State of the Arts: Media Communications and Visual Arts Department
In less than a decade, the Media, Communications, and Visual Arts (MCVA) department on the Pleasantville campus has grown from offering one degree in communications, with about 70 students, to offering four degrees with roughly 250 students. “Not only are we growing, more importantly we’re diversifying our offerings,” said Paul Ziek, chair of the MCVA department. As the department’s growth skyrockets and it expands its horizons to meet the demands of today’s media industry, three core features stand out as pride points.
1. Equipment for Everyone
One of the department’s greatest pride points is that every student, in every MCVA major (Public Relations, Digital Journalism, Communications, and Digital Cinema and Filmmaking) will get hands-on experience with equipment as they progress through four years of study. “We’ve integrated all of the majors to work with one another,” said Ziek. “They are all using the same equipment and being taught by the same professors.” The MCVA equipment room is stocked with technology ranging from consumer video products like GoPros, to the same high-end professional cameras used on blockbusters such as The Avengers. One of the department’s latest acquisitions is a bundle of 360-degree cameras and Virtual Reality headsets. This cutting-edge technology allows for capturing all-around video that then becomes a 3D virtual environment to explore via VR headsets. “We’ve invested in order to keep up with and surpass other schools, and we are constantly building new technology into the curriculum,” Ziek said, “VR is a great example of how Pace is providing students with exposure to the latest advancements, which other schools aren’t as yet.”
The hands-on approach to equipment extends to the department’s fully-featured facilities, including a recording studio, a TV studio with a complete three-camera setup, teleprompters, news desk, and tri-caster, where students edit and insert graphics on-the-fly during a live broadcast, and the latest video editing software. Considered the industry-standard, all MCVA students learn to edit using Avid, but from personal experience, Ziek and the other faculty know what the students will encounter in their professional lives. For that reason, MCVA students learn all of the big-three primary editing software, Avid, Premiere, and DaVinci. “I’m already good at editing in Premiere, but learning the other software will help me get my foot in the door anywhere,” said Nitara Ortiz ’19, Digital Cinema and Filmmaking. “My goal is to be a director and being familiar with all of the moving parts in film production will help me get there.”
2. Cutting Room Floors and Cutting-Edge Curriculum
It’s not just the latest tech that gives MCVA students an edge; more importantly, they learn from industry professionals how to tell a good story. “All of our faculty are practitioners; we don’t hire anyone who hasn’t worked in her or his field—it’s part of the job requirements,” Ziek said, “We even have an FAA-certified journalism faculty member teaching a drone flying class,” as part of an effort to offer specialty courses that provide unique learning experiences. Ziek also understands the value of educating students in more than one area. “We have an alumna, Aime Rodriguez Semder, on the news desk at News12,” he said, explaining that she studied filmmaking, and was working as an editor at News 12 when she got the opportunity to cover a story. She grabbed her equipment, worked as her own crew and editor, and got the story. “We prepare students to find opportunities everywhere,” he said. “Right now, consumer demand is for video, so employers need people with those skills; and public relations is not just writing press releases anymore, you have to speak the language of media and understand all the facets of how it functions.”
The MCVA faculty frequently work together to run interdisciplinary courses. “This semester we are running what we call ‘the trifecta,’” said Ziek. Essentially this means a PR class, a television class, and a journalism class run simultaneously and the students work together throughout the semester. A script based around the fictitious town of “Pacechester” provides the students with directives for a seven-week simulation of realistic media events that might occur. In one such simulation for Ziek’s Sports Broadcasting class, the students were tasked with a sideline interview. “There are a lot of athletes in the class, so we said, ‘you’re a football player, you’re a journalist, and this is a halftime report.’ We put music on, made it chaotic, gave them the mic and we rolled…” This type of holistic approach to learning exposes students to real-world issues like lighting, and height discrepancies between journalists and their subjects—things they may not notice without practical experience. “It’s not just pressing buttons. This prepares students for successful internships and careers.”
3. Reels and Real-Life Experience
In order to graduate, every MCVA student must complete an internship, with most completing two or three after discovering where their interests in media lie. Students have had internships with networks such as NBC, CBS, The CW, and CNN among others, and they are prepared to enter the field by creating a reel of tangible work while completing their degree. “In every class, students produce—we take it very seriously. It’s not purely theoretically based. Even in lecture-based classes, students produce something,” said Ziek. In the tight knit department, nearly all of the students are familiar with one another, and have worked on at least one project together. “I feel very supported,” said Ortiz. “We give each other advice and encouragement to make projects better, and the faculty are always proud of what we create.”
Beyond the top-of-the-line equipment, engaging curriculum, and experiential work, Ziek affirms that one of the biggest selling points of the department is the value of a liberal arts education. “We are not a vocational school, we’re the Dyson College of Arts and Sciences,” he said, “Students are going to get a well-rounded education here.” He added that as the popularity of digital media and video continues to grow with every new generation, the department will continue to innovate to meet the needs of the market, and the interests of the students. “We’re tapping into an area that people love here, and we’re teaching it in a better way.”