Giovanni Lopez
Crimson Chronicle Reporter
After a year of anticipation, NMA’s new video production studio finally opened its gates. Featuring state of the art equipment, student’s opportunities are now expanded in many facets.
“It’s going to allow our students to walk out of school with a skill set that if they want to go directly into industry they can,” said Ali Nezu, the PAM and NMA Magnet Coordinator, who played a major role in making the studio happen.
Compared to the old video production room (where students previously had their classes), the new NMA studio brings in opportunities to explore video production on a bigger scale. Students will learn how to set up a green screen, manage lighting, control the camera and sound station, and keep up with ever-changing interests and trends of the industry.
“It’s very interesting and we have a lot of fun” said Annie Cifuentes, NMA senior.
NMA’s soon-to-be new video production teacher, Brett Erskine, is introducing a new way to explore the movie industry, through virtual reality. Instead of actors having to imagine every single detail of their scene, they will now be able to see, feel, and be in the actual scene, experiencing all the small details.
Soon enough, animation and video production students will team up to create projects with their virtual reality skill sets. Whereas animation students will be creating all the digital assets, video production students will be filming everything the animation students have generated.
“A lot of my students actually say that sometimes the equipment and the stuff that they’ve had access to here is better than what they’ve been able to have on their college campuses,” said Nezu, in reference to the Sony’s A7S’s, NX30’s, Z150’s, Red Scarlet, and Blackmagic Cinema cameras students have access to.
Aside from exploring technical aspects of the construction there is also a prideful side. Nezu said that students will feel respected by their peers and look like they have the capabilities to pursue their field, all while having many people support them.
From the big empty auto mechanic shop that was used for storage of junk furniture and toilet paper, the new NMA production studio allows for students to expand their skill set without having to leave their campus nor spend a dime.