BritenSonny

I’m convinced that growing up in a small Mississippi town is why I developed such a creative imagination. My friends seemed to only be interested in playing sports or hunting and fishing. I was more interested in pretending to be a sound engineer or a camera operator. Even though I didn’t know that’s what it was called at the time. I was mesmerized with my dad’s reel-to-reel tape recorder and 8mm film camera. As a kid, he would help me record myself playing the drums and shoot stuff going on around the house. It still amazes me that I could turn a childhood fascination into a career.

I’ve written and produced hundreds of radio and TV commercials, worked as a radio air talent, done graphics for the local news, been a master control operator, shot and edited news stories, run camera on all kinds of projects, and produced live music concerts for TV and DVD. Each opportunity led me to something even more exciting and challenging. Those ventures helped mold me into a very versatile media professional.

After 15 years in media production, I made the transition into academia at a large Midwestern University. The first time I saw my students' wild-eyed enthusiasm for the craft, I knew this was going to be my new vocation. I have taught a variety of classes including producing for television, video and audio post production, multi-camera field and studio production, single camera production, writing for the media, advertising production, audio for video production, history of the media and more. This experience has enabled me to help improve and develop successful media production curricula at several different Universities around the country.

I am extremely blessed to have not one but two successful careers and have been honored with several awards in both. Fast-forward to today and you will find someone who still has an incredible passion for production and technology. I continue to develop and produce professional projects in a variety of genres. My dad's 8mm film camera sits on a shelf in my office as a reminder of where my journey began.