The new year brings new students as well as plans for a brand new studio for the media class. The studio is highly anticipated by the media students and is expected to have 3 cameras dedicated to the floor, a small stage, a production area in which students will be able to switch from camera to camera, and a green screen. The studio will be located in the back area of the media classroom.
Media teacher James Valente hopes to use this studio for activities such as morning announcements and shows. Valente believes that the studio will give the students of the media class an “opportunity to actually teach the television broadcasting side of what media is.” According to Valente, the biggest complaint that colleges taking in MHS media students have is the “little amount of TV production experience, which is something that lots of schools want to see.” This new studio is essentially a “full television studio on a very small scale.” Valente had explained that the studio has been a project “20 years in the making,” and is something that both he and the media students have waited a very long time for.
The main source of this funding has come from the help of Mayor Christenson and MATV using the Public Education Grant (PEG). This grant is given to cities and educational programs. MATV had received money for their educational program in which they teach students how to work a TV camera as well as editing skills. After receiving this, they had given a portion to Malden High to help fund the studio and get it running.
This new addition to the media class will be a big change for the students to adjust to, however, many seem excited for the upcoming challenges and skills to learn. Junior Abigail Labadie believes that the studio will help “working on our ability to make amazing content much wider.” Labadie also believes that the new addition will “allow us to use a different part of our talent”.
Senior Marcus Simon believes that the new addition to the media class will also help “inspire some kids to become apart of the media class.” Not only will the studio be great for the current media students, but it could boost the popularity of the media class and encourage more students to become apart of it. Marcus anticipates that the studio will overall “be good” and states that when he had first heard the news of the building of the studio he was very excited.
This addition to the media class is not only greatly beneficial to the students already in the class but could very well encourage and inspire other kids to explore media production. If all runs smoothly, the studio is expected to be ready and running by early November.
