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October, 2007
, 2007 |
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Founded in 1998, the Hightower High School Electronic Media Academy is a career academy designed to expose high school students to the world of film, television and new media. We currently offer students a sequence of courses from the 9th through 12th grade; Media Literacy, Video Technology I, Media Video Technology (Broadcast Journalism), Media Technology I and finally, Media Technology II (Internship). Beginning fall 2007, students within our academy can acquire up to 13 hours of dual college credit with our partner Houston Community College. Future academic goals are to provide graduating seniors the opportunity to acquire Final Cut Pro and Avid Xpress Pro certification. As a program on the cutting edge, the opportunities are fantastic. A graduate of our program can have an internship, college credit and a certification in non-linear video editing. Hightower Media Academy graduates are and will be light years ahead of most college students and semi-professionals within the film and TV industry.
Our technology infrastructure boasts an SDI (Serial Digital Interface) studio with control room, complete with a Globecaster graphics system, Abekas 8150 digital switcher, Mackie 24 channel audio board, Sony DVCAM professional VTR’s and a BetaSP dubbing station. The control room can take up to 4 live calls, the internet call be viewed live through the switcher and the daily newscast is broadcasted live, everyday to a student population of over 2800. We pride ourselves on lighting. Our lighting gear consists of one large survival kit, complete with cookies, flags and silks. In addition, we have a large array of C-Stands and mombo-combos, sandbags, gelly rolls, apple boxes, stingers, pigeon plates, black wrap and a ton of other lighting gear including light meters. Students videotape using Sony DSR-PD170 & DSR-300 ENG cameras as well as a Sony HDV-Z1U high definition video camera. Our editing suites consists of 10 Final Cut Studio editing bays running on Intel based G5 towers. Seniors get the opportunity to use Avid Xpress Pro.
The Hightower Media Academy has won 14 national Telly Awards, including two recent awards from April, 2007, a bronze and silver Telly. This is the first year that the freshman class has won an award and this is only our second silver award. The academy’s past awards are an Emmy, two Worldfest Houston awards and one Summit Award. Since 1999 we have had four students win the national Emma Bowen Foundation 3 year intern/scholarship with KRIV Fox 26. This is through our partnership with KRIV Fox 26 and Vice President D’Artagnan Bebel.
Our academy, for two years in a row, has had at least one student represent Houston as a participant in the Asian American Journalists Association’s JCAMP for high school students. We have graduates that have worked with Dan Rather, Tavis Smiley and three of our students won runner up with the 2004 Missy Elliott National TV Commercial contest with UPN. Our program was the first in the nation to win the ABC/Disney National Talent Development Scholarship. Last, but not least, our 6th Annual Music Video and Short Film Showcase is Saturday, April 28 at the First Colony AMC Movie Theatre. This is the second time we have screened our students work at the local movie theatre.
We were able to pull Ted Irving aside for a few questions SVN: Tell us about your background and how you decided to start teaching TV/Video production? TI: After working for one year as a news editor for the local Houston ABC station, Jack Yates High School for Communications contacted me about teaching. I was already a volunteer in the community and I figured I could satisfy my need to work with youth and pursue my TV/Film career at the same time. I was hired by Jack Yates during the summer of 1994 and I stayed on part-time with KTRK for another two years. I went back in to TV full time as a Sports Photog with KRIV Fox 26 from 1996 to 1999 and returned to teaching in 1999 with the Hightower High School Electronic Media Academy.
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Hightower High School Electronic Media Academy |
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