Broadcast center records free holiday greetings for military members
The Illinois Center for Broadcasting is putting its video recording and editing technology to charitable use this month, allowing people to record free greetings for family members or friends in the military.
Families or individuals stand in front of a green screen at the center's Lombard campus, get mic-ed up and have up to a minute to wish happy holidays to their relative or friend in the armed forces.
Jessica Collins of Romeoville kept her video message to longtime friend Freddy Harris, an Army Ranger, short and sweet, wishing a merry Christmas and happy new year from her family to his.
“We love you and we miss you,” Collins said Friday to conclude her greeting.
The center will film more greetings in the next few days with a mobile green screen set up on the lower level of Yorktown Center near Lucky Strike Lanes from noon to 3 p.m. Monday, Dec. 19, and from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 20.
The videos are edited by crews of about five students and staff who upload them to a private YouTube page once they're finished. Video production technology allows crews to add virtual backgrounds such as Christmas trees, a fireplace in a family room or a snowman to the greetings.
“I think it's a great idea to send (greetings) out to the military to wish them a merry Christmas, and it's nice that we have the technology to put on different backgrounds to personalize it a little bit,” said Curtis Sehy, video coordinator at the center for broadcasting.
The idea for the greetings came from video messages played during sports broadcasts showing soldiers wishing their families happy holidays, said Tim White, director of admissions. Offering that service in reverse — for families to send their love to military members they care about — seemed like a great use of students' video skills, he said.
And when Collins, a financial aid adviser at the center for broadcasting, heard about the new service, she knew she wanted to record a greeting for her friend, Harris, to return the support he showed her a few years ago during challenging times in her personal life.
Collins grew up on the same Bolingbrook street with Harris, and although they lost touch for some time, they reconnected a few years ago.
“He did so much for me even though it was just kind words and being supportive,” Collins said. “I just feel this is the least I can do to give back.”