MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — The future is getting brighter for Middle Tennessee State University film and television students in the College of Media and Entertainment thanks to a newly donated 400-panel LED screen by Chicago-based Fuse Technical Group.
“This gift will greatly aid our tour production and XR/VR (extended reality and virtual reality) filmmaking classes, which helps train and place our students into those industries,” said Bob Gordon, associate professor of video and film production and interim chair in the Department of Media Arts.
Patrick Eaton, a 2009 graduate of MTSU’s then Radio and TV Production Program, was on campus recently to donate the billboard-sized screen and calls the official presentation a “full circle moment” as he connects the past and present.
“This is surreal, and it seemed like a great opportunity to have kids continue learning on what is being actively used in the industry right now, you know,” said Eaton, who credits MTSU as the foundation of his 15-year career in event production. “And it’s great because Fuse acknowledges that investing in the future generation is the only path forward.”
Panels can be configured into smaller screens, big screens or a single large surface.
The high-resolution video panel can be used for various applications, including digital scenery and live visuals for concerts, Eaton explained.
“The new video wall will be used at Murphy Center and Studio 1 (XR Studio) in the John Bragg Building. The screen is also portable and can be used anywhere on or off campus,” explained Robert Mogensen, True Blue Event Productions director.
During his time at MTSU, Eaton was a student worker for Mogensen.
“He played an extensive role as a student as a lead worker and event designer,” Mogensen recalled. “Patrick was an impressive video and film student at MTSU and has been a loyal and generous alumnus ever since.”
In the past eight years, Eaton has been a part of two other “in kind” donations to MTSU. Dustin Cunningham, one of Eaton’s former employees — helped foster the first round of large-format LED screens in 2017. Then, Paul Douglas pushed through a donation of WinVision lightweight LED screens. Eaton, Douglas and Cunningham are “all proud graduates” of MTSU, Eaton said.
“We were more than happy to pay it forward as many folks such as Adam Mills of High End TV and Nic Dugger from TNDV had done for us in years prior,” said Eaton, who is working to open a European office for Fuse Technical Group. “I had people invest in me, as a student, to make sure I had success moving forward.
Dugger, from Nashville, received the 2018-19 Distinguished Alumni Award from the MTSU Alumni Association.
“Seeing an opportunity to donate equipment to continue the tradition of paying it forward was important.”
Eaton’s ties to MTSU have remained integral to his career in production. Over the years, the companies he’s worked for have hired dozens of MTSU graduates. Fuse Technical Group is no stranger to that continuing tradition.
“The bonds that I built in that first semester here are folks that I work with across the industry,” Eaton said.
He’s also stayed close to his classmate, Mike Forbes, director of MTSU Technical Systems and an adjunct media arts lecturer, who was instrumental in facilitating the most recent donation.
“At the College of Media and Entertainment, we pride ourselves on giving our students real-world, hands-on experience,” Forbes said. “This donation only emphasizes the importance of giving our students an advantage from others entering the industry by knowing and understanding the technology used in live entertainment. Our students truly grasp how it works.”
In 2021, MTSU formally recognized Eaton’s contributions to the industry when he was inducted into the College of Media and Entertainment Wall of Fame.
Mogensen is not surprised to see the industry success of his former student worker.
“Patrick was a brilliant and creative person when he was attending school and played an extensive role as a student as a lead worker and event designer,” Mogensen said. “He has an amazing, imaginative mind that can meld art with technology.”
PHOTO ABOVE ARTICLE: Fuse Technical Group account manager and project manager Patrick Eaton, an alumnus of the film and TV production program at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tenn., talks with his former MTSU roommate Mike Forbes, director of MTSU Technical Systems in the Department of Media Arts, about the 400-panel LED screen donated by Fuse. The screen will be primarily used at MTSU’s Murphy Center. (MTSU photo by J. Intintoli)
