MDC-TV Just Won Back-To-Back Emmys—How About That
MDC-TV won their second consecutive Suncoast Regional Emmy on Dec. 2 at the 41st Annual Suncoast Emmy Awards in Orlando.
The network won for their coverage of Video Game Concert under the Special Event Coverage (other than News or Sports)–Edited category.
The winning team included: director Ariel Rubalcava, conductor Alberto Bade, videographer and post production supervisor Maikel Garcia, videographer Daniel Rodriguez, technical director Raul F. Hernandez Frederick, concert director Julio Licona, broadcast engineer Amed Torrecilla and videographer and broadcast engineer Richard De La Vega.
“I feel very lucky to win with a group of students and our crew. We are competing with more than one thousand TV stations around our region,” Rubalcava said. “Most of these stations have more equipment and experienced personnel but at the end imagination, passion and drive to do a good job win.”
MDC-TV is a college-based television station that records productions at North Campus and broadcasts seven days a week in English, Spanish, Creole and French. It reaches more than 1.3 million households in the region.
Video Game Concert was performed on May. 17 at the North Campus’ William and Joan Lehman Theater by the MDC Symphony Orchestra.
Covering the 75 minute performance provided various challenges for the technical crew and orchestra.
“There were times when we did not think we would have a show,” Rubalcava said.
The concert created an immersive experience by utilizing lights and visual effects alongside interactive visuals and soundtracks of popular videogames and animes such as Skyrim, Kingdom Hearts, Pokémon and Naruto.
“There are two main elements to the live performance coverage; one is the concert and then we have the interviews. The concert takes place in front of a live audience so I make decisions regarding camera positions.” Rubalcava said. “Some inexperienced directors might take positions where the cameras are out of the way far from the action. I don’t. I fight for every camera position to get as close to the action as possible.”
The orchestra worked on the music for various weeks prior to the concert. Once all the music was in order, the key factor of the click track was introduced to bring the different facets of the show together.
“This is [a] challenging endeavor considering the orchestra must play in perfect time for the whole program. Ultimately, it’s a necessary measure we take in order for the music to perfectly synchronize with the images on the screens,” Bade said. “This program is a multimedia presentation which this is not common ground for a typical Symphony Orchestra. Yet, the students rose to the occasion and handled the task with great energy and enthusiasm.”
Daniel Rodriguez, 22, who is majoring in film, television and digital production at North Campus, relished in the experience and recognition the production earned.
“Getting my first Emmy win on this production definitely is gonna open opportunities for me going forward in my career as well,” Rodriguez said. “The experience of covering this event was extraordinary to say the least. There was so much going on behind the scenes. The audience doesn’t notice when it comes to the crew and trying to get the shot you need, but it was really just a treat to see these games and anime come to life.”
