Broadcasting students have been hard at work creating and producing their own shows; from writing the script to making commercials, they pull out all the stops to create a television masterpiece. Everyone taking TV Production II is required to construct a show from the beginning steps to the final stages. Students must write, cast and produce all of the elements in a real show; they are even required to create commercials to be done live during the production. Each student’s show takes place over one 90-minute class period. “Each (student) is in charge of casting and the entire visualization as well as two commercials,” said Professor Thomas Rondinella. “All shows are done live in our TV studio or in surrounding locations around the studio.” Creativity is apparent in the students’ ideas. “The main character leaves his home in NYC after a messy divorce to live on the sunny island of Key West,” said Jaqueline Cardini, a sophomore broadcasting and visual media major. “(He) meets a bartender and drag queen that help him to move on from this.” The production is more than just camera angles and the set. There is a lot of planning just to create the mood of a scene, Cardini said. Sophia Lovito, a sophomore broadcasting major, double minoring in Spanish and English is also creating her own story. Her idea centers on the absurdity of online dating apps, and said there is no denying the creativity that goes into a project like this. “We are not only writing our own stories and commercials but producing and directing them amongst our peers and later being crew members for someone else,” said Lovito. “Creativity is exemplified in every single aspect of the class.” Both girls have faced some challenges during this experience. “Making it seem like Key West in South Orange was a challenge. In the real world you will not always have the budget or equipment and this is a very realistic issue,” Cardini said. Casting actors has also been a challenge. “I have received almost 100 offers to audition for roles and it is hard to weed through them all,” said Lovito. The girls said some of the best parts have been writing the script and having total creative control. “My favorite part about this project is the freedom I have to make creative decisions and working with other students who love the magic of TV and movies as much as I do,” she said. Julia Mullaney can be reached at julia.mullaney@student.shu.edu.
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