The Digital Media Productions class has taken on the responsibility this year to live-stream sports and big events.

Michael Bokovitz teaches the class and acknowledges that these streams have made people feel like they were at the actual events. He said, “I would say the biggest thing is that we allowed people to still be part of the school and the teams even though the pandemic was going on. I also think it opened up another avenue for people that maybe can’t watch because of health reasons or out of town.”

Jake Arth, a junior in DMP, is very involved with the streaming and thinks these live streams have benefits for when people who can’t make the games. Arth said, “I think that prior to COVID, some family members weren’t able to come to certain sporting events because of work or whatever they had going on. But now I feel like they can just turn their live-stream on at work and still support their children.”

Sophomore Joey Bevack also helps with the streaming and knows the impact that streaming has had on people. Bevak said, “I think that for people who don’t feel comfortable going to see the games, it really helps them and their family members.”

Although it may seem easy to set-up, Bokovitz acknowledges there are several factors in keeping the stream up. He said, “I would say the biggest thing is making sure the connection was working; there’s a lot of moving parts so if one thing goes, it could shut down the whole thing. I also think that maybe there are some expectations that the students are professionals, and some people expect to turn on ESPN instead of Mayfield DMP’s YouTube.”

Bevack specifically notes that WiFi and camera issues are most common. He said, “Sometimes the Wifi cuts out and the stream shuts down. Sometimes that cameras are also in the wrong place, showing the wrong part of the field, or whatever it is that we are streaming.¨

Arth says he’s learned that the DMP class has to be ready to problem-solve when something doesn’t work according to plan. He said, “You have to have a plan B, C and D.”

Before the DMP students started live-streaming, Bokovitz admitted he had to first figure out how to make it happen. “I initially made sure that we were able to go live and then solve any problems until the students got comfortable with doing it themselves,” he said. “After a while I just did nothing!”

Arth helps lead the live streams by setting up the cameras and switch boxes, along with telling the team of students what he wants to do. He said, “I also take the equipment home with me whenever we are at a sporting event, and we can’t get back into the school.”

Bevack makes sure that the people are seeing the right camera angle at the right time so they don’t miss anything. He says, “My role during the live streams is I work the tablet or the iPad. With the iPad, you pick and choose what the people are seeing on the screen.”

Looking ahead, Bokovitz has plans to continue live-streaming particular events. He said, “I hope to at least have some part of getting the community to see what athletes are doing.”

Arth admits he’s confident that next year’s live streams will be improved. He said, “We are also hoping to add some sort of commentary to the streams as well.”

Bevack has his own ideas too, such as adding some new elements to these streams having a better production. He said, ¨I think the live streams will be a lot more improved editing-wise, maybe some text boxes, maybe a score board or even an instant replay.”