College charts course for arts technicians
Camosun is offering an Audio-Visual Technician program for jobs in film, theatre
Camosun College is debuting a program in September that could help fill a void in the local film, theatre and music industries. The Live Event, Audio-Visual Technician program will launch this fall at the college’s Lansdowne Campus, with spots for 20 students.
Four students have already signed on, according to instructor/administrator Lois Fernyhough, with the expectation that more spots will be assigned following an information session at the college on Thursday night.
“Something like this, it’s quite unique,” Fernyhough said. “And it’s targeted. At this point, we’re giving people the skills to be career-ready at an entry-level position in these industries.”
Curriculum for the Live Event, Audio-Visual Technician program was written with assistance from local representatives of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees union, who came to the college in 2015 asking if administrators could create a program to bolster its declining membership.
IATSE supplies sound, lighting and stage workers for events at the Royal Theatre, the McPherson Playhouse and Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre, among other venues.
“They are not getting any new people in,” said Andy Bryce, an instructor/administrator with the Live Event, Audio-Visual Technician program.
“The problem they have is that in the old days, people would walk in off the street and learn those skills. Nowadays, people need a portal. They need some way to get into the field. These skills are in demand. They need these workers around town.”
Fernyhough said the program will also help the local film industry, which is facing a similar shortage of workers. The skills students will acquire are transferable to the film industry, from grip work (sets and staging) to gaffer jobs (lighting basics).
Components of the one-year certificate program include courses on lighting, audio, video production and photography.
The program features 10 courses over two terms, with a four-month internship, for an approximate running time of 12 months. The only prerequisite for admission is a C+ grade in English 12.
The Live Event, Audio-Visual Technician program complements three other courses already in place at Camosun: Digital Communications; Digital Production, Writing, and Design; and Comics and Graphic Novels.
The new program contains components of the college’s former Applied Communication Program, which went dark in 2012.
Because it was geared toward the broadcast industry, Bryce said, Applied Communication was cut once traditional media saw a rapid hiring decline.
“But while traditional media wasn’t hiring anyone, there was still a real demand for those skills,” Bryce said.
The Live Event, Audio-Visual Technician program is akin to an updated version of the Applied Communication course, with no textbooks but plenty of opportunity to handle gear being used in media today.
“The course is heavily handson.” Bryce said. “This is not an academic program by any stretch of the imagination.”
Royal Roads University currently offers two degrees in communications. Bryce is hoping what Camosun will offer in September complements academic programs at other Victoria institutions.
“In a market this small, you need to be able to do as many things as you possibly can to make a living,” he said.
An information session for the Live Event, Audio-Visual Technician program will be held Thursday at 6 p.m. in the Young Building, room 310, at Camosun College’s Lansdowne Campus.