Doves director

On the set of the 2015 Dove Awards held Oct. 14., the title “12-year-old TD” was a term of endearment to 21-year-old Liberty University senior Adrianna Scalzo, who served as the program’s
technical director (TD).

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Producer Kim White and Director Dave Chilton were impressed with the young Scalzo’s expertise as TD during the live taping of the show. Scalzo attributed her knowledge of broadcast to working and learning on the broadcasting crew of the Liberty Flames Sports Network (LFSN). However, Scalzo was not always an aspiring TD or even communications-minded.

Originally planning to be a pilot, Scalzo discovered her love for communication and broadcasting when she transferred to Liberty as a sophomore.

“I found out you don’t really need a degree to become a pilot,” Scalzo said. “So I thought I would just get (any) degree and be a pilot. Then I found communications and fell in love with it.”

Specifically enjoying broadcast operations, Scalzo began working and training at LFSN in 2013 along with other communication students, according to LFSN Producer Matthew Byrd.

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“I started out at LFSN working a camera, and I thought that was the only thing I wanted to do,” Scalzo said. “I actually pegged (technical directing) as something I could never do because … it was really complicated.”

However, once Scalzo tried technical directing, she discovered it was not as hard as she anticipated and quickly excelled in the position, according to Byrd. In September, Scalzo was offered the position of technical director for the Dove Awards by a freelance worker for LFSN, Russ Hall. Scalzo said Hall and other LFSN directors gave her special instruction on technical directing because of the interest she showed in the position.

“(Hall) held training sessions and dedicated his time to personally training me and … other students who showed interest and passion in technical directing,” Scalzo said.

The opportunity was based on more than just her interest. Scalzo’s desire to excel helped her as she learned and applied her knowledge at LFSN, according to Byrd.

“Adrianna is great at troubleshooting problems within the broadcast and spending the time to fix them,” Byrd said.

“She is organized and thorough and really wants each broadcast to be the best it can be.”

Because of her work at LFSN, Scalzo was ready for the unique challenges that the Dove Awards presented.

“I (used) a Sony switcher that I’ve actually never worked on before,” Scalzo said. “I was really nervous that I wasn’t going to be able to pull it off … but then I got in there and I thought, ‘Ok, I know this.’”

While she had experience in broadcast at Liberty, the differences between working at LFSN and the Dove Awards were evident.

“There were a lot of guys who were very obviously not Christians, but within the (production) truck, they tried to keep it very professional,” Scalzo said. “Also, the show was calmer than sports.”

Since her experience at the Dove Awards, Scalzo also had the opportunity to technical direct a Division II NCAA football game between Michigan Tech and Ferris State for the American Sports Network in Big Rapids, Michigan.

Because of her quality work, Scalzo was offered the opportunity to technical direct all Liberty women’s basketball games and is an official LFSN backup technical director. She hopes to further her experience in broadcast and easily “slide” into the working world as a sports broadcast technical director.

Her advice for students who want to pursue a career in broadcast communication was to “go for it.”

“(LFSN) is such a learning environment,” Scalzo said. “They want to put you on every position … and (help you) get a feel for stuff so you can find out what you like (and) get trained for it.”

Byrd agreed and cited Scalzo as an excellent example of LFSN student success. He also hopes many aspiring communications professionals will take advantage of LFSN and its student program.

“LFSN is a great opportunity for students to build upon what they learn in the classroom,” Byrd said. “Our broadcasts are real-time, live-world experiences that push them to be better, more creative, and take pride in their product.”

Scalzo desires to train students new to LFSN and broadcast as well as to excel in her craft, though perhaps with a different title than “12-year-old TD.”

STEPTOE is a news reporter.

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