Holy Cross H.S. TV Producer loves his job

Very early in his freshman year, Brian Kolb found his calling. Every day, on the big monitors in homeroom, he watched Holy Cross Television (HCTV), an 8-12 minute compilation of student broadcasts. Kolb was an actor in middle school, but after hearing that HCTV was holding auditions, he left the stage footlights for the floodlights of television.
“I always loved being in front of an audience, but I didn’t want to do drama anymore and television always interested me,” said Kolb, now the co-producer of HCTV. “Once I heard the announcement for tryouts, I had to do it. When I got in front of the camera, it was pretty cool.”
Kolb passed his audition with flying colors and was an anchor his first two years. During his second go-around with HCTV, he learned the intricacies of producing from senior Nick Paratore. And now he is in charge of the show that airs daily to the entire school, with James Benesh, his co-producer.
Listening to Kolb, a Bellerose resident, tell it, the job doesn’t sound too challenging. However, as we delve deeper, there is much more to it than just “making sure everyone is in the right spot and the show runs nice and smooth,” as he explained his role.
Along with Benesh, he oversees the entire broadcast, from deciding on the show’s order to combing through which videos go with what music, how much time to budget for the videotaped athletic highlights, and the co-curriculum commercials. “Brian does an incredible job of blending this altogether for us,” said Ed Burns, HCTV’s faculty advisor. Kolb is in charge of organizing 10-12 team members within HCTV.
Kolb, 16, said he likes this job better, even though he was very good in front of the camera, too. “It’s a lot more intense. Behind the camera, you have to stay much more focused and you’re in control of so much more. I control how the show runs, and when it’s a good show, it’s partially because of me. You have to know what everyone else is doing.”
As the co-producer, Kolb has gotten the chance to meet with Channel 9 weatherman Steve Villanueva; Carlos DeMolina, a producer for NBC Sports; and Fox 5 News anchor Rosanna Scotto.
“She taught us that [the television] field is always competitive, like you can never feel comfortable in your job,” he said. “You always have to be looking for something new and try to be a step ahead of everyone else you’re trying to beat out. This will help me get a step up on kids going into college without any of the same knowledge.”
When Kolb watches television now, with friends or at home with his family, he will not just watch the news, but study it. “Whenever they mess up, I’ll say, ‘aw, they weren’t supposed to do it like that.’ ”
With a 98 average, Kolb, who recently took the SATs, has yet to seriously begin the college process, but said Syracuse University’s television program interests him. In his free time, he plays sports such as baseball, football and handball with his friends. He was on the baseball and bowling team as a freshman and ran track last year. He currently plays in the HBQVB Little League at Prellar Field in Bellerose.