Barbadian Omatali Beckett has won a third consecutive Emmy award for Sound Mixing And Sound Editing For A Live Daytime Programme.
He was part of the sound crew for The Kelly Clarkson Show on NBC, which ran for seven seasons and ended on August 31. The award was presented during the 53rd Daytime Emmy’s show last Friday.
“Achieving a hat-trick for my contribution to TKCS and a member of the audio team is the result of having a strong family base, and a very supportive wife.
“No achievement is possible without a clear mind that comes from a stable home, and being coachable and a team player. There is no I in team. In television many people sync up to make the shows you watch and love every day,” Beckett told the DAILY NATION.
His main role on the show was the front of house production mixer, and in his words, was “responsible for what the live audience hears just as they would watching on their television, cellular phone or computer”.
A secondary role was production mixer/ A1, described as being more isolated in a control room far away from the live studio, watching multiple screens, listening to communications and following scripts.
In that capacity, he was responsible for mixing and editing the show for the millions of viewers for the episodes that he filled in on and coordinated the audio needs for the day with the audio team.
Omatali is the son of Annette Beckett, a former president of the Barbados Netball Association and retired sports broadcaster with the Voice of Barbados ( VOB). He also worked at VOB before migrating.
He said although Barbados was small, it was possible for anyone here to achieve great things.
“To the individual that wants to be an audio engineer that lives in Barbados, keep learning about everything related to production – whether in TV, church, concerts – and listen to as much a variety of music, podcasts, news and sports broadcast from around the globe, because you never know where you might end up.
“Keep listening and keep learning about everything; you need to be confident and knowledgeable when doing your job.”
He is also Sean Paul’s chief engineer and tours with the reggae artiste.
Omatali thanked all of his friends and everyone who played a role in his journey. ( PR/SAT)