Newhouse School of Communications
An Eye for the Community
October 9, 2009
by Deaundra Cash
David Coryell, Adjunct Professor in the Television, Radio, and Film Department at the Newhouse School, is the epitome of Chancellor Nancy Cantor’s “scholarship in action" initiative. As an independent filmmaker, he has recently produced two videos while serving the Syracuse community – both at no charge. 
The first video Professor Coryell produced was for the Rosamond Gifford Zoo. Nathan Keefe, Director of Education at the zoo, contacted Newhouse's Television, Radio & Film Department about someone making a promotional video. It was his love for animals and wanting to help the county zoo that sparked Coryell's interest.“I like animals,” Coryell said.
During the month of July he collaborated with two recent TRF graduates collecting sound bites and interviewing employees. The video focuses on three animals: the elephants, penguins, and siam monkeys. While visiting the zoo in the mornings, the team watched as the elephants took their morning baths.
“There’s a really great shot in the video where one elephant gets soap in her eyes. The tip of her trunk comes up and she wipes it out like a finger,” Coryell says with a laugh.
The zoo’s mission, “Close enough to care,” is also the title of the video, which will be shown on tv screens throughout the zoo, distributed to libraries and schools around the city, and a shortened version will be used for fundraising.
“It was a very gratifying experience for me,” Coryell said. “We worked with a very willing group of people and all of the animals were photogenic.”
The second video Coryell produced was the funeral services of Army Sergeant Danny Facto, who died on July 15. Facto had returned from a tour in Iraq three days earlier when he was killed in a motorcycle accident in Cicero. Danny’s father, John Henry Parker, contacted the TRF Department and asked if someone could tape the funeral services as a memorial video. Coryell agreed. “I ride a Harley Davidson,” Coryell explained. “I know the dangers on the road and feel compassion toward fellow riders.”
Coryell again worked with two students and arranged for Parker to pay each of them, but not himself. They taped the viewing before the funeral, the route to the funeral, and the service.
“They had already put a cross with Danny’s name and his dates in the ground at the place where his body had finally came to rest,” Coryell said, explaining the one important shot Danny’s father wanted in the video. “There was a procession with guards on their motorcycles, following the hearse, followed by a number of Danny’s friends on their bikes. We filmed as everyone passed the cross. It was impressive, visually and acoustically.”
The funeral service was held in Hendricks Chapel because Facto was once a full-time social work student at SU. Coryell’s video will be shown at a separate memorial service held by the School of Social Work.
Coryell is very dedicated to serving the SU community and is always seeking projects where he can involve students and highlight the department. “This is what I love to do and I look forward to future collaborations,” Coryell said with a smile.
