Horned Frogs shine at the Oscars

At the 85^th Academy Awards in February, TCU was well represented! With 24-plus years of combined service at the Oscars, (left to right, above photo) Colin Deford ’94, Justin Paulk ’98, Chris Strong ’98 and Marc Istook ’98 (third from left below photo) once again came together to work on this prestigious event.  

Paulk is a fiber optic business segment manager with Bexel Corp., which supplies broadcast engineers, equipment and solutions for events like the Oscars. Overseeing his team, Paulk manages the fiber optic infrastructure at the Hollywood and Highland complex, including feeds for the main ABC production, live shots for domestic or international clients and rapid transfers of data for still photographers from the red carpet to editors at the Loews Hotel. 

Deford is a freelance technology manager and worked for Oscar.com at the awards. He oversaw the technical facilities and crew behind the Oscar.com production live from the event. Working with production managers, line producers, ABC preshow, ABC main show and Oscar.com, he helps facilitate production to keep the show running smoothly. He's also helped kick off the ball drop in Times Square in New York every New Year's Eve, managed technology for Showtime's boxing productions and a multitude of other events.

 

Strong, also a freelance tech manager for Bexel, worked with Deford at the Oscars on Oscar.com’s live webcast.  Strong has also managed the technology for the four tennis majors for ESPN, some NBA games, and then when fall hits, it’s back to a little "Monday Night Football."

Istook (third from the left with fashion designer Nick Verreos, hairstylist Tabatha Coffey and producer Tom McMahon) was on camera for TV Guide Network for his 5^th consecutive year of hosting the "Oscar Awards Live Countdown."  He was perched above the Red Carpet on the bridge that spans Hollywood Boulevard providing entertainment to millions of viewers.  He has worked his way from local newscaster to the host of many national shows on networks ranging from TV Guide, to ABC.com, to Yahoo,to the Food Network, to Speed. 

"As you sit throughout the year watching events on television, tablets, phones or computers, rest assured TCU will once again be represented with utmost professionalism and talent by these guys!" Strong wrote to us.  

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