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Video greetings shadow GOP
By TAMARA LUSH, Times Staff Writer TAMPA -- It broadcast Pope John Paul II's message of love in Toronto. It also reflected the bawdy antics of disc jockey Bubba The Love Sponge during the Livestock Music Festival in Zephyrhills. Now the ProStar mobile video board is beaming pleasant greetings to members of the Republican National Committee, which is visiting Tampa this week to decide whether the city should host the 2004 Republican convention. The 12- by 17-foot board has followed the Republicans everywhere, from the Convention Center to the Aquarium, from one hotel visit to the next. The Republicans have noticed. "The board is awesome!" former Secretary of State Katherine Harris said when she gazed upon it Tuesday night in Ybor City. The message on the board read, "Hope you enjoyed your day!" Some people on the tour thought there were three or four boards roaming the city, which is a compliment to Mike Rocha, the Clearwater man who runs the ProStar and is the mastermind behind its graphics. Rocha's company, Keyframe, donated the board to the Tampa Visitors and Convention Bureau for the three days of the Republican tour. Normally, he said, such an event would cost $5,000. Here are some facts about the board, which resembles a giant Lite-Brite: It rotates 360 degrees. It costs about a half-million dollars. It can be raised 18 feet. And there are 180,000 red, green and blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) on its face that occasionally malfunction when the board travels. "I apologize if it looks a little iffy tonight," said Rocha, 31. "We just got back from the pope." As interesting and unusual as the board is -- it's the only mobile LED screen in Florida that can be raised and lowered with hydraulics -- Rocha's story is even more extraordinary. He was born and raised in Clearwater, and graduated from Countryside High. When he was 14, he volunteered on a youth news program at a local cable access station. There, he met the woman who would be his wife and fell in love with video editing, animation and video graphics. Rocha never went to college, choosing instead to work at a cable station. Eventually, he found a niche market: making graphics, animation and shows for big video screens, like the ones at sports stadiums. He and his wife started Keyframe, producing eye-catching videos for big screens. In January of 2000, the company was bought by Daktronics, the company in South Dakota that manufactures the ProStar and other video boards. In 2000, Daktronics was named one of the 200 best small companies in America by Forbes magazine. Rocha travels the country, coordinating videos and graphics for giant video screens. Keyframe, now a division of Daktronics, has grown from four employees to about 45, and has offices in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas and South Dakota, in addition to the Clearwater office. The company also helps stadiums and events use the board like a giant, closed-circuit TV, providing camera crews, directors and editors. His company's work has been shown at the Super Bowl, at the Salt Lake City Olympics and in a variety of pro and college stadiums. Keyframe also oversees the maintenance and acts as an engineering consultant for the video boards at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. The mobile ProStar video board is based at the Clearwater office. It is similar to the ones at Raymond James Stadium, although those are stationary and about three times larger. The ProStar and a small air-conditioned video production studio are hooked up to a truck. Inside the studio, a computer tells the board what to broadcast. Rocha and a few employees have been rolling along the streets of Tampa with the board. Following the Republicans has been a challenge, he said, because he has had to change locations several times throughout the day. Normally, they drive the board to one place, set up and stay for several hours. "This is the most mobile we've ever been," he said.
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