Rice alum wins Emmy

Rice alum wins Emmy

BY JESSICA STARK
Rice News staff

When James Blue, the then-director of Rice Media Center, walked into a Texas classroom some 30 years ago, a self-described regular kid took his first step toward an extraordinary career that has taken him around the world, quite literally. Mark Brice ’80 has spent time sleeping under the stars in Africa, crossing through war zones in Burundi, trailing an anti-kidnapping unit in Brazil and living aboard an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf.

It’s that last experience that led Brice, a documentary filmmaker, to the strangest place of all: Hollywood. Earlier this month, Brice was awarded the Emmy for Outstanding Cinematography for a Reality Series for his work on the PBS film “Carrier.” Produced by Mel Gibson, “Carrier” is a 10-hour series that follows a six-month deployment of the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier during the Iraq War.

“The Media Center at Rice was my launching pad,” Brice said. “When James Blue came into my high school and showed us a 16-millimeter film he shot in Africa and talked about what he did, I thought, ‘I want to do that.'”

Pursuing a passion

Though Brice discovered his passion that day, he couldn’t convince himself to pursue it fully. A wannabe marine biologist, he came to Rice as a biology major, thinking he would only dabble in film in his spare time. 

“I took film classes as electives,” Brice said. “It seemed like a nice break from the academic pressures of Rice. But then I realized it was because my heart wasn’t in the hard sciences.”

Spending hours and hours synching audio and video wasn’t without pressure, but Brice loved it. He still laughs fondly when he talks about the late nights he spent at the Media Center fine-tuning picture and sound while hearing Orson Welles’ “Touch of Evil” play in the screening room.

“I remember Mark as a student very well,” said Brian Huberman, chair of Visual and Dramatic Arts. “I would see him late at night in the editing room focused on his work. It was clear early on that he was committed to filmmaking.”

The commitment sometimes took extreme forms. In making a film about racial violence spurred by an incident on the Texas coast, Brice ended up with Huberman and a cameraman driving around back roads at night, unarmed, to film a Ku Klux Klan induction rally. Upon arriving, they were immediately surrounded by men with rifles.

Mark Brice raises his hands and Emmy in celebration after receiving the award.

It’s one of the most memorable experiences Huberman has had as a teacher.

“I had a really good chance to see him in action,” Huberman said with a laugh.

A deeper understanding

Huberman has had many more opportunities to see Brice in action. Just recently they worked together on A&E’s “First 48,” of which Brice is a producer. The series follows homicide detectives as they try to solve murder mysteries.

A producer on the show for about two years, Brice has acquired a new eye for it in recent months.

“I have a 5-month-old son now,” he said. “I have a deeper understanding of the depth of loss. No matter who the victim was, no matter how bad they were, there’s still a father who lost his perfect little kid. It strikes me more now that I have a child, it means more to me.”

Department of Visual and Dramatic Arts
Want to follow in the footsteps of an Emmy winner? Learn more about Rice’s arts programs
Carrier
Read more about Mark Brice’s work in the PBS reality series

The emotional tugs have been as severe as the physical strains throughout Brice’s career. The documentary medium rarely allows for posh conditions.

“The challenge of making a documentary is always finding a way to do your best work and be open to discovery when you are uncomfortable, when you’re not eating right, when it’s 110 degrees and you have no shade in sight, when the weather is fogging up your goggles on an aircraft carrier and you have no way of knowing exactly what kind of picture you’re shooting.”

But Brice doesn’t complain. Instead he talks about the awe he’s felt and the privileges he has had.

“If you really like what you’re doing, those trying conditions are all worth it. Anything is for the chance for the best pictures ever,” Brice said. “You try to capture things that no one has ever seen before. I’ve had the chance to see the Pacific Ocean where it’s seven miles deep — it’s a color blue you can’t describe.”