The Academy of Visual Arts & Media in Cape Town was inaugurated in April this year, following months of negotiations between the Camera Station, Dimension TV and The Broadcast Academy.
Says The Broadcast Academy’s Rob Gray: “These negotiations took place against a background of debate regarding skills shortage within the broadcast and audio visual (AV) industry and inspired the development of specific workshops and courses in broadcast, multimedia, digital filmmaking and AV.
“Our approach to training is vis-a-vis direct industry participation and high end broadcast facilities.’
Full time courses will commence in 2013, with two workshops scheduled for July 2012. The workshops are: Satellite Uplink Course for Technical Operators; and Multi-Camera Studio Course for Producers and Directors.
“There is a healthy interest in the other short courses and workshop offerings for this year,’ continues Gray. “The Academy is expected to be in full flight by the end of August 2012, with evening courses, workshops and short courses. These are developed from new resources, keeping in line with the Academy’s policy of teaching “now technology’ and the latest workflow trends.’
Gray, who is the founder of CityVarsity, heads up the Academy, supported by partners James Macpherson (Technical) and Neil White of The Camera Station.
Both Gray and Macpherson started their careers at the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) and are committed to delivering quality training.
The Academy’s courses and workshops concentrate on practical work and the application of necessary theory, using state of the art equipment.
Says Gray: “The facility support and infrastructure is constantly being upgraded, which gives the Academy a massive advantage by virtue of technology sustainability, necessary for the successful placement of students in the industry after training. This has been made possible by the support and sponsorship from Dimension TV and The Camera Station, with an effective partnership agreement that will ensure a real-life working infrastructure by industry professionals.’
He points out that equipment plays a major role in modern day training, where workflow is driven by technological innovation and in turn calls on specific skill sets.
The facilities include two large studios with fully equipped control rooms and six outside broadcast (OB) units, which include satellite uplink facilities and a photographic studio. The operation is backed up by a Sony accredited technical workshop manned by highly qualified engineers.
Full time courses offered include: Digital Filmmaking, Television Production, Photography, Sound Engineering and Make-Up.
Short courses and workshops are a mix of technical, production and operations.
Specialist courses include: EVS in Sports Production; Satellite News Gathering (SNG) and Uplink; and specialist technical courses. Gray believes that these workshops and courses will attract students from the rest of Africa and abroad.
Workshops will also be run in those areas where the AV and broadcast technologies intersect, preparing delegates for InfoComm recognition as well.
The Academy’s main studios and classrooms are located in Killarney Gardens, Milnerton.
