Students in Shott Teaching Assistant Professor Chuck Scatterday’s class traveled to Fayetteville, West Virginia, to cover Bridge Day for their “Mountaineer Playbook” class. The annual event occurs each October and attracts bridge jumpers and spectators from around the world.
Scatterday developed and teaches the “Mountaineer Playbook” capstone course for Sports and Adventure Media (SAM) majors. Throughout the semester, students report, operate cameras, direct and produce to cover all 17 Division I WVU athletic teams and regional adventure events. Student reporters Elizabeth Carey and Riley McIlmoyle and videographer Jake Held covered Bridge Day for the show, and Max Murphy and Adam Cooley, students in the college’s Video Storytelling course, also attended. Each student was required to produce a finished package, consisting of action video and audio, as well as any additional content necessary to accurately and thoroughly tell the story.
“My job was to film everything around me,” Held said. “It was my first time attending Bridge Day and I didn't know what to expect, but I filmed everything I could. That was my big takeaway – record everything you see because you don’t get a second chance.”
Prior to the trip, the students drafted a script and list of video shots they planned to capture, but Scatterday’s primary charge was for them to get as many interviews as possible. The group arrived at the New River Gorge Bridge at 5 a.m. to establish a plan and get acquainted with the area, the event and other attendees. Throughout the day, they worked together to get the requisite interviews and video shots.
“We got to walk onto the bridge and the jumping platform before anyone else,” Carey said. “After all the preparing we did, it was awesome to finally be there and experience the calm before the storm. And the teamwork was incredible – it was so important to have a team that I could rely on. Without the group I went with, my package wouldn’t have been possible.”
Scatterday was inspired to plan the Bridge Day experience after accompanying students Maria Boyce and Ethan Moore to the GoPro Mountain Games in Vail, Colorado, over the summer. Boyce and Moore worked with the GoPro team and influencers to capture multimedia content and produce a highlight reel as part of a five-day internship facilitated by alumnus and GoPro Vice President of Global Marketing and Communications Rick Loughery.
“The GoPro Mountain Games were life-changing for Maria and Ethan,” Scatterday said. “I want more students to have that kind of real-world adventure media experience, and West Virginia is the perfect place for that. At Bridge Day, I observed the students working as a team. I watched them work for interviews with jumpers, vendors and spectators. Each student had a plan, but getting the content was the hardest part. It can be intimidating with other people looking at you while recording.”
A Bridge Day attendee takes his jump.
Since 1980, Bridge Day has been held annually on the third Saturday of October and has become West Virginia’s largest festival, attracting an estimated 100,000 people — including bridge jumpers who make the 876-foot leap into the gorge below, repellers, walkers, spectators and vendors.
“I was not prepared for the number of people watching me while I was trying to film,” Carey said. “It wasn’t passing glances or anything subtle. I had more than twenty people at a time gathering around to watch while I tried to film my standup, which was totally nerve-racking. Honestly, I just had to smile and get through it with the audience. It may have taken a few extra takes, but I am happy with the outcome.”
The crowd wasn’t the only challenge: the team had only three press passes – one for each “Mountaineer Playbook” crew member – which meant Murphy and Cooley had to get creative. The students started on top of the bridge where most attendees were gathered to watch, but eventually made their way to the bottom to catch footage of jumpers landing in the gorge.
“I just asked everyone in gated areas if I could go in and film,” Cooley said. “I told them I was a WVU student working on a project for class. Sometimes it worked, and other times, it didn’t, but I learned that you don't get what you don't ask for.”
This was Cooley’s first time attending Bridge Day, and he traveled to Fayetteville separately from the student group to attend the full weekend of festivities, including Taste of Bridge Day, which featured sample menu items from the area’s restaurants and caterers, live music, local arts and crafts and the Bridge Day After Party at The Outpost.
It was Scatterday’s first trip to Bridge Day as well, but he plans to go back, hoping to make it an annual trip for SAM students, so they may gain first-hand adventure reporting experience and learn more about the state. The trip was made possible by donor funds, which helped cover the travel and lodging expenses of the students.
The Bridge Day coverage and other “Mountaineer Playbook” episodes are available online at https://mediacollegenewscast.wvu.edu/mountaineer-playbook. “Mountaineer Playbook” has a working relationship with ESPNU as well as a partnership with WVU Athletics and the Big 12 Conference, including Big 12 Now on ESPN+. Through an agreement between the City of Morgantown and the College of Media, Morgantown residents can watch “Mountaineer Playbook” on Comcast Channel 15 and 1084 on Mondays and Fridays at 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. and on Saturdays and Sundays at 9:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.