(Herkimer, NY– Sept. 26, 2011) Media degree students at Herkimer County Community College now have some new industry standard tools to work with. An Avid Media Composer editing system is now in place for students. This is the same system that is used to produce a majority of Hollywood blockbusters, television programming from the local level up to the major networks, and web-based video content.

The new system consists of 10 workstations connected to a central server. This allows students to work together on video projects where it is important that each student has access to various media files. Students shoot video, transfer it into the system, and then are able to access that stored video from any of the workstations.

The new Avid Media Composer system replaces a similar system that was originally installed in 2004. Parts of the old system will also be kept online, and the hope is to bring the total number of Avid-based video editing workstations available for students up to 15 or 16. Instructor of Radio-Television Broadcasting Douglas Flanagan said the new system has arrived just in time.

“While the older system was still functional, it had gotten to the point where today’s media industry technology simply outgrew it,” Flanagan said. “Today, we have video workflows that never existed—were never even thought of—in 2004. In order to serve all students enrolled in our expanding lineup of media degree programs at Herkimer, we had to invest in a new system. The original system was also only meant to support one program. We have added several new media degree programs since then, and we needed to be sure we could give all these programs the creative tools needed in order to make them relevant.”

In recent years, Herkimer has expanded media related programs to address the changing landscape of content and production. What started in the early 1970s as “Radio-Television Broadcasting” at Herkimer still includes that original program, but has since been expanded to include several new programs: Digital Filmmaking, Communication Arts: New Media, and Music Industry.

All of these programs will use the new Avid Media Composer editing system as a base for creative media content production. Flanagan said “Along with the Photographic Technology program students here at Herkimer, we have five different media degree programs that will utilize this new edit lab.”

Media production began at Herkimer in black and white in the early 1970s. Since then, the major changes have included a switch to color videotape, a new Technology Center in the early 1990s, a digital conversion of existing studio facilities in 2004-2005, expanded video and audio equipment upgrades since 2005 including Pro Tools systems and surround sound production, expansion into high definition video acquisition and post production, and now with the new Avid Media Composer system, state of the art video and digital filmmaking post production facilities.

Support for the development/production of this material was provided by a grant under the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 administered by the New York State Education Department.

The system was installed by Jan Metzger of Imperatives, Inc., Schenectady.

Find the Radio-Television Broadcasting program on Facebook: search for “Radio Television Broadcasting at Herkimer County Community College.”  The program’s YouTube channel is at www.youtube.com/HCCCRadiotv.

For more information regarding Avid visit www.avid.com.