A new, yearlong, capstone class in the Department of Television and Radio is not only preparing second-year M.F.A. candidates to hit the ground running after graduation, it has allowed them to break new ground as well.
Eleven graduate students enrolled in Professor Jason Moore鈥檚 Multi-camera Producing and Directing class launched the first episode of Brooklyn鈥檚 Best on Feb. 25, a show dedicated to finding Brooklyn鈥檚 best artists and performers.
Unlike Unproductive鈥攁 comedic web series also developed, scripted, and produced by B.A. Television and Radio students and released last October鈥擝rooklyn鈥檚 Best is streamed live on the TV Center鈥檚 channel. Episodes can be viewed later on the department鈥檚 YouTube channel.
鈥淚 like to challenge students beyond class expectations,鈥� says Moore, an award-winning director of commercials, television and film who joined the 可乐视频 faculty in 2015. 鈥淪o while I raised the bar and asked them to think about working collectively, it was the students who came up with the idea of the show.鈥�
Each of the six, 30-minute episodes of Brooklyn鈥檚 Best will be produced and directed by different students, assisted by a cadre of undergraduate and first-year M.F.A. students, in addition to the television studio personnel鈥攁 total of 25 people. The show, hosted by stand-up comedian J.J. Mattise, who auditioned for the position, features three individual or groups of talented people who live in Brooklyn, as well as a panel of three judges randomly selected from the crowd.
The first episode, which aired on Thursday, Feb. 25, was produced and directed by Sally Lomidze and featured talent she recruited in train stations. It included a guitar-and-violin duo, a painter who does portraits, and a trio of break-dancers who went on to win the evening鈥檚 contest. As the director, Lomidze also had to design the placement of each member of the crew, cue in the cameras, and edit the scenes as they unfolded live.
According to Moore, all elements in the show are original, including the studio set, the videos introducing each artist or group of artists, and the soundtrack, created by Michael Zhonga, whose show featuring dance crews will air Thursday, March 17.
鈥淧art of the learning experience is getting students involved in all stages of the show, including advertising and promoting it, using social media to reach out to students and the community, and recruiting an audience for each episode,鈥� says Moore.
鈥淚t鈥檚 great training for what the world of production is really like,鈥� says Kevin Keating, who was the lighting designer for the launch episode but is expected to produce and direct the second episode on March 10, featuring three Brooklyn hip-hop artists.
鈥淲e knew that creating a live multi-episode program with a studio audience, and a host, the demands on us would be extreme. But we are an industrious group and like to collaborate with each other,鈥� says Michael Irgang, whose show featuring martial arts contestants will air in late April.
鈥淭his real-world opportunity simulates the broadcast production standards that students will be expected to deliver when they begin their professional careers,鈥� says Assistant Provost Stuart MacLelland, a former Television and Radio chair and professor.
鈥淏rooklyn鈥檚 Best will be an important component of the M.F.A. experience,鈥� says Television and Radio Chair Katherine Fry. 鈥淎nd will be a boon to the department and the college.鈥�
For Moore and other faculty members, their role is to prepare students for a revolution in independent TV production, similar to the one filmmakers experienced in the 1970s.
鈥淲ith the rise of YouTube, WiFi, and WebTV, there are new ways of creating content without having to work for a network,鈥� Moore says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 empowering and exciting.鈥�
