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Lights, Jaguars, Action!

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Posted on October 5, 2021

Thomas Becnel

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It took eight tries to shoot the intro for the South football game with the University of Louisiana at Lafayette on the ESPN+ network.

When the audio went right, the video went wrong. Or the graphics didn鈥檛 sync. Or there was a technical glitch.

When the segment finally came together, a half-dozen students sighed with relief in the control room housed in a small trailer just outside Hancock Whitney Stadium.

鈥淩oll it,鈥� said technical director Will Davis, a senior majoring in communications. 鈥淟et鈥檚 roll with it.鈥�

Many colleges hire freelance crews to broadcast home football games, but the University of South Alabama relies on a team of student workers. Most of them are studying communications and gaining experience. They learn on the job and get better with each game.

鈥淚t鈥檚 fun when that light comes on and they start enjoying it,鈥� said Pat Greenwood, multimedia director for the South athletic department. 鈥淚鈥檇 put our broadcast up against anyone in the Sun Belt Conference.鈥�

Before the Louisiana game, the student crew went through a checklist of pregame duties. They monitored equipment and worked around a few tech issues.  

Just then, heavy rain swept across campus. You could see it on the TV monitors and hear it on the roof of the trailer.

A student camera operator burst through the door, no jacket, soaked from head to toe. He needed to know how to handle his equipment during the downpour.

鈥淒id you go swimming?鈥� somebody joked.

Parker Arrington, a senior majoring in computer science, was more helpful.

鈥淒o you have a camera cover?鈥� he asked. 鈥淵es.鈥�

鈥淥K,鈥� Arrington said. 鈥淗old the camera as close as you can to the wall.鈥�

Student crew members wear matching blue T-shirts; the Jaguar logo on the front, 鈥淓SPN+ Production Crew鈥� on the back. They share school spirit and team pride.

A little rain 鈥� OK, a lot of rain 鈥� didn鈥檛 drench their enthusiasm.

鈥淩emember the money, guys,鈥� Davis joked, as students ducked out into the weather. 鈥淩emember the money.鈥�

Slow Down, Then Speed Up

Things got tense in the control room as the Louisiana game began. Everyone with a headset talked to camera operators and across one another. Rapid-fire cues flew back and forth.

鈥淓verybody ready?鈥� 鈥淕oing to black.鈥� 鈥淪low A is in. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e queued up?鈥� 鈥�8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 鈥︹��

鈥淩eady 2, Take 2.鈥� 鈥淲e need the quarterback 鈥� we need the quarterback鈥檚 face!鈥� 鈥淐amera 2, to your right, to your right.鈥� 鈥淩eplay, replay it.鈥� 鈥�3, can you get closer? Ready 3, take 3.鈥�

The students groaned as the Ragin鈥� Cajuns scored three quick touchdowns on their way to a 20-0 lead. Crew members had their own problems. They missed cues and fumbled replays as they tried to get a handle on the game.

Tyler Folks, video production manager for the South athletic department, supervised the broadcast crew. He led Davis through the director鈥檚 role, especially at the beginning of a game.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 the most chaotic part,鈥� Folks said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 when I tell everyone to slow down, take a deep breath. Find your routine and then we can speed up your routine.鈥�

During a timeout, Davis pulled back his headset. He enjoyed a swig of Coke and a handful of Skittles.

Folks, sounding like a coach on the sideline, asked him about the timing of a cue during the last series.

鈥淚 got nervous, I got nervous there,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淚 was waiting for Pat to stop talking about the play.鈥�

Down on the field, the momentum began to change. The Jaguars scored a touchdown and started a comeback in the rain.

In the control room, Folks pulled back and Davis made more of the calls. The crew settled into the broadcast. The director encouraged his classmates.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e doing good, guys,鈥� he said after the halftime break. 鈥淟et鈥檚 get back to football.鈥�

View From Above

Greenwood, who serves as color commentator for Jaguar games, stays in touch with the student crew on his own headset in the press box.

鈥淚鈥檓 constantly in their ears,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou know, 鈥楾ell Julie to keep pushing in on that shot.鈥� Or 鈥楬ey, make sure we have the right yardage on the graphic.鈥欌��

Sometimes, students make mistakes. Often, viewers can鈥檛 tell the difference. Other times, it鈥檚 noticeable.  

鈥淲e had a student at one of our first games, he hadn鈥檛 been drinking enough water, and he passed out,鈥� Greenwood said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e like, 鈥榃hat happened to the low end zone camera?鈥� And they鈥檙e like, 鈥極h, he passed out.鈥欌��

He marvels at how quickly South students pick up the routine. Football knowledge helps. So does enthusiasm and ambition.

Kyle Samuel, a student director last season, started work for Fox Sports in Charlotte, North Carolina, just after graduation.

鈥淗e was the kind of student who took control of things,鈥� Greenwood said. 鈥淗e鈥檇 come in and say, 鈥業 want to the learn the truck,鈥� or do this, or do that. He was ready to hit the real world when he left here.鈥�

Student Experience

Sean Starks II, a South camera operator, is a former business major from Mobile who switched to communications. He says sports broadcasting is more fun. He鈥檚 worked a lot of different Jaguar games.

鈥淚t鈥檚 cool to see some of the things I鈥檝e done,鈥� Starks said. 鈥淒uring baseball season, one of my shots was all over Twitter. During basketball season, one of my shots was on ESPN鈥檚 Top Ten.鈥�

Last summer, he and Davis worked on the broadcasting crew for the Blue Wahoos, a minor league baseball team in Pensacola, Florida.

鈥淚 worked a camera and I directed for them,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淚 learned a lot of things. I had a lot more responsibility because our crew was smaller.鈥�

The Louisiana game was the first football broadcast for Mac Herrero, a freshman majoring in communications. He got soaking wet behind his end zone camera, but didn鈥檛 seem to mind.

鈥淵ou just deal with it,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 Mobile, you know?鈥�

Herrero is a football fan and TV viewer who often knew the kind of camera shots the director wanted. He was a little nervous at first. He soon learned to focus on the job and tune out most of the chatter on his headset.

鈥淲hen they say 鈥楥amera 4,鈥欌�� he said, 鈥渢hat鈥檚 when my ears turn on.鈥�

Curious Crew Members

Several members of the South production team aren鈥檛 communications students. Some were curious about broadcasting. Others answered an ad for student workers.

Kevin Zheng, a freshman from Geneva, Alabama, works on graphics in the control room. He鈥檚 a computer science major with some broadcast experience.

鈥淚 did this for football games at my high school, but this is much, much bigger,鈥� Zheng said. 鈥淚 just saw the opportunity and thought it鈥檇 be extremely fun.鈥�

Ava Ndongo, a sophomore from Mobile, is majoring in chemistry and plans to attend medical school. On Saturday nights, though, she shoots crowd footage to appear on the big video screen at Hancock Whitney Stadium.

This season, Ndongo has learned how heavy a 15-pound camera can be by the end of a ballgame. During the second home game, there was an hour-long delay when some of the stadium lights went out.  

鈥淚t was tough on us, because it was so random,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e were trying to take crowd shots and keep people entertained.鈥�

Jaguar Comeback Drama  

In the second half of the rainy Louisiana game, the Jaguar football team scored a third touchdown. All of a sudden, the score was 20-18. The band played and crowd chanted 鈥淯-S-A! U-S-A!鈥�

In the control room, students cheered good plays 鈥� 鈥淗ey, we could win this!鈥� 鈥� while working the ESPN+ broadcast.   

鈥淩eady 1, take 1.鈥� 鈥淨uarterback eyes 鈥� get the quarterback鈥檚 eyes.鈥� 鈥淩eady replay.鈥� 鈥淟ate flag 鈥� get the ref, get the ref.鈥� 鈥淧ull out, 2. Take 2.鈥�

South drove for a go-ahead touchdown only to falter at the goal line. There was a fourth-down pass in the end zone. The Jaguar receiver, sliding across the wet turf, couldn鈥檛 quite make a game-winning catch.

Student cameras captured the scene. More groans in the control room. Final comments and closing credits.

After the game, the production crew collected camera equipment, along with reels of cable. The trailer needed to packed up and ready to go. There鈥檚 always another Jaguar game and student broadcast.

Arrington, the senior production engineer, worked through his own checklist of responsibilities.

鈥淚鈥檒l be here until midnight, close to midnight,鈥� he said. 鈥淔or the soccer game on Sunday, my call time is 9 a.m., and the game starts at noon.鈥�

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