Thirteen TeleArts students (“The DV Rebels” as they are known, inspired by Stu Maschwitz’s book used by Professor Biddle) and TeleArts Professor James Biddle joined industry professionals and trainers at The New York Post Production Conference in Manhattan. For three days, the group attended sessions on Avid, Final Cut Pro, Photoshop, After Effects, Field Production, and much more thanks to event organizer Future Media Concepts a leading producer of educational conferences for the film, TV, video and web industries. The company produces numerous major events around the country, most notable, the educational conferences at the annual NAB convention in Las Vegas.
Aside from training by well-known professionals such as Yossey Tessone, Richard Harrington and Douglas Spotted Eagle, students attended lectures by editors Jay Rabinowtiz (Broken Flowers), James Thomas (Borat), and Christopher Tellefsen (Capote). “It was a great review to hear the techniques we learned in class,” says senior Brian ‘The Man With The Plan’ Perry, “and it was reassuring to see how well and how useful our production skills are used in the real world”.
“It wasn’t easy to organize at such short notice,” says Biddle, “but I am glad these students wanted to go. As a post-production person, I respect these people and what they pioneer, and I wanted these students to experience it. And thanks to Future Media Concepts President and Co-Founder Ben Kozuch, the students were able to experience the Content Creators dinner at the B. B. King Blues Club. Not only did were they able to speak one-on-one with industry professionals, they won over $3000 in prizes including a copy of Avid Express Pro. I almost fainted!”
“I realized how well Professor Biddle and Professor Smith have prepared my fellow students and I,” comments senior Nick ‘The Claw’ Holtzclaw, “The lectures at the conference stressed a lot of the same principles, such as extreme organization in editing and getting things right in the field so as not to have to fix it in post…sloppy work will not be tolerated and it costs time and money, if not your job.”
According to senior Amanda “Mander” Simon, “If I had the chance to do the trip all over again, I’d do it in a heartbeat. I really think this trip should be a yearly opportunity for the Telecommunication Arts Students.”
TeleArts Professors James Biddle and Jennifer Smith hope to make trips to NYC and Los Angeles regular semester events so students can experience professional seminars and productions. According to Biddle, “Thanks to Kristen Strausbaugh-Hutchinson in AD/PR, we were able to organize the trip quickly and efficiently with all she’s done for the AD/PR trips. With Jenn Smith’s knowledge of Los Angeles, we should be able to organize a very exciting trip in the near future!”
“We also owe a lot to Brooke Rooks. Thanks to Brooke, the students learned about the Student Support fund for the trip. With the knowledge and resources we can share here at Grady College, Professor Smith and I know we can organize trips that will help our students to experience the industry and prepare for it in ways they might not have thought possible.”
Student attendee Megan “The Shark” Clark and Professor Biddle are working with Ben Kozuch on the possibility of these students attending the NAB Las Vegas Conference in April 2008. “FMC offers students the opportunity to work the conference and attend sessions for free, and the students from Grady really impressed Ben and the trainers.”
“Before the trip, I worried incessantly over whether or not I had the skills necessary for a successful career in film production,” says Jared ‘Shooter’ Bargiel, “but since then I have discovered newfound confidence in my abilities…It is nice to be reminded every now and then that one’s studies are in fact going to prove advantageous within the job market. The trip to New York City worked much to that end.”
Professor Biddle will hold a meeting in January 2008 to organize the trip for Fall 2008. Details will be made available in January.
LINK TO CONFERENCE
ttp://www.nypostconference.com/
LINK TO STUDENT SUPPORT FUND
http://www.grady.uga.edu/undergraduate.php?al1=Undergraduate&al2=Financial+Aid&al3=Student+Support&page=grady_pages.inc.php|GP_ID=55
ATTENDEES:
Charlotte “Web” Aston
Jared “Shooter” Bargiel
Ashley “Paltrow” Chase
Megan “Shark” Clark
Sean “Squelch” Connor
Jessica “Diggs” Diggelmann
Nicholas “The Claw” Holtzclaw
Jonathan “Blade” Hunt
Jae "The Edit Gangsta" Park
Brian "The Man With The Plan" Perry
Amanda “Mander” Simon
Paul "The Bounty Hunter" Smith
Adam "Cutter" Speas
