A crew from Northern Lights Productions was on campus on behalf of the Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism, based at Penn and the University of Southern California. The Annenberg School has commissioned Northern Lights to do a documentary on fallen journalists such as Dylan Lyons, NSCM alumnus. Lyons was a NSCM graduate who worked for Spectrum News 13 and was reporting at a homicide scene in Pine Hills on Feb. 22, 2023, when he was shot on the scene.
The documentary will be included in the curriculum of their school and will be featured in a new exhibition on the National Mall in Washington that will be a tribute to fallen journalists. While here, the crew interviewed Dylan’s mom, Beth, and his fiancée Casey, as well as Spectrum News 13 photographer Jesse Walden who was Dylan’s photographer that day of the shooting and was himself wounded. They also asked to interview Senior Instructor, Rick Brunson.
I also had the opportunity to ask Brunson a few questions about his involvement with the documentary on campus.
What was the documentary crew doing on campus?
“The crew from the award-winning Northern Lights Productions company, based in Boston, was here at the Nicholson School for two days to record principal photography and to conduct interviews for a new documentary about journalists who lost their lives while doing their jobs. They were specifically here at UCF to conduct interviews related to Dylan Lyons, a 2019 UCF Journalism graduate and Spectrum News 13 reporter who was shot and killed while reporting on a story in February 2023.”
What is the documentary about?
“The documentary will be part of a new $50 million exhibit on the National Mall in Washington. D.C., dedicated to memorializing fallen journalists and promoting press freedom. You can read all about it here in this Washington Post story. https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/09/16/journalists-memorial-national-mall-design-dc/”
How did you help the crew?
“I secured suitable space here at the school for them to conduct their interviews, accompanied them on the various shoots, arranged contact with Dylan’s family, worked with our Broadcast Facility staff to get them some additional pieces of equipment and I kept them hydrated 🙂. The crew interviewed me because I was one of Dylan’s teachers and mentors and was at the hospital with his family the night he died. They also interviewed Dylan’s photographer Jesse Walden, who was wounded in the attack on Dylan but survived. They also interviewed Dylan’s mother, Beth, and Dylan’s fiancee Casey. The crew also employed my Undergraduate Teaching Assistant Raine Keenan as a production assistant to run a second camera, set up lighting and help with gear and logistics.”
When is the documentary coming out and where can we see it?
“We were told the documentary is expected to be released in November.”
Written by Majdulina Hamed.
Published to Nicholson News on October 2nd, 2024.
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