The Royal Intern

Photo courtesy of Oliver Housman

Drake junior Oliver Housman found out he would be covering the Royal Wedding for Fox News less than a day before the event.

“My boss calls me Thursday night, and says, ‘Hey, I got you a pass,’” Housman said. “I got there at 6:30 a.m. (the next day).”

Housman, who is currently studying abroad in London, ended up spending 15 hours on location. He recently completed an internship for Prime Television, an equipment rental company that rents out cameras and microphones to interested studios. At the wedding, Prime Television was contracted out with Fox News.

Housman assisted in helping set up equipment, including cameras and tripods, and brought sandwiches and drinks to hungry crew members.

Housman said he didn’t want to pass up the opportunity, however last-minute it may have been.

“It looks great on the resume,” he said. “You get in-the-field experience that not too many people are going to be able to have.”

Housman said there were some technical difficulties with the shoot. Technicians organized a “pool feed,” which is a collection of wedding footage. At times, the pool feed didn’t always flow correctly, which Housman said was “stressful.”

Housman said he was about 100 yards away from the balcony when Prince William and Kate Middleton emerged, and he saw them when they kissed.

“(People were) pretty happy,” Housman said. “Some guy had a vuvuzela — yeah, it was really weird. But there was a lot of cheering… The crowd was calling for a second kiss, which the royal couple obliged.”

Although American media reports have criticized the duration of the kiss, Housman said the British people seemed satisfied with it.

“It was more than a peck, but less than a kiss,” Housman said. “When you have a royal couple and everyone is calling for a kiss, you’re not going to complain.”

Housman said that Prime Television had 16 cameras covering the event, and he wasn’t sure how many people from Fox were working.

“It’s a huge logistical operation,” he said.

Housman said his experience at Drake and interactions with Todd Evans and John Lytle, both professors of journalism, had prepared him well for the event.

“Obviously there’s some stuff that you can’t prepare for,” Housman said. “But when a situation did arise, stuff was really familiar because of the work I’ve done at Drake.”