ESPN+ streaming showcases CCM student work

This year, students at UC’s College-Conservatory of Music are producing live, multi-camera coverage of UC Athletic events for the new ESPN+ subscription-based streaming service. CCM E-Media students shared their first broadcast on Nov. 25, 2020, and have produced nine sports broadcasts in total so far.

The next E-Media student-produced broadcast is a UC Women’s Volleyball match scheduled for Friday, Jan. 15. Then the students will work on the Jan. 20 UC Women’s Basketball game and the Jan. 27 UC Men’s Basketball game. To watch, viewers can visit plus.espn.com (subscription required to watch) or find direct links to the games at gobearcats.com.

Some broadcasts students work on are more for practice, so the students can learn how to operate new equipment and test new techniques or methods of creating content, Brackman says. However, other events have a high number of viewers, so they are always focused on showcasing their skills in professional-quality presentations.

“Students will find that in the professional world, there is a fairly large crossover of people who work in all types of live event production because the fundamentals and tools are the same,” Brackman says. “What differs is how you use them or apply them for the needs of the production.”

There are certain aspects and elements of live production that are universal to any show, whether it’s a sports broadcast, live theater production or even a live newscast or talk show, Brackman says. Students need to have certain amount of technical knowledge and know how to operate the video equipment, and they must also be familiar with the plan for the broadcast. They need to be able to find relevant shots, create graphics and create content like highlight packages to help tell the story.

“For live sports, we plan for situations more-so than a specific order of events,” he adds. “So we practice and plan for how we’ll handle a certain situation, like a football player scoring a touchdown, for instance. We would discuss what the assignments would be for each camera operator if a touchdown occurs. We would talk about how our replays would be handled in that situation, what graphics are appropriate to help tell the story after the touchdown occurred — and then when it happens, we try to execute that plan the best that we can.”

CCM’s Division of E-Media offers an undergraduate BFA program designed to prepare students for the ever-changing media industry by teaching foundational skills in audio, video and web production, as well as media writing. CCM E-Media also offers an academic minor, which is student centered, professionally relevant and focused on creativity and development.

The BFA program emphasizes hands-on learning with required student internships at professional media companies and opportunities to develop award-winning works within and outside the classroom. In recent years, students have traveled to Alaska and California to produce acclaimed documentaries and have won Emmy awards for works made locally.