CMU School of Drama


Thursday, April 01, 2010

High school students learn to write, film and anchor television and multimedia productions

Post Gazette: "It's seconds to airtime and the news set falls silent after a period of chaos. Cameras roll and anchors take a deep breath as a producer loads the last bit of text into the TelePrompTer."

9 comments:

Sonia said...

I think that having high school programs where students can create morning talk shows is a great learning experience to have. It gives the students an opportunity to work with equipment,and scenarios that they would never had the opportunity otherwise. Having working TV studios, can be such an outlet for students who wouldnt in any other circumstances have realized their passion for it. Even if students dont take what they have learned from working on these productions into that field, working under live deadlines and how to handle situations that go wrong calmly and cooly, are all things that can be learned from this kind of program.

Sylvianne said...

What a wonderful opportunity for these high schools to give their students. In is incredible how even though you can learn a lot in a class, hands on experience is really essential to learning the process of television. From what the article says, the students really go through most of the steps, and having it aired on local channels must give some sense of accomplishment. I am all for apprenticeships during and before colleges, because the high school system does not always cater to every student type. This seems to really step out of the typical box.

Katherine! said...

It is great to see that students are being given this opportunity in high school. Giving students hands on experience with this sort of equipment and environments. My high school attempted to put a television production class in, but it failed as it wasn't as focused as this one seems to be. I hope the student's involved enjoy what they are doing, as it could lead to a great career.

tiffhunsicker said...

I agree that this is a great opportunity for the students. My high school had a very similar program, which a few of my friends were involved in. They absolutely loved it, and learned so much from having the chance to have the entire thing student run. Sometimes it didn't turn out so well, but that's the learning process. You figure out what works and what doesn't, and then you fix it to be better next time. It's a wonderful thing that high schools are really starting to provide opportunities for students that know what they want to do with their lives. It's not all just general education anymore. While of course it is important to have gen.ed. classes, it's nice to also branch off into different industries and start fostering career experience early on.

Chris said...

WOW! This sounds like a great program for students who are interested in the live TV and film industries. I wish we had an opportunity like that in school. So often, teachers are at a loss as to how to apply technology to learning, but these schools have hit it on the head. Why not use the technology for its intended purpose and teach students real life applications that will affect their work in so many different ways. A couple of years ago, my high school was considering teaming up with a local TV station to create both an in school studio and an interactive, live broadcast system for call-in board meetings or long-distance learning and cultural exchange programs. It never got approved, but we tried. There are so many applications for this technology, it is good to see people using it in schools.

Brian Rangell said...

Both of my high schools had video announcements that were very high-scale productions, but my project was the DCTV Academy, a team of 8 students who produced a bi-weekly newsmagazine-type program about issues in the schools and community. Working under deadlines (and with requirements to source and interview at least 3 subjects with opposing viewpoints and editing on AVID, a professional software package) was incredibly stressful, but on Studio Day, it all paid off as we filmed the anchors and ran rough-cuts of our packages for the rest of the class to see. The first year I was a member, a team won a Student Emmy for a bio story on a girl interning at the local hospital. I would love to go back and observe that program again, just to see how it has changed since I left it behind in Colorado.

Unknown said...

I think its really great that some high schools have programs that expose you to such specialized fields long before you have to decide what you want to do professionally. It can really help to give students perspective to what they really want to do in life and its unfortunate that so many schools due to budgetary issues are cutting back on their art and music programs. I think that this program is great not only because it gives you exposure to actual working experience but teaches students a lot of discipline especially since they abide by the same type of intense deadlines that they’re professional counterparts in the area are exposed to and they deal with very expensive equipment that they could be liable for.

A. Surasky said...

Having a high school program that allows kids to have the experience of a running a full on TV production is a great way to get involved and interested in that industry. I remember there were a lot of kids in my high school involved in our TV studio, and they all seemed really passionate, and it was great for them since they wouldn't have the opportunity to get involved with that kind of work otherwise. I think it's similar to how people get involved in theater in high school, that it starts as an extra-curricular, but eventually becomes a viable career path which people grow to enjoy.

Unknown said...

Having something like this is great. I remember at my old high school, we had morning announcements like this but, it was definitely not up to par with the ones at these schools. This is also a good way to inspire a lot of students who may have never found out that they love doing this otherwise. Having to deal with such adrenaline-filled situations all the time will certainly help in whatever you do, not only if they decide to major in it.