The Immaculate Nathan B.

Nathan Buchanan is a 21-year-old student at the Academy of Contemporary Music (ACM) at the University of Central Oklahoma. Music has been an important theme in his life and has become his dream for the future.

For Buchanan, performing and expressing himself lyrically through hip-hop has become an important part of his life.  As a musician in Oklahoma, Buchanan hopes to change the face of music in this state and more so to change the face of hip-hop. Buchanan's passion and drive to change the music industry makes him a critical player for change within the state of Oklahoma.

Oklahoma's hip-hop scene remains largely underground, although key artists have collaborated with mainstream artists.  Rappers such as Johnny Polygon, Big8, Jabee and Josh Sallee have been collaborated with more widely known musicians. 

Recording studios in Oklahoma do not have much of a presence in the United States but they are there and growing. Buchanan hopes to own his own studio in the future and produce music for other bands while creating and performing his own.

N.P.O.B- New Professor on the Block: Kyle Bergersen

Kyle Bergersen is the new kid on the block in Gaylord College. He is the newest addition to the B.E.M. faculty. And after only one semester in Gaylord, he already loves it. “I feel like I am a good fit for what they need and I get to do exactly what I want to do, which is to teach an emphasis on single camera narrative world”, Bergersen said.

Bergersen teaching his EFP class
Photo: Sadie Short

Bergersen is bringing first hand industry experience into the classroom. He started out as a director of photography for commercials and corporate videos and then moved on to directing. Fortunately for the students of Gaylord College, he somehow found his way into writing and became a member of the Writers Guild. “That kind of skill set of camera to script is what I wanted to bring to this program.”

His ultimate goal was to become a cameraman, so he took a job on a set in Seattle as a P.A. There, his goal was to schmooze the camera guys and get in good with them; Fortunately, it worked.  After a few years in Seattle, Bergersen decided to make the move to L.A. in 1996 where he started directing car commercials. “The whole time I had an eye on getting better at writing. I wrote and self produced and financed a few Indie pictures, and they were okay, but ultimately where they always suffered was the script. When I moved to L.A. I had two goals for myself: I was going to learn to write and the second was that I was not going to pay to produce my own movies anymore.”

With much hard work and dedication to his craft, Bergersen was able to accomplish both goals. He said he finally wrote his ‘calling card’ script, which after a few pitches became his first backed film entitled ‘Love Comes to the Executioner’. In addition to being funded, Bergersen was able to cast some pretty big ‘up and coming’ actors such as, Jonathan Tucker, who at the time had just got done filming the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake, Ginnifer Goodwin of Big Love, and Jeremy Renner, who was nominated for an Academy Award for The Hurt Locker.

Students listening to Bergersen's lighting lecture
Photo: Sadie Short

Bergersens teaching career began as an adjunct professor at Chapman University in Orange, California. He really began to take teaching more seriously after the writers strike in Hollywood. The writers strike and the fact that he and his wife wanted to spend more time with their children prompted their the move to Oklahoma. “It is cool to work production when you are in your 20’s because it doesn’t matter if you are gone working sixteen hour days. But when you have a family and you do that, you find yourself leaving for work before your kids wake up and then they are asleep by the time you get home. So it was just time for a change.”

Bergersen is not the only person in his family who has had some Hollywood experience under their belt. His wife worked in wardrobe for shows such as ‘Criminal Minds’, ‘Will and Grace’, and ‘Jonas’ (the Jonas brothers TV show).

Flyer promoting Bergersen's new practicum
Photo: Sadie Short

After only one semester at Gaylord, Bergersen has already developed two new classes for students. The first will be a winter intersession class called ‘Table Top Digital Cinematography’, where the focus will be lighting. Second will be a new practicum starting in the spring semester called ‘FPU: The Web Series’. The student-produced series, believe it or not, will be a comedy about puppets, which due to a Supreme Court decision, are suddenly allowed to go to college. 

Check out:

Bergersen is pretty legit, he has his own IMDB Page.

Here is a link to his ‘Love Comes to the Executioner’  movie trailer.

Cage master: Zachary Blocker

Zachary Blocker in Studio A
Photo: Sadie Short

Zachary Blocker is a 2009 graduate of Gaylord College and is currently working for the college.

Blockers' major was journalism with an emphasis in broadcast and electronic media.  “I picked that major because a lot of the stuff just came easy for me, and I wanted to learn how to do more camera work.” Today he is putting many of the things that come natural to him to good use in an effort to better the success of the college, its many productions, and most importantly, to its students.

Blocker has many jobs and responsibilities at Gaylord. The opportunity came about while he was still a student. “The semester I was supposed to graduate, Scott called me and said, ‘Hey do you want a job?’ and I said ‘Sure, that sounds great.’” Blocker’s jobs include being the teaching assistant for the intro to video class, the facilities manager for the new wing and also the cage manager.

As exciting and as busy as his job might be Blocker does not intend to work at Gaylord forever. He ultimately aspires to work in film or television, but he is not picky about where he ends up. “Big or small, I don’t care where I start out at, just as long as I get the opportunity to do what I really enjoy; making stuff and doing creative projects.”

Blockers advice for current Gaylord students is to take advantage of the opportunities that are given to them and to get involved with the practicums and internships. Blocker believes getting to know your professors and advisors is also key. “There are no other journalism colleges in the country that have the assets (professors/advisors and facilities alike) that we do, so take advantage of it.”

The infamous cage dragon
Photo: Sadie Short

If you have ever been to the cage where students check out equipment, you probably have noticed the ‘Cage Dragon’ that is on the marker board. It always has a friendly or threatening message for students. So I had to ask, “What is the deal with the ‘Cage Dragon’?“ Blockers reply: “That is a Josh Shockley creation, all rights reserved. He just asks me if there is any messages in particular that I would like posted up there, other than that it is all him.”

Students of Gaylord College can look for Zack Blocker in the classroom and also working about the college. He has lots to offer to the students, as his experience as one is relevant and always helpful.

The one and only Gerald August Loessberg

If you have not had the pleasure of having Gerald Loessberg as a teacher, I suggest you enroll in one of his classes immediately. This interview will show you why.

Kevin Daugherty

Kevin Daugherty, an Oklahoma native, has a rather impressive resume and a lot of experience under his belt.

Director's Guild member and OU alumni Kevin Daugherty
Photo by: Sadie Short

During my conversation with him, Daugherty told story after story of his experiences as a director, including everything from his days as an associate director on the set of Dukes of Hazzard, to one of his fondest memories; meeting the women whom he called the ‘hardest working women in show business’, Lucille Ball.

Daugherty jumped head first into the business right after graduating from the University of Oklahoma in 1977. He was brave and did a cold call to republic pictures. Daugherty had heard that there was going to be a pilot for a news show being shot and he wanted a job. “I called the Republic Pictures and asked to talk to the executive producer of Venture Bay. I ended up on the phone with the president of the studio. He asked me what experience I had and I said ‘zippo’”

Only a couple of days later does Daugherty get a call back and they make him a deal. If he would be willing to pay for his flight to Miami (where the show was being filmed) then they would be willing give him a job on the set. This first job was basically a production assistant. “I did everything from coffee, dropping off raw footage for editing and picking up actors at the airport.” After proving himself the producers of the show wrote him recommendations for acceptance into the Directors Guild. Out of 18,000 applicants, and only five spots available, Daugherty was accepted.

DGA logo
Photo: DGA website

Daugherty has worked as an associate director on shows such as Dukes of Hazzard, Charlie’s Angels, Dynasty, Dallas, Fantasy Island, and many other pilots.

Today, Daugherty is retired yet he still has pertinent advice for students today. Daugherty’s advice for Gaylord student’s who are looking to get into the business; “Do not be afraid to take chances and do not become arrogant because you have made it.”

Here is a link to the Directors Guild site, and Daugherty's membership details.
http://www.dga.org/index2.php3?chg=

Ray B. is Camera Crazy

It’s so easy to watch an intriguing piece from the comfort of your living without taking a moment to think about who was there. What was that experience like for them? What did the adventure entail? What did they risk? Ray Bribiesca, aka Ray B, is know throughout the media community as an extraordinary cameraman who risks it all so his audience can connect with the story.

Photo: Ray Bribiesca of "60 Minutes" sharing
his experiences as a combat photojournalist
with Gaylord students.
Photo by: Sadie Short

            During his recent visit to the University of Oklahoma, Ray B, a renound photojournalist for 60 Minutes for over 3 decades, told of one of his latest adventure where he risked his most precious possession of all – his life. Ray told the story of his trip to document the war in Afghanistan, and spoke about him putting himself directly in the line of enemy fire to get the shot. "You don't think, you don't; you just react" said Ray. Those ‘reactions’ have resulted in many shots that he, himself, calls crazy. Ray B stated that if his friends and family would be shocked at what he captured, it was in fact, a ‘crazy shot’.

            Perhaps his experience during the Vietnam War or his time spent as a marine has assisted him in being so brave to tell a story. It is likely that at some point during his life, Ray B, has found himself in a similar situation to the one he is shooting at any given time. He has obviously applied his life skills and his dedication into his life’s work and it has proved to be successful.

            Ray B has proved to be very talented in his line of work because he is willing to go the distance other photojournalist are scared of. Not only is he an amazing cameraman, he is also incredibly dynamic. After Ray B showed several of the pieces that he has worked on over the years, it was easy to conclude that his talented is diverse. He is a rare photojournalist who can capture anything and his audience will feel apart of it. His work is memorable.

            His biggest passion? Ray enjoys shooting nature. He looks forward to a yearly trip to Alaska to capture the migration of caribou. Even his nature shots and documents are easy to feel connected to. His work has a quality. You can feel his devotion and his dedication. Whether his is being wounded, shot, taken hostage, or being nearly attacked by a bear, the work of Ray B is an expression of his love for his craft. 

Ray's next story will be his last for 60 Minutes, because he will be retiring. Ray and Lara Logan will be traveling to Yemen. Just like most stories, this will be one that is very dangerous and Ray is going all out, last story or not. "At 60 Minutes your next story has to be better than your last, and your next one has to be even better."

Dr. Robert Kerr

Dr. Robert Kerr is a native of Norman, Oklahoma and a professor at OU.

Dr. Kerr
Photo by: Sadie Short

He achieved his undergraduate degree from Southern Arkansas University in communication with a minor in journalism. During his time at SAU, Kerr worked at the newspaper. He has worked for Newspapers for nearly 20 years. The largest Newspaper where Kerr spent time was the Memphis “Commercial Appeal”, however he also worked in other major cities such as Las Vegas, Nevada and Dallas, Texas.

Over his 20 years in the industry he has become well versed in nearly ever aspect. “I did about everything you could do in journalism at that time. I started as a sports writer, moved into news reporting, worked as an editor in sports news, features, photography and layouts.” Towards the end, Kerr specialized in feature writing.

All of his time spent in the different arenas of the newspaper is what inspired and led Kerr to the master’s program at OU. Kerr started his master’s in 1997, and at that time the college was known as the Herbert School of Journalism. Kerr said things were a little different then. “You would not believe how much smaller it was than it is now and even the number of students in journalism was a lot smaller.”

After obtaining his master’s, Kerr went on to get his PhD from the University of North Carolina. In 2002 Kerr came back to OU to teach and do research. Kerr’s research area is First Amendment Law.

Kerr’s advice for current Gaylord students is to not let finding a job get you down. “It’s frustrating for everyone… Just keep trying.”

 Click here to hear all of Kerr's advice for students

Kerr is currently teaching Mass Comm Law and he always does his best to make the class fun and interesting for his students.