Courtesy of Audrey Ward | The Crow’s Nest
By Audrey Ward
After years in the making, the University of South Florida St Petersburg campus’ department of journalism held its first webcast this past Fall. Bullcast serves as a live way to keep the USF community involved with the news, while building professional experience for students.
The students involved with the webcast say the experience will help them build their resumes and put skills learned in various journalism courses to use. “The webcast show [is] beneficial in sharpening my skills in the production industry and seeing what it takes to have a great quality livestream,” said Matthew Lee, a senior majoring in digital communication and multimedia journalism at USF St. Petersburg
Lee is taking a video storytelling course and mentioned that skills from class have helped him take on the role as technical director for the Bullcast.
Journalism students are a part of this project outside of their classes and other activities for their career.
Senior digital communications and multimedia journalism major Jenna Fournier is excited for the webcast to evolve over the remainder of the semester and years ahead. Fournier and Sophia Makris are audio operators for Bullcast .
“I see the webcast as a great opportunity to gain experience in this type of field,” Fournier said. The podcast has been a wonderful way to learn new things, work new equipment, and improve my skills.”
Digital communications and multimedia journalism major Emerson Taylor is the visuals director. She creates video footage for events covered within each episode and pitches in to assist with camera operation for Bullcast.
“I’ve wanted to refine my skills [with] not only editing but with doing something that I’m not necessarily comfortable with. I wanted to go outside my box. I wanted to be a part of something where I can home in on my editing skills, but also still focus on being creative and pursuing the different shots that I want to get,” Taylor said.
It takes hours of planning and outlining to put together a real-time webcast with professional quality videography.
With meetings only once a week, on production day it is important to set the camera, evaluate audio equipment and establish an appropriate opening to the show.
Casey Frechette and Christopher Campbell are the show’s faculty advisors, in addition to being professors of their own courses. Both dedicate their time to let students experience being on camera and working behind the scenes. .
Campbell is also the multimedia specialist at VideoWorks, the university’s in-house production company that sponsors Bullcast. For his position, Campbell films and edits online distance learning classes and other videos for university departments, as well as instructs photojournalism and video storytelling courses.
“BullCast is a web-show-slash-YouTube channel that allows students the opportunity to learn new skills using professional audio, video, and photo equipment. And they also gain experience and learn how to work as a team because there’s different roles and it allows students to learn different roles and try different roles for the show,” Campbell said.
Episode one of Bullcast –– Have you H.E.R.D covered various topics of interest: Homecoming week, the Ben Riley and 2 Chains concert, the canned food drive, the Homecoming football game, Hurricane Ian, how to stay involved, midterms and resources available as a student.
“I took interest in this project because I always wanted to be a part of something big such as a podcast. I love how we all have equal roles and can rely on each other for creating the best content possible. Any type of experience regarding this industry is amazing and will benefit me for future years in pursuing a journalism career,” Fournier said.
As this webcast is a learning experience for both the producers and students involved, there is constant improvement from one episode to the next. The webcast has many moving parts, including pre-production, production, and post-production. This helps prepare students for the challenging real-world of webcasting.
Teaching students’ modern technology and equipment is a key goal within organizing a full production.
“Being in this webcast is to increase my communication skills, practice good leadership qualities, and understanding [of] both the technical and communication qualities needed to ensure a streamlined podcast,” Lee said.
Recruitment is an additional goal and purpose for the webcast. Perspective students can contribute their skills and knowledge to the webcast. The St. Petersburg campus is home to the journalism department, therefore having promotion of a live webcast produced and hosted by students is a standout for the university.
“The student-based webcast is definitely a good idea for USF St, Petersburg because it gives students an opportunity to learn about video production and broadcasting experience,” Max Steele a senior majoring in digital communications and multimedia journalism.
Annabel Hutchings, a senior majoring in digital communications and multimedia journalism, mentioned, “I am excited about the webcast. I think it is a great addition to our campus and a wonderful opportunity for students in our major.”
Bullcast will be a memory that students can look back on. Not just for the fun had, but for the great amount of professional experience and knowledge gained.
The webcast is available live every other Monday at 5 p.m. on YouTube. You can follow Bullcast on instagram @bullcast_usfsp.
