Tina Phan

On November 5th, Parker Curtis and I headed to Houston for the 2011 Lone Star EMMY Awards. The University Star, the student newspaper at Texas State University, won in all three categories we were nominated in… go Star team!

COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY STUDENT PRODUCTION – SPORTS
Ride 2 Recovery
The University Star
Tina Phan, Photographer/Editor

COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY STUDENT PRODUCTION – ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT/CULTURAL AFFAIRS
Haitian Amputee Soccer Team
The University Star
Tina Phan, Photographer/Editor
Parker Curtis, Photographer/Editor

(Andrew actually submitted a reel showing various work, but here’s one of the videos he produced for this years Fun Fun Fun Fest)
COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY STUDENT PRODUCTION – PHOTOGRAPHER
7Daily
The University Star
Andrew Goodwin, Photographer/Editor

Parker and I had to run loops from the backstage area to the front of the stage since they named university categories out in sequential order. By the way, that golden EMMY statue Parker is holding is just a prop, and was swiftly taken away from us after the photo was shot. Students who win for university productions receive a strange engraved piece of glass as an award instead of the traditional statue. I like how they let you keep the envelopes they open on stage to announce the winner.

Andrew couldn’t attend the ceremony since he was covering Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin/on stage with Childish Gambino at the time, but with the power of Photoshop, here’s what the photo would’ve looked like if Andrew was there too.

People sitting at tables near us were congratulating us and I recall one woman being rather puzzled when I was explaining to her that we were a student newspaper and not a student tv newscast. Another notable event: The Dallas Morning-News also won two EMMYS that night for Health/Science News Single Story and Military News Single Story. I just find it interesting that video being produced at newspapers are winning over some of the TV stories.

Thank you’s are definitely in order for the following people, as well as everyone else at The University Star and the people interviewed for the stories:

Scott Thomas, web editor 2009-2010. Scott and I essentially started the multimedia section at the Star in fall of 2009. I was a staff photographer and Scott asked me to be his assistant web editor. We really didn’t know what we were doing, as most of the time we were running around with cameras and troubleshooting Final Cut problems we’d never heard of, but I guess it worked out. Scott was the one who initiated this type of video storytelling at the Star. Before that, the Star’s previous web editor was doing a weekly TV newscast, so really none of this would be possible if it wasn’t for him.

David Nolan, senior lecturer at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, is the catalyst in all of this. Scott and I did not know much about video until we were in Nolan’s Visual Storytelling class in Spring 2009. This was the first time I truly learned how to use a video camera and edit in Final Cut, as well as how to piece together a mini-documentary. I’d be totally lost if it wasn’t for what was taught this class.

Amanda Venable, the editor in chief 2009-2010, who let Scott and I tear down and rebuild the whole web and multimedia areas of the Star. It was also under her leadership when it was decided for a multimedia staff section to be created. By Spring 2010, a multimedia editor position was created and I was the first editor.

Allen Reed, the editor in chief 2010-2011, who really helped whip the multimedia section into shape and gave it so much more structure. Additionally, he would show me funny cat videos whenever I was feeling particularly overwhelmed by my workload.

Andrew Goodwin, multimedia editor 2011 through present, and my assistant multimedia editor in fall 2010… I didn’t even know work from newspapers could get entered for the EMMYS until he submitted a video he produced for the Star and got nominated in 2010. Granted, I helped start the section, but once Andrew became editor, there was a very noticeable jump in the quality of work being produced by the multimedia staff.

Parker Curtis, current assistant multimedia editor. The Emmy we won together was definitely team effort. When we were filming the Haitian Soccer Team story, he actually got stung by a bee (and didn’t seek medical attention/instead kept shooting as his hand swelled up, against my advice). During the editing process, he took the reins as I was out sick half the time with food poisoning.

Katie McGaha-Pruitt, assistant multimedia editor in spring 2011. I remember she was acting as editor for the day when I shot/produced the Ride 2 Recovery story. She helped me cut down interviews and made suggestions during the editing process until it was finished at 1:30 in the morning.

The University Star Multimedia staff, Fall 2010
(L-R) Melina Cowan, Cecily Fish, Tina Phan, Matt Barnes, Andrew Goodwin, Katie McGaha-Pruitt, Parker Curtis, Fabian Juarez

The University Star Multimedia staff, Spring 2011
(L-R) Andrew Goodwin, Katie McGaha-Pruitt, Parker Curtis, Tina Phan, Matt Barnes, Ramon Mejia, Eric Babin, David Castenada (Not pictured: Cecily Fish and Matthew Wright)

I’m really honored to be a part of all this and help start this section.
-Tina Phan, multimedia editor – spring and fall 2010