Studio atmosphere provides 'real-world' experience

In a T283: Intro to Production Techniques and Practices lab, a lone student’s voice sounded while other students adjusted to operate their stations.

“Audio ready? Video ready? CG ready? Board ready? 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.”

For many IU telecommunications students, T283 is the first course that allows access to studio equipment. Senior Lecturer and Production Facilities Manager John Walsh said this already popular course has undergone some changes that have recently generated buzz within the department.

“We’ve added a new media component this year,” Walsh said. “In the past, it was a course in which we introduced students to field production and multi-camera studio production. Now, with the onset of new media and Internet distribution, we’ve also added a third stream, which is new media design.”

Walsh said students will take the work they complete in the studio and field environments and incorporate it into their own online portfolios.

The course meets once a week for a lecture and is divided into eight lab sessions with 12 to 15 students in each.

Half of these students begin in field experience for five weeks while the others work in the studio — a new environment for many of them.

“This is the first big course that the students really get excited about,” Walsh said. “This is like your first pre-med course before you go into medical school. It’s the first time where all the students who have been taking all of their prerequisites have a chance to actually use cameras.”

Sophomore Eric Zurawski said he enjoys the hands-on experience the course offers.

On Feb. 9, Zurawski and his classmates took part in their first television broadcast simulation of the semester. For this project, each student took turns running different stations — including various control room equipment — camera operating and on-camera anchoring. Students have the opportunity to work together on a production that mirrors many television stations in the field.

“We’re not just learning concepts anymore,” Zurawski said. “We’re actually applying them to our actual field of study and what we will do with it. We’re finally getting to use the equipment we’ve been talking about.”

In his first few weeks of the semester, Zurawski said, he learned about each piece of equipment, from the cameras to the sound board. He said he has especially taken interest in directing throughout the course of the lab.

“I like directing a lot and being in control of everything,” Zurawski said. “I’ve definitely gained more experience doing that in this lab.”

The eight lab sessions are split up between four associate instructors who have video and studio experience from across the country. Each instructor teaches two four-hour lab sessions.  

Associate instructor Matt Falk said he enjoys the small size of the classes and being able to see students grow in the studio.

“The thing I really like most about this class is that you get interactions with the students,” Falk said.  “You finally get to see students excelling at things that they’re really passionate about doing, and it’s really rewarding to be the person that can give them the basic skills and point them in the right direction.”

Associate instructors Brian Steward and Sophie Parkison said they see the lab opportunity as a way for the students to learn to build the teamwork they will need for their futures in telecommunications.

“It’s kind of a like a dance in which everyone has a part, and if one part is off, it affects everyone else,” Parkison said.

T283 is a required course for telecommunications majors, but it is open to all
students.

Walsh said the class generally fills to capacity each semester because of its hands-on nature. He said it is a course in which many students learn much about themselves.

“It’s satisfying to see students get excited about working with television,” Walsh said. “And when they realize the power of the media and what they can create — I love seeing that light bulb come on.”