Columbus students on all sides of Friday night lights

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Columbus students on all sides of Friday night lights Wed. October 23, 2013 at 2:02 p.m. | By Eric Detweiler | StarNews Staff Writer | [email protected]

FAIR BLUFF | Angel Garcia clicked through high school football highlights on a computer screen Monday morning, watching and rewinding like a coach engrossed in film study.

Kelly Jones (left), the Columbus County school district's public information officer and arts education coordinator, helps with play-by-play on the weekly football broadcasts. Jonathan Smith, of the Columbus Career and College Academy, calls the game between South Columbus and East Columbus as it is broadcast Friday, Oct. 18, in Lake Waccamaw. (Photo by Mike Spencer)

In recent weeks, Garcia had laid the framework for a video promoting the Columbus Career and College Academy's high school football broadcasts, complete with dramatic music and a quote from legendary coach Vince Lombardi. Now the sophomore just needed to fit the pieces together with the right clips to tell his story. "They need to be flashy," Garcia said, eyes still on the screen. "I'm looking for touchdowns." Started in 2011, the broadcast television program at the Fair Bluff school aims to give students the hands-on experience necessary to prepare for a career in the industry, and football has played a major role in the fall curriculum for the past two years.

Quick learners Students take a college-level course for 75 minutes, four days a week, but they are also required to pitch in on the weekly football and basketball broadcasts that deliver Columbus County games to the masses via live stream online and the school's radio station, WZCO 89.9 FM. While teachers currently handle most of the on-air duties, the rest of the responsibilities go to the students. They are operating the cameras and directing the broadcasts that have become more polished each week. "It's kind of that catch-22 that you can't get experience until you finally start working somewhere but everybody wants you to have experience to work there," principal Nicky Hobbs said. "Like with the games we're broadcasting, they're doing those hands-on things. We're trying to make sure that what we're doing here mirrors the expectation that's out there in the field." A majority of the 18 students came to the school without specific interest in television production. In addition to general education classes, the students have the chance to work toward trade certification in several vocations, including masonry, metal machining and culinary arts, and most will experiment. The school also offers a radio broadcast class.

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Students can also get on the early college track through a partnership with Southeastern Community College and earn an associate's degree in general studies in five years to go along with their high school diploma, free of charge. Natltaly Razo of Hallsboro was placed into the television broadcast class this fall as a freshman and has already worked two games. She has never been much of a football fan and so far has preferred her masonry class but has enjoyed learning the new skills. During down time Monday, Razo practiced setting up the camera as she would on a Friday night. "At first, it's kind of scary, actually," Razo said. "You're kind of afraid when the ball's coming, when the action's right there, but you can kind of get used to it. It's cool." Finding the reasons Enrolling in Amanda Hilburn's broadcast class means a commitment to assist on at least three game productions each semester. The students show up more than two hours early to set up for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff and stay afterward to tear down, too. In between, the students, who range in age from 14 to 19, are learning the finer points by trial and error, working through their mistakes on the fly. They often go over the broadcast in class each Monday to discuss what went right or needs improvement. The young broadcasters use a three-camera system, with one or two students in the press box as directors, picking which shots will be used live. Directors also log the highlights, which are sent to the local television stations afterward for use on their late-night sports reports. The experience has changed the way Garcia watches his favorite professional sports teams on television. "You can tell if they mess up or if they're doing a good job with the white balance, the focus, the iris," said Garcia, sprinkling in industry jargon that is required knowledge for the students. "They're usually pretty good." In early broadcasts, the shaky camera work often resembled home videos, but it continues to become more sophisticated as the camera operators learn to frame the action and follow it smoothly. Graphics listing the score and quarter add to the professional feel, and the promotional videos will soon serve as an introduction to the broadcast. The students now recognize when the focus and brightness is off on a camera and can usually make the necessary corrections, according to Hilburn, who is in her 17th year teaching television production at Southeastern Community College. Keeping the teenagers attentive for a three-hour game remains an ongoing challenge, and the game adds its own set of concerns for a fledgling crew. "It's hard when they fake it," said Jonathan Smith, a junior from Riegelwood. "You're following the guy you think's carrying it, but the ball's really over there somewhere." Hobbs said television broadcasting was identified as an area of focus for the school because of its proximity to stations in Wilmington and Myrtle Beach that would allow Columbus County residents a short commute to work in the industry. Kelly Jones, the school district's public information officer and arts education coordinator, wrote the proposal for the $237,000 grant from the federal government's Public Telecommunications Facilities Program that funded the school's radio station. Jones helps with play-by-play on the weekly broadcasts, which have been viewed online 300 to 400 times apiece. They will continue during basketball season with four games per night, including the junior varsity and varsity for both boys and girls. He also hopes to do several baseball games in the spring. Jones views the broadcasts as a public service. He recently heard from a South Columbus fan who was able to watch the team's win

over South Brunswick on Sept. 20 while visiting with his sick father in Chicago. "I know it's hard to give up your Friday nights to do this when you're that age, but they are all very committed to the program," Jones said. "We really couldn't ask for better kids. They make this possible." See Some More All games can be streamed live online at

www.useducationtv.com/default.aspx?sid=15852 . They are also broadcast on the radio on WZCO (89.9 FM) and through WZCO.org.

Upcoming CCCA football broadcast schedule: St. Pauls at South Columbus, Friday St. Pauls at East Columbus, Nov. 1 West Columbus at East Columbus, Nov. 8

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