Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1487667
Winter 2023 – LOCAL695.COM 21 Award shows often use a pop-up mic that can disappear into the stage floor when not in use. One of the many years that the Emmy Awards show took place at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, a newly designed pop-up was installed for the first time. Unlike the common models that are straight and vertically pop up and down, this one had an obtuse angle sort of mimicking a boom arm at the top. One problem. Only the vertical section could disappear leaving the angle exposed above the stage. At some point in the show, Peter Jennings, the personification of news gravitas, was introduced and made an entrance, walking to the pop-up. The operator was a bit late bring- ing up the mic and Mr. Jennings stepped on the exposed angle, the part where the mic element lived. Flattened the sucker. Done. Kaput. I ran from stage left with an RF hand mic and held it out for Mr. Jennings, thinking he would take it and I could scoot off stage. Nope. He just started talking while I was standing two feet away holding the mic at the proper angle. It was a long speech, it seemed to last forever. In hindsight, I wish the viewers could have seen my thought bubble, channeling Big B. "You're a grown-ass man, take the damn mic!" When I got home after the show, my phone message machine was blinking. It was my mother, "I saw your hand on TV!" Have you worked at a live event where something unforgettable happened? The Jim Valvano speech. We were working the first ESPY Awards on March 4, 1993, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. Coach Valvano had a very aggressive form of cancer. He was slated to receive the inaugural Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award. Most thought he would not be able to make the trip to New York from North Carolina, much less give a speech. Many of you know the outcome. He made the trip and gave a speech that no one present will ever forget. He didn't talk about basketball, he talked about life. To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. And number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. Near the end, Valvano announced the formation of the V Foundation for Cancer Research, an organization that, to date, has awarded nearly $300 million in grants. Less than two months after the speech, on April 28, Jim Valvano died. As a cancer survivor, I'll never forget being there and hearing him speak. The JB-1 features a display and menu system, which allows for ease of use and display of timecode and settings. It reads, generates and jam syncs to all standard frame rates including 23.976 for High Definition shoots. The JB-1 features an automatic jam sync capability, which senses the incoming timecode rate. Cross jamming of different rates can be accomplished as well. ZMT4-X Lasts Day to Night Lasts Day to Night Lasts Day to Night U P T O 16 Hours