The Department of Film & Video at Columbia College Chicago has made a significant investment in JVC ProHD camcorders. The department, housed in the college’s School of Media Arts, recently purchased more than 100 JVC GY-HM100 handheld camcorders to serve as the primary acquisition medium for hundreds of students completing its Foundations Program, a two-semester curriculum designed to introduce them to the craft of professional filmmaking.

According to Don Smith, associate chair, Department of Film & Video, the JVC camcorders were chosen because they record HD footage to inexpensive SDHC memory cards in the QuickTime .MOV file format. Students can drag files directly to the Final Cut Pro timeline on their Apple MacBook Pro laptops and begin editing immediately.

“The most important benefit these camcorders offer us is the ability to record high-quality, native QuickTime files that are ready to edit without the time-consuming media capture or ingest process,” says Smith. “JVC camcorders enable us to teach our students how to work as part of a creative collaborative team, employing the same efficient, streamlined workflow that is revolutionizing the way motion pictures are made.”

Columbia College has a long-standing relationship with JVC, and its faculty was consulted when the ProHD camcorder line was developed. During the spring 2009 semester, JVC donated a preproduction model of the GY-HM100 to the Department of Film & Video so that 23 students could participate in a creative filmmaking opportunity posed by top ad agency DDB/Chicago. The students volunteered to produce one-minute videos to promote the Field Museum, the agency’s Chicago-based client, for a variety of Internet outlets.

Department faculty recognized quickly that the GY-HM100 was well suited to the needs and goals of its curriculum. ”For educators, it’s important to choose camera equipment that doesn’t obstruct or frustrate beginning students, yet is complex enough to satisfy the advanced student’s more ambitious moviemaking aspirations,” says Bruce Sheridan, chairman, Department of Film & Video. “Since passionate film students push the creative and technical envelope on new technologies as much as professional users do, there are inherent benefits to collaborations between educators and technology innovators—and this is well illustrated by our relationship with JVC.”

“While we strongly believe in teaching the disciplines of traditional filmmaking and storytelling, we’re equally dedicated to giving our students an understanding of digital cinematography, from preproduction to digital intermediate finishing,” notes Charles Celander, operations manager, Department of Film & Video. “JVC camcorders are the key to accomplishing our ultimate goal: to graduate students who can go on to make a positive contribution to the motion picture industry.”

About Columbia College Chicago
Columbia College Chicago—an urban institution committed to open access, opportunity and excellence in higher education—provides innovative degree programs in the visual, performing, media and communication arts to more than 12,500 students in over 120 undergraduate and graduate programs, including film & video, art & design, arts management, television, radio, music and interactive multimedia—all within a liberal arts context.