Westminster College Broadcast Communications Students and Professor Honored by Broadcast Education Association
Posted on Monday, May 6, 2013
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. - Westminster College Broadcast and Digital Communications Lecturer Brad Weaver and student Joe Ligo received awards at the Broadcast Education Association's (BEA) Festival of Media Arts awards April 7 in Las Vegas.
Weaver was named faculty winner for Television Feature Reporting for his video "Deconstruction on Spring Break," which follows Westminster students, faculty and staff during spring break as they participated in a service work trip in North Carolina. The judges praised the video for its outstanding use of natural sound in the storytelling and also gave Weaver's writing high marks.
Visit http://vimeo.com/39792551 to watch the video.
Ligo accepted second place for the Best Music Video award for a promotional video he and fellow student Andrea Tice produced for JD Eicher & the Goodnights, an acoustic rock band that includes three Westminster alumni.
Ligo and Tice undertook the project as part of a video production course taught by Weaver. Ligo and Tice wrote, directed, and produced the four-and-a-half-minute video to announce the release of "Easy," JD Eicher & the Goodnights' single from the album Shifting. The video includes stop-motion animation. More than 900 digital still photos taken during an eight-hour photo shoot were edited to about 90 seconds of animation in the final product.
"I'm thrilled to see them honored by the BEA. They're at the top and sharing the limelight with some major university programs that have courses focused solely on music video productions," Weaver said.
Visit http://youtu.be/51RMBGCkONk to watch the video.
The awards ceremony was a part of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) conference and show. While at the conference Weaver and Ligo presented both together and separately.
Weaver chaired the faculty panel "Shooting News, Commercials and More with HDSLR." He and Ligo, along with Jonathan Joy `03, presented "Shooting News and More with DSLR," which reviewed the benefits of filming with a digital single-lens reflex camera.
"Joe was one of a select few undergraduates in the country featured as panelists at this national convention of educators and professionals in electronic media," Weaver said. "It was a wonderful collaboration that extended beyond my work with Joe. His work enhanced mine and the efforts of faculty beyond Westminster."
Ligo also presented "This Beats Buying Books," which discussed the importance and value of students owning an affordable HD camera. He explained that this type of camera not only helps enhance demo reels, but also helps colleges and universities save money and future-proof programs from changing camera technologies.
"It was the first time I have taken a student to a national convention," Weaver said. "It was fantastic to see the event through his eyes and watch his reaction. He was an excellent presenter who shined bright with the tenured faculty on my panel. His research and presentation received high praise from his fellow panelists and the audience."
In addition to his presentation with Joy and Ligo, Weaver presented "Building a Digital Newsroom on the Cheap" as an invited panelist for the "Building a Digital Newsroom" program.
Weaver, who has been with Westminster since 2000, earned an undergraduate degree from Alderson-Broaddus College, a master's from the University of Kansas, and is a doctoral student in the School of Education at the University of Pittsburgh.
Weaver worked for WPXI-TV in Pittsburgh and has worked for television stations in Kansas, Missouri, West Virginia and North Carolina. He has held positions as news director, assistant news director, producer, assignment editor, videographer, field producer, reporter, photographer and segment/field producer.
Ligo, a junior broadcast communications major, is a son of Jesse and Amy Ligo of Mercer and a graduate of Mercer Area High School. He is the program director/operations manager and on-air personality for Westminster's Titan Radio. His 15-second promotional spot for Westminster can be seen during Root Sports broadcasts of Pittsburgh Penguins games.
Joy teaches video production at Clarion University and joined creative forces with Jimm Needle `03 at Pittsburgh-based Always Delightful Films.
Tice of New Castle is a recent graduate of Westminster's Lifelong Learning Program.
The broadcast and digital communications program is one of the largest and fastest growing at Westminster College, offering students interested in radio and television an education with hands on experience, including: remote broadcasts of sports and other special events, in-studio production of news, magazine and interview shows, announcing and managing Titan Radio, special feature productions, and web and internet journalism on www.wcn247.com.
Contact Weaver at (724) 946-7238 or email for additional information.
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