Mobile production studio awes students

By JENN KLEIN - Staff Writer, Chico Enterprise Record

Posted: 03/25/2009 12:00:00 AM PDT

CHICO — While a 45-foot bus loaded with state-of-the-art production equipment is known to draw interest wherever it goes, a visit from the C-SPAN "Civics Bus" was even more exciting for students already interested in production.

The bus, a mobile production studio, made a stop at Pleasant Valley High School Tuesday to give students enrolled in the school's video production and technology classes a chance to see first-hand how TV is produced from a bus.

"It was really cool. There's a lot of really cool things in there. You can't really describe it; you have to experience it," said Tyler Epperson, 18, a senior in a video production class.

The bus was in Chico to honor two students, Joe Hamilton and Brandon Nickas, who recently won an honorable mention in C-SPAN's National 2009 StudentCam Video Competition. C-SPAN's two buses will try to visit as many of the 75 winners as possible between now and the end of the year, said Meredith Rapp, C-SPAN education programs specialist.

Rapp said the bus is primarily an educational tool that visits middle and high schools, and some colleges and universities, and appears at community events. The bus also covered the recent presidential campaigns.

She said as well as bringing the students on board to see the fully-working studio and production facilities, they also try to get students to discuss government and the role of the media.

"It gives students a chance to see government in action. ... Anytime you can get a chance to sit and talk with students about the federal government, it's valuable," Rapp said.

Pleasant Valley teacher Michael Peck, whose two students won the C-SPAN award, said the visit from the bus would be useful in showing his video production class that all the things they are learning in class can be applied to the real world.

"I just think it's a really rare opportunity for a small town to get such great media coverage from an organization like C-SPAN," Peck said. "I think it shows the value of hard work, setting goals."

"I think it will be a good eye-opening experience for those that are interested in the field to see what's available," he added.

"I thought it was really interesting to get to see the production of everything and I thought it was cool that we actually got to see an interview of Rudy Giuliani that actually took place on the bus," said Jessica Swope, 17, a senior in Peck's video production class.

Nils Koenig, 18, another senior student in Peck's class, put his video production skills to use during the experience by actually filming both the students on board the bus and the presentation made to Hamilton and Nickas. Koenig said he was especially impressed with the on-board studio.

"I thought it was pretty interesting. When I watch the news, I didn't know that they film news in a bus," Koenig said.

Rapp said the bus will drive up through Oregon next, ultimately heading for a conference in Seattle.