Teachers in the Film, Television and Media Department reflect on how spring semester has been and what they look forward to in the fall.
Jason Beaton, FTVM instructor, has really enjoy the time he has spent with students and collegues this semester and believe they have a really good team.
“The students at Moorpark College in the FTVM program are the best,” said Beaton. “They all get along and work well together.”
Beaton has had a joyful experience working at Moorpark College because he feels that at this point they have a solid group of instructors and administration. Candice Larson, who runs the FTVM program, allows him to be creative and John Loprieno, who is chair and dean of the arts, has been very supportive and working with everyone to make a positive and successful learning enviroment for all students.
FTVM teaches two fundamentals of media that every students needs to know for the rest of their lives in this social media environment: how to produce good audio and video, said Beaton.
Beaton teaches FTVM M40 Beginning Audio Production, M45A Beginning Radio and Podcasting and M45B Intermediate Radio & Podcasting in the fall and spring semesters.
“Our greatest accomplishment in our FTVM M40 Beginning Audio Production class is that students their understanding of audio,” said Beaton. “Hopefully they will be more comfortable and better prepared to capture audio on their television and video shoots for other classes.”
Having students mix and run the audio for “Club M,” an improv show held earlier in May, was a big success, said Beaton.
FTVM M45 Beginning Radio and Podcasting and Intermedirate Radio and Podcasting classes had two major events this semesters where students got to hone their skills at live remote broadcasting on campus, which Beaton feels was another great success.
“It was a fantastic learning experience of what may be required in the real world,” said Beaton.
Another major event that occurred this semester was the launch of StudentVoiceOnAir: a radio program which is collaboration between journalism and media students. This provides the 411 on all the information you need to know about Moorpark College and airs daily at 6 a.m., 9 a.m., 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. on the campus radio station: 101.5 KMCJ – Moorpark College Jams. You can listen free anywhere by downloading the Mixlr app on your smart phone and simply typing KMCJ in the search.
Beaton also says he has seen a huge progress in students this semester.
“They all have a better understanding of audio and by practicing in our radio and recording labs,” said Beaton. “They have an opportunity to keep their skills active while learning new tricks of production.”
Seeing the StudentVoiceOnAir take shape and having students in two important areas of media collaborate would be a memorable moment for Beaton.
“The live remote broadcasts were a first and from a technical standpoint we really have that down now thanks to Michael Grimes,” said Beaton.
The fall semester will bring some new ideas with new student program directors for the radio station. We are hoping to launch a sports show and a huge change in the music during the day to blend in more current top 40 and hip hop music
Michael Grimes is another FTVM instructor and teaches FTVM 26 Nonfiction and Reality along with FTVM 30 Beginning Single Camera. Grimes is also the TV/radio production specialist and supports everything that FTVM does from a technical standpoint. Grimes and Beaton both share partnership in building the radio station here at Moorpark College.
Anytime students have a question in the field, Grimes is there to help them and guide them without actually giving them the answer.
“I want them to get the answers themselves,” said Grimes. “I won’t teach them, but I’ll give them a training hint on how to get around the issue they are having at the time.”
Grimes often brings in people from the industry to give the department and students updates on where the industry is leading to make sure that the program is best aligned in the industry. That way students leave with the knowledge that the industry needs and the department can lead the students in the correct direction.
Since Grimes has started teaching, he has the seen the FTVM department explode. He even noticed that most of the classes have been waitlisted each semester.
“We just got capacity out to the point where now we’ve been requested to grow our program,” said Grimes.
Next semester the FTVM department will bring in a new faculty member and will expand the classes that they offer. Grimes will also start teaching a digital asset management class which he has helped bring to the school.
In that class students will learn organization and data management. Grimes feels it’s important because it could help the program get to projects faster and be more organized.
“For community college to be teaching digital management, it’s so brand new that if somebody leaves with digital management knowledge they will stand out because not every school, including universities, offer it,” said Grimes.
Grimes has heard students talk about how much fun it is to work in the FTVM program. Students who go off to state colleges or universities often come back and express how much information they have learned in the program.
“It’s really a reflection on well this program is,” said Grimes. “We are expanding to the point that it is benficial to the students of what they learn here so that when they leave they can take the information with them.”
If FTVM is something of interest, make sure to take one of these classes before they fill up for fall 2016!
