MDC-TV Wins Two Suncoast Regional Emmys For Breaking The Silence
For the seventh year in a row, MDC-TV has earned a Suncoast Regional Emmy.
The award for the project Breaking the Silence was announced on Dec. 10 at the Suncoast Emmy Award ceremony held at the Hyatt Regency Orlando. It was in the categories of Arts and Entertainment of Long Format Content and Musical Composition or Arrangement.
MDC-TV has earned 16 nominations and won nine Suncoast Emmys since its inception in 2008.
“It was my first time at an awards ceremony since 2019,” said Alberto Bade, an arts and philosophy professor at North Campus who led the project. “The nerves start to kick in and then you hear your name. It was a very special feeling.”
The Suncoast Regional Emmys are a chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, and celebrate the highest achievement for television and media professionals in several states including Florida, Louisiana and Alabama.
Breaking the Silence used segments from famous silent films, such as The Champion from 1915 and The Unchastened Woman from 1925, allowing students to compose music that complements scenes.
Bade, who also directs the orchestra at North Campus, thought of the idea for the project two years ago as he walked through Miami Beach and heard modern music playing as the backdrop of an outdoor showing of a silent film.
“It was an interesting dichotomy between this 100-year-old visual and this very modern music I was listening to,” Bade said. “I was wondering if it would be possible to do such a thing.”
Inspired, Bade presented his vision for Breaking the Silence to MDC-TV Executive Director Ariel Rubalcava, sound engineer Humberto Casanova, North Campus Director of Learning Resources Angel Hernandez and Barry Gordon, the chair of the School of Entertainment and Design Technology.
The project began in the Fall of 2021 and more than 15 people participated. In the following months, students began listening to vocal and instrumental sounds like drums and the violin to assess which fit best in the silent film scenes.
“I think the biggest challenge was finding something you were comfortable with,” said Deborah Castro, a sophomore who composed the piece Farewell and is pursuing a music education degree.
One of the main challenges the music production team faced was having novice students who struggled to compose brand-new music that could seamlessly connect with a silent film.
“Composing for film is a huge task alone, and to do so while you are essentially a beginning student is much more difficult,” Bade said. “But our students were resilient and most importantly motivated.”
To close the learning gap, Hernandez held weekly one-on-one training sessions with students to teach them general orchestration composition, how to write music and how to use software like MuseScore to annotate music.
“Students learn a lot, not just from using software, but also about music theory, and getting them to know more of how the industry works,” said Hernandez, who has a bachelor’s degree in music theory and composition from the University of Florida. “These kinds of opportunities at MDC really help the students shine and give them unique ways to express themselves in ways that otherwise would not be possible.”
The final product was posted on YouTube on July 28.
“When I listened to what I composed, I felt excited and inspired to continue,” said Yulia Kamaeva, a music student who graduated from North Campus last summer. “I see myself as a famous composer and performing concerts all over the world. That’s my goal.”
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