Bad Company Film Screening with producer Lou D’Aria

The Great Lakes system of locks and canals opened up the region to more than just economic opportunities; it also paved the way for hundreds of destructive invasive species.  Their untold negative impact on the region’s economy and ecology have led some to consider them “bad company.”

Created by Michigan State University’s Knight Center for Environmental Journalism, Bad Company has aired on MSU’s broadcasting channel, WKAR-PBS.  Producer Lou D’Aria will be in attendance to answer questions about the film.

Offered by the Michigan State University School of Journalism and Knight Center for Environmental Journalism, the course helped students develop their analytical skills through watching videos and engaging in discussions of contemporary issues in electronic media as they relate to bringing an environmental story to the screen.

Students learned strategies for finding an environmental story suitable for video production and in researching, writing and developing it. They also learned some basic techniques in the use of camera, lighting, sound and editing equipment.

For more information about the course and to view some of the students’ projects, visit the class blog.

The Knight Center for Environmental Journalism

The center, located on MSU’s East Lansing, Mich., campus, was founded in 1994 when the John S. and James L. Knight Foundationcreated the nation’s first endowed chair in environmental journalism.

The program offers numerous classes andprofessional workshops for the study and practice of environmental journalism. Faculty conduct research and attract environmental experts and journalists from around the world as guest lecturers.

“Student projects win regional journalism awards”
MSU CAS News | March 2011

“Premiere of Bad Company”
MSU CAS News | February 2011

Their untold negative impacts on the region’s ecology and economy have led some to consider them “bad company.” The Knight Center’s fourth documentary of the same name examines the history of invasive species in the Great Lakes region.

It’s set to run on May 24, 2011 at 8 p.m. on MSU’s broadcasting channel WKAR-PBS.

Bad Company is preceded by The Night Shift, an award-winning documentary about the impact of chemicals on great horned owls in Midland, Mich.; Dying to be Heard, an award-winning story of the Michigan State professor who discovered a link between DDT and dying birds on campus; and Meltdown, a look at global climate change from a local perspective.

Instructor Lou D’Aria and journalism student Matt Mikus co-produced the one-hour program with help from associate producer Rachael Gleason and a handful of additional Michigan State students.

Overall, D’Aria is pleased with how the documentary came out, especially the narration. Jim Peck, Big Ten Network executive producer, voiced the piece on his own time.

“Jim Peck did a great job. I’m really happy with the amount of work and effort he put into it,” D’Aria said.
One of the biggest obstacles to production was the lack of budget. D’Aria relied on eager students and free-to-use material from the United States National Archives and photo-sharing websites like Flickr to tell the story.

Some of the producers traveled miles to get some of the footage; other parts came from D’Aria’s own back yard.
It took more than a year to complete the piece.

“That’s the thing with doing videos. They are never finished,” he said.

Michigan State University previewed Bad Company on campus in late February.

Their untold negative impacts on the region’s ecology and economy have led some to consider them “bad company.”

The Knight Center for Environmental Journalism at Michigan State University examines the history of Great Lakes invasive species in its fourth documentary: Bad Company. Instructor Lou D’Aria and journalism student Matt Mikus co-produced the one-hour documentary with help from associate producer Rachael Gleason and a handful of additional Michigan State students.

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PREVIEW:

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PRODUCTION STILLS:

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PURCHASE:

For more information on how to order a DVD copy of Dying to be Heard, contact the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism at Michigan State University.

Knight Center for Environmental Journalism
382 Communication Arts and Sciences
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824-1212

Administrative Assistant
Barb Miller
517-432-1415
Fax: 517-355-7710
mille384@msu.edu

The video won first place in the college division and was presented to Mary Hansen, David Cooper, Sarah Coefield and Marla Kalmbach last Thursday, April 22 at Delta College in University Center, Michigan. This 27-minute documentary was broadcast on WKAR-TV last year and made by students in the environmental video class in the School of Journalism that is taught by D’Aria.

The video looks at research carried out by Coefield, an MSU environmental journalism graduate student, and her colleagues who examined the impact of chemicals on great horned owls in Midland, Michigan. It also looks at the rehabilitation of owls and other birds at the Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine by James Sikarskie, an associate professor, and the rediscovery of a rare owl in India by Pamela Rasmussen, a curator at the MSU Museum.

This is the third year in a row that an entry from D’Aria and his Knight Center students has won first prize in the Great Lakes Environmental Film Festival competition. The students shared a $500 prize for their video this year.
This video also won first prize in the in-depth television category at the Society of Professional Journalists’ Region 4 competition in Cleveland, Ohio on April 10. The video has been forwarded to the national competition of the Society of Professional Journalists. The national winners will be announced at the SPJ national conference in Las Vegas, Nevada the weekend of October 3 – 5, 2010.

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PREVIEW:

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ACCOLADES:

Great Lakes Environmental Film Festival

“The Night Shift,” a documentary created by Lou D’Aria, an environmental video instructor at the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism, and his students has won first prize in the Great Lakes Environmental Film Festival. The video won first place in the college division and was presented to Mary Hansen, David Cooper, Sarah Coefield and Marla Kalmbach last Thursday, April 22 at Delta College in University Center, Michigan. This 27-minute documentary was broadcast on WKAR-TV last year and made by students in the environmental video class in the School of Journalism that is taught by D’Aria.

This is the third year in a row that an entry from D’Aria and his Knight Center students has won first prize in the Great Lakes Environmental Film Festival competition.

Michigan Emmy

“The Night Shift” has been nominated for a Michigan Emmy in the category of health/science special program.

Nominations in the 32nd annual competition were recently announced by the Michigan Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. The winners of the Michigan Emmys will be announced on June 5 at the Royal Oak Music Theatre.

Society for Professional Journalists

This video also won first prize in the in-depth television category at the Society of Professional Journalists’ Region 4 competition in Cleveland, Ohio on April 10. The video has been forwarded to the national competition of the Society of Professional Journalists. The national winners will be announced at the SPJ national conference in Las Vegas, Nevada the weekend of October 3 – 5, 2010.

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PRODUCTION STILLS:

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PURCHASE:

For more information on how to order a DVD copy of Dying to be Heard, contact the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism at Michigan State University.

Knight Center for Environmental Journalism
382 Communication Arts and Sciences
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824-1212

Administrative Assistant
Barb Miller
517-432-1415
Fax: 517-355-7710
mille384@msu.edu

Dying to be Heard tells the story of Michigan State University professor Dr. George J. Wallace, who discovered a link between DDT and dying birds on the MSU campus. His work was highlighted in Rachel Carson’s book “Silent Spring,” which helped launch the modern environmental movement.

The film, produced by students and faculty in MSU’s Knight Center for Environmental Journalism, is based on MSU professor Jim Detjen’s editorial “Breaking the ‘Silence’” that appeared in the fall 2005 issue of EJ Magazine. It was picked up by all six PBS stations in Michigan.

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WATCH:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

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ACCOLADES:

Great Lakes Environmental Film Festival

Environment’s inaugural piece, “Dying to be Heard,” took the top spot in the college longform division at the 2007 Great Lakes Environmental Film Festival. Student producers Ben Philips, Karly Pence, and composer Kevin Wilt shared the $1000 first-place prize. The GLEFF is a video and photo competition open to high school and college students. The next festival will be held January 9th and 10th, 2008.

Michigan EMMY

“Dying to be Heard” won a local emmy from the Michigan chapter of the 2007 National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) for lighting. Composer Kevin Wilt was also nominated for an emmy for best musical composition/arrangement.

Society for Professional Journalists

“Dying to be Heard” took first place for TV In-Depth Reporting in the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Region 4 and second place nationally. Producers Ben Philips, Karly Pence, and composer Kevin Wilt were recognized at the Mark of Excellence Luncheon at the March ’08 conference in Pittsburgh, Penn.

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PRODUCTION STILLS:

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PURCHASE:

For more information on how to order a DVD copy of Dying to be Heard, contact the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism at Michigan State University.

Knight Center for Environmental Journalism
382 Communication Arts and Sciences
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824-1212

Administrative Assistant
Barb Miller
517-432-1415
Fax: 517-355-7710
mille384@msu.edu

Meltdown

Meltdown is the second production of the Knight Center’s television program, Environment. Students from a variety of disciplines taking the Environmental Video Production (JRN 808/JRN 408) course, taught by Lou D’Aria, worked on bringing Meltdown together in conjunction with theatre major Allison Lepech, who narrated the piece, broadcast major Jamal Spencer, Environment’s host, and music doctoral student Kevin Wilt, who composed the musical score with the MSU symphony.

This site features much of the behind-the-camera media, including unaired interviews, production stills, and the WKAR-PBS aired promo.

To find out how you can be involved in future Environment programming, contact Lou D’Aria at daria@msu.edu.

Photo by Natalie Lucier.

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WATCH:

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ACCOLADES:

Great Lakes Environmental Film Festival

“Meltdown” won first place in the college feature division.

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PRODUCTION STILLS:

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MUSIC:

The musical score for “Meltdown” is a composition of MSU graduate student Kevin Wilt. Wilt, who also arranged the regional emmy-nominated score for “Dying to be Heard,” enlisted the help of Professor Raphael Jimenez to conduct the school’s philharmonic orchestra.

The entire 20-track score was recorded by the 30+ piece orchestra in one session on a read-through (without practice) and digitized and tweaked by Wilt on his homemade orchestral workstation.

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PURCHASE:

For more information on how to order a DVD copy of Dying to be Heard, contact the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism at Michigan State University.

Knight Center for Environmental Journalism
382 Communication Arts and Sciences
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824-1212

Administrative Assistant
Barb Miller
517-432-1415
Fax: 517-355-7710
mille384@msu.edu