News

Kristin Thiele
Public relations assistant

Avondale communication majors became the first Seventh-day Adventist tertiary students to produce programming for church television after a shoot on the college's Lake Macquarie campus this past week.

Called The Fish Bowl, the series of 13, 23.5-minute programs expanded on each Festival of Faith II meeting. Each program included a pre-recorded devotional from festival speaker Pastor Buell Fogg, a live panel discussion recorded on set in College Hall, a live testimony and a pre-recorded musical item.

The series is part of Project Hope--Australia, a joint venture between Hope Channel and the church's Australian Union Conference to produce cost-effective and contextualised programming. Hope contacted Avondale after the cancellation of a shoot in Melbourne. The timing meant students had only two weeks to prepare, but, according to producer Imogen Menzies, they delivered. "They have spent nights working on the set. Some have missed classes to make sure a shoot ran smoothly. And others sacrificed their free time to watch us record. I am so proud of the student body for pulling together like this."

The quality of the content impressed Hope's associate director Kandus Thorp, who travelled from the United States to supervise the recording. She describes the series as "relevant" and says she enjoyed the addition of a live audience. "We've produced programs at other Adventist tertiary institutions, but this is unique because it's been produced and presented by students."

Hope supplied four cameras, the director, an assistant and a cameraperson. The students--Nick Atkinson (floor manager), Steve Davis (assistant producer), Adrian Jackson (camera), Kent Kingston (assistant producer), Katie Page (line producer) and Brenton Potts (camera) formed the core of Imogen's team--recorded and edited the devotional, built the set, researched the content and supplied all other talent and support staff--about 60 students in all. Levi Gardner and Kristina Malarek hosted the series.

A pressing schedule saw the students shooting four programs on Tuesday, four on Wednesday and five on Thursday. Each shoot took about one hour.

Dr Darren Morton, a senior lecturer in health and exercise science, also recorded a series as part of Project Hope. Happiness by Design, based on Darren's book, Seven Secrets for Feeling Fantastic, will give viewers "a sound physiological explanation for why we feel the way we do."

Darren hosted the series--which also consists of 13, 23.5-minute programs--from a house the producers hired in the Yarramalong Valley. He interviewed guests including education lecturer Jason Hinze (service), Faculty of Lifestyle Education and Visual Communication dean Wayne Miller (the outdoors), and Faculty of Theology dean Dr Ray Roennfeldt (rest). He will also coordinate the shooting of vox pops on the Lake Macquarie campus over the next few weeks.

Darren describes the experience--"we shot five shows during the day, then I'd prepare for the next day's shoots in the evening"--as "intense."

Hope has yet to announce broadcast dates for either series, but both should air in early 2009.--with Brenton Stacey

Caption: Levi Gardner (left) and Kristina Malarek (second from left) lead a panel discussion in their roles as hosts of The Fish Bowl.
Credit: Ann Stafford

Caption: The addition of a live audience for three of the programs added energy to the shoots and impressed Hope Channel.
Credit: Ann Stafford