Directing and producing Mountaineer Playbook has pushed me to grow in countless ways. This week was another testament to that growth.
On Thursday evening, during our producer meeting, Sam was unable to be there in person since he was out of town. At the beginning of the semester, he mentioned that he would be away for a week and that I might need to take on more scriptwriting responsibilities. When we wrapped up the meeting that night, I went straight home and began typing the majority of the script. Normally, Sam and I split the workload evenly, but this week the responsibility fell primarily on me. This experience deepened my understanding of the finer details of scriptwriting. While I was already familiar with most aspects, I gained a better grasp of the small nuances, such as creating natural back-and-forth exchanges between anchors and structuring segments for better engagement.
On show day, I felt confident heading into my director’s meeting. I believe this meeting is crucial because it allows me to assign specific tasks to individuals, knowing they will execute them successfully. At the end of the meeting, I gave a short speech to the team, emphasizing how we only have six more episodes left before stepping into the real world, where we’ll start at the bottom and work our way up. I also shared a quote from Tom Brady: “Happiness begins where selfishness ends.” I explained that if we support each other and work as a team, our jobs become easier, and when things run smoothly, we all feel happier and more accomplished.
Once we began filming, I won’t lie—I felt a bit nervous. Having the JRL 380 class shadowing us for the day added an extra layer of pressure. Knowing that so many of my classmates were watching and analyzing our every move was a little stressful at first. But then it hit me—if I projected confidence, my team would feel more confident, too. That realization helped me shake off the nerves and focus on leading effectively.
Our first take had a few minor hiccups, but I was incredibly impressed with the team’s performance. Everyone took the feedback from the director’s meeting and applied it seamlessly. For example, I had given Maggie a heads-up about some quick CG transitions. During the first take, she was fast, but not quite at the speed we needed. However, by the second take, she nailed it perfectly. Normally, we record the show three times, but after our second take, my professors approached me and asked, “What do you think?” Without hesitation, I responded, “From a technical standpoint, my team executed everything as well as they could. There’s nothing we could significantly improve with another take.”
It was an incredible feeling to see everything come together so smoothly. I was beyond proud of the entire team. The experience reinforced my confidence as a director and producer, and it reminded me why I love being a part of Mountaineer Playbook, a team that continues to push each other toward excellence.