The story behind the scoreboard
Fans at the Spectrum were able to see the scoreboard in action for the first time Tuesday, but the work to get the images up there started long before.
Shane Thomas, supervisor of University Media Production, said Athletics wanted his department to run the scoreboard from the beginning. He was involved in the committee that looked into, and eventually designed, the eight-sided scoreboard.
Utah State University purchased a truck to house the adequate cameras, equipment and technology for the scoreboard.
“It [will] be a win-win situation for academics and athletics,” Thomas said. “The truck will be used for athletic, public relations, faculty and Extension needs,” Thomas said.
Jonathan Kadis, director of Technical Support Services, said the truck was purchased from Hill Air Force Base with an engine problem. University Media Productions, Coca-Cola and Athletics all partnered to purchase, fix and equip the truck, which is outfitted with about 600 feet of audio cable and about 1,000 feet of video cable.
“If one connection isn’t done right, it causes havoc and it’s hard to find,” Thomas said.
There are 16 small monitors, two large ones and two for audio. Overall, if the truck and equipment had been purchased new, they would have cost about $350,000, he said.
“There is an awful lot of equipment in a very small area,” he said.
One of University Media Production’s goals is for students to be able to run the equipment and the truck. At first, student involvement will be about 75 percent at games, Thomas said.
“Once they get up to speed, I optimally hope it’s just student-run,” he said. “It will give students a real-world, hands-on experience for a multi-camera production.”
Stacy Thornock, student manager for University Media Productions, said, “[We’ll] run the different cameras to feed to the scoreboard. We’re going to do three solid cameras and two behind the backboard, so there is five total. We are going to run the graphics, advertisements and everything you see.”
She is part of Student Technology Training, a student-run organization focused on training students for practical, real-world experiences, while meeting the technical needs of USU.
Jared Stanley, a senior majoring in art, is involved with designing the graphics for the scoreboard.
“It’s real, hands-on stuff,” he said. “I like it.”
Thornock said, “It’s really exciting, because it’s more advanced than anything that we can learn in our classes. It’s not playing around, or talking about it or reading about it in a textbook.”
Thomas said they plan to cover volleyball, gymnastics and basketball.
Kadis said University Media Productions are Telly Award winners and “that’s one step below an Emmy.”
According to their Web site, http://www.televisionawards.com, the Telly Awards honor outstanding television commercials, video productions and films.
University Media Productions is a division of Technical Support Services and Information Technology. For information, contact 797-0525.
-dhegsted@cc.usu.edu