NICOLE ALBERTSON
News Assistant
The Pepperdine Newswaves broadcast their first live show of the year Tuesday using new High Definition (HD) technology, a new set and a larger crew.
“I think we have the opportunity to produce a lot this year because we have the opportunity to be creative,” said senior Newswaves Political Reporter Chai Collins. “We are definitely taking it to a higher level. I have seen the program progress over the past four years. Our editing ad writing has become stronger and our production technology is growing.”
Along with the new cameras to capture the video, the producers and directors are also benefiting from a new switch board in the sound room, 10 new display televisions on set behind the anchors, a larger green screen for weather reports and special anchors, as well as two large-screen plasma televisions that broadcast video feed and the channel 26 symbol during tapings.
“The camera quality is a lot better,” said junior producer Joanne Lee.
The HD cameras are not yet being used to their full potential. Each Newswaves show is recorded in HD quality but will not be broadcast to the audience members in HD until the end of the year. The production still needs to obtain a license and the capabilities in order to broadcast live in HD.
“It makes our job easier because our equipment is a lot more advanced,” Collins said.
The Newswaves set also received an upgrade when they inherited a set from the local CBS affiliate. When CBS moved locations from Burbank to Studio City during the summer, Pepperdine swept up background sets that were used by the Channel 9 News and one desk that was used for the Channel 2 News.
“We want to be on par with the professionals, and I think we look like a real news station now rather than a college station,” Lee said.
The Pepperdine station is also receiving professional help from FOX 11 television producer Teresa De Los Santos, who joined the station in 2006 acting as executive director as a graduate student in communication. Along with her she is bringing a special guest director from FOX next Tuesday to critique and show the cast and crew the real-life speed of a live broadcast.
“Pepperdine is on the cutting edge and really using the best of the best,” De Los Santos said. “The new set has motivated people and will help them put together their audition reels for new jobs after they graduate.”
The Newswaves will also be stepping it up and competing against other schools in local and national competitions. The staff is preparing to compete in the College Emmys in March.
“For the technology and tools that we have at our school we want to be competitive with other school and send broadcasts without mistakes,” Collins said.
The station has also revamped its staff by selecting from the more than 40 auditions for the anchor positions this year- compared to the 25 auditions in Spring 2006. The new staff includes two anchors for each political, entertainment and sports segment — including head anchors Tiffany Murphy and Jonathan Tamayo. This year’s staff also includes three writers — compared to last year’s one writer — and three camera operators for each of the machines. There are also two directors and two producers to handle the different shows produced on Tuesday and Thursday.
“The larger staff has helped them to be a team,” De Los Santos said. “They can help each other with ideas and use each other as another check for their work.”
In addition to their many technological advancements, set and staff, the production is focusing on improving the quality of their broadcasts. They plan to use more personalized footage produced by students — between three and four a show — for their videos rather than relying on stock footage bought from other news companies.
“Now we can do live shots from anywhere on campus to report on things like weather news or sports events,” Lee said. “We also just had students go to the Emmy Awards and talk to Jennifer Gardner on the red carpet. The reason we have television is to help everyone visualize what is going on and that’s why we are trying to have more videos in each show.”
Reaching more than 14,000 households in Malibu and parts of Calabasas, Pepperdine’s news station has resumed on channel 26 as the only local television newscast in Malibu. With its initial airing at 5 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday and repeats at 7 p.m, the Newswaves are focusing on making the most of their broadcast experience at Pepperdine.
“We have been given a base to go in to the real world and feel comfortable with the experience that we’ve gained,” Collins said. “Here we are inspired to push the limits and reach our full potential.”
09-20-2007