five games and 10+ hours of live broadcasting on February 25th and 26th, Five Towns College students put on a stellar HVIAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships broadcast for viewers watching at home and fans in the Sound Arena.

“Being the Director for all the broadcasts is a tough job. It’s not something that can easily be done. There’s a lot of timing and a lot of preparation needed,” said James Miller, Mass Communications student. “What helps a lot is just having a great team around you.”

Miller shouted out the crew members, saying, “Every single one of them on this crew does a phenomenal job, and without them, I wouldn’t be able to do my job.”

After a long weekend of basketball and television production, Mass Communications Chair Holli Haerr emailed the crew and Broadcasting Club that the production was very professional and congratulated everyone involved.

Five Towns College takes great pride in producing live sports broadcasts with entire crews comprising students from the Mass Communications and TV & Film departments guided by faculty. The newly formed FTC Broadcasting Club led the sports broadcasts, running all aspects of the show from the cameras to directing and even play-by-play and color commentary.

Mass Communications major Chrissie Pastrana had an important role as one of the Technical Directors (TD). “Being the TD is definitely a lot of fun. It’s all about trying to fit the puzzle perfectly,” said Pastrana. “Trying to get those correct cuts and working really hard. And it’s really important when working as a team because it has a lot of great benefits.”

Miller, Pastrana, along with Mass Communications student Aaron McLaughlin, run the Sports Broadcasting Club and train fellow students interested in all television and sports production areas.

“The Sports Broadcasting Club doesn’t have an official social media page yet. We’re still waiting on someone to make a logo for it. I’m also getting used to using a camera a bit more and taking better pictures,” said club member and Mass Communications student Kate Miller. “So, my pictures aren’t the best, but it’s a learning environment, and I’m just trying my best to get some content hopefully we can put on the [future] page.”

Although the FTC men’s and women’s teams were not in the running for either HVIAC Basketball Championship, FTC hosted the event for the third year in a row.

The tournament’s live sound, led by a student-run crew of Audio Engineers, was another major part of the broadcast. FTC provides Audio Technology students many opportunities to hone their skills, from games in the Arena to staged plays and musical concerts at the college’s Performing Arts Center.

“It’s pretty cool. I like it, and it’s what I want to do [for a career]. I’m an artist and want to do live music,” said Audio concentration major Kyle Seberg. “Doing live audio for a broadcast is challenging but similar to doing it at a concert hall.”

Throughout the games, Five Towns students stepped in front of the camera. The on-air talent provides insight into what happens during the games with play-by-play and color commentary.

Mass Communications major and women’s basketball player, Sydney Mountain, was a key part of the broadcast. The Sound’s women’s team was not in championship weekend, so she worked tirelessly with fellow broadcasters Aaron McLaughlin, Tomas Guevara, and Jose Rojas.

“I mean, it was definitely exhausting, but it was an experience that I’m happy that I had, just because I did get the experience that I needed for something that I want to do in the real world,” said Mountain. ” Mountain also plays FTC soccer and has served as a sideline Reporter for the men’s basketball games.

Around six cameras brought viewers at home the full visual game experience covering the game, the clock, the talent desk, and the sideline action, all overseen by James Miler.

Mass Communications student, Meghan Tinelli, operated one of the game cameras. “It was my first time [operating the game camera], and I actually really liked it. I didn’t do anything else. But I thought that it would be a lot harder.”

Camera Operator and Technical Director Patrick DePace, enjoyed the fast-paced broadcasts.

“It was a lot of fun. It was kinda bittersweet for sportscasting-wise because this will be my last game for a while, at least until basketball is back up again,” said DePace.

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