Page 16 - Demo

The Media Experience
Sharing FIS events across the world
While ‘The show must go on’ is likely the most
famous phrase heard in all of show business, ‘Media waits for no one!’ is the most applicable and
often heard phrase by media students and volunteers at FIS. Pete Sinclair, Upper School Assistant Principal and head of the FIS Media Department, says that timing is everything.
“Perfectly capturing an event or a moment for broadcast falls within a very narrow window of opportunity,” he says. “If we miss it, it’s gone.”
The necessity for precision timing is just one of the many characteristics that makes the FIS Media experience unlike a typical classroom one. Instead of a single learning space, students may find themselves working in the studio, filming a sporting event, or live-streaming a school performance. And in addition to being responsible for fragile and expensive equipment, media students have a responsibility to fellow classmates and viewers as well. Grade 11 student Julian, who has been involved with FIS Media since Grade 6, said, “We work as a team. Every position, whether it’s behind a camera or the soundboard, is critical.”
That way of thinking is indicative of the ‘soft-skills’ that students involved in the media program are learning. Equally important as learning about cameras and editing equipment are the more intangible lessons surrounding dependability, responsibility, collaboration, and leadership.
“Julian’s work is outstanding,” said Mr. Sinclair. “He knows the equipment and understands how
important the broadcast is – how it is our responsibility to provide something that’s as good as possible to our viewers. He is a real leader within our team.”
FIS Media is made up of two separate, but overlapping groups. There are formal classes in the Upper School, which range from Media Production and Broadcasting in Grades 9 and 10, where students learn the latest in digital video techniques and concepts, and editing platforms, to more challenging offerings by Grade 12 that delve deeper into the business of broadcasting and are focused on post-production and specialized technical aspects, leading production teams and looking at marketing and distribution.
14 FIS World June 2018