Today's prediction: The future of television will be fine.
Four District 228 Bremen High School seniors and an Andrew High School junior recently helped produce the 65th Chicago/Midwest Regional Emmy Awards. Coolest person they met? There's a good chance meteorologist Tom Skilling will retire soon.
“I was really excited,” said Jade Cross, a senior at Tinley Park High School.
Cross joked about the possibility beforehand, then saw Skilling on the screen and went out of his way to try to meet him at the show. Cross and the other students accomplished just that.
They also got a lot of experience to put on their CV after joining the production crew for the show's live broadcast in November. Talea Carter, a senior at Bremen High School who hopes to one day work in the industry, was among those who joined Cross.
“It was great to learn what goes on behind something professional,” Carter said. “I learned to be patient and solve problems quickly.”
That was the name of the game for the students, mostly from the district's communication arts and technology course. BDTV228 alumnus Ronan Morrisey was the show's executive producer. Morrisey invited students to participate this year through Michael Lynch, faculty advisor for the course.
“It's what we do in the classroom,” Lynch said. “It's a multimedia course where kids learn how to write, produce, photograph and edit all forms of media. One of the aspects is doing a live production, so this was an opportunity to take the things we learned in the program and put it into real life.”
Lynch said there were Zoom meetings to prepare for the show and keep students informed. But until the event, he believed students might just be shadowing professionals in those roles. Instead, they were assigned cameras, graphics and other duties.
“They put them to work right away,” Lynch said. “They produced the show.”
Carter worked as a camera operator and edited the YouTube live stream near the end of the show.
“It was a little nerve-wracking at first, but once we did it for a while I got more comfortable,” Carter said. “It's not as hectic as it looks.”
Lakayiah Thomas, a senior at Bremen High School, edited clips of award speeches to post on YouTube.
“I felt like I was taking control of this show,” Thomas said. “I learned a lot. It was fun.”
Oak Forest High School senior Matthew Angone worked cameras during the preview, spending time on the red carpet before bouncing between graphics and camera setup. Angone was glad the experience was so hands-on and enjoyed seeing how much planning goes into a show like this.
“It takes a lot of coordination, a lot of teamwork, a lot of effort,” Angone said. “Everyone involved plays an important role in this.”
Cross, who sees the lessons learned as something he can apply to a promising career in public relations, was commissioned to create clips from each awards show for YouTube.
“I definitely felt the pressure in some spots, but I tried to calm down and get in the zone,” Cross said, noting the pros welcomed the students. “They were extremely helpful. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be and I learned a lot. … It broadened my horizons a lot and taught me the behind-the-scenes of YouTube itself.”
Brody Lynch, son of Michael and a student at Andrew High School, also participated, working on interviews. He said he learned valuable lessons.
“He's very fast,” Brody Lynch said. “It won't always go very smoothly. Sometimes you have to adjust things. you have to adapt to different things.”
Michael Lynch said his students talked about the experience in class, including looking at how what they discussed in class applied to the real situation.
“You can always teach them, production-wise, anything you want,” Lynch said. “The reality is that things always happen. The course and industry is more about solving problems and getting things done. … That's what we're doing”.
Michael Lynch said the students represented the program and themselves well. He received feedback that the team was both professional and flexible, and District 228 has been invited to participate again next year.
The students said their friends and families were proud to be on the show – especially after their shared stories of meeting celebrities.
“My mom and dad were so excited, especially when I mentioned Tom Skilling,” Cross said.
Bill Jones is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown
