UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — When Eliza Casey was looking for colleges, she wanted one that offered real-life opportunities in television production, a program that mixed the business side of the industry with necessary technology expertise.
She found “the perfect fit” at Penn State, and after traveling nearly 1,200 miles from her home near New Orleans knew she had found a home.
Now, about halfway through her third fall semester on campus she’ll be part the biggest real-life opportunity she’s had to this point — the livestream of the Penn State Homecoming parade. Casey is the producer of the livestream, and one of four key leaders for a class full of students who have been focused on bringing the livestream to life since the start of the fall semester.
Coverage of the parade can be found at homecoming.psu.edu beginning at 6 p.m. Oct. 13.
“It’s going to be fantastic,” Casey said. “My role is making sure everyone is communicating with each other and that everyone knows what they’re doing. Once the parade starts, I’ll be on a headset communicating with the livestream hosts and helping keep everyone informed.”
Other leaders for the group, members of COMM 383 Advanced Multicamera Production, include director Abby Kachur, technical director Gabriella Voccio and preshow video director Georgia Peters.
“it’s always an exciting time when we get to parade week,” said Bill Hallman, a lecturer in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications who teaches the class. “They’ve been preparing all semester for this, handling everything from anchor auditions and selections to a variety of logistics and operating the cameras. It’s a big endeavor.”
Casey co-produced a half-hour game show last spring, but the three-hour-long parade livestream offers another level of challenge. It’s just the kind of challenge she was seeking at Penn State.
“We left the comedy show last spring knowing we did our best and we were proud of what we’d done,” she said. “That’s my goal this time, too. You just have to be ready for everything with a live production we’ve worked hard so far this semester to be ready.”
The outdoor set for the livestream will be located on Bigler Road near the Bank of America Career Services Building.
The parade steps off near East Halls at 6 p.m. and the livestream begins at that time as well. The pre-produced preshow should provide background information and feature content about the parade and those involved until the first marching units reach the livestream broadcast location. The student-driven steam will include four cameras and three hosts.
The Office of Physical Plant, the Office of Telecommunications and Networking Services, WPSU, and the Homecoming committee collaborated with the communications students to make the livestream possible.
The 2023 Homecoming theme is “Illuminate the Lion Within.” Alumna Tanisha Wright, coach of the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream, will serve as grand marshal for Homecoming. Wright is one of the most-decorated women’s basketball players in Penn State history. A three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, Wright played 134 games at Penn State. She was selected 12th in the 2005 WNBA Draft and played 14 years of professional basketball before moving into coaching.