Joshua Tigges turns a farm-learned skill into essential support for Nebraska Public Media’s live high school football coverage.
On his uncle’s farm in tiny Maple River, Iowa, Joshua Tigges learned the art of coiling – practicing with extension cords and pressure washer hoses in their turkey barn. “Few things ruin a mood faster than a tangled cord,” he laughed.
At the time, Joshua didn’t know that his teenage farmhand experience would turn into a real-world job skill, one that wasn’t part of his digital media degree from Buena Vista University. Joshua is a video production specialist who focuses on studio and remote work for the network, including the role of ‘utility’ for our coverage of high school football.
“We have to be ready at a moment’s notice to drop cable and get the camera operator where they need to be,” said Joshua. “We create a bubble around our camera person to protect them and the equipment.”
During games, Joshua carries a coil of camera cable on his forearm that weighs about thirty pounds as he sprints across the field trailing his camera operator. “I drop additional cable and then coil it back up when we return to the sidelines,” he said, explaining how physical the work can be during three-hours of television coverage for each game.
The crew sets up four separate 500-foot reels of camera cables for a total of 2,000 feet, or about the length of five football fields. “We have a near side and far side primary line, and a near and far side spare in case there's any issues with the primary line. We always set up the spares to have backup!” Joshua explained.
It was trial by fire when he first started, but the over-under technique he learned back on the farm helps him manage the cable in tight situations. He also remembers what it was like to watch his small high school play on TV in Iowa. “I know how it feels on the viewer side. I know how special it is,” he said.
Joshua describes our high school sports broadcasts as true local journalism. “It reminds me what our mission is here and it’s very fulfilling when you see the impact you are having on the athletes and fans.”
Who Wraps the Fastest?
Cable wrapping is tough work–just ask the crew who carry and coil it for every game. In this friendly competition, Nebraska Public Media staff race to see who can wrap up a cable the fastest.