School of Communications hosts faculty/staff development sessions

​To kick off the new academic year, the School of Communications hosted a series of informative faculty/staff development sessions during Planning Week. The workshops focused on supporting the faculty and staff’s teaching, creative and research interests.

The first workshop, a production equipment showcase and demo held on Aug. 19, highlighted new video and photography gear as well as new techniques on lighting for faculty and staff who teach or mentor television and cinema production, broadcast journalism and other uses of technology.

The workshop was divided into multiple sessions with Bryan Baker, the school’s coordinator of sound and video projects, opening the instruction with an overview of cameras and stabilization equipment.

Ryan Witt, a Teaching and Learning Technologies video producer, followed with a lighting refresher.

​Assistant Professor Youssef Osman then discussed the school’s RED cinema cameras; Associate Professor Vic Costello highlighted portable sound and new production equipment; and Television Services Office Manager Julie Prouty detailed a new reservation system and checkout procedures.

“The production equipment showcase and demo session held this week was a big success,” said Associate Communications Dean Don Grady. “Bryan, Ryan, Youssef, Vic and Julie gave wonderful presentations on camera stabilization, lighting, the Red camera, sound acquisition, and new production equipment.”

The School of Communications continued its professional development and discussion with an Aug. 21 session highlighting gaming as a form of interactive media. The session was titled “Gaming:  The Future of Entertainment Media?” and featured John O’Neill, founder and general manager of Spark Plug Games, and Randy Greenback, executive producer of Gun Media.

​O’Neill and Greenback addressed several topics during the session, including the challenges of game development, the difficulty landing an entry-level position in design in gaming, and the need to balance subject-matter experts and game design experts to create learning materials.

The session provided an opportunity to have an open discussion with faculty who teach interactive concepts, content, scripts, design and production techniques.