C. Park Seward was the owner and President of Video Park, Inc., the largest independent television production and post-production facility in Louisiana. Since closing the business in October 1998, Park is now working freelance in television production, engineering and post-production in Los Angeles.
Since founding the company in 1982, Seward has been the recipient of numerous advertising awards recognizing the excellence of his shooting and editing as well as his company's work. Among the many awards are AAF ADDYs, ITS Monitor awards, Telly awards and ITVA Golden Reel awards. Community awards include 1991 Business of the Year, presented by the Baton Rouge Business Report magazine, the Ad Federation of Greater Baton Rouge Distinguished Service Award in 1989, '94, '95 and '97, and Vendor Appreciation Award in 1990, '93 and '96 and 1993 Marketer of the Year presented by the Sales and Marketing Executives International (SMEI). Seward was also honored for the work he has done for the International Teleproduction Society (ITS) Engineering Committee by being the presenter for the Excellence in Engineering Awards at the 1995 and '96 International Monitor Awards.
The CBS Television show, "Big Brother" was an exciting opportunity for Park to work on a project that had never been done in the States before. He helped design and construct the post-production facility for the series as well as operating the technical side during the show. One of his jobs was to make sure the program was feed correctly to the network. Over 70 shows were feed without problems. Park also was the back-up on-line editor for the show as well as the primary Chyron operator. He also shot video for the show used in creating the show opens that had to be re-shot each time a house guest was banished.
Park has written a monthly column for the national publication Television Broadcast magazine titled "Brass Tacks" between 1999 and 2001. He has also written articles about the business and technology of teleproduction for the following national publications: Millimeter, Videography, Post, On Location, Shoot, Shot in LA and Markee. He wrote a monthly column for Shot in LA from January 1996 to January 1998.
Seward has been a judge for many national and international television awards shows. They include the American Advertising Federation ADDY shows, International Television Association Golden Reel Awards, Cine Awards and International Teleproduction Association Monitor Awards. The AAF local and district award shows judging has been in Tallahassee, Lubbock, Oklahoma City and Louisville, as well as in Monroe and Alexandria, LA.
As an example of the respect Seward has from his industry peers, he served three terms on the Board of Directors of the International Teleproduction Society (ITS) as Vice-Chairman and Treasurer and as chairman of many committees. He is a former executive and vice president of the Advertising Federation of Greater Baton Rouge and past president of the International Television Association, Baton Rouge chapter.
Since moving to California, Park has become more active in the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, serving on Working Group i23 for Imaging Technology. The group is investigating standards for 24F progressive mastering formats, Metadata and new ways to synchronize equipment in a plant using information from GPS satellites. Also, as a member of SMPTE DC28.2, Park is helping set future standards for Digital Cinema.
In demand as a presenter on teleproduction issues, Seward has spoken at the International FIMM Teleproduction Conference in Paris, France, many times at the the ITS Annual Forum, ITVA International Conference, Bellcore National Conference, and the ITS President's Retreat as well as colleges and universities. He has also produced many seminar sessions on television production and post production.
He has worked freelance for the Walt Disney Company since 1988 as a cameraman, editor, technical director and post-production supervisor for press events, grand openings of Disneyland attractions and world premieres of Walt Disney motion pictures. He assisted on the Grand Opening of Disney's California Adventure as Technical Director of the live worldwide satellite uplinks.
While working on the new UPN series "Chains of Love" as Technical Director and Designer, Park also was the Engineer-in-Charge of the 45-foot mobile unit used to produce the ESPN daily show, "Up Close".
Early in his career, Park worked in the Federal Republic of Germany as a script writer, announcer and production manager with the American Forces Network, Europe during his Army career. One commercial he wrote, produced, engineered and voiced was chosen the best AFN radio commercial in Europe in 1975.
Seward has served as an expert witness on video techniques and quality for several legal trials. He is currently a member of the Association of Imaging Technology and Sound and the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers.
