Students in the 2016 High School Media Workshop work on sound effects in the new Schoonover Sound Post-Production & Listening Lab with High School Media Workshop Associate Director Kyle Snyder and MDIA student Michael Warning (both seated at the Yamaha Nuage control surface).
The School of Media Arts & Studies High School Media Workshop, which took place from July 13-16, welcomed 92 students, the largest group to date. The workshop introduced students to the latest techniques and equipment in audio, video, animation & games, film sound and storytelling/producing classes taught by School of Media Arts & Studies professors.
“Fantastic workshop experiences in our first two years have resulted in buzz among past students, parents and high school teachers, leading to this large enrollment increase,” said High School Media Workshop Director Karen Riggs. “Some parents told us they discovered the workshop while doing a Google search–growing interest is leading to prominence in search results. This year, with our excellent faculty and student staff, we delivered the highest-quality workshop in our short history.”
During the workshop students were divided into four different cohorts, where they rotated through the same program, providing a sampling of the entire MDIA curriculum. Emily Gayton, a senior from Olean, N.Y., had visited Ohio University for college tours before but this was her first time attending the High School Media Workshop.
“I came in with an open mind,” said Gayton. “I wasn’t sure what medium I wanted to do, so being able to work with these programs and get a grip on what I already know was helpful. This media workshop has done a lot helping me to figure out where I’m going. I love writing and learning the format for screenwriting and how to do things professionally was really helpful. I feel that I can bring two things that I love doing together, media and writing.”
This summer, workshop participants were able to get hands-on experience in several newly completed MDIA studios and labs.
“It was truly gratifying seeing students interacting and engaging with our just opened and cutting-edge facilities,” said High School Media Workshop Associate Director Kyle Snyder. “Their imaginative use of the new spaces is precisely what we hoped for throughout the design process and I couldn’t be more proud.”
One of the most anticipated classroom spaces to be utilized was the Schoonover Sound Post-Production & Listening Lab, located in Schoonover Center Room 448. This lab allows students to create and listen to sound in an acoustically pristine environment and have the capability for state-of-the-art audio post production for moving images, including film. During the workshop students were able to create sound effects for an animation clip in the Foley room, a studio that includes nine Foley pits and various props to create the needed sounds. During the workshop, students created the sound of a cardboard box opening, an individual walking across different surfaces on crutches, and the clicking of a video game remote control.
“The Schoonover Sound Post-Production & Listening Lab is awesome, because not only is it a really new space, but it’s a lot bigger than what we had before and it feels a lot more purpose built,” said MDIA music production senior Michael France, who assisted with the workshop. “It’s really hard to act out sounds along with a film, for example it’s really hard to time walking, but the workshop students were great and they picked up on everything quickly. Many of them came to the workshop with just one interest, but I think they learned a lot about what goes on behind the scenes. Specifically, in the 448 lab, I think a lot of people learned just how much sound replacement goes on in movies and film.”
The workshop ended with a farewell banquet and a screening of student projects created during the week.
“We screened and shared their videos, recordings, film sound projects and animations at our banquet on the final evening of the workshop,” said Riggs. “It was beyond impressive to see what they produced in short bursts of activity. They’re obviously going to become leaders in the creative industries, and we’re looking forward to seeing them here as first-year students.”
For more information on the 2016 High School Media Workshop, visit mediaschool.ohio.edu/hsmw. See photos as well as projects from the 2016 workshop on the workshop blog.
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