{"id":208277,"date":"2020-01-07T15:09:29","date_gmt":"2020-01-07T20:09:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/?p=208277"},"modified":"2020-01-29T15:13:44","modified_gmt":"2020-01-29T20:13:44","slug":"on-location-at-montclair-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/college-of-communication-and-media\/2020\/01\/07\/on-location-at-montclair-state\/","title":{"rendered":"On Location at Montclair State"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It was a scene you wouldn\u2019t quite expect in October, but there it was: the Montclair State University\u2019s Red Hawk Diner decked out for the Holidays and festooned with gleaming faux snow.<\/p>\n

A car full of festive revelers pulls up and they pile out under the glare of bright production lights and studio cameras.<\/p>\n

But they\u2019re not students: They\u2019re paid actors shooting a professional commercial for NJ Lottery Holiday Scratch-Offs \u2014 just one of many professional productions to film on campus and work with the University\u2019s\u00a0Broadcast & Media Operations<\/a><\/u>\u00a0 facilities and services.<\/p>\n

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In October, a production company for NJ Lottery chose the Red Hawk Diner at Montclair State University for a Holiday Scratch-Offs commercial shoot.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe University is rich with a wide variety of locations for commercials and film projects,\u201d says Patricia Piroh, director of Production Services and Technology for BMO in the College of the Arts.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a diner, Mission revival-style buildings, traditional-looking and contemporary dorms, indoor and outdoor pools, a fully-functioning newsroom, film and TV studios \u2014 including the only fully integrated 4K studio available for rent in the Metropolitan New York area \u2014 athletic fields, you name it,\u201d says Piroh.<\/p>\n

Requests for filming cross Piroh\u2019s desk regularly as she serves as point person for production companies seeking access to the campus, while providing real-life experience for students studying broadcast production in the School of Communication and Media.<\/p>\n

\"A
A production company shot promotional video for Google on the Montclair State University campus in Fall 2018.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI see our services as an enhancement for those seeking to use the University as a location for their film or TV project,\u201d says Piroh. \u201dBecause College of the Arts and Broadcast & Media Operations understand the needs of film projects and the flow of how securing locations happens, we have been able to streamline the process, and provide on-the-ground support.\u00a0 We coordinate with parking services, facilities, campus police and our administration to get the required permissions for shoots, so film producers don\u2019t have to. This makes production at the University very attractive. If you have a need, we can fill it.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a result, Montclair State has developed a bit of a reputation as an East Coast Hollywood. \u201cMontclair State is widely acknowledged as the leader among all universities in New Jersey in its engagement with the burgeoning film and television industry here,\u201d says Daniel Gurskis, dean of the College of the Arts. While many are seeking location shoots at the University, Gurskis says this has led to off-campus opportunities as well, such as \u201cplacing students on production crews for films like Steven Spielberg\u2019s\u00a0West Side Story<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whenever possible, Piroh reports, Broadcast & Media Operations\u00a0 involves students as part of the crew: \u201dI view location production activity on campus as an extension of the academic experience for students in the School of Communication and Media.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the NJ Lottery Red Hawk Diner shoot, Kiler Weir \u201820 served as a production assistant for both Broadcast & Media Operations and the film crew.<\/p>\n