Producers plan for live show

Producers and technicians from ABC's Good Morning America were on campus yesterday finalizing the logistics for next Friday's live shoot. The group toured campus, accompanied by Physical Plant employees, personnel from the University's Office of News and Public Affairs, and public relations executives representing the Pennsylvania Department of Commerce. Although they were looking primarily for parking places for their transmission equipment trucks, they were also appraising possible camera angles for the Nov. 11 show. George Hamilton, the program's chief electrical technician, said he plans to set up two Econoline-size vans in front of the Annenberg School for Communication, across from Steinberg-Dietrich Hall on Locust Walk, to serve as the network's nerve center during the broadcast. He and his staff will run "double cables" between this central site and the two remote locations -- the "Ben on a Bench" statue at 37th Street and Locust Walk and the front steps of the Fisher Fine Arts Library. Hamilton said the layout of cables on the Walk will begin after midnight on Nov. 11. The process will probably take about four hours, but should not disrupt students' routines because most of the cables will be placed along curbs or in the grass, instead of on the Walk itself. University President Judith Rodin will be interviewed by weatherman Spencer Christian on the steps of the Furness Building, while History Professor Michael Zuckerman and College senior Michael "Pup" Turner, co-captain of the football team, will talk with Christian from "Ben on a Bench." University spokeswoman Barbara Beck said the statue of Benjamin Franklin in front of College Hall may provide a backdrop for one of Christian's weather reports during the show. All of Christian's segments will be broadcast live from the University, but some material previously recorded at the University will also be incorporated into next Friday's episode. The episode will conclude Good Morning America's "Great Chesapeake Bay Bus Tour," according to Carolyn Susan Neary, an account executive at Elkman Advertising and Public Relations. In keeping with the theme, Good Morning America hosts Joan Lunden and Charlie Gibson, will be stationed at Longwood Gardens, an arboretum in suburban Kennett Square, Pa., the heart of the Brandywine Valley, during the show. Beck said that any students interested in being "runners" during the production of the show should call her. Students can also view the live show beginning at 7 a.m. on Locust Walk.