"I
was just there to watch the super bowl" explains
Hal Harrison, owner of Harrison Productions when first
asked how he dove into audio/video production and design
services. As a young teen, Hal's church had an annual
super bowl party for the congregation. Tired of listening
and viewing the super bowl on a television, he and his
music minister designed a way to connect the church
portable PA system to a video projector so that not
only would the audio be loud and clear, but video would
be projected on a 10-foot screen for all to see. It
didn't stop there.
Shortly thereafter,
Hal's music minister asked if he would be interested
in helping with the audiovisual committee at the church,
Hal agreed, and the rest is history. Hal found his passion
for audio at a very young age. After joining the audiovisual
committee, Hal became very involved in the music ministry
at the church. Learning the basics of audio from his
neighbor John Pierce, music minister Steve Dyar, and
youth minister Mike Stokes, he assisted the lead church
audio technican in a variety of different services,
special events and on the road. Hal's church often had
church-wide singings in the community where several
of the music groups both in and outside of the church
including; Willing Heart, the Kingdom Seekers, Mike
and Kim Blackwood, Michael Lord, Karen Peck, and New
Cut Road would perform. Hal thoroughly enjoyed mixing
the music groups at church and then had the opportunity
to tour as band engineer for New Cut Road in the 1990s.
During that eventful time, Hal had the opportunity to
garner many friendships with churches and musicians
along the road. During that time, Hal was also formally
trained in audio systems and audio systems design at
Synergetic Audio Concepts in the fall of 1995.
After attending Syn-Aud-Con,
Hal began to work as an independent systems consultant
designing and installing sound systems in houses of
worship, athletic fields/arenas, and schools while still
being involved in the music ministry at his church.
In 1999, Hal attended Clemson University to pursue a
degree in Technology and Human Resource Development
with an emphasis in communications technology. After
graduation in 2002, Hal accepted a research/teaching
assistantship to pursue a master's degree in Technology
Education at North Carolina State University. During
his time at NC State, Hal taught a variety of communications
technology courses and developed curriculum materials
for video production in the high school classroom. Upon
graduation in 2003, Hal accepted a clinical faculty
position at Clemson University teaching a variety of
technology content courses.
Throughout his time
in the education field, Hal has continued to pursue
his passion for audio/video design and production by
working with a variety of sound reinforcement providers
in the Carolinas as a freelance design/engineer. Hal
has also grown his own production company's business
each year of its existence by adding a collection of
rider-friendly equipment each year as well as the hiring
of a veteran freelance staff to produce events with
the highest quality. Harrison Productions currently
offers audio/video/lighting production services as well
as the design, installation, maintenance, and troubleshooting
for audio, video, and lighting systems.
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