As the first semester ends, I’m encouraged by all the different kinds of portfolio pieces that have been completed and continue to be in production. The center has hit its stride, and we have several new members, including freshmen and upperclassmen. Using Open House as a good reason, we completed a deep clean of both sides of our studio and rearranged several of our rig stations to use our space more efficiently. We are also in the midst of re-designing our LIVE with Student Life morning broadcast set up to incorporate a multi-functional podcast booth on the west side of the Black Room. This space will serve as a collaborative space where students can not only learn about the ins and outs of podcasting and audio mixing, but our admissions team will host a production for prospective students and families as well, and athletics will be utilizing it for promotional materials and interviews. All in all our space is laid out pretty similar to the beginning of the year, but the few adjustments we’ve made have improved our workflow and tidiness tremendously.

Curricularly speaking, many of our freshman and new members have completed module 1 of the center training modules. Almost all of our students are now comfortable with a professional camera and lens, and there are many ways to use it as a tool for storytelling. In addition to camera operation, we have gone into quite a bit of depth on lighting practices and different ways to illuminate a scene. By extension, students are practicing these techniques threw one of our fun exercises known as Remake that Scene, where students are tasked with emulating a scene from a movie or TV show of their choice as best they can.

Our other teams within the center continue to grow, especially our sports media team. Almost 20 students signed up as photographers/videographers at our many athletic events on and near campus. We hope to grow this program like we have the production team and expand our offerings as the hub for all athletic coverage needs. As both boys' and girls' basketball season rolls around, we will ramp up our live streaming branch and broadcasting our home games. The second semester should be more fun, more exciting, and, most of all, more productive.

FYI - We also got our new gear in for the year! If you're interested in rocking some black & gold Cinematic Arts swag, COME JOIN THE CENTER.