TechIntersect

Back in the early 1970’s, while visiting Grandpa and Grandma Genereux at the farm north of Clyde, I recall one day when my Aunt Charlotte, who is only a few years older than me, was upset with me because I had jammed a cassette into her tape player the wrong way. The tape got stuck and would not eject properly. I felt so badly that I had “broken” her tape player, but I was soon relieved when one of my uncles pried it out with a butter knife. I was only 4 or 5 at the time, and already becoming profoundly interested in gadgets, especially those dealing with various media.

In high school, I became interested in video recording; I even took a television production class in which we recorded a TV show. We had no editing equipment, so our entire program was edited in the camera by our teacher (she wouldn’t let us kids operate that expensive of a camera.) My buddy Dan Balaun and I rented a camera so we could get some first hand experience making video. I wish I still had the videos we made back then, but I think it was erased by one of my siblings when I went away to the service.

Fast forward to 2008 and I still have the same fascination. Now my media gadgets are beyond the dreams of anyone back then. Modern audio recorders have no moving parts, and neither does the new Flip video camera. If you want a $150 video camera that is as simple to use as a disposable film camera, check into Flip Video cameras. There are fancier camcorders available, but nothing beats a Flip camera for portability and ease of use.

Yesterday, I visited a high school video class similar to the one I took as a student, and it was outfitted with high tech computer gear. Those students can do in moments what we could not even imagine doing with video (and yes, their teacher expects them to operate the camera.) Editing video is a breeze using a computer. Although it can be time consuming, and sometimes tedious work, I find the editing process to be enjoyable and useful. You can turn those long, boring and hard to watch home videos into a masterpiece worth sharing with others.

I have even thought about starting a digital media processing service. In fact, I have already taken on a few jobs in this area, although I’m not promoting it yet because I currently have so many irons in the fire. Preparing a camcorder video so it can be e-mailed or displayed on the web is one thing I am starting to understand pretty well. I am also the sound man for “Evening With Carol -2” (playing this week at the Brown Grand), so I get to use my digital media knowledge for that project as well.

If my wife would do wedding cakes, I could do the video services, and we could operate a turn-key wedding business! This isn’t likely to happen because of the time it would take to do it well. It gets hectic enough around our house already. For now, I’ll just stick with the occasional project that comes along.

One thing that has been keeping me busy (and awake at night) is a new K-State degree program I have been working on in digital media technology. After clearing several hurdles, I am happy to announce that K-State at Salina will offer Digital Media as a technology option in the fall of 2008. Part of my motivation for getting this program going has been watching students who are doing this sort of work right here in area high schools, then going off to study at other schools. At least Paige Girard is going to K-State to continue her work in video, but I couldn’t convince her to look at the Salina campus as a possibility since we didn’t yet have a program in place.

I believe that the work we are doing in Salina is a unique blend of creativity and technology. Many places offer graphic design, video production, or visual communications degrees. Others offer computer programming as a career option. Our program combines these two areas, so students can enter the marketplace with a combination of skills that is extremely hard to find. Many people can either design graphics or program a computer but few can do both things.

Salina students will have a very broad education. They will learn the basics of computer programming and how the internet works, but they will also be learning about design theory and how to make aesthetic decisions with color and composition.

Jobs for people with this diverse range of skills are plentiful and the demand is growing. It is not enough to simply be a graphic designer anymore, especially a new media designer or web designer. You really need to know the basics of programming a computer. That is why I have been promoting Alice (www.alice.org) over the past year, because it is a great way to show how software development is not as difficult to learn as one might think.

I am excited to finally be working in a job that allows me to combine my technical and creative skills. And I am very excited for the tremendous opportunities that are waiting for students who are willing to follow my lead!

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