COMM classes come together to create student news broadcast

By Chris Woods | News editor

Two communications classes were paired together this fall to provide students with an immersive, experiential learning opportunity to help prepare them for work in on-screen news media production.

COMM3120 Television Production and COMM4010 Performance for the Camera are working in tandem this semester to allow students to produce their own interviews and news segments from start to finish, which included everything from script writing and on-air anchor rehearsal to camera operation and editing the footage.

Students from both classes appeared to enjoy working in this near true-to-life production setting in their own separate roles and together, including communications student Keytona Johns.

“Collaborating...was a lot of fun and overall extremely educating. I enjoyed the process of the collaboration from start to finish,” Johns said about her experience. “I know for a fact that this opportunity has inspired a lot of the students to learn new things or possibly take other classes.”

Television Production, led by communications Professor Sangsun Choi, teaches prospective multimedia video producers the ins and outs of the behind-the-scenes world of bringing video to the screen, while Professor Rachel Balducci’s Performance for the Camera gives students interested in working in front of the camera a taste of news anchor life as well as developing and hosting their own talk show segment.

Balducci, who brings her extensive experience in the field to her classroom, expressed her excitement for this production opportunity that will provide her students with the essentials for being successful in the world of media.

“This kind of experiential learning is so critical and also a lot of fun,” she said. “These are the kinds of skills communications professionals need in the market today; so, I’m happy that the COMM department is able to offer this training.”

Multimedia producer for AU’s Center for Instructional Innovation and TVC Lab Supervisor Timothy Williams played a key role in the classes’ final production by bringing his expertise and enthusiasm to the collaborative setting saying he “greatly enjoyed” being a part of this unique, original opportunity for the students and helping to educate on some practical, hands-on skills and know-how of media production.

“This was the first time that two different classes came together in the TVC Lab to produce a show, something I was very proud to see!” said Williams. “With so many moving bodies in the studio, it really felt like a typical production set. Overall, I believe all the students had a lot of fun getting a small taste of what it takes to produce a newscast from concept to completion.”

See what it is like to be on set with the students of COMM3120 and COMM4010 in this series of photos by Chris Woods.