The School of Media Arts & Studies’ fourth annual High School Media Workshop, which took place June 20-24, introduced students to the media arts industry with specialized classes taught by Ohio University professors. Students learned some of the latest techniques in audio, music, video, animation, social media and other academic areas.
“We’re always changing up the workshop activities, and students are always engaged,” said workshop Director Karen Riggs. “Our biggest change is adding an extra day to the workshop this year. The students have more opportunities for unstructured time, when they can get to know friends, relax, do outdoor activities and spend more time completing their projects.”
During the workshop, students were divided into four groups that rotated through five different core sessions which provided a sampling of the MDIA curriculum. Throughout the week, students attended sessions on music production, video production, film sound, animation and games, and social media. Students were able to write and produce their own songs, learn basic animation, create sound for a movie, and produce a short video.
Jacob Lamp, a senior from Columbus, came to the workshop wanting to focus on music production. He already has an internship at a music studio where he can sit in on production, but he “wanted to see what being in college and learning about it is really like.”
Lamp also enjoyed some of the other workshop sessions.
“Animation was cool to play around with,” said Lamp. “I’ve never experienced anything even close to that. I like how the workshop gives you a little bit of everything.”
For Imani Menefee, a senior from Dayon, this was her first time attending the media workshop.
“I really love sound. I didn’t realize how much went into sound for animation, or in general, what you have to do to get a certain sound. It’s really cool though,” said Menefee on her experience working to create sound effects for an animation in the new Schoonover Sound Post-Production & Listening Lab. She aspires to someday work in film production.
One of the workshop student leaders, Wesley Shynn, an OHIO junior studying music production, attended the inaugural media workshop four years ago. He said that it was a good experience being on the other side of the workshop this time and that “it’s cool to see how the workshop has improved over the past four years.”
This year’s workshop had 60 students who came from several states, including Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
“An incredible aspect of the High School Media Workshop is that students attend not only to experience what the School of Media Arts & Studies has to offer within its curriculum but also for that first college experience, including one-on-one mentoring to help focus their passion and future career goals,” said workshop Associate Director Kyle P. Snyder. “It’s truly gratifying seeing students interacting with one another and engaging in the creative process; their imagination and unique and creative spirit helped facilitate a powerful educational experience.”
The workshop ended with a farewell banquet and screening of student projects created during the week.
Andie Walla, faculty member and video production instructor, said that “some of the projects we showed tonight are so well done that you wouldn’t think they’re high school student videos.”
For more information on the High School Media Workshop, visit http://mediaschool.ohio.edu/hsmw. To see coverage of the workshop on Twitter, search #OUHSMW.
View student projects from this year’s workshop here.
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