2008 Woodie Awards
Department of Agronomy and Horticulture's parodies of CSI to hit Web
Adam Templeton
Issue date: 1/16/08 Section: News
Bad guys won't have any place to hide at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
That's because the first of three episodes of "Big Red Green Team: Investigating Scenes of Crime" will go live on Yahoo! Video, YouTube and MySpace TV next week.
The UNL-produced series, a parody of the top-rated CBS TV program CSI, will promote the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture. Each episode will showcase ruthless criminals locked in a battle of wits with the show's team of scientists.
"Instead of characters being experts on fingerprints or blood spatters, the Big Red Green Team's specialties include plant diseases, entomology, weeds, those types of topics - things that fall into the realm of agronomy and horticulture," said Erin Bauer, the extension assistant for UNL's Pesticide Education Office.
Mark Lagrimini, the head of the agronomy and horticulture department, approached Bauer and her boss, Clyde Ogg, with the concept for the show. Bauer and Ogg developed outlines for each episode, which Bauer fleshed out into full-fledged scripts.
"It plays out as if it's serious, but it kind of makes fun of it at the same time, saying things like, 'Why isn't that test done? It's been five minutes!' In real life, it take about two weeks to get a DNA test back," Bauer said.
The 25-minute pilot episode was shot in October, but faculty members at the college decided to wait until the spring semester to release it. This first foray into forensic crime tasks the Big Red Green Team with solving the murder of a Husker baseball player, based on a strain of pollen they discover on his clothing.
Brad Mills, electronic media producer for UNL's Communication Information Technology department, took care of the more technical aspects of the show, such as shooting, editing and creating graphics.
Mills also directed the cast, composed of actors from UNL, the Theater Arts Guild and the Omaha Film Group. A variety of locations were used, including Haymarket Park, the University Police stations, and the Plant Sciences Hall on East Campus.
"We just kept the whole thing laid back and easy going," Mills said. "I'd always kind of wanted to be semi-sort of a director; this is the first chance I got to do something like these."
Mills added that the show may become a mainstay, but the number one priority would always be recruitment. At any rate, two more episodes will be shot later this year, with completion dates dependent on the cast and weather.
The second episode will promote the new professional golf management program and will have the Big Red Green Team trying to nab the perpetrators of golf course vandalism. In the final episode, the detectives must discover the cause of a horse's illness.
"We're going to develop a MySpace page next, with character bios and episode guides," Bauer said. "Right now, we're taking it just a little bit at a time."
adamtempleton@dailynebraskan.com
That's because the first of three episodes of "Big Red Green Team: Investigating Scenes of Crime" will go live on Yahoo! Video, YouTube and MySpace TV next week.
The UNL-produced series, a parody of the top-rated CBS TV program CSI, will promote the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture. Each episode will showcase ruthless criminals locked in a battle of wits with the show's team of scientists.
"Instead of characters being experts on fingerprints or blood spatters, the Big Red Green Team's specialties include plant diseases, entomology, weeds, those types of topics - things that fall into the realm of agronomy and horticulture," said Erin Bauer, the extension assistant for UNL's Pesticide Education Office.
Mark Lagrimini, the head of the agronomy and horticulture department, approached Bauer and her boss, Clyde Ogg, with the concept for the show. Bauer and Ogg developed outlines for each episode, which Bauer fleshed out into full-fledged scripts.
"It plays out as if it's serious, but it kind of makes fun of it at the same time, saying things like, 'Why isn't that test done? It's been five minutes!' In real life, it take about two weeks to get a DNA test back," Bauer said.
The 25-minute pilot episode was shot in October, but faculty members at the college decided to wait until the spring semester to release it. This first foray into forensic crime tasks the Big Red Green Team with solving the murder of a Husker baseball player, based on a strain of pollen they discover on his clothing.
Brad Mills, electronic media producer for UNL's Communication Information Technology department, took care of the more technical aspects of the show, such as shooting, editing and creating graphics.
Mills also directed the cast, composed of actors from UNL, the Theater Arts Guild and the Omaha Film Group. A variety of locations were used, including Haymarket Park, the University Police stations, and the Plant Sciences Hall on East Campus.
"We just kept the whole thing laid back and easy going," Mills said. "I'd always kind of wanted to be semi-sort of a director; this is the first chance I got to do something like these."
Mills added that the show may become a mainstay, but the number one priority would always be recruitment. At any rate, two more episodes will be shot later this year, with completion dates dependent on the cast and weather.
The second episode will promote the new professional golf management program and will have the Big Red Green Team trying to nab the perpetrators of golf course vandalism. In the final episode, the detectives must discover the cause of a horse's illness.
"We're going to develop a MySpace page next, with character bios and episode guides," Bauer said. "Right now, we're taking it just a little bit at a time."
adamtempleton@dailynebraskan.com
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Brad Mills
posted 1/16/08 @ 12:57 PM CST
Not sure who "Brian Mills" is from CAT, but my name is Brad Mills and I work at CIT.
Post a Comment