Members of the Colorado Mesa University TV station (CMU-TV) have won a Student Heartland Emmy for their broadcast production of the 2018 Minor League Baseball All-Star game, played between the Northwest League and the Pioneer League.
To earn a nomination for a Heartland Emmy, one must earn a certain number of points, given by the judging committee overseeing the awards. CMU-TV won the award unopposed, as the four other entries did not earn the points required for an official nomination.
“I’m pretty excited about it. I think it’s really good for the students that worked it that want to get into the broadcast world. Everybody in the industry knows what this award is, so it will give us an edge,” Quaid Hamilton, CMU-TV General Manager, said.
The crew that worked on the game consisted of nine students. Hamilton directed, while Holly Hernandez worked graphics, Nathan Montgomery worked replay, Lane Lacrone edited and Bryce Langley, who served as production specialist. Four students operated cameras: Ryan Burke, Megan Garchar, Brian Kilman and Zach Tentis.
“What this award is saying is we’re a qualified broadcast crew,” Hamilton said. “Even though we’re all students, we were able to produce something that looked professional.”
For the All-Star game, the students cooked up new graphics and planned extensively beforehand. To qualify for the award, an advisor can have no hand in the game. If a camera went down during the game, the students must alone come up with a solution.
After the game is filmed, it must be edited down into a 30 minute clip, with a maximum of five total cuts. CMU-TV sent in 18 minutes of total footage, spanning the opening of the game, the top of the first inning, and the entirety of the fourth, fifth and ninth innings. The edited version is sent to the Heartland Emmys, who then consider the clip for a nomination.
“We do 50 or 60 games each year not including [the Junior College World Series], so this says that the CMU-TV broadcast crews are very proficient in what we do,” Hamilton said. “We have the same industry standard that is expected for when we graduate.”
