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While high school football permeates the air Friday nights in the coal region, one team will take the field with specific goals this season. Some of the confident seniors will lead the diverse group of developing talent, who range from fourth-year crafty photojournalists to rookie seventh grade cable grips. The WKMC student television crew has been responsible for taping and broadcasting Tornado football games since the new studio was built in 1977. The games are cablecast every Wednesday night at 8:00 p. m. on channel 13 of the Sunbury Division of Service Electric Cablevision and once each year on PCN across the state of Pennsylvania.
To the diehard Tornado football fans and players alike, WKMC students blend right into the night, providing viewers a chance to review some of the best athletic talent in the coal region. One might think that is reason enough to continue a tradition of regularly televised Tornado sports. But if the perception were that football is the only reason for this program's existence, the true value of WKMC-TV to its student workers would be overlooked.
Behind the scenes and hardly noticed by almost everyone, an innovation in education is going on within the gates of the stadium. It begins with peer instruction and collaboration for the afternoon set-up, when students work together to assemble everything needed to broadcast the game. Everyone participates in pulling a thousand yards of cable, connecting complex systems, and preparing the cameras for the big night, when the stadium fills with fans mostly unaware of the technology that has been deployed earlier. The students watch the clock as the two-hour exercise wraps up and they go to their stations for a final test before heading home for supper. Many times something doesn't work and sometimes there is more than one problem. The investigation begins and soon deduction and communication skills solve it quickly so as not to decrease the precious time available between the end of set-up and pre-game report time. On the days when fixing problems takes more time, MCA band parents come to the rescue providing some much appreciated refreshments when WKMC students report back at 6:00 p.m..
By then the television production equipment has been tested several times, and discussions on scripting and special events to be covered takes place during a pre-game snack in the stands. Students who finish eating first do the final test for the live webcast of volunteer sports commentators Warren Altomare, Wayne Brokenshire, and Jose Gonzalo. The webcast is available to the world on RedTornadoesFootball.com created by the same students during the past six months. During their classes in the George McFee Studio and over the past summer they debated the site design, agreed on layout and navigation, created all elements with Photoshop and wrote the code to display web pages using professional applications. The student team had worked on the site many hours. They are now keenly aware of the special handling that will be required of the live webcast and know it adds a degree of complexity to the quick decision-making they must make over the next three hours.
At about 6:20, the MCA "Big Red Band" is heard in the distance and it's time to go. Everyone proceeds to his or her station. Those designated as yearbook photographers ready their cameras and make decisions on which exposure settings to apply. Communications are checked. Last minute calibrations to the cameras are made based on waveform measurements, and a few words of encouragement to the newbies make ready the crew for the task at hand. The recorders roll on cue as instructions from the student director to the commentators precede the final countdown to a three hour activity with minimal breaks.
The pre-game show challenges everyone as the band and other activities require rapid decisions looking for quality compositions. Announcements for senior nights or dignitaries get precise direction from the truck as nothing can be missed. After the pre-game show, there is just enough time for one extra breath and to untangle a rampant cable on the sidelines before the Tornadoes take the field and the game begins. Now the adrenalin increases as the referee signals for the kick-off and each cameraperson is assigned a specific shot to follow. The student director chooses his on-air shots and will designate a replay camera before every play. He or she constantly communicates to the crew members during the entire night. All the while listening to instructions from the production crew inside the truck telling him when graphics and replays are ready to be inserted, he promptly operates the switcher to execute a smooth and seamless production. The exercise goes on until halftime and finally a moment for a break. Only some can rest because many must report to the truck or press box to begin compressing and uploading pictures. The website listeners are anxious to get a visual flavor of the game. Other WKMC students have already reported to the field to do their part as musicians in the band, and while they do younger students man the cameras. Halftime ends and it's back to work for the first team. Depending where their stations are, the young production crew usually is oblivious to the score until near the game's end. They are too busy staying focused on the equipment they operate and instructions from the truck. But sometimes a friend catches a nice pass and there erupts a cheer in the truck to applaud the effort. Occasionally students get tired or younger ones aspiring to move up want their chance, so substitutions are made. The change might be welcomed, but not always as students have worked hard to develop their craft and look forward to each opportunity to show their skill. The game finally ends and the stands begin to empty as camera operators reorient their tripods and locations for the post-game show. The fans are through the gate as the commentators recant the statistics and high points of the game. Altomare's last goodnight is welcome and everyone hopes Mr. McFee will allow time to enjoy a quick snack before the breakdown. If they have done a good job and stayed focused, McFee is happy and he and Mr. Trefsger begin breakdown while students replenish energy courtesy of the Band Parent Association. McFee stops to announce the webcast audience was over 500 listeners tonight and students feel a momentary sense of pride in knowing they made it happen. All the fans and players are gone as the breakdown and packing of the truck begins. Everyone forms into teams to wrap camera cables on spools, take apart and pack cameras, and disconnect the multitude of smaller cables needed for the remote production. The rookies categorize it all and make sure equipment is packed in the right box. Everyone is tired, but there is encouragement to move faster as time is slipping away and some have a soccer game early Saturday morning. Finally the truck is repacked and back to the studio they go to set it all up again. It's a long walk from the unloading zone to the studio, but if was packed well the job goes faster. Much of the equipment is on wheels and everyone does their part. The students divide up the tasks to get the studio connected and tested. There will be a live news program at 7:30 Monday morning. If they don't want to see the place until then, every piece of equipment must be functioning before they leave the school... usually between 10:30 and 11:00. Some of the older students have done this seventy times or more and share their knowledge with younger learners. Finally the studio passes the test. They gather to receive some feedback and a thank you from Mr. McFee and they are home free... that is until Saturday morning chores.
This is a brief and partial depiction of the WKMC student experience on a fall Friday night. Add to the equation that sometimes it's hot and miserably humid and other times it's cold enough for frostbite? There is neither air conditioning nor heat in the truck and the only shelter for most camera operators is a raincoat. Nevertheless the activity has provided a wealth of education and skills learned for all involved, not to mention the life lessons engraved in the experience of cooperating together towards a splendid piece of work celebrated by the community.
On Monday, some of the students will begin capturing and editing the game using professional applications. Some will categorize and evaluate yearbook pictures while transferring them to the school's server. They pick their best shots, compress them, and upload them to the football website. Others will make some minor repairs to equipment and pausing to glance at the editing to see how they did on camera. It's also their first chance to watch the game that must be ready to cablecast in little more than 48 hours. Their days are busy with classes, and often without notice, a feeling of accomplishment begins to emerge and draws them back to the studio between their third period chemistry lab and getting ready for the end of day algebra test. The accomplishment breeds confidence and forges friendships. There will be some time to have fun at the Wednesday night broadcast after homework is done. Before you know it, Friday morning arrives and McFee pulls the television truck up to the loading area once again. Members of the WKMC crew have collaborated with teachers and news reporting students to produce five live morning broadcasts since the previous game.
If you are a follower of Tornado Football, most likely you have watched or listened to the WKMC student's work. If you have sometimes seen "The Big Red" on the Pennsylvania Cable Network you have definitely seen their work. But what you see on the television or hear on the web is only part of the story. The students have made a commitment to continue to work and learn as much as they can for each year they sign up for WKMC's Communication Media classes. Their broadcasts are a final product that serves fans, schools, athletes, band, themselves, and their future employers. The students look forward to the games and by season's end; they are ready for the last whistle. Their efforts have fashioned a generative experience and hopefully they will be rewarded with a field trip at the end of the school year. If they manage a successful fundraiser or two, donations from viewers might put them over the top for a field trip to see a show on Broadway. Although Mr. McFee doesn't really appreciate NYC, if they earned the money, even he can't say no. And besides, he always wants them to learn more about stagecraft. That makes it an educational field trip!