Mark LaBarbera shows off his catch to Dan Small.
Our September Producer of the Month is an Independent Producer Member of WCM, who has won several Best of the Midwest Media Fest awards.
Mark LaBarbera started in the business “decades ago” and has negotiated airtime with ESPN, and created, hosted, and produced shows for ESPN2, Outdoor Channel, and the Sportsmen’s Channel.
Viewers in Wisconsin may recognize LaBarbera from his years of co-producing and co-hosting the deer hunt season preview Deer Hunt Wisconsin. LaBarbera wrote to explain how that program came about. “Dan Small started doing Deer Hunt Wisconsin with what is now called Milwaukee PBS and Madison’s PBS station, WPT. Live, with call-in questions from the public, the show filled a need that Dan had identified through so many interactions with viewers throughout the state and throughout the year as he filmed the Outdoor Wisconsin TV show. Interest behind Deer Hunt Wisconsin has grown as people prepare each year for the firearms deer hunting season opener the Saturday before Thanksgiving. For the decade or so that I've partnered with Dan on Deer Hunt Wisconsin and other productions, we have seen interest continue to grow as people want an easy, quick way to receive plain language updates about the latest deer regulations and population forecasts, plus hunting tips, access to new public hunting opportunities, and other news. We also see an interest in unique hunting personalities. And viewers seem to like hearing about hunters with compelling stories.”
Dan and Mark “bearing” around.
Aside from the deer hunt preview shows Dan and Mark produce, they create other shows around the state as well. “In addition to videos we produce each May covering the big Midwest Outdoor Heritage Education Expos near Poynette and in Milwaukee, we do fun short videos like I've Been Over 'Der (with music from Madison's The Gamers) about the Outdoor Heritage Education Center's (OHECyes.org) “Touch of the Wild” mobile education trailers with interactive hands-on fish and wildlife exhibits. But we are primarily known for the annual Deer Hunt Wisconsin TV specials released each November.”
LaBarbera was asked to provide some advice to either new or not-so-new producers in the field of storytelling. “I'm hesitant to give advice when I still have so much to learn. If pressed, I guess I would urge producers to capture the feelings, emotions, and motivations of outdoor enthusiasts being featured. Most producers know the value of staying silent after asking questions because it increases the odds that your subject will keep talking and start to touch on inner feelings and deeper emotions after their initial response. Leverage dead air so they break the silence. You can always edit out the quiet, right? Other than that, start rolling early and keep rolling even after you think you have the footage and audio you need. Real gems are captured at the most unpredictable times.”
