So it’s been a bit of time since the last update, mostly because it’s been very, very busy in the Broadcast Department at BCIT. Our programs have all been undergoing curriculum reviews to ensure that we’re delivering content that matches employer and student needs alike – it’s an ongoing process to help deliver the best Broadcast education in Western Canada!
We have also undergone a number of staffing changes, including welcoming Randy Singer as the Acting Associate Dean for the Broadcast Department, as well as a number of new instructors who are teaching into the Television Program this term:
- Michael Moss – Technical Introduction
- Dan Moscript – Production Planning
- Dave Berenbaum – Post Production (Avid Media Composer)
- John Foster – Organizational Behaviour
And just a few quick photos from this week, showing what our new students, and our returning second-years are up to in their first week of class!
Big Info Session at BCIT
Come out and meet us at the BIG info session & Program Expo!
If you’re interested in seeing what the BCIT Television and Video Production program has to offer, drop by BCIT’s Burnaby campus on Wednesday, March 2nd from 5-8pm.
The entire Broadcast Department will be set up in TownSquare A/B so visitors can meet our students and faculty, and have a look at the Television and Video Production program’s P2-HD production workflow combined with our new Broadcast Pix and EVS replay unit for live production!
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Sportsnet Keynote
Last Saturday, February 5th was the 7th year that BCIT Broadcast has hosted our annual Rogers Sportsnet Seminar. This seminar brings both on-air and production personnel from Sportsnet to our campus to talk to students about careers in sports broadcasting.
We had many special guests attend this year, including John Shorthouse, Joey Kenward, John Garrett, Kristin Reid, Dan Murphy, Don Taylor, TC Carling, Dave Rashford, Colin Macrae, Greg Shannon, Andrew Thomas, Rob Corte, Craig MacEwen and Nelson Millman.
Critique Sessions
Students had the opportunity to practice a commentary and get feedback from Don Taylor, Craig MacEwen, and Kristin Reid, learn about Sports Public Relations, Sports Reporting, How to tell a sports story, and Television Sports Technology.
EVS Presentation
Dave Rashford from Rogers Sportsnet also did the official presentation of the EVS replay unit to the Television & Video Production program, making us the only school in Canada to have what has become the state of the art in broadcast replay technology.
With special thanks to our second-year student Robert Pictou, the edited video from our January 15th live production of the First Lego League BC Provincial Championships is now available online!
You can also check out the awards ceremony!
This semester our first-year students will be producing 16 thirty-second commercial spots over the next couple of months (2 per week). The goal is to train students in the entire production process, from pitching an idea, right through to production and post. This isn’t all about just running out the door with a camera and shooting, but about the planning, logistics that need to go into making a production happen.
By strange coincidence, the first two commercials this year are alcohol-related!
For a bit of background, each student production company (usually group of 5) is required to produce two 30-second commercials this term, and we stipulate that at least one of them must be a real client (to give the project a bit more of a reality-check).
First up was a project for Heineken Beer which illustrates the old saying about, boy meets girl, boy chooses the wrong beer, other boy who chooses the “right” beer gets the girl.
Second up, was a spot for Industry Bar & Grill in Richmond selling on the idea that no matter what might happen by accident, it’s all good for this bar’s patrons!
Switching gears slightly with the first-year Television & Video Production students, we’ve moved from training on live multi-camera production to single-camera electronic field production (EFP). Check out our Gallery for more photos!
In order to develop these skills, our first-year faculty members, John Mills, David Griffiths, and Ashif Jivraj decided to model a small production for our students and shoot a 30 second commercial for Coast Mountain Bus Company (part of Translink).
This production process is not just about heading out to a location with a crew and a camera, but included everything from site surveys, to obtaining the necessary insurance and contracts to put this production together. Make no mistake, this is a lot of work, and our students will be doing the same on their own productions!
The process introduced both sets of first-year students to the skills and on-set coordination necessary to work in the film and television industry. While we’re not a film school (and we would argue that we are better), many of the same skill-sets apply no matter if you’re working with digital technology or film stock.
In this case, we are shooting on Panasonic HPX-300 P2 HD cameras. The first day of shooting was in AVC-Intra 100 at 1080-24PN, and the second day in DVCProHD 720-24PN, just for the sake of trying something different.
The students will be producing their own commercials in HD in the coming weeks, check back for more updates and the final products that are uploaded to Vimeo and YouTube!
