When I first signed up to take the Audio/Video Production class, I expected that there would be an approximately equal amount of teaching and lessons on production of both audio and video. Now, as the end of the year fast approaches, Iv'e found that we've hardly covered audio at all, given the exception of a few quick lessons on cables and Garageband voiceovers.
These lessons were great and informative, but they only just tapped the surface of Garageband capabilities and the tricks one can do with sound. I understand that video is a powerful and useful medium for the transmittance of information, and Gil has taught us extremely well in virtually all areas of its study, but audio is equally important. Most people have no idea what a multi-band compressor is, or a bit crusher, or what an equalizer actually does, and without more education in these tools, video quality can suffer as well.
The audio of film is not simply relegated to the process of holding a microphone up to the talent and pressing record. There are much more complicated processes that must go into the video development that with their absence, the video will ultimately suffer. Perhaps next year we could have an audio class specifically designed to teach audio production, or maybe pre-schedule some class time to develop our production skills.
-Myles Miller
Max Arzamehr and Samantha Melomo got to present at the SXSW education conference this past month along with myself and the Student Reporting Labs team! SXSWEDU is a conference that centers around innovation in learning. Our presentation was called, " video journalism project learning with the PBS NewsHour." AHS is one of a handful of schools from across the nation that participates in a community outreach mentorship program that brings proffessionals from PBS news stations into the classroom to help teach broadcast journalism. Students report on two stories during the course of the year and if their projects are good enough they have the possibility of making it on the NewsHour broadcast.
Students go through this program during their second year in the media pathway and carry the skills that they learn from the class into the next year as they report on happenings from around the school.
Max presented last year at the conference as well and spoke from the perspective of someone who had gone through the entire year. Samantha talked about what its like to be in the program right now. Lynn Boswell, (one of our mentors) and Leah Clapman, (Education Editor for the NewsHour Extra), also appeared on the panel.
The presentation went great and I'm proud to say that Max and Sam represented our program well.
Rebecca McInroy goes over equipment with the Varsity K-AHS class
I met KUT producer Rebebba McInroy at a conference this past summer and talked with her about collaborating with my students to produce work for KUT's storyboard website to get a feel for how to tell stories in a different way. Rebecca worked with the kids on a visual form of storytelling that incorporates some of the audio techniques they use in public radio. After Rebecca gave the students some instruction and loaned us equipment, the students put their knowlege to a project that was designed to profile Austin High teachers nominated for Teacher of the Year.
I am really proud of the team for turning this around on such short notice and for putting in the hours to make it happen…
Take a minute and check out the videos. I'm so thankful for Rebecca and her help on this wonderful project and look forward to making more videos on people in and outside of Austin High.
<p>Produced by Max Azarmehr.</p>
<p>Produced by Geoffrey King</p>
<p>Produced by Hannah Young</p>
<p>produced by Hunter Bagent</p>
<p>Produced by Thomas Houser</p>
<p>produced by Emily Sousa</p>
<p>Produced by Olivia Arnold</p>
<p>Produced by Madison Matthews</p>
Kikomeister endorses the A/V Production Class
A/V PRODUCTION - Open to 9th-12th, no pre-req.
This class provides an introduction to the art and craft of movie and television production. Students will collaborate with others to learn the basics of screenwriting, shooting and editing video. Student filmmakers get hands on experience with HD cameras, and learn how to edit with FInal Cut Pro on Apple computers. This class is mandatory if you want to be on K-AHS.
ADV A/V PRODUCTION - Open to 10th-11th, MUST have passed AVP
Students take a deeper look into the technical aspects of A/V Production and learn more advanced editing techniques and camera equipment. This class envelops students in the fast paced world of television field production by involving students in the nationally recognized PBS Student Reporting Labs Project. Students will collaborate with others to create their own news segments with mentors from KLRU and KUT. They also learn studio production and work on multiple contests throughout the year as a class.
A/V PRACTICUM 1 - Open to seniors, MUST HAVE PASSED ADV. AVP.
Students produce K-AHS on tuesday, wednesday, and thursday and friday. They also attend the Austin Film Festival and spend the year working on the Senior Thesis Film, a short film shot on location outside of Austin.
A/V PRACTICUM 2 - Must have passed A/V PRACTICUM (first available 2014/15)
Having been involved with the PBS Student Reporting Labs for the last year as a junior, it was a real treat to be able to tour the KLRU studio and view one of the tapings for Overheard with Evan Smith with Jim Lehrer as the guest. It was only a year ago when my teacher was showing me a video clip of Mr. Lehrer addressing me and my classmates about the journey we were about to take working with the PBS NewsHour Extra website. Having only seen a high school media studio it was mind blowing to walk around the maze of KLRU’s office to see studios the size of our classroom and a control board that looked like something off of a spaceship. It was not only the size that was impressive, but the staff of KLRU is truly amazing; being able to watch them in their element was enjoyable and enlightening. (See photos from the trip on K-AHS’s Flickr page)
The taping was my favorite part, listening to Jim Lehrer crack jokes about all of the politicians he’s interviewed was the highlight of my day. My parents were also jealous that I got to sit in on such an influential political figurehead which made the gloating that much more enjoyable. It was a learning experience as well. Being the youngest crowd there Overheard gave insight to the class about the inner workings of political interviews, a process that had never been explained to us.
Before the taping, Erika Aguilar gave us a tour of the KUT studio and showed us where they record bands, interviews, and eat bagels! (morning story meeting table). It felt really cool that we also had a story meeting table and did the same thing they did, bouncing ideas off each other as a team to get the best ideas on what to put on air.
The Austin Highs Media team is so lucky to have been able to work so closely with our mentors, KLRU’s Lynn Boswell and KUT’s Erika Aguilar with the Student Reporting Labs to create our own NewsHour Reports. The experience last year, producing our news stories, was very difficult, but well worth the stress. That year taught me how to be a serious journalism and media student and gave a voice to my classmates and I, a group of individuals whose point of view often gets over looked. That experience gave us a chance to see what it means to be a journalist, and to see all the hard work that goes into finding a story that is worth creating.
Gil’s got a lot of cool things in his room; the high-tech computers, the studio, the VO room, not to mention all the cameras and mics, but the thing that seems the most prized and reserved is the Nintendo with its fun old games. To think about that is odd, we have all this cool technology around us and what do we want to do? We want to go retro.
Most likely this is due to the constant presence of the Nintendo with its allure of games that is reserved only for those who can achieve a score of a 100 for their six-weeks average. The interesting part is that it’s always there yet I don’t believe I have met anyone yet that has played it. The Nintendo seems to be Gil’s prize, his incentive for kids to work hard, and his reward to those that achieve perfection.
I have a Nintendo at home, but it’s not the same. It’s that satisfaction that you get from knowing that you earned it, to know that you are one of the few that can claim to have been allowed to play it. Myself, I am only 1 point away from that perfect score and that mystical privilege of being able to come in at lunch and play Nintendo on the big screen. Fingers crossed, here’s hoping this blog will put my over that 1 point. I hear he has Duck Hunt!
AHS Students! This is for YOU! Earn great prizes, promote local musicians and help Austin High School raise money...all at the same time. Sign up, send a few emails and you’re there. AHS get 55% of all sales and all of that money will go straight to our PTSA AHS General Fund to spend in areas of need. GO MAROONS!
Bedrock is completely online. It’s so easy. Get involved now!
- Go to www.WeAreBedrock.com and select your school
- Create your profile (or use Facebook to log in)
- Fire up your emails and start selling music and earning prizes
What’s in it for you? GREAT PRIZES! You earn points for each download you sell, then trade your points for great prizes:
- Epiphone acoustic and electric guitars
- Visa cash cards & iTunes download cards
- ACL Festival 3-day passes
- Soul headphones by Ludacris
- Gift cards for yummy food
- The top selling student from school wins a $500 cash scholarship!
Want to get even more involved? Join the Bedrock Elite Team...An interested team of students gets to work directly with Bedrock. You’ll receive extra points in your account to use for awesome prizes, and hands-on experience in the music business! Interested? Please send an email to Hello@WeAreBedrock.com. Include your name, contact & school.
Every year, the varsity K-AHS class is given the wonderful opportunity to attend the Austin Film Festival. I feel so lucky having had the opportunity to go to the Film Festival this year. I went into the festival not knowing what to expect and came out inspired and better educated about what a career in film might look like. This exposure solidified my determination to pursue my interest in filmmaking.
In the mornings during the Film Festival, there were sessions with panels of speakers. I went on Thursday morning having no idea what this was all about and found myself in a room with Alec Berg, a comic writer who wrote for Seinfeld. This was a fun introduction to the festival for me. Alec Berg told what it’s like to have a young family while working in the business and of course, he told it in a humorous and very entertaining way.
The next day I went to see short films, which were inspirational, entertaining and fun. I was fascinated by how much great story telling is out there. I learned a lot and loved being in a place with so many people who love doing the same thing as I do. Having the opportunity to vote for my favorite short added to the experience for me – voting made me feel like I was a real participant in the festival, not just a student observer.
The highlight of the Film Festival for me was attending the premier of Johnny Depp’s new movie, The Rum Diaries. I waited in line by myself for 2 hours. The line out of the Paramount Theater went around a block and a half at least. I was lucky to have gotten there early enough that I actually made it into the theater and had a good seat. The movie was exciting and wild but the best part was having the chance to see and hear Johnny Depp in person. He came out after the movie, and spoke and answered questions for at least 40 minutes. In a funny way, I felt like I sort of knew who he was after seeing him in so many movies. He was fascinating, funny and so engaging.
Director Bruce Robinson & Johnny Depp
The icing on the cake for the day was standing near Johnny Depp, trying to get his autograph…he reached out to take my program to sign, and somehow touched my hand, but unfortunately his handler pulled him away before he could sign my Film Festival badge. So, I didn’t get his autograph, but had a great time and left feeling so lucky to have been there.
Now that I know what it’s all about, I can’t wait to come back to the Austin Film Festival.
There are so many ways that one can come into high school. So many feelings. There’s the kid who doesn’t even care, the dork, the skater, the one with 500 packages of loose-leaf paper, and there’s the perfectionist. I’ve always considered myself to be in the middle of the last two. Some freshmen are scared to death while there are the other ones who are ready to stomp into the hallway yelling, “Come at me, bro!” (Whilst yelling the year they graduate. . .)
Coming into freshman year, I was excited. I was ready to learn. I was ready to experience new things. I had my ups and downs but the most exciting part was finding my way, and trying to figure out what I wanted to do throughout the rest of my high school career.
I joined the Theatre Arts, hoping to be the highest ranked thespian by senior year. But as the class progressed I felt like it wasn’t the right thing for me. So I talked around, wondering what other exciting things I could get into. And then it hit me. K-AHS. I scurried around frantically, asking an insane amount of questions about how I could get a spot as an anchor, a producer -- anything.
Over the summer all I could think about was landing myself in the best classes I could find. When I received my schedule I was thoroughly disappointed. BIM and Aerobics? Who even took those classes? I immediately talked to the counselor. When we got to her office she listed out all the empty electives I could take. I almost leaped to her computer myself trying to find Audio/Video Production on her list. At first glance, all the classes were full. All of a sudden she spotted one more A/V class that had one more seat. Was it meant to be, or what?
My first day was quite interesting. I thought to myself ‘hey, I like the vibe. The teacher is awesome. I think this will be a great year.’ As the weeks went on, the curriculum was getting a little bit harder. I actually had to use my brain.
I think my biggest flaw was trying to be a teacher’s pet. That’s how I’ve grown up, how I’ve always been with my teachers. I try to suck up; I try to be better than the person sitting next to me. But this year it just didn’t seem to work that way. I always come off as someone I’m not. I’m always asking questions; not only because I truly do need help, but also because I like the reassurance that a teacher gives, even when I ask something pretty self explanatory.
In A/V production, I’ve noticed it the most. Sometimes I really am just annoying, and sometimes it’s simply that I feel so insecure in that certain social environment (I hope that makes sense.) Either way, I always feel like I’m doing something wrong, that I can never get anything right. But I can promise you right now that when I’m in my comfort zone, I’m nothing like that.
Recently, I haven’t felt like myself, I haven’t shown my full potential. We all mess up, and we all make mistakes. We all have the bad impression we leave on someone. But there’s room to grow. Things can change. We all change. I hope that I can grow to learn to be more efficient, to work my best, and to be a good person. I’m hoping that by the end of this class I will have matured. I hope that I can show everybody who I am and what I really am trying to accomplish. And I hope that I make the top 24 cass ranking, because trust me. I really want that spot on K-AHS.
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