By Kasie Lyons
Sometimes waiting to
update technology pays off, Stonehill College learned.
The Easton,
Massachusetts liberal arts college finally updated its aging video production
studio about a year ago and discovered it was able to get more value as a
result.
Since opening in the
fall of 2013, Stonehill College’s newly updated studio has been offering new
opportunities for the students and faculty on campus.
The renovations to
the studio began in January 2013.
The college’s IT
Department and other staff members visited local studios to see what technology
would be best for Stonehill. Construction on the new studio began in the summer
of that same year, and was completed in time for the fall semester.
Prior to the update,
Stonehill’s video production studio was outdated and impractical.
“The space wasn’t the
greatest. We lacked adequate lighting. It was a very small studio and it was
difficult for students to use the editing studio,” Director of User Support
Services, Ferayi Karakaya said.
The studio is now nearly
double in size and many of its old technologies are updated.
Waiting to upgrade
the studio allowed Stonehill to find cost efficient upgrades and buy the newest
computer programs available.
Karakaya said the
school saved money by using energy efficient technology, allowing Stonehill
extra money to update its lighting system.
“We got what we spent
for the lighting back from the Nation Grid as a rebate,” Karakaya said.
The studio update included:
· 24 energy efficient professional lights
and four colored lights for different lighting effects
· Three different background curtains-
black, grey, and Chroma key which allows for green screen effects
· Tricaster production switcher, allowing
for different camera, sets, and effects switches
· A teleprompter
· Adobe Production Premium editing
program
John Kitson, senior
video support specialist, said he surprised by the new studio’s popularity.
“Obviously we thought
the video production classes and communications classes would benefit greatly,
and they have, but one thing we didn’t quite know how to anticipate was all
other departments wanting to use the space,” Kitson said.
Kitson said
Stonehill’s Career Services, travel abroad program, marketing department, and
business classes, and other staff members have used the new studio. A new
minor, Digital Media Production, was added.
The new studio allows
for the college to shoot its own marketing videos, a financial plus, Karakaya
said.
A student newscast,
Stonehill’s SkyNews, also adds an online compliment to the school newspaper,
The Summit.
“We all get the opportunity to explore different
aspects of news production, and that's what makes working with everyone on
SkyNews so special,” said Ted Carbone, SkyNews member, who is a communication
major and journalism minor.
Thomas
Farrell, who also works on the newscast, and is a communication major and
journalism minor, said the new studio allows him to explore the broadcast
industry.
“As an aspiring broadcaster, the Stonehill
studio presents a great opportunity for students to engage in news, production,
and sports. We have great advisors, Madeline Yusna, Maureen Boyle, and JP
Kitson who allow us to be completely student-driven. I am so happy I am a part
of SkyNews and pursuing my dream of being a broadcaster.”
Maureen Boyle,
director of journalism at Stonehill College and advisor for SkyNews, said the
new studio creates a new opportunity for students seeking a career on
television.
“It really gives them
a hands on experience. So they can do broadcast news, they can do news shows,
sport shows, and feature shows really easily.” Boyle said. “They can get a good
reel and it looks very professional.”
The college hopes to buy
new cameras, which were not updated during the renovation, Karakaya said.
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