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A Rodeo with Reba

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Modern Justice

Modern Justice

MTSU alumni, students help produce music video at Tennessee Miller Coliseum

story by Stephanie Barrette and photography by Andy Heidt

Since the music video for legendary country singer Reba McEntire and rising artist Cody Johnson’s single “Dear Rodeo” is set after the rodeo season ends, MTSU graduate Christen Pinkston (’11) needed an arena. She searched online for arenas in the Nashville area, and when she came across Tennessee Miller Coliseum, she realized it was part of MTSU.

Shooting the video at her alma mater last fall was “really a full circle moment,” said Pinkston, the video’s producer.

Not only did the Miller Coliseum, located on MTSU’s equestrian campus, serve as the set for the music video, but University students and alumni supported production on the day of the shoot.

“I am so super appreciative of the University allowing us to be here,” Pinkston said. “They’ve been so accommodating, and it’s been really nice to see students and people excited about a video and an opportunity.”

Collaboration and Teamwork

Pinkston had previously worked with music video director Shaun Silva to produce a film showcasing the story behind the song: Johnson’s previous career in the rodeo. McEntire—who comes from a rodeo family—became a part of the documentary, too. Silva called on Pinkston to produce the video as well.

Producer Christen Pinkston, an MTSU alumna, with director Shaun Silva and first assistant director Tim Kloete

photos by Andy Heidt

After Pinkston discovered the horse arena, Warner Music Group’s Shane Tarleton, senior vice president of artist development, reached out to MTSU’s Beverly Keel about the project.

“I knew that once they [McEntire’s team] saw the Tennessee Miller Coliseum that they would fall in love with it and that it would be their choice,” said Keel, dean of the College of Media and Entertainment.

Within minutes, multiple campus teams came together to help make it a reality, including the Division of Marketing and Communications, the Media and Entertainment and Liberal Arts colleges, Production Services, and the staff that manages the coliseum, which is about 6 miles away from the main campus.

Including students came up in conversation “right away,” Keel said.

“That’s our main goal always. . . . People especially love our students because they’re so scrappy and hardworking. Our students know how to behave in these settings. They’re here to work. They’re not fans.”

Making the Dream Work

The video’s concept required turning the coliseum into a dream-like setting. Students hung black paper over all of the windows, cloaking the venue in darkness. At the song’s climax, McEntire and Johnson, followed by camera crews, strode toward the center of the dirt floor, each illuminated with spotlights operated by MTSU students. With fog machines creating a soft haze, the singers met in the middle while belting out the lyrics.

Students weren’t informed about the identity of the musical artists until they arrived on set—and all involved had to keep the production under wraps until the video’s December release, said Kobe Hermann (’20), a marketing assistant who hired the student crew and coordinated MTSU’s support. The production also adhered strictly to COVID-19 protocols.

“It’s great for students to get an experience like this,” Pinkston said, while adding it’s also “great for production to have these locations and have these students who are willing to help and hungry to learn.”

Erin Featherston, a senior pursuing a degree in Theatre, worked on lighting and was excited about “getting that real hands-on experience.”

Sean Collins (l), first assistant camera, with seniors Jo Litzenberger and Brea Robbins (r)

“This is something that looks great on a résumé,” said Jo Litzenberger, a senior majoring in Video and Film Production.

As a production assistant on set, he added that the work exposed him to professional camera gear and equipment and that it was good to observe professionals in their element.

From the experience, students see that “videos are very hard work,” Keel said. “You work 12 hours to get a three-minute video. . . . They’ll watch how everybody else works. It may spark a career path that they didn’t know about yesterday.”

A True Blue Video

While student workers hustled around manipulating spotlights, running cameras, and dealing with sound, they weren’t the only True Blue representatives on set.

MTSU alumnus Nic Dugger, technical producer of TNDV Television, ran a livestream chat with the artists before filming. His company now has 52 employees, many of them MTSU graduates “because the core study is so relevant to what we’re doing in the industry. It’s not similar to what we do—it’s what we do. When graduates come out of the program, they have the skillsets that I actually need.”

Another alum on set, Nic’s wife Leslie Matthews Dugger, works as McEntire’s brand manager and full-time employee.

“Reba’s at the top of her field, so it’s cool to see young people learning from those who have been around a little bit,” she said.

“MTSU seems to be getting to be more of a part of our [entertainment industry] world. They’re churning out so many majors and backgrounds and industries.”

Another MTSU grad, Tony Reyes (’07), was a freelance Steadicam owner and operator on the video shoot. Reyes, saying MTSU provided him “massive” hands-on activities and networking, has worked for the Tennessee Titans and other big-name musicians.

“Being at MTSU gave me the time to grow up and mature a little bit and also find more of what I wanted to do in production as opposed to just jumping in and being locked into a position for a very long time,” he said.

From one of the folding theater seats, Keel reflected on “a great day . . . in an unusual year.” She hopes that word from the shoot will spread amongst the influential and active industry people on set:

“I love having industry people spend time on campus because it’s impossible not to fall in love with MTSU once you’ve been here.”

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