Media Production Component

Youth Exploring Science

Taunia Allen Mason supervises the media production component. Media production focuses on teaching basic fundamentals in photography, film, television, video, audio, and digital media production. The teens apply these fundamentals by participating in hands-on group projects as they are engaged in all aspects of the pre-production, production and post-production stages. A familiarity with professional standards, ethics and the aesthetic considerations for each media discipline are emphasized. Teens will acquire basic skills in shooting and editing video, audio recording and mixing, editing still photography, lighting techniques for location and studio, scripting for television and film, green screen technology, media coaching, and make-up applications for film and television.

Interesting Facts

The U.S. media and entertainment (M&E) industry is the largest in the world. At $717 billion, it represents a third of the global M&E industry, and it includes motion pictures, television programs and commercials, streaming content, music and audio recordings, broadcast, radio, book publishing, video games, and ancillary services and products. The U.S. industry is expected to reach more than $825 billion by 2023.  Source: 2018-2023 Entertainment & Media Outlook by PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC). 

Employment of producers and directors is projected to grow 5 percent from 2018 to 2028, about as fast as the average for all occupations. Job growth in the motion picture and video industry is expected to stem from strong demand from the public for more movies and television shows, as well as an increased demand from foreign audiences for U.S. produced films. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

More about the Component

The media production teens use industry standard equipment and software including Panasonic Professional Camcorders for field and studio use, Panasonic LUMIX G5 DSLR Cameras for still and digital media, the Adobe Creative Suite which includes Photoshop, Premiere Pro, After Affects, Illustrator and Lightroom, Final Cut Pro X, and DaVinci Resolve Color Corrector. Teens work in the media learning lab equipped with 27-inch iMac desk top computers. Our inhouse productions are recorded in a 36’ x 26’ studio with a lighting grid system and a Blackmagic ATEM Production Studio 4k Switcher with live recording and streaming capabilities.

Each year, the teens participate in contest called the Walgreens Expressions Challenge. Young people encounter many challenges in their life, and this is an opportunity for them to illustrate their creativity in sharing their feelings about what is happening in their world. This can be expressed through creative writing, visual arts and media arts.

Teens play an active role in the community science department’s community engagement initiative. This is done through the science center’s Science Savvy Series. Teens go to various locations throughout the St. Louis area interviewing people on camera, asking questions related to a science center experience or exhibit that tests their science savviness. Each participant will receive tickets to the OMNIMAX theatre or Planetarium.

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