EBS STAFF
BIG SKY – While audience members at TEDxBigSky were indulging in the laughter, tears and inspiration brought on by the annual speaker series on Jan. 25, 14-year-old Abby Meredith was behind the scenes at the Warren Miller Performing Arts Center capturing it all on film.
The
Ophir Middle School student was in the control booth, monitoring the two live
stream cameras on what is called a stream deck, a small LCD keyboard that a
video-streamer uses to switch the positions of the cameras depending on the
angle needed for the shot. Although she had a little experience under her belt
recording middle school volleyball and basketball games, this was her first
time working an AV gig in a theater and event of this magnitude.
“I
like theater a lot, I love the WMPAC, so it was really fun to go down there and
work,” said Meredith. “Even though I’ve never really had a job before, it was
fun actually being in charge of something.”
Her
passions has roots in a serendipitous moment, when Meredith accidentally walked
into a newscast meeting for the Big Sky School District. Andrew Blessing, the
technology director, who was familiar with her previous experience, asked if
she would be willing to help him out during the production of TEDx.
The
rest, as they say, is history.
When
she’s not at school or behind the camera, Meredith enjoys drawing, playing the
piano and working with animations. Although unsure of her plans for future, save
the immediate, she hopes it involves another stint behind the scenes in a
theater’s control booth.