VOLUME 24 ISSUE 1FALL 2012

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thought to the meticulous labour once demanded, or are simply blissfully ignorant of the craft’s history. The internet, laptops, high definition ‘still’ photography cameras that also shoot video, 2 terabyte hard drives, non-linear editing software and cell phones that have most of these utilities built into them (straight out of the box), are all commonplace today, though once un-

imaginable.

The advancements and rapid pace of change has necessitated that all forms of media transform and evolve too, and ACP has reflected these changes over the last 40 years. Modern media is now; it’s instant, it’s interactive and it’s global.

As a member of class 40—ACP’s final

intake—I feel very privileged and lucky to have had this opportunity, in this digital age, in contrast to the 1970s when ACP was just a newborn. I imagine students then rollerblading towards the campus’ dark-room, listening to their walkmans, clutching a roll of film in one hand and a floppy disc in the other, all the while thinking to themselves how fortunate they were to have all that cutting edge technology at their fingertips, and at the time they were!

Since the inception of ACP in 1971, technology has progressed to such a degree that much of the equipment, software and even terminology used

by early ACP classes would be unrecognizable and unidentifiable to many of today’s ACP students. While technology has been evolving at a rapid pace over the past few decades, so too has the program as it strives to keep abreast of the latest trends to ensure its students have the knowledge, skills and equipment necessary to be relevant. From phototypsetters and typewriters to USB drives, ¾ inch open reel videotape to DSLRs, VHS to DVD, and cassette tape to MP3, the technology used by class 1 compared to that used by class 40 is as different as black and white negatives to digital colour photography. Today’s ACP students cringe at the stories told by video teacher Andy Bryce, when he reminisces about having to carry around hundreds of pounds of equipment just to shoot a simple video. Any mistakes in linear editing meant the video had to be redone from the beginning. Media enthusiasts of today have been spoiled by the introduction of digital technology and either give little

The Times They Are a-Changin’ by Jai Rakic

Media

enthusiasts of today have been spoiled by

the introduction of digital technology

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With the fate of the program cemented last April, Team ACP reassessed, readdressed and reconfigured to ensure a second year

learning experience for this last class of media gen-eralists. But what is the future for our mentors beyond ACP? Take 5 asks each their plans to Play it Forward. The first to leap from the third floor nest was radio commando Kim O’Hare, courageously leaving his fledglings under the wing of Andy Bryce. O’Hare jumped into the jetstream of a new career as a provin-cial government Public Affairs Officer. “After more than four decades split between broadcasting and teach-ing, my new job is quite a change,” he says, adding, “change is good.” Fortunately for us, Bryce can wear O’Hare’s big shoes because of his own extensive wardrobe in radio. If teaching both radio and video weren’t enough, Bryce is also embarking on a two-year Masters of Arts in Professional Communication at Royal Roads University. Lois Fernyhough plans to continue splashing in the Camosun pond, developing new communication pro-grams and leading the charge in Co-op. She admits she is “still going through the grieving process and in denial” when it comes to ACP, but having been at Camosun since 1988 she’s just trying to keep her head above water.

Alison Hogan is now fully occupied in Student Assess-ment and her much-missed presence on the third floor is a reminder that things are winding down. She’s also pursuing higher education in the form of a history degree at UVic. CKMO’s Brad Edwards plans to continue his consul-tancy role with community and cultural groups around town once he leaves the college in April. For now, finishing off this last class of students is “first and fore-most”; with fewer students to shepherd he has more time to facilitate the complicated administrative pro-cess of dissolving the radio station over the next few months. Earle Thompson has plans to develop his secret pas-sion and talent for photography but in the meantime, he finds running the radio station requires just the same amount of work as any other year. Rick Caswell was planning to reclaim his life from ACP and retire after this year anyways, so the half work-load transitions him gently into that mode. “I really, really have enjoyed working at ACP and it’s been a very good experience for me,” says Caswell. “At the same time I’ve noticed the last year or two I’ve been thinking about the things that I couldn’t do because I was working so much at the job.” So here’s to the future of new possibilities.

Play It Forward by Liza Dawson-Whisker

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Classes are back in session at Camosun College and the Lansdowne campus is once again buzz-ing with new students. Except on the third floor

of the Young building, where it seems eerily quiet. This time last year, 28 new students were keen to get things started in their exploration of all things media. With the announcement last spring that ACP had been suspended due to budget concerns, the 25 remaining students from class 40 will be the last to call themselves ACP graduates. Some of the final class feel the lack of first year students could hinder their educa-tion. “I feel that a huge part of learning is teaching other people,” says Nicole Beneteau, class 40. “I feel like last year I asked for help from a lot of the second years and they might not have known the answer right away but we worked through it together,” she says. “It was a learning process for them as well as me.” Although this is only the beginning of the school year, questions arose during Playback this year when ACP’s suspension was confirmed. Incoming first year students normally take care of all the work. They bring food, decorate the reception area, take photos and, some might say most importantly, pour the beer. This token of respect is then reciprocated by a new batch of students every year. Every year, that is, until now.

The instructors have been dramatically affected as well. Former radio and writing instructor Kim O’Hare decid-ed to seek work with the provincial government rather than teach half the course load. On the other hand, resident publishing guru Rick Caswell sees a bit of a silver lining: “Without the first years I can focus more on the second year students. I’m not pulled in quite as many directions.” That’s a small benefit to an otherwise

dismal state of affairs. He misses the “wide-eyed enthusiasm of people coming in and starting

to discover all the things that might be there to try, that look of fear that starts to fade as they realize, ‘Hey, I can do this too.’” The lack of first years has had an im-pact on more than just the teachers and

students of class 40. Greg Pratt, editor of Camosun’s Nexus Newspaper, is struggling

to fill the void now that bona fide media junkies aren’t required to write for the paper. “Every year we get a couple of really keen young journalists from ACP; this semester is the first where we don’t have those first years to help out,” says Pratt. “ACP has been incredibly beneficial in that it directed students to us, now we’re having to go find the students ourselves.” However, this is also an opportunity for Nexus as it could mean “a wider and more diverse base of volunteers,” says Pratt. “It’s still sad to see the program go.”

“I feel that

a huge part of learning is

teaching other people”

Something’s Missing by Dan Darling

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Hurdles will also be faced by internship employers who will need to look elsewhere to find capable students able to fill their specific needs. Applications will be missing from students best-suited to take up positions with companies like CTV Vancouver Island, The Jim Pattison Broadcast Group and organizations such as the University of Victoria Vikes. The Land Conservancy of BC (TLC) has filled videographer positions with ACP students for the last two years. “I would highly recommend them to any em-ployer,” says Heather Skydt, communications manager for TLC. “The videos produced by our interns made our properties come alive and documented the people that care about special places in BC.” The students have helped increase awareness of the mandate, programs and activities of TLC to the general public. “The ACP produces some of the best students,” Skydt says. “I feel fortunate to have had [them] as part of my communications team.” Even without any first year students, the learning con-tinues. It might even be a bit easier to get things done. There are no first year questions to answer, no comput-er labs to muscle into. The edit rooms are wide open and some classes have been adjusted to fit a more streamlined schedule. But something is missing. And with ACP coming to a once and final end, that missing piece may never be found.

CLASS

40PLAYBACKGIBSON AUDITORIUM7PM FRIDAY APRIL 12

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ACP class 39’s Playback was yet another smash-ing success in April. Despite quite a bit of drama and controversy following the announce-

ment of ACP’s cancellation two weeks previously, the end of ACP helped bring us together. Class 39 ex-tended invitations to ACP alumni to show support and celebrate the wonderful history of the Applied Commu-nication Program. In fact, an overflow room was provided, and neces-sary. Live streaming from the relatively small Gibson Auditorium allowed extra attendees to have a place to sit for the duration of the awards ceremony and final presentations. Special guests this year included Dean of Arts & Science Stan Chung, Vice-President Academ-ic John Boraas, and even college President Kathryn Laurin. Unfortunately Ms. Laurin was unable to stay for the entire ceremony, and left following the introduction and awards. Alas, she missed the opportunity to be wowed by the talent and passion of ACP’s class 39. Each graduate provided the large audience with im-pressive final projects, showcasing their skills and hard work. Clayton Basi, decked out in a happening pow-der blue suit in recognition of the evening’s “enchant-ment under the sea” motif, held his own alongside the witty Marius Langeland as emcees for the evening. Videos took up a large part of the second year final projects. Jason Saliani, ever the car enthusiast, presented his final project in the form of a car review video called “Open Road.” Adam Price created an en-

tertaining YouTube video blog for album reviews called “Less Lossy Reviews.” Colleen Rabatich filmed a short documentary entitled “Through the Eyes of a Senior.” Dave Ingram-Chadwick and Julia Loglisci paired up to do a music journalism web series “For the Record”, which they presented with a demo video. Nate Jones produced a music video for his own original recording, Rich Bitch, which was quite the dance number. Another music-related video was created by Shea Swenson, who made a demo for the EP he recorded and de-signed for Troy Hawes called “Brand New Start.” Clay-ton Basi also went in the direction of recordings, and presented a music video he produced and designed for the group Forecast. Music wasn’t the only focus. There were a number of documentary style films. James Nielson showcased his Victoria entrepreneurship documentary “Lift Off Me-dia.” Jordan Venoit provided a very necessary update of the Block Watch and Saanich Police instructional videos. Dylan Wilks produced a very entertaining free riding mini documentary “Riding Renegades.” And four grads teamed up to create a professional web se-ries, “Behind City Lines”, highlighting Victoria perform-ers. This was the work of Ashley O’Neill, Rose Jang, Carol-Lynne Michaels and Stephanie Field. Class 39 International student Marius Langeland made use of his enjoyment of working with other Internation-al students through the creation of promotional material for Camosun’s Peer Connections. He even had a posse

Playback Class 39 by Vanessa Davies

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of the students introduce his project with a dance num-ber! Tyler Rowe showcased his passion in his Canucks Blog, SmugNation.com, and his sports talk radio show. Clorisa Simpson presented her blog, “Ranger Dan-ger,” that she had created for her position as the Zone Ranger at radio station Zone 91.3. Chesley Ryder’s final project came in web form too, with a completely overhauled professional website for the Vancouver Island Mountain Centre. Ali Hackett showcased her written feature work for the school’s Nexus Newspaper for her final project. And class 39 Photoshop guru Philip Moydl presented his photographic manipulation portfolio demonstrating his talent for both photography and Photoshop. Overall the evening was a wonderful send-off as grads wowed us with both their talent and their great fash-ion sense. There really is nothing like mingling with a bunch of people dressed to the nines. Following the fast-paced ceremony, attendees made their way upstairs to enjoy a colourful and delicious spread provided by the lovely class 40, and took advantage of the cheap drinks provided in the festively decorated room 300. The decorations fit the theme of enchantment under the sea beautifully with copious blue streamers, balloon jellyfish, and colourful fish. Class 39 may be the second-to-last graduating class of the Applied Communication Program, but the cloud was unable to even enter the building, leaving only the best and happiest memories remaining.

AWARD WINNERS

Golden Coffee Cup (1st year): Megan Gibson

Golden Coffee Cup (2nd year): Jason Saliani

Best Publishing Student: Adam Price

Most Improved Publishing Student: Colleen Rabatich

Best Video Student: Dave Ingram-Chadwick

Most Improved Video Student: Nate Jones

Best Radio Student: Tyler Rowe

Most Improved Radio Student: Ashley O’Neill

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Lois Fernyhough—class 10

Alison Hogan—class 30

Jennifer Lancaster—class 36

Al Lehmann—former instructor

Mark Planiden—class 26

Emanuel Sequeira—class 28

Chris Sutherland—class 35

Karen (Goodwin) Weiss—class 14

We thank everyone for their generous support in this, our last year of publication of Take 5. Three more issues to go!

Another Emmy to report: Yes, class 23’s Patrick Sheehy will have to get more shelving. He picked up his second Emmy to add to the one he won in 2004, for his work as Technical Director of the San Diego 6 News @ 10pm.

Another baby or two to report: ACP grads of class 33, Kirsten (Willey) and Chris Loran, welcome son Row-an Yves Loran born Sept. 13. Class 40 student (current second year) Dan Darling and his wife Michelle had their second child, Benjamin James Darling, June 25. Kerm Bench update: Dan Doherty (class 6) is gen-erously and fittingly donating the proceeds from the re-issue of ACP founder Kerm Carlson’s research book towards the bench in front of the Young building, installed last year in Kerm’s honour. For more details on the book and how you can match Dan’s donation to the bench with one of your own, go here: http://researchvalues.wordpress.com/2012/05/09/buy-the-book-and-get-a-piece-of-the-bench/ Royal Roads at work: Nice to know that ACPers are not just attending RRU, but also being hired there! Samantha Toms (class 32) left radio to live in Australia for a year; she’s now back and is the Student Support Officer for RRU’s International Study Centre. Erin Schaff (class 33) left the Hotel Grand Pacific where she was the Marketing Coordinator, and is now a Marketing Specialist with RRU. And while not tech-nically an ACPer, former Village 900 station manager Doug Ozeroff is Senior Manager for RRU’s Commu-nication and Alumni Relations department.

Lois’ Gossip

Jeremy Ambers — Design & Layout Dan Darling — Writing & Layout Vanessa Davies — Writing Liza Dawson-Whisker — Writing Jai Rakic — Design, Layout & Writing Photos ACP Archives, Jeremy Ambers, Esrah Boulton, Jess Clark

Faithful FewACP Alumni membership renewals since last issue:

Keeping in touch: As I write this, we have 336 mem-bers in our ACP Alumni Association Facebook group. This is where I post virtually all the jobs I re-ceive now, instead of emailing them out. It’s a great forum for connecting with other ACPers—and many of them are posting jobs here too! Please consider joining to stay in touch. Just find the group on FB and request to join. As an admin, I can add you in. ~Lois

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