I have just signed a contract to teach Sault College’s new Introduction to Video Production class. I’m thrilled.
I remember back at Brown University, taking on a job from my Video Production professor, Tony Cokes.
from one of Professor Cokes's video works
I was his Teaching Assistant for the Intro class. I remember it being a thrilling time wherein I watched an enormous amount of video (I was tasked with both providing the video screenings for 3 hours each week, as well as participating in all the student critiques for the entire class, among other things).
early video art: this from Sadie Benning
Watching all this video was great for me. It really helped me develop both my eye and my ear for video, and embedded my earlier training in my own Intro class with Professor Cokes really deeply.
As prerequisites for the class, one had to take a certain number of critical theory classes before being admitted. I took Intro to Modern Culture and Media, and also Film Theory. They were both great classes, though one of my professors for one of the classes was an absolute dweeb. I remember how he gave this one lecture before his 300 or so freshmen one afternoon with his fly down to damned near his ankles, if that were possible. And then without a word — and to this day I still can’t figure out how he suddenly became aware it was open — he turned to the side, pulled up the zipper, turned to face the class again, and just started lecturing again as though nothing at all had happened. I remember sitting in the class, stunned. From the whispers that broke out after a sudden shocking silence, it was clear that everyone else was as stunned as I was.
one of my critical theory class professors, Phil Rosen
I think you had to be there.
So, thankfully, the room I will be teaching in is a computer lab, and I’ve got a podium/desk to hide behind and I won’t be pulling up my fly in front of hundreds. About 17 or so, I think is the number of students in my class.
part of the new addition to Sault College. my class is in the older portion of the college
My class is made up of second year Photography students, who already have a wealth of knowledge about aperture and shutter settings, depth-of-field and focus, three-point lighting and Rembrandt lighting. I can get them up and running with video right away, shooting their first week and completing assignments by their fourth.
I’ve completed the class schedule just last weekend, and by the looks of it, it’s going to be a fun class. There’s going to be lots of work for the students to do, but there’s going to be lots of room to create and let their imaginations roam. I’m quite excited about the assignments I’ve conceived for the class, and I hope the students are as excited by them, too.
the face of Premiere, the software they will learn
My goal is to have them learn a good command of Premiere first, and then a solid base in After Effects before the semester is out. I know it’s asking a lot, but I know they can do it. Just basics, so that they can then take their knowledge and go further with it if they desire. This way, when they’re out in the big bad world trying to huckster a few bucks, they’ll also have this tool in their arsenal.
a screenshot of After Effects, the other program they will learn
Even if they don’t decide to produce video for money, this class will give them skills enough to roll up their sleeves and crank out a strongly produced Impact Video for their own use, to promote their own wares in the photographic world. And I’m sure most of you can understand the importance of having a great looking Impact Video to hawk your stuff.
hawking stuff on the street
I was Professor Cokes’ Teaching Assistant for 2 years. I was also Leslie Thornton’s Teaching Assistant for Intro Film, and then I worked for a professor in the Department of Visual Art as a Teaching Assistant for the Intro Photography class — as well as being TA for a professor in Visual Art’s own incarnation of Intro Video.
my alma mater
I was a Teaching Assistant a lot during my undergraduate years at Brown…
