TCOM487 offers students a variety of opportunities to hone their skills while working on specific topics throughout the semester. TCOM487 also offers an emphasis on creating media for external distribution. The seminar may emphasize one particular technology, such as audio, video, multimedia, or a combination, depending on the project.
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The Ball State students, Sara Deboer, Jayana Fennell, Jason Franks, Jon Gloden, Brenna Haley, Jamie Howell, Erika Koepfer, Jonathan Le, Kaitlyn Magana, Maddie Rambissoon, Morgan Silhavy, David Walcott, and Logan Wood, researched, reached out, and recorded these short documentaries all while teaching and mentoring the younger students of Union City’s KISS TV. The class visited Union City twice in the semester, the first day focusing on filming the documentaries. At the same time, the KISS TV students helped set up the equipment and learn about the different positions on a film crew. The second trip focused on individual mentorship with the students; two students would be paired up with one Ball State student and learn more about a specific duty they were interested in. The first half of that day was spent helping the students understand what skills they need for different positions and giving those interested in the camera a chance to film b-roll for the documentaries. The Ball State students were also able to set up “booths” for the high schoolers where they demonstrated and explained different aspects of the media industry. Some focused on storytelling and setting up the camera, while others taught post-production editing.
One day, a small group from KISS TV visited Ball State and got to see everything the Department of Media offered. They practiced setting up a recording in the UML with Terry Heifetz; they saw how the audio booths worked with Stan Sollars and saw the new Esports Center. As they saw these aspects of the department, the Ball State students also shared their experiences as Media students. Not only was this immersive about teaching and inspiring students and helping them learn, but it was also about strengthening our professional skills with clients, learning from one another, and creating a final product meant to bring together a community of people.