Tyler Kendall
Features Editor
At 10 a.m. on Sunday Nov. 18, a crew of television broadcast students were hard at work in the auditorium preparing for the filming and production of the Salant Lecture. By 3 p.m. the students had only taken a break for lunch, and were still hard at work behind heavy equipment and under hot lights. Every step the students executed was crucial for the preparation of making the event run smoothly. The mounting pressure of the names they would be working with echoed periodically throughout the auditorium. The Salant Lecture was moderated by Brian Williams and guest panel members included Joe Scarborough, David Gergen and Peter C. Goldmark Jr. These panel members arrived around 5:30 p.m. to prepare for their discussion about the consequences of the recent election and the next four years. At 7 p.m. the show started and the students went live.
Senior Jack Howard was finally able to sit down and reflect on his busy day. “This was really the biggest event that we’ve ever had here at New Canaan Television (NCTV). I don’t even know what it compares to right now,” he said.
The Salant Lecture was filmed and produced by NCTV students with the assistance of Mr. Roger Goodman. “It was really nice to have a professional, someone who is a legend in directing and television productions, give us advice,” Jack said. “It was a great opportunity to be able to work with him and listen to what he had to say.”
Roger Goodman’s resume is rich with positions and awards. Mr. Goodman has produced and directed nine Olympic Games, four Super Bowl Halftime shows, ten New York City Marathons, the 81st annual Emmy Awards and over hundreds of hours of other sports coverage for ABC, according to rgproductionsinc.com. Mr. Goodman has also served as vice president of special projects for the ABC Television Network. He has had 61 Emmy Nominations and 29 Emmy Awards. He now has his own production company based in Darien and prefers to go by “just Roger.”
Two years ago, Mr. Goodman was a speaker at the Salant Lecture himself. Keeping close ties with the organization, he knows what needs to get done in order to have a successful production. “This year the library called and asked if I would help them with suggestions for the panel,” he said. “One thing led to another and because of the distinguished panel and that it was at the high school, I decided to get together with Roman Cebulski [Television Broadcasting and Journalism teacher at New Canaan High School] and his group and lend as much knowledge and experience as I possibly could.”
The opportunity to work with Mr. Goodman was embraced. “When Alice Knapp [New Canaan Library’s executive director] emailed me and told me that a well known television producer was willing to help the students, I immediately called Roger to get the process going,” Mr. Cebulski said. Mr. Cebulski is also an advisor to the Courant and NCTV.
For Jack, who was the main director for the production, selecting the production team was an important step. “They all have at least a year worth of TV experience and all the basics,” he said. “But we also picked them based on familiarity and their ability to understand what the director is saying and to feel confident in filming.”
The production crew included seven Television Broadcasting III students, and one student each from Television Broadcasting I and II. “It’s kids who have been here long enough and deserve to be here. I really feel so honored to have been picked,” junior Kelsey Rowley said.
Sophomore JP McMahon was the only Television II student who was on the production team for the event. “When they asked me if I wanted to be part of the production team, and being in Television II, I wasn’t really expecting it,” he said. “I definitely felt welcomed though, it was a great experience.”
This event proved to be instructional for the NCTV students. “The pre-production was much more student oriented than usual,” junior Tess Decker said. “For our regular productions like football games we just set up the equipment for our positions, but Mr. Goodman really showed us specifics like what each position does and other tricks like the effect lighting has on the talent.”
The importance of having a full understanding of the production as a whole proved to be essential.“I always had a rule that I wanted to know if not as much, than more, as the person sitting to my left or the person sitting to my right,” Mr. Goodman said. “It is very important to have an overall scope of all the other individuals working around you and how you could do their job, and possibly even their job better; that really helps a lot.”
The students expressed their excitement throughout each stage of the production. “There was a ton of things we learned, such as having different shots and all the different lighting sources,” Kelsey said. “All of this really plays a role in how the production team works together and basically is a family unit. It’s amazing how much we rely on each other and the equipment we use.”
Teamwork was recognized as an important element to make sure that the event went smoothly. “There was just this really nice consistency and understanding of what needed to be done and it took the pressure off the directing,” Jack said. “I think that was really the greatest thing; the understanding and the commitment of all the kids that were there and helped out.”
The production was a hands-on learning experience. “What we do in our class I thought was really high tech but what we did with Roger Goodman is definitely way above and beyond what I had expected,” JP said. “I learned that we have to spend more time on things and go above and beyond like that every time we do a production from now on.”
The skills learned during this event will be implemented in future productions. “That’s more than any other reason that I wanted them to work with Mr. Goodman,” Mr. Cebulski said. “His experience is something that you can’t get from just a regular class and you learn by doing.”
The opportunity to work with Mr. Goodman proved to be a highlight of the students’ experience. “Directing with Roger Goodman, personally, was the best. I’m going to use what I have learned from Mr. Goodman to help the other students that I will be overseeing for the rest of the year,” Jack said. “I’m going to pass on the knowledge.”
Kelsey agreed. “It’s been an incredible experience working with Roger Goodman,” she said.
All in all, the event has set NCTV up for growth. “I was able to jump in and be part of the NCTV team which was fun because I don’t normally have the opportunity to do that as a teacher,” Mr. Cebulski said. “I’m thankful for that opportunity which I definitely learned a lot from, I’m hoping to build what I have learned into my curriculum and to pass it along to my students in the future.”
All of the hours and effort put into the production by the students was met with more than satisfaction.“I was so impressed by the students, everyone was so enthusiastic,” Mr. Goodman said. “They all did a terrific, terrific job.”
