BBN to debut new set in Friday’s episode

The Bearden Broadcasting Network will debut a new set on Friday, ending more than five years of filming its weekly news show in front of a green screen. BBN has been using a green screen since before current advisor Mr. Tim Vacek took the reins in the fall of 2008. Recently, the green screen was removed from the BBN studio, and an actual set was built in its place. Removing the green screen will make life for the BBN editors much easier. “It takes a long time to edit the episode on Thursday afternoon before we turn it in to air on Friday,” station director Deanna Markelonis said. The editing process consists of filling in the green screen with a background. Overall, the set will become a huge time saver, and has been positively received by the BBN staff. “I’m really happy with the decision to switch over to a set,” assistant station director Tru Powell said. “Green screens were very tedious to edit, and the new set looks a lot sharper and more professional than the old set-up.” Mr. Vacek had the idea to build a corner set that would be versatile for BBN’s needs. Although the idea was Mr. Vacek’s, he isn’t exactly a contractor, so the job of building the set was delegated to BHS junior Katie Cottrell’s father, Jason Cottrell. Mr. Vacek relayed his ideas to Cottrell, who told Mr. Vacek what supplies he needed. Mr. Vacek obtained the supplies, and Cottrell began his work. The set’s wooden structure was built and attached to the walls over the course of two nights. The task of painting the set and preparing it for its debut came next. Senior art students Kendall Norwood and Rachel Jones were in charge of all the detailed artistic work. The BBN staff, Norwood, and Jones all joined forces to paint the primer on the wood and the black top coat that covers the entirety of the set. Jones then designed the new logo to be centered on the set. Jones and Norwood applied the logo on the set using acrylic paint. Flanking the center panel on either side are columns containing school-related pictures taken by Norwood. Mr. Vacek wanted pictures to represent all aspects of the school. Norwood chose five to eight pictures from her collection for each category. Four final pictures from each category were chosen by Mr. Vacek and the BBN staff. “It’s pretty cool for more people to see my pictures,” Norwood said. “They show a good variety of school activities.” Mackenzie Lee is a staff writer for The Bark. Follow The Bark onTwitter @BeardenBARK and like The Bark (Bearden High School) on Facebook.